FREE ENTRY / New Media Artspace - Open Call: LOVE.exe

From platonic to romantic to robotic, LOVE.exe celebrates and interrogates all expressions of love, particularly as transformed by technology. We exchange love via wires and waves, creating new ways to connect and, inevitably, new vulnerabilities. The internet has unlocked authentic communities built on shared experiences and interpersonal discovery unlimited by location and demographics. However, when everything and everyone is available online and friends stay in touch via Instagram likes, the line between truly knowing someone versus just the concept of them blurs. 

In addition to being a conduit, technology itself can be the object of desire. Fictional romance is more immersive than ever, and there’s a dating simulation game for every niche. The recent growth of artificial intelligence has been accompanied by a boom in artificial intimacy, with summonable chatbots who are so easy to love: a friend or partner who never argues or judges. Now that we can program an ideal companion, what will drive us to continue seeking connections beyond the screen?