Antonio Caronia (1944–2013) was a writer, theorist, and media philosopher, among the first in Italy to develop a critical reflection on the political and social effects of new media and technology in relation to transformations of the imaginary. A graduate in mathematics, in 1978 he joined the Milanese collective Un’Ambigua Utopia, where he became editor of the magazine of the same name, focusing on the relationships between politics, science fiction, and imagination. He taught at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, NABA, and the Planetary Collegium in Plymouth. Among his publications: Il cyborg. Saggio sull’uomo artificiale (ShaKe 2008), Philip K. Dick: La macchina della paranoia (with Gallo, X Book 2006), and Un'ambigua utopia: fantascienza, ribellione e radicalità negli anni 70 (with Spagnul, Mimesis 2009).

Matteo Cremonesi is an artist and lecturer who works in the field of contemporary art and technology, with a particular interest in the aesthetic, social, and political impact of the Internet and new technologies on artistic research and contemporary culture in general. He currently teaches at the Accademia di Brera, Milan. In 2014 he founded Link Cabinet, the online exhibition space of Link Art Center, which he directed until its closure in 2019. He is a member of the artist group IOCOSE, with whom he has presented work in various national and international venues.

Francesco D’Abbraccio is a musician, AI artist, and independent researcher. As Lorem, he works with neural networks and AI systems on multidisciplinary projects with a strong narrative component. His work has been exhibited at the Biennale di Architettura di Venezia, Ars Electronica, London Design Biennale, NXT Museum, Opera de Lille, Museo Triennale di Milano, Transmediale, and Design Museum. He is co-director of Krisis Publishing, an editorial platform investigating the impact of media culture on contemporary societies. He recently co-curated AI & Conflicts (KP, 2021).

Claudia D’Alonzo is an independent curator and lecturer living and working in Milan. An art historian with a PhD in Audiovisual Studies, she teaches at the Accademia di Brera, Milan. Her research interests include expanded audiovisual practices, network cultures, and the body in relation to technology. She has collaborated with museums, art centers, and festivals such as: Cimatics (Brussels); Careof (Milan); GAMeC (Bergamo); GNAM (Rome); Fondazione Forma (Milan); and Subtle Technologies Festival (Toronto). She has participated in talks, conferences, and seminars. Her essays and articles have been published in journals, catalogues, and books (Amsterdam University Press, Alfabeta2, Castelvecchi, Doppiozero, Digicult, MCD - Musiques & Cultures Digitales, Mimesis International, Treccani).

German A. Duarte is a researcher in Cinema and Media at the Libera Università di Bolzano. His research interests include media history, film history, cognitive economics, and philosophy. His work has been published in international scholarly journals and edited volumes. He is also the author and editor of several books, including La scomparsa dell’orologio universale. Peter Watkins e i media audiovisivi (2010), Fractal Narrative: About the Relationship Between Geometries and Technology and Its Impact on Narrative Spaces (2014). More recently, he has curated a series of volumes on transmediality and science fiction, including, in collaboration with J. Battin, Reading “Black Mirror”. Insights into Technology and the Post-Media Condition (2021).

Sara Tirelli (1979) is an artist and filmmaker living in Italy. She earned an MFA in Visual Arts from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bologna, Department of Art, Music, and Performance in 2003, and in the same year obtained a Filmmaker Diploma from the Scuola Civica di Cinema e Nuovi Media, Politecnico di Milano. Her works have been featured in exhibitions such as Q16 Quadriennale d’Arte di Roma, Sonje Art Centre (Seoul), and Rotterdam Film Festival, among others. In 2017, she was awarded 3rd Prize in the Deutsche Bank Award and was selected the same year as a production artist-in-residence in Sweden, where she developed her first VR artwork Medusa. She has delivered several talks on her research into immersive storytelling, including Bodies, Movement and AI in VR at Goldsmiths University of London, and has participated in panels such as Future Narrative with Laurie Anderson at the Gothenburg Film Festival. In 2019, she co-founded the VR Pavilion, an independent curatorial project launched during the preview days of the 58th Venice Biennale.

www.saratirelli.com