Automation and Empathy: Can We Finally Replace All Artistic Performers with Machines?

This conference talk from the 38th Chaos Communication Congress (38C3) explores whether robots and avatars can establish emotional connections with human audiences and examines the implications for arts and culture. Join artist and robotic musician Moritz Simon Geist as he investigates the potential for machines to replicate the complex psychosocial capacity of empathy in performative arts like music and theater. Discover an example-based overview of non-human performers throughout art history alongside current state-of-the-art projects in the field. Follow Geist's personal journey combining engineering with art through projects like the "MR-808 Drum Robot" and automated installations such as "Don't Look at Me," while examining how robotic performers impact audience perception and emotional engagement. Delve into critical questions about how machines alter performance dynamics, what minimal structures evoke empathetic responses, and how the Uncanny Valley concept influences our reactions to non-human performers. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.