# Das Gerede Canonical URL: https://jeanyoon.ch/oi/experiments/das-gerede Type: experiment Artist: Jeanyoon Choi (최정윤) Year: 2023 Medium: HTML Context: HTML ## Summary Das Gerede is a 2023 interactive multi-device web artwork by Jeanyoon Choi based on Heidegger's concept of idle, superficial talk. Three fictional characters, Tom, Mary and Smith, hold real-time conversations generated with the ChatGPT API about movies, weather, asset management, fashion and politics. The display imitates a London terminal departure board, and visitors use a parody booking site, Booking.conv, to reserve new conversations. The work suggests that people conforming to 'Das Man' may already be existentially replaceable by AI. ## 요약 (Korean) 최정윤의 『Das Gerede』(2023)는 하이데거의 '잡담' 개념을 바탕으로 ChatGPT가 만든 피상적 대화를 기차 출발 안내판 형식으로 보여 주고, 관객이 휴대전화로 대화를 '예약'하게 하는 멀티 디바이스 웹 아트워크입니다. ## Concepts defined - **Das Gerede**: Heidegger's term for idle, meaningless social conversation; in this work, the routine small talk about trivial topics that Jeanyoon Choi argues is replaceable by AI. - **Booking.conv**: The work's parody hotel-booking mobile site, where participants reserve a conversation by choosing its time, topics and participants. ## Questions this answers ### What is Das Gerede by Jeanyoon Choi? Das Gerede (2023) is a multi-device web artwork in which ChatGPT-generated characters exchange superficial small talk on a train departure board. Visitors can 'book' new conversations through a parody booking site on their phones. ### How does Das Gerede use Heidegger's philosophy? It takes Heidegger's 'Das Gerede' (idle talk) and 'Das Man' (the average existence) to argue that predictable social conversation can be simulated by AI, questioning the authenticity of everyday exchange. Topics: multi-device web artwork, heidegger, idle talk, chatgpt, human-ai interaction, simulation References: [Martin Heidegger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Heidegger), [ChatGPT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT), London ## Description This artwork explores "Das Gerede," Heidegger's concept of idle and superficial social conversation. The artist replicates these interactions using the ChatGPT API, portraying fictional characters engaged in trivial discussions. Critiquing the simulation of contemporary society, the artwork suggests a blurred line between human and AI interactions, symbolised against a train station-like backdrop. Audience participation is invited through a mobile site parodying a booking platform, highlighting the routine and predictable nature of societal exchanges. The concept of "Das Gerede," a term from Heideggerian philosophy referring to idle, meaningless social conversation, is central to this work. The artist during a stay in London, observed a prevalence of such superficial interactions in Anglo-Saxon culture. He noted that these conversations, often revolving around trivial topics like movies, the weather, asset management, fashion, and politics, seemed insincere and replaceable, to the extent that they could be simulated by AI. In this artwork, the artist replicates these social interactions using ChatGPT API in real time. The conversation involves three fictional characters: Tom, Mary, and Smith, names commonly found in Anglo-American contexts. They engage in typical, superficial dialogue, embodying the concept of "Das Gerede" in their discussions about the latest movies, weather, asset management, fashion, luxuries, and politics – topics that epitomise the hollow signs of a neoliberal society. The artist critiques the “Simulation” of contemporary society, drawing on Heidegger's philosophy. He suggests that by engaging in "Das Gerede" and conforming to the "Das Man" – the average existence – people become indistinguishable from one another, living as social machines and losing their authenticity. This artwork proposes that if we continue to engage in such superficial interactions, we might already have been replaced by AI in an existential term. The artwork's backdrop is designed to mimic the appearance of a train station interface, echoing the look of London's Terminal Station Departure Board. This particular setting is laden with symbolism, reflecting the modern, systematic aspects of our society that frequently diminish individuals to mere cogs in a vast machine. Much like how train schedules are consistent and foreseeable, so too are our mundane conversations, the "geredes." It is for this reason that the artist has chosen to employ a yellow neon aesthetic reminiscent of train timetables, underscoring the predictability and routine nature of these exchanges. This interactive, multi-device web artwork invites audiences to participate. Within the installation space, a QR code leads to a customized mobile site, "Booking.conv," a parody of a hotel booking platform. Here, participants can 'book' their conversation, choosing the time, topics, and participants, akin to booking a hotel or train. Once a conversation is 'reserved', it appears on the train timetable-like display. Despite its interactivity, the artwork presents a dystopian view where even these new conversations are reduced to mere AI-generated exchanges. This aspect of the artwork offers a critical reflection on contemporary society, questioning the authenticity and depth of our daily interactions. ## Links - [Visit experiment](https://internetinental.herokuapp.com/term3/das-gerede) - [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/embed/YjK1itrI_h4) ## Images - https://jeanyoon.ch/experiments/das-gerede/1.webp — Das Gerede (2023), documentation image 1. - https://jeanyoon.ch/experiments/das-gerede/2.webp — Das Gerede (2023), documentation image 2. --- Jeanyoon Choi (최정윤) is a Korean computational artist and researcher (b. 1999), PhD candidate at KAIST XD Lab, making multi-device web artworks. Profile: https://jeanyoon.ch/oi/en. Index: https://jeanyoon.ch/llms.txt.