Summary of the talk:
A recurring idea is that «artificial intelligence» exists – in some form or other, be it as an alluring promise, a rhetorical stunt, or an autonomous technology. Instead of taking for granted this idea, the present talk describes how «AI» is staged as AI. Therefore, it homes in on various sociotechnical configurations in situ, ranging from technology demonstrations of industry prototypes and products (e.g., AlphaGo, ChatGPT, Zato-coder) to prima facie educational robots and art installations (e.g., Alter in Venice). In answer to the subtitle questions, the talk will dwell on selected examples, past and present, and describe and discuss how (and why) staging work becomes part of «performing AI» (Sormani et al., 2026).

Short Bio of the speaker:
Philippe Sormani (PhD in Sociology) is a Senior Researcher at the STS Lab at the University of Lausanne and the Immersive Arts Space (IAS) at Zurich University of the Arts. Drawing on science, technology and media studies, he has published on experimentation in and across different fields of activity, ranging from experimental physics to artistic experiments and technology demonstrations (including «new AI»).

The event is part of the 25th anniversary of the Swiss STS Association (STS-CH) and supported by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.