Artificial Woman in Power

Dorota Jarecka

Abstract

Jarecka examines the plot which is the pivot of contemporary anti-Utopias announcing automaton’s victory over man, or its victory inside man. The world without God and metaphysics is described by Witkacy, Berdyaev or Platonov. In Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis (1926), the heroine is Maria, who becomes the quintessence of evil, the callous machine-woman of gold endowed with both destructive power and sex appeal. Young artists from Gdańsk have conceived of the idea of artificial human, or an ideal politician. Called Wiktoria Cukt, it is the presidential candidate. The beautiful young face of the computer-designed woman has been projected onto the screen of a dimly lit exposition room. Her speech has been heard from the loudspeakers. The chief electoral postulate is a promise of democracy with full access to the Internet. Via the Internet each citizen will have influence on government in the country. Wiktoria will publicly present prevailing opinions. In future, she will grant virtual audiences. In that situation, the parliament and other forms of democratic representation will be useless. A computer keyboard will be sufficient but in that way citizens, while gaining the freedom of speech, will become slaves of machine. What is most interesting, this provocation has been taken seriously as a new form of political life by many spectators.