Debate: Afterlife At Your Fingertips: What Is the Future of Algorithmic Immortality? after the screening of the film "ETERNAL YOU"


Saturday, May 11, 5:00 p.m., screening room Warszawa 

Debate: Afterlife At Your Fingertips: What Is the Future of Algorithmic Immortality?

after the screening of the film ETERNAL YOU, dir. Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck

Partner: WSB Merito University in Gdynia

Esotericists are convinced that it is possible to communicate with the dead. Researchers don't exclude this possibility either. Communication with the dead is offered, among other things, by psychospiritual techniques. In films, we often see protagonists summoning loved ones from the afterlife using the Ouija spirit boards, for example. Families of the deceased frequently speak of experiencing the presence of a person who is no longer physically present. Perhaps these experiences are merely the product of the desire and imagination of the person suffering the loss. Theories abound, and so do doubts. One thing is certain – people crave the solace of being able to talk to, feel, and see the person who has passed away.  For some time now, there has been a theme in the media of funerary technology or tools to help us re-experience contact with those who are no longer with us. We now have several such possibilities; some apps allow us to store information about the deceased, and with the help of AI we can even "talk" to digital versions of them.

The documentary “Eternal You” tackles the extremely difficult, as well as controversial, subject of being able to communicate with avatars of deceased people and the impact it has on us. Is algorithmic immortality a good thing? Is it safe for us to communicate with the avatar of the deceased? What could be the consequences of having such a possibility available? We will try to find an answer to these and other questions during the debate, which, as usual, has been prepared by WSB Merito University in Gdynia, the festival sponsor. 

Guests: 

Dominika Sowa-Klejna – psychologist and psychotraumatologist certified by the Institute of Integrated Psychotherapy in Munich; lecturer at the WSB Merito University in Gdynia. In her work, she helps patients experiencing personal crises, and those wishing to get more satisfaction from life. She also works with people who have experienced loss and difficult life events.

Marek Ożarowski – for over 30 years associated with business and IT projects. He has collaborated with Optimus S.A., WP S.A., OptiX (Prokom), Asseco, Wasko, B3System. Lecturer at the WSB Merito University in Gdynia. 

Marta Orańska-Szałomska – psychologist and psychotherapist, member of the Polish Association for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; actively involved in promoting psychological and psychotherapeutic knowledge within the framework of conferences organised together with the Gdańsk Psychological Help Centre for Children and Adolescents; interested in digitisation and its impact on the human psyche.

Host: 

Łukasz Murawski social psychologist, working in branding since the beginning of his career. He conducts workshops and trainings both in Polish and in English. Lecturer at WSB Merito University. He offers consultancy to startups in business incubators. He is a contributor to the most important Polish magazines on marketing.