The unnecessary Human

The unnecessary Human

Lecture performance with acting monologues and video overlays

Even before Corona, it was clear that radical changes in the world of work were imminent: artificial intelligence and the internet will make human work superfluous to a previously unimaginable degree.

Now a virus has accelerated the digitization of society and shifted more activities to the home office. Welcomed by some, others experience this as a stress factor.

The project looks at the topic beyond the current situation and fundamentally asks about the future of work – and what is lost in the redesign.

To do this, we spoke to people during the pandemic about their jobs and how they are being replaced by automated systems.

A series of documentary, monologue-like texts was created, which we present together with short videos in readings and discussions.

Among other things, there are:

– A young IT professional from the oil and gas industry who says of himself: “My job is to put other people out of work”;

– A “personnel developer” in the automotive supply industry who asks herself: “How do we develop these people who have to get from A to B?”;

– A saleswoman in an organic supermarket who, after 40 years in the profession, realizes: “Today you stand alone all day.”

This last interview was published in Altona Magazin in June 2021 with the focus on “System Relevance”.


Funded by the program “Art knows no shutdown” (Hamburgische Kulturstiftung)