Video 6’ 

With Alter and Alter 2 (programmed by Ishiguro’s Lab, Osaka University

and Takashi Ikegami, University of Tokyo) 

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Justine Emard’s film Soul Shift is the promise of a possible meeting with an earlier version of oneself. ‘Alter’ is a humanoid robot that awakens to the world when someone activates it. Its singularity lies in its movements, which no human has ever experienced before since they are created with extreme precision by an artificial intelligence. Sensors provide information to its neural network based on which it invents gestures within the constraints of its limbs. When Alter discovers its lookalike yet inactive robot, the memory or “spirit” of Alter 1 is transferred to Alter 2, reminding a form of reincarnation, but without flesh. Face to face, the active Alter appears intrigued by the inertia of this other from which he came, to the point of approaching it in a movement of recognition and affection. 

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Description by Dominique Moulon, translated from French. 

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