Marjan Unger lecture at the Rijksmuseum

Filigree

What does craft have to offer now that artificial intelligence (AI) is taking over our knowledge work? Through the example of the goldsmithing technique of filigree, goldsmith Eva van Kempen and archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers explore what craftsmanship means, from the individual maker to the broader sweep of human history.

Frederick Winslow Taylor

“You are not supposed to think. There are other people paid for thinking around here”, the American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor supposedly said, pushing for scientific management of craftwork in factories for the sake of efficiency. A development that happened around the turn of the 20th century and that is largely responsible for devaluing handwork and deskilling people. Ever since, knowledge work is perceived as superior over handwork.

Role

Will AI change this? AI exposes how much of our daily economic tasks are dependent on mechanistic rather than mindful reasoning. It devaluates knowledge work and this throws up an interesting question. What’s the role of craft in the 21st century and in the context of AI?

Real material world

Through the example of filigree we’ll explore what craftsmanship has to offer. Craft is a way of learning about a real material world. It is fundamentally dependent on embodied cognition and relies on intelligent hands. Not only does this stand in clear opposition to AI, it also speaks to different values: sufficiency, care, and wellbeing.

Two contrasting perspectives

We’ll tackle these topics from two contrasting perspectives: what making jewelry means to an individual maker and a community, and what making things offers in the grand scheme of human history.

Following the lecture, drinks will be served in the Foyer.