Prophets and Protocols
| Dates | Sat 2 May 2026 |
| Times | 5.15–6.45pm |
| Space | Lancaster Rooms |
| Price | Tickets available Wed 1 April |
Residencies
Technology has become a matter of faith. From self-optimisation regimes to crypto evangelism, techno-cults influence how we live, believe, and submit to the very systems that govern us. In this conversation, Günseli Yalcinkaya, Wassim Z. Alsindi and Ruby Justice Thelot examine the cultural and ideological infrastructures that normalise technology’s power – from game theory becoming lifestyle advice to continuous upgrades that seem impossible to refuse. When technological change is treated as faith rather than contestable design, areas of everyday life drift beyond public debate. Through case studies, Yalcinkaya, Alsindi and Thelot, trace the lore, folklore, and mysticism of techno-religious formations.
Biographies
Günseli Yalcinkaya
Günseli Yalcinkaya is a writer, researcher and critic based in London, whose work explores how technology shapes myth. As Contributing Editor at Dazed Magazine and former External Research Associate at Moth Quantum, Günseli investigates internet folklore, tracking how emerging technologies – from AI to quantum computing – give rise to new ideologies, digital superstitions and collective fantasies. Her writing has appeared in Art Review, Dazed Magazine, Spike Art and 032c, as well as in publications for Aksioma, Ars Electronica, LAS Art Foundation, among others. As a member of the multidisciplinary audiovisual project The Talk, she collaborates with musicians James K and Heith, and architect Andrea Belosi, transforming research into immersive performance.
Wassim Z. Alsindi
Wassim Z. Alsindi operates at the intersection of intersections, chronicling visions, designs, and externalities of contemporary technologies across context and episteme. He is the convener of 0xSalon, a counter-institutional collective critically engaging with technology through art and philosophy. His research practice is primarily concerned with the externalities of networked technologies. Wassim holds Ph.D. in ultrafast physics, writes an editorial column at the MIT Computational Law Report, and co-founded MIT’s Cryptoeconomic Systems journal. He has performed, lectured, and exhibited in over 30 countries.
Ruby Justice Thelot
Ruby Justice Thelot is a designer, cyber-ethnographer and artist based in New York. He is a professor of Design and Media Theory at New York University. He is the founder of the award-winning creative research and design studio 13101401 inc.
Image credit: Wassim Z. Alsindi