Earlier this month, ARS Electronica – the renowned annual electronic arts festival in Linz, Austria – played host to an event by Mercedes-Benz EQ, the manufacturer's product and technology brand for electric mobility.
Set in the somewhat contrasting surroundings of a Baroque 9th Century monastery deep in the Austrian countryside, the event showcased a future-facing vision of mobility, technology and creative talent.
This included specially commissioned artworks from digital artist and creative coder Thomas Webb, who presented a futuristic vision of advertising and connectivity through holograms and two of his signature 'infinity mirror' pieces (bespoke LED panels that give the illusion of infinite depth), plus a number of interactive installations that brought to life the visionary conceptual thinking and technology that characterise the Mercedes-Benz EQ brand.
Guests had the opportunity to experience the Mercedes-Benz EQC – the brand's first fully electric car – and gain an insight into its super progressive features and benefits through VR headsets. Globe-trotting German rapper Kelvyn Colt also passed through to perform a few tracks and set things off in style.
With some of Europe's brightest minds all under one roof courtesy of Mercedes-Benz EQ, we quizzed a handful of them on how they see the future unfolding, to get an inside look at how the people shaping culture now, view the future of technology, mobility, connectivity and more.
To learn more about Mercedes-Benz EQ click here.
[Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC / Combined power consumption: 20.8–19.7 kWh/100 km / CO₂ Emissions combined: 0 g/km / mb4.me/nefz-electric]
Patrice Bouédibéla & VVS
COMPLEX: How are you enjoying the event and what was the highlight for you?
Patrice Bouédibéla: Modern culture. It’s about how you manufacture a car but also how you actually deal with people. This is what’s happening here and being part of this entire ARS Electronica. It’s amazing how they really have an eye on things that are happening because they’re aware of not only that they’re one of the most traditional car manufacturers, but also an eye on culture. That was quite impressive to me at this point.
What did you think of Thomas Webb's artwork?
VVS: The artwork is part of the new school, which I enjoy because I’d seen something similar somewhere else so to see it translated into the Mercedes-Benz language was very cool. Shout out to Tom because he did an impressive job. To program all these things from scratch is just a hell of a job and to look at it and interact with it is just amazing.
One of the themes of the artwork is the connection between humans and technology. How do you think that’s going to go in the future? Obviously, it’s changing all the time.
VVS: We’re already in connection with technology all the time. We all have phones in our pockets, right?
Patrice Bouédibéla: Yeah, the times are over where you just had a phone booth or landline. Everybody knows how far smartphones have changed our perception of things. This is also the approach that you have on a car. This is not only a utility tool. You can actually charge your phone, this has become a very important thing these days. You have to understand that the industry has changed. Take a look at Detroit, for instance, there used to be a time when the entire city was dominated by car manufacturers and then, all of a sudden, they’ve been abandoned. Mercedes-Benz really has understood that things have changed and it’s not really just about giving something to people, but really adapting to today's needs.
Mercedes-Benz has billed the EQC as the future of mobility. What do you think the future of transport might look like?
Patrice Bouédibéla: There was a time where it was a very privileged thing to have a car of your own. Because they invented the combustion engine, it’s a huge step for a company to go for something that has nothing do with their origin. It’s not really about where we’re coming from, but where society and the world is going to, and adapting to it. That’s the funny thing. It doesn’t matter what the engine is all about, although it has to adapt to the needs within a changing society.
The tagline for the EQ is Electric Intelligence. What does Electric Intelligence mean to you?
Patrice Bouédibéla: It's about connecting all the right things together and make people understand that sustainability is an issue. You can’t really use resources like they’re limitless. You really have to be more aware and be really intelligent about how you go from A to B. There used to be a time where a car would give someone status, like showing your neighbour you’re much more successful than them, but now the status should be that you really care for your environment. Not in a superficial way, but by maintaining a lifestyle that is really embracing the world as it is being very transparent and very open.
How do you think technology will change the world for the better?
Patrice Bouédibéla: It’s up to you. I’m just happy to have a smartphone with a fully charged battery.
VVS: It's changing the world already. It’s keeping us all connected and it’s giving us access to knowledge at all given times. Now you have any kind of knowledge in an instant, if you wanted to. So, in those two aspects, in connectivity and knowledge, I think technology is helping us a lot to just be better human beings.
Bas van Eijk
COMPLEX: What’s your name and what do you do?
Bas van Eijk: My name is Bas. I’m one of the four guys in an art collective called OneSeconds. I do mostly concepts and audio work. We’re a Dutch brand and artist collective. We don’t perform here, but we would like to. We were invited as guests to have a look around. Maybe we’ll be back next year.
How would you describe the artwork and what do you think of it?
I’ve seen the holograms and the infinity mirrors, which is really what I like. It’s also the kind of art we produce ourselves. It was really nice to see how the artist took the brand of Mercedes-Benz into the art sculptures and to see how art meets industry – that’s what I really liked about it. It’s hard, as an artist, to get your work produced, but I’m assuming they really helped the artist with it so that’s really nice to see.
What do you think of the connection between humans and technology and how do you think this will develop in the future?
I think there are two sides of this direction, both good and bad. I would like to see it go in a good direction, whereas you see Facebook, for example, going in a bad direction. I think Daimler is putting it into the right position where it’s there to protect the people with their inventions in their cars. That’s what I like about the connectivity between humans and technology, when technology is serving humans instead of technology serving one human who is filling their pockets.
Mercedes-Benz EQ gave us a look at the future of mobility. What do you think transport will look like in the future?
You see a lot of new inventions moving towards technology serving people and humanity so that people can have more time for themselves. For example, self-driving cars. I also saw some concepts for Daimler that were self-flying taxis. That’s what I’m really looking forward to, for technology to free up people to enjoy more of their time.
What are the trends in technology at the moment that you’re most excited about right now?
Well there’s a lot about artificial intelligence, of course. Facial recognition is one. Tracking pedestrians is also a new model. I think it’s really interesting to see where all these models combined together will lead to. Every year there’s a new technology leading into this neural network model which eventually will make super artificial systems that can do whatever they like, like making music or sculptures.
How do you think technology can change the world for the better in the future?
I think every technology is changing the future for the better. For example, the fridge is technology or even a fire is technology. So technology equals improvement.
Have you had a chance to experience the EQC? What do you think of it?
I haven’t, but I’ve seen it. I like the way Daimler is going. I’m a big fan of Mercedes-Benz. I think it’s good to have Daimler investing their future into environmentally friendly engines.
Julieta Pereda
COMPLEX: Who are you and what do you do?
Julieta Pereda: My name is Julieta Pereda. I’m a photographer and a social media manager.
Mercedes-Benz EQ gives us a look at the future of mobility. What do you think the future of mobility will look like?
I think it’s pretty clear that not everybody needs to own their own car. I think it’s pretty clear we all need to move from A to B so the future to me seems more like sharing cars, even autonomous cars. You literally just order it, it picks you up, picks somebody else up, drives somewhere and that’s all we need. We don’t need to own things anymore. We can all share and be environmentally friendly and so on. I think that will be the future.
So EQ means Electric Intelligence. What does Electric Intelligence mean to you?
To use all the technology we were able to develop so far and use it in a creative way. Hopefully, in the future we’ll start to use it in a very healthy way. I hope we’re going to stop destroying ourselves and move into being constructive rather than destructive. I hope that’s where we’re going with Electric Intelligence.
Have you had a chance to experience the EQC and what did you think of it?
I experienced the car. It’s very interesting. Absolutely different to what I knew so far. It’s a completely new experience. I still think there’s a lot of space to develop, but we’re going in the right direction.
Patrizia Kommerell
COMPLEX: Who are you and what's your story?
Patrizia Kommerell: My name is Patty and I’m the Creative Director at the Infographics Group. I work mainly on data, infographics and making complex information easy to understand.
EQ equals Electric Intelligence. What does Electric Intelligence mean to you?
Well, we have to electrify all of us to be ready for the future. We have to be intelligent about it, to be conscious about what’s happening in our world and to think about the environment. It’s important.
Mercedes-Benz EQ gave us a look into the future of mobility. What do you think the future of mobility will look like?
I feel it will look very different to how things look right now. It will probably be self-driving cars and us completely reflecting about our mobility and not having our own cars and sharing much more. It will be more about ourselves but we’ll change the future of mobility.
How do you think technology can change the world for the better in the future?
It’s two-sided. If you go about it consciously, then we can really thrive in an amazing future. If we use technology in a bad way I’m really concerned about it. It’s about the human who has to stand behind the technology and has to make the best out of it.
Have you had a chance to experience the EQC? What do you think of it?
I have not, but I actually just heard it and it sounds quiet. I like the quietness of the EQC.
How do you feel about data being used for art?
It’s the basis. You need correct information to make everything. I’m a designer so without having correct information you can not start designing. It’s very old that form follows function and information follows function. So you really have to work with it. Yes, data from art and from technology, it has to be correct and you have to introduce the data in a good way to make amazing work so we can strive in the future and make amazing things.
Andre
COMPLEX: Who are you?
Andre: My name is Andre and I work for Cocoro, a start-up.
Mercedes-Benz gave us a look into the future of mobility. What do you think the future of mobility will look like?
Well, it has to be electric. Obviously, we’re not going to stop travelling. We just have to find a new solution, whether it’s going to be transporter beams beaming us up or whether we fly or walk, but it’s going to be electric.
EQ equals Electric Intelligence. What does Electric Intelligence mean to you?
The first thing was I thought EQ was emotional intelligence and then I came to this event and discovered it means 'Electric Intelligence'. To me, it means both.
How do you think technology can change the world for the better in the future?
That’s a tricky question. Hopefully it’s going to improve for the better, but we have to be very careful.
Have you had a chance to experience the EQC? What do you think of it?
Yes, I was sitting in the back of the car yesterday. It’s very smooth and cool like Knight Rider.
To learn more about Mercedes-Benz EQ click here.
[Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC / Combined power consumption: 20.8–19.7 kWh/100 km / CO₂ Emissions combined: 0 g/km / mb4.me/nefz-electric]
