How difficult is it to truly listen to others? Are we still capable of doing so?

Art Speed Date is a participatory performance that explores the quality of mutual listening in contemporary society, positioning itself at the intersection of art, neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

How it works:

At the beginning of the experience, each participant has their photograph taken. Subsequently, random pairs engage in dialogue for ten minutes: what matters is not what is said, but how well one can truly connect with the other.
During the conversation, an artificial intelligence algorithm, developed in collaboration between The Plot Foundation and the Cineca Inter-University Consortium with the Leonardo supercomputer, listens to and analyses in real time the quality of mutual listening, transforming the scientific data of the conversation into a visual artwork derived from the initial photograph.

The result is striking: the more authentic the listening and the deeper the connection, the clearer and more defined the portrait appears; when attention is lacking or listening becomes superficial, the image distorts and becomes coloured, making the quality of our listening ability tangible and visible.

Dialogues and emotions thus become images, prompting concrete reflection on the importance of authentic listening in an era that asks us to be constantly connected but rarely truly present.

An entirely new experience, an artistic provocation that nonetheless reflects on strongly scientific foundations.