Generative artificial intelligence creates speculative images that, while not based on real events, remain plausible, constructing realities that have yet to unfold. Situated more in the realm of possibility than empirical certainty, these images introduce a new form of “synthetic realism.” They reshape the past and present through their world-building potential, and it is precisely in their apparent innocence — lacking concrete references, historical roots, genealogies, or context — that they exert a silent yet profound violence against history and factual reality.
Donatella Della Ratta’s lecture performance, created in collaboration with Alessandro Turchine, explores “speculative violence,” an emerging mode of the image’s existence, oscillating between explicit destruction and subtle, almost imperceptible effects. Combining text and visuals — including found footage, social media threads, and AI-generated media — the work leads the audience on a disquieting journey through the violence of the not-yet-realized, navigating symbols and contemporary landscapes from Palestine to Trump’s America, and involving, even, groups of unsuspecting cows.
Donatella Della Ratta is an ethnographer, writer, performer, and curator specializing in networked media, with a focus on the Arab world. She has been an Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and currently teaches Communication and Media Studies at John Cabot University in Rome. From 2007 to 2013, she served as the Arab world community manager for the international organization Creative Commons. In 2012, she co-founded SyriaUntold.com, which received the Digital Communities Award at the Ars Electronica international festival in 2014. She has curated international artistic and film programs, including Syria Off Frame (2015), in collaboration with the Luciano Benetton Foundation. She is one of the winners of the Italian Council 2024–25 grant for her work on artificial intelligence and speculative violence.
Alessandro Turchioe, a filmmaker based in Rome with roots in New York, blends experimental media and cinematic storytelling. His works have been presented at international festivals, including those in New York and Madrid. He is currently developing, in collaboration with long-time partner Donatella Della Ratta, a three-act video essay series titled Call Me When You Get There, which explores the ethical dimensions and social impacts of artificial intelligence. The first act, Data Haunted by Magritte’s Ghost, premiered as part of the Cinema Futures initiative at the Locarno Film Festival 2024.
