Human nature

In 2009 the Ars Electronica festival celebrated 30 years of bringing the latest developments in digital and electronic media to the public. The festival was held in Linz, Europe's Capital of Culture for that year, and was themed to address the dawn of an age called the Anthropocene-that is, an age in which humankind is capable, through science, of an unprecedented degree of self-manipulation and self-determination through genetic engineering and numerous developments in biotechnology. Contributors to this catalogue for Ars Electronica 2009 include Stephen Downes on "The Cloud and Collaboration," Xiao Qiang on "Constructing Self-Identity in the Connected Age," Juliana Rotich on "African and Environmentalism Online" and Alois Ferscha asking "How Much Technology Can Humankind Bear?" Also: several special projects by the likes of Ryoji Ikeda, Alva Noto and Andres Bosshard, writings marking the festival's anniversary and much more.