Full Program

Vibe-ocracy in the Psyber Age

Wednesday, August 26, 2026
10:15 am_11:00 am

Atrium et Studio-Théâtre des Grands Ballets

Google Maps Details

85$

Day Pass price, excl. fees & taxes

Box Office Festival Passes

In 2026, it is arguably vibe, not truth, that rules the world. According to Professor Jacqueline Fendt, we now live in a vibocracy, a society in which “public life and decision-making are shaped by affective resonance, performative legitimacy, and unstable epistemic frames, often amplified by algorithmic media and neo-oral communication environments.” While the word “vibe” evokes something ethereal, even ineffable, vibes are indeed mathematically legible and measurable to the machine learning processes that now dominate media; they are also being deliberately operationalized in propaganda campaigns.

Today, platforms act as psychedelics, cybernetic feedback loops intensify, content executes rather than informs, and both user and machine are prone to hallucination. What if any sufficiently advanced media is indistinguishable from magic? What if it always has been? From “psyop realism” to “post-discursivity” to “neural media,” media platform New Models co-founders Caroline Busta and Lil Internet consider alternate frameworks for understanding the present and future of media, and their urgent need to be clearly articulated for mass adoption. Take the vibe-pill.

Please note: this activity will be in English, with live transcription available.