Program Coordinator for Speculative Philosophy of Computation

What We Do:
The mission of the Berggruen Institute is to ask questions and develop foundational ideas about how to reshape political and social institutions in a transforming society. We work across cultures, disciplines, and political boundaries to engage great thinkers in developing and promoting long-term answers to the biggest challenges of the 21st Century.

Our Values

Respect the human dignity of all
Cultivate future-oriented solutions
Inquire with an open mind
Build a collaborative environment
Invest in people and relationships

Speculative Philosophy of Computation is a new program at the Berggruen Institute that convenes a wide range of thought leaders (researchers, philosophers, technologists, scientists, and others) in exploring the implications for planetary-scale computation. This interdisciplinary program will develop original, practical interventions in the social and economic future of computing, including artificial intelligence, computational simulations and economics, and philosophy of technology. The program will host a series of international invitational working groups and will host an active design research program with numerous participants and activities.

Speculative Philosophy of Computation (SPOC) is seeking a program coordinator to support the program’s operations and events management. This position will work closely with our Public Programing team to execute all events, workshops, or salons. The role is an exciting opportunity for a dedicated, organized, and flexible individual who is very organized, detail oriented, and enjoys events production.

Please note, that only candidates living in Los Angeles will be considered.

Events – 60%

  • Partner with the events team and creative and communications team in drafting event descriptions
  • Partner with the events team and creative and communication team in drafting invitation copy and sending invitations and reminders
  • Managing RSVPs and responding as necessary
  • Serving as a point of contact for participants and speakers
  • Coordinating and arranging participant travel and accommodations, including transfer to and from the airport
  • Collating participant photos, bios, food restrictions, etc.
  • Assisting with visa letters
  • Provide participants with information on BI policies on sexual harassment, covered expenses, and reimbursements.
  • Servicing honoraria and reimbursements
  • Crafting and sending meeting packets and event reminders
  • Coordinating and executing pre/post dinners
  • Develops, updates and maintains participant and key contacts lists in Salesforce.
  • Welcoming and checking in event attendees
  • Corralling participants to and from different sessions, venues, event spaces
  • Note-taking at events
  • Performs other tasks as needed

SPOC Program Coordination – 30%:

  • Assist with layout, formatting, proofreading papers, briefs, and other written materials
  • Arrange meetings for SPOC leadership and staff
  • Drafts and manages correspondences, meeting notes and other materials.
  • Organizes and maintains written and electronic files, address/contact listings, and business card files
  • Maintains calendar and record of all SPOC related events and activities and conveys information to relevant BI staff
  • Keeps detailed and accurate records of event participants and materials
  • Works with Communications and events team to update SPOC website pages on the BI website
  • Performs other tasks as needed

Work Perks:

  • We offer an exceptional 401k plan
  • Health, dental, and vision
  • Hybrid office work model (two days per week)
  • Paid vacation, sick, and holiday pay
  • Phone reimbursement
  • Dog-friendly workplace
  • Hybrid office work model with flexibility
  • Snacks and gourmet coffee!

Please email your cover letter and resume to careers@berggruen.org. No phone calls, please.

Berggruen Institute is a proud equal opportunities workplace. We firmly believe employing a diverse workforce is important regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Berggruen Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

composed by Arswain
machine learning consultation by Anna Tskhovrebov
commissioned by the Berggruen Institute
premiered at the Bradbury Building
downtown Los Angeles
april 22, 2022

Human perception of what sounds “beautiful” is necessarily biased and exclusive. If we are to truly expand our hearing apparatus, and thus our notion of beauty, we must not only shed preconceived sonic associations but also invite creative participation from beings non-human and non-living. We must also begin to cede creative control away from ourselves and toward such beings by encouraging them to exercise their own standards of beauty and collaborate with each other.

Movement I: Alarm Call
‘Alarm Call’ is a long-form composition and sound collage that juxtaposes, combines, and manipulates alarm calls from various human, non-human, and non-living beings. Evolutionary biologists understand the alarm call to be an altruistic behavior between species, who, by warning others of danger, place themselves by instinct in a broader system of belonging. The piece poses the question: how might we hear better to broaden and enhance our sense of belonging in the universe? Might we behave more altruistically if we better heed the calls of – and call out to – non-human beings?

Using granular synthesis, biofeedback, and algorithmic modulation, I fold the human alarm call – the siren – into non-human alarm calls, generating novel “inter-being” sonic collaborations with increasing sophistication and complexity. 

Movement II: A.I.-Truism
A synthesizer piece co-written with an AI in the style of Vangelis’s Blade Runner score, to pay homage to the space of the Bradbury Building.

Movement III: Alarmism
A machine learning model “learns” A.I.Truism and recreates Alarm Call, generating an original fusion of the two.

Movement IV: A.I. Call
A machine learning model “learns” Alarm Call and recreates A.I.Truism, generating an original fusion of the two.

RAVE (IRCAM 2021) https://github.com/acids-ircam/RAVE