Becoming intimate with algorithms: Towards a critical antagonism via algorithmic art

This article takes departure in the notion of intimacy to identify the critical dependencies with contemporary algorithms. The presented concept of algorithmic intimacies points to how contemporary life is premised on the co-habitation with algorithms which poses various challenges to tactical approaches against algorithmic forms of governance. The article argues that thinking through these algorithmic intimacies allows to acknowledge the multi-dependency on digital infrastructures, the difficulties to counteract algorithmic governance, and the impossibility of fully stepping outside of these structures of dominance. Taking the vantage point in the analysis of three artworks, the article contemplates the potential of artistic practices as formulations of antagonistic strategies. Through the analyses, the article suggests to contend with these intimacies to better situate and understand the stakes of algorithmic ubiquity.