The Wager of the Algorithm: Towards a Performatic Gesture

Peter Freund

About this exposition

The fantasy of the algorithm and, by extension, artificial intelligence imagines that each performs by executing an operational task. Yet, based on its inherent computational structure, the digital performance fails to live up to its instrumental promise. This failure foregrounds an occasion for artistic intervention. “The Wager of the Algorithm: Towards a Performatic Gesture” presents a theoretical statement (illustrated via artwork by the author) in which the overall exposition underscores a dialectic within instrumental reason itself. The “prompt” names are a shorthand for the fulcrum of this problematic.

type	research exposition
keywords	digital performance, algorithmic processes, halting problem, performance theory, prompt, digital art, expanded practice, glitch, artificial intelligence, appropriation art, generative art, performativity, code art, word and image, instrumentality
date	12/07/2024
published	16/07/2025
last modified	16/07/2025
status	published
share status	private
affiliation	Saint Mary’s College of California, University of Barcelona
copyright	Peter Freund
license	CC BY-NC
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2935702/2957939
published in	ArteActa – Journal for Performing Arts and Artistic Research
portal issue	13. AI (and) Art: The Poetics of Prompting

name	ode_(excerpt) (720p)
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	code-recitation_sideview
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	hex book 2
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	hex book 1
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	floating_point_(2020) (720p)
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	FP_STILL_01_play-btn
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	Floating_Point_diagram_only
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	perspective_00
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	perspective_01
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	separator
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
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name	LG_book_cover
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	MARX'S_BEARD
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Marx Beard Preview
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	1.618_Things_I_Know_About_Her
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	squatch_screenshot
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	image

name	halting-diagram
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Marx Beard copy
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	LG_book_contents
copyright	Peter Freund
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

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The Wager of the Algorithm: Towards a Performatic Gesture (2025)

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