# A Search for a Poetic Technology | Nhân Phan | TEDxULIS Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnZzkwcM9xc Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/vnZzkwcM9xc Generated: 2025-12-15T16:07:24.9+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Nhân Phan argues for the necessity of "Poetic Technology," which involves artists using technology to express the human condition, contrasting with technology optimized only for commercial efficiency, as exemplified by his project to generate 76,000 novel Vietnamese syllables by combining phonetic components. **Key Points:** - Phan's talk centers on "Poetic Technology," defining it as a field where artists use technology to express the human condition, moving beyond mere commercial optimization. - He contrasts early internet experiences, like playing the game Audition and discussing things on forums, with the modern, standardized, and often hollow digital interactions characterized by 'scroll, like, share, and repeat.' - Phan introduced a Vietnamese project that analyzes the structure of Vietnamese, a monosyllabic language with approximately 6,000 existing syllables, to explore the potential for 76,000 novel syllables through phonetic combination. - The project used Python to traverse the Vietnamese dictionary, breaking down syllables into pre-consonant, vowel, and post-consonant components to generate new combinations. - He references Taeyoon Choi's idea that computers are not neutral objects but sites of contested politics operating under capitalist logic. - The project aims to create tools for expression, creativity, and humanity, contrasting with tools designed only for efficiency or commerce. - The speaker's own project, "Để quá khứ (sẽ tiếp diễn)" (For the past (to continue)), was featured at the Future Tense Award in Hong Kong in 2025. ![Screenshot at 00:04: The opening title slide clearly establishes the talk's focus: "TEDx ULIS 2025 PRISM" and the speaker's introduction: "A SEARCH FOR POETIC TECHNOLOGY" featuring speaker Nhân Phan.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-00-04.png) **Context:** The presentation, titled "A Search for Poetic Technology," is delivered by Nhân Phan at TEDxULIS 2025. Phan explores the evolution of human interaction with technology, moving from early, more personal digital experiences to current, algorithm-driven environments that he suggests lack emotional depth. He champions "Poetic Technology" as a necessary counterpoint, focusing on technology's potential for artistic expression and exploring the human condition. ## Detailed Analysis Nhân Phan begins by establishing his identity as an artist who works with computers and reflects on his generation's deep immersion in the internet, citing early digital experiences like playing Audition and engaging in online forums as formative. He argues that technology has shifted from being a personal companion to being driven by consumption metrics like 'scroll, like, share, and repeat,' trading the freedom of customization for efficiency. Citing Taeyoon Choi, he states that the computer is not a neutral object but a site of contested politics operating under capitalist logic. To explore how to resist this trend and preserve human morality and emotion, Phan presents his project focused on Vietnamese syllables. He notes that Vietnamese is a highly expressive, monosyllabic language, and his team used Python to analyze the official dictionary, identifying roughly 6,000 existing syllables. By systematically combining the three components of a syllable (pre-consonant, vowel, post-consonant), they generated 76,000 novel, pronounceable syllables that currently lack meaning, opening up possibilities for new expression. This research, which he calls "poetic technology," aims to create tools that foster creativity and humanity rather than mere commercial utility, reflecting the spirit of his project "Để quá khứ (sẽ tiếp diễn)" (For the past (to continue)), which was recognized at the Future Tense Award in Hong Kong in 2025. ### Introduction and Context - Introducing self as an artist working with computers - Reflecting on growing up online with games like Audition and forums - Contrasting early digital intimacy with modern consumption-driven interactions. ### The Problem with Modern Tech - Citing the 'scroll, like, share - and repeat' cycle - Quoting Taeyoon Choi: "The computer is not a neutral object for aesthetic contemplation" - Noting the loss of personal connection and emotional depth in current technology. ### The Poetic Technology Experiment - Defining Poetic Technology as using tech to express the human condition - Highlighting the Vietnamese language's monosyllabic nature (6,000 existing syllables) - Using Python to combine phonetic components to generate 76,000 novel syllables. ### Project Showcase and Conclusion - Displaying the phonetic matrix used for syllable generation - Explaining the project "Để quá khứ (sẽ tiếp diễn)" and its recognition at the Future Tense Award in Hong Kong, 2025 - Concluding with the call to action to preserve morality and humanity through acts of resistance and dissent in technology. ![Screenshot at 00:04: The opening title slide for the TEDxULIS 2025 event, featuring the theme 'PRISM' and the talk title 'A SEARCH FOR POETIC TECHNOLOGY'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-00-04.png) ![Screenshot at 00:20: Slide illustrating the speaker's generation belonging to the internet, showing two old newspaper clippings about computers in Vietnamese.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-00-20.png) ![Screenshot at 01:31: A graph illustrating the trade-off where technological 'advance' increases while 'customizability & accessibility' decreases, implying a loss of user control.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-01-31.png) ![Screenshot at 02:59: Slide defining 'poetic' as 'having ability to express feeling,' exemplified by images from the movie 'Marriage Story \(2019\)'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-02-59.png) ![Screenshot at 05:44: A diagram illustrating the system architecture: Camera captures tree/shadow, feeds data to software, which uses a pre-defined poem structure to generate output on a screen.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/vnZzkwcM9xc/00-05-44.png)