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Martin Zeilinger

Dr

 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6576-4253

Accepting PhD Students

20092026

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Personal profile

I am Reader in Computational Arts & Technology at Abertay University. My research interests include digital art, artistic experimentation with emerging technologies (especially AI and blockchain), theories of cultural ownership and intellectual property, sound art and improvised electronic music, appropriation-based art practices, and various aspects of experimental video game culture.

I was co-curator of the Toronto-based Vector Festival from 2014 to 2020, and frequently collaborate with curators/artists/activists on curatorial projects. In 2025, I co-hosted the xCoAx conference in Dundee.

An emerging research interest relates to the development of interdisciplinary, humanities-informed perspectives in cycling scholarship.

Research interests

My research, curatorial activities, and creative practice in digital media are closely intertwined. Most of my work focuses on contemporary digital art practices in relation to aesthetic and philosophical concepts such as authorship, creativity, originality, agency, and ownership – often exploring how these concepts are legally and/or algorithmically encoded in service of capital.

Research Supervision

At Abertay University, I am currently co-supervising the following postgraduate students:

- Marta Rossi (practice-based PhD, since 2021)
- Ecem Ince (practice-based PhD, since 2025)

I also serve as external supervisor on several PhD projects at other universities. Email me with your inquiry if you'd like to draw on my expertise in this capacity.

Teaching

At Abertay University I am involved in teaching Critical Studies (ART308), Game Studies and Criticism (DES104) and Applied Games and Research Practice (DES511). Innovation and Professional Practice. I also contribute teaching content on AI Ethics to the MSc in AI/UX.

Outside my home institution, I contribute to the 'School of X', a doctoral school that is run annually as part of the xCoAx conference.

I welcome supervision requests in all of my research areas.

Education / Qualifications

- SSHRC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow (2011-2013, York University, Toronto/CAN)

- PhD in Comparative Literature (2004-2009, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto/CAN)

Education/Academic qualification

Comparative Literature, PhD, Art and Politics of Appropriation, University of Toronto

2004 → 2009

Award Date: 1 Nov 2009

SSHRC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, York University (Toronto)

2011 → 2013

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  2. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  3. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  4. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  5. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action

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  • Smart contracts and the becoming-curatorial of digital works of art

    Zeilinger, M., 27 Jan 2026, Curating superintelligences: a reader on AI and future curating. Krysa, J. & Tyżlik-Carver, M. (eds.). Open Humanities Press, p. 253-270 18 p. (DATA Browser; vol. 10).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

    Open Access
    File
    24 Downloads (Pure)

  • AI art and the foreclosure of ecological agency: a critique of Refik Anadol's Echoes of the Earth

    Zeilinger, M. & Johns, D., 28 Nov 2025, Vectoral agents: power in the age of planetary computation. Markelj, J. & Bueno, C. C. (eds.). Amsterdam: Institute for Network Culture, p. 21-31 11 p. (network notion; vol. 4).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

    Open Access

  • Doing AI differently: rethinking the foundations of AI via the humanities

    Hemment, D., Kommers, C., Ahnert, R. (Contributor), Antoniak, M. (Contributor), Arbix, G. (Contributor), Belle, V. (Contributor), Benford, S. (Contributor), Brintrup, A. (Contributor), Bryan-Kinns, N. (Contributor), Bunz, M. (Contributor), Caramiaux, B. (Contributor), Chung, S. (Contributor), Disley, M. (Contributor), Du, Y. (Contributor), Duéñez-Guzman, E. A. (Contributor), Gius, E. (Contributor), Medina, F. G. (Contributor), Goodlad, L. (Contributor), Ilany-Tzur, N. (Contributor) & Isaksen, L. (Contributor) & 30 others, Jirotka, M. (Contributor), Kennedy, H. (Contributor), Leslie, D. (Contributor), Livingstone, D. (Contributor), Long, H. (Contributor), Martin, M. (Contributor), Nalau, J. (Contributor), Nathan, C. (Contributor), Noel-Hirst, A. (Contributor), Ostherr, K. (Contributor), Prahl, A. (Contributor), Rana, O. (Contributor), Ratto, M. (Contributor), Revell, T. (Contributor), Rhee, J. (Contributor), Rutenberg, I. (Contributor), Seales, B. (Contributor), Sherman, S. (Contributor), So, R. J. (Contributor), Sobey, A. (Contributor), Stilgoe, J. (Contributor), Thain, M. (Contributor), Ubalijoro, E. (Contributor), Underwood, T. (Contributor), Vashishta, A. (Contributor), Vidmar, M. (Contributor), Wilkens, M. (Contributor), Wu, Y. (Contributor), Yuen, S. (Contributor) & Zeilinger, M. (Contributor), 31 Jul 2025, London: The Alan Turing Institute. 49 p.

    Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report

    Open Access
    File
    677 Downloads (Pure)

  • Interventi di sopravvivenza in GTA: sui limiti delle 'performance' negli ambienti virtuali

    Translated title of the contribution: Survival Interventions in GTA: on the limits of performance in virtual environmentsZeilinger, M., 18 Jun 2025, Videoarte ludica: videogioco, cinema, machinima. Bittanti, M. (ed.). Milan, Italy: Mimesis Edizioni, p. 211-233 23 p. (Eterotopie; no. 1055).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

    Open Access

  • Responding to global challenges through data-driven art

    Zeilinger, M., 27 Jun 2025, In: The New Real Magazine. 2, 1, p. 48-52 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Open Access
    File
    7 Downloads (Pure)
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