Autonomy Cube

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This critical analysis focuses on the Autonomy Cube, a sculpture by Trevor Paglen and Jacob Appelbaum, designed for art museums, galleries, and civic spaces. The sculpture features Internet-connected computers that create an open Wi-Fi hotspot named “Autonomy Cube.” Users can connect to this network, which uniquely routes all traffic over the Tor network, facilitating anonymous browsing. Notably, at the Edith-Russ-Haus, the Cube's Tor relay functioned as an exit node, extending anonymous Internet access beyond the gallery's confines. The exhibition surrounding the artwork aimed to highlight the pervasive surveillance technology in everyday life and the public's alarming lack of awareness regarding this issue, which threatens to transform open societies into control states. In the wake of extensive surveillance revelations by powerful governments, the Autonomy Cube project rekindles the utopian ideals from the early Internet era. The book includes two newly commissioned essays that critically examine the project from various angles: art historian Dr. Luke Skrebowski contextualizes it within institutional critique, while architect Keller Easterling explores its political implications.