Sound, Technology and Consciousness

Name: Sound, Technology and Consciousness
Start: 2026-10-22
End: 2026-10-22
Location: Embassy of the Free Mind

Museum of Consciousness, 2026.

Black-and-white abstract graphic of the letter "i".

Perspectives from the Museum of Consciousness

The session opens with sound transmissions from the Museum of Consciousness, followed by a talk by Carl Hayden Smith exploring how sound can transform perception, attention and our experience of reality.

How does sound shape consciousness, and how might emerging technologies extend our capacity to listen, feel and perceive? Drawing on immersive artistic practice, psychoacoustics and archaeoacoustics, Smith explores the relationship between sound, embodiment, memory and altered states of consciousness.

Moving between ancient acoustic traditions, contemporary technologies and scientific enquiry, the session examines the therapeutic potential of sound and asks a fundamental question: Can extraordinary listening experiences produce lasting changes in how we perceive, feel and act?

About the Speaker

Carl Hayden Smith is Associate Professor of Media at the University of East London and founder of the Museum of Consciousness, established at New College, Oxford. His work brings together artistic practice, embodied cognition, and emerging technologies to investigate how we shape, and are shaped by, our experiences. Through the Museum, he collaborates with artists and musicians to explore sound as a medium for shifting attention, perception, and consciousness. His research asks how altered states might become enduring capacities through practice and integration. He is also co-founder of the Centre for Human Agency and the Cyberdelic Nexus and originator of hyperhumanism, an approach that examines how technology can support the cultivation of innate human abilities.

Format

Talk | Q&A | Reception Drinks

Date & Time

Thursday, October 22 from 17.30 - 19.30

Language

The event will be conducted in English.

Price & Admission

€35 - In person ticket

In Partnership with

Buy Tickets

Getting There

Address

House with the Heads
Keizersgracht 123, 1015 CJ Amsterdam

Public Transport

A fifteen-minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station. Prefer public transport? Take trams 13 or 17, or bus 170, 172, or 174 to the Westermarkt stop. From there, walk back a short distance, turn left onto Keizersgracht, and you will find us on your right after 300 meters.

Bike

Amsterdam is best explored on two wheels, and the EFM is no exception. Ample bike parking is available along the Keizersgracht.

Car

Parking in the area is paid (~ €8,05 per hour), and spaces can be difficult to find. The nearest parking garages are Q-park Nieuwendijk at Nieuwezijds Kolk 18 (650 meters), Q-park Bijenkorf at Beursstraat 15 (950 meters), and Q-park Europarking at Marnixstraat 250 (1,300 meters). You can also park at a P+R location and travel into the centre by public transport.

Upcoming Events

From immersive cultural experiences to distinguished academic gatherings, the Embassy of the Free Mind offers a diverse agenda open to all curious minds.