Meet the Bot Makers

Abstract

The Victoria and Albert Museum is tucked away in London's South Kensington district, nestled between the glittery lights of Harrods and Knightsbridge on one side and the solemn edifice of the Royal Albert Hall on the other. The area between the museum and the Royal Albert Hall makes up the Albertopolis, an area brought to life in the mid-nineteenth century by a huge wave of investment from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, following a hugely successful public exhibition (called, imaginatively, the Great Exhibition) that was held in nearby Hyde Park. The profits from the Great Exhibition were set aside for huge investment into this area of London that is now bustling with landmarks, such as the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Albert Hall and Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Colleges of Art and Music, Imperial College, and more. All the museums in Albertopolis are free to enter, and the Royal Albert Hall runs countless free or inexpensive events, while Imperial College runs an annual science festival to showcase their research for the public. This is a part of London where art and technology collide with the public in the nicest of ways, so where better to meet and talk about Twitterbots? In April 2016 the Bot Summit, an annual day of talks and thinking about bots, came to Europe for the first time, hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum. 1 The event attracted bot makers from all over the United Kingdom and many from overseas, thanks to a fundraising effort by the bot community to bring speakers from abroad. Any who couldn't make it in person were able to tune in to a live stream, which you can still find and watch online. Its organizer, bot builder Darius Kazemi, was there in person to coordinate the day, at the center of a melting pot for culture and science.