Peter Hilfiker

About

Peter Hilfiker is a leading scholar at the intersection of performance studies, digital culture, and human-machine interaction. His research explores the evolving relationships between humans and artificial beings—including avatars, puppets, and robots—probing how we mirror ourselves in these entities and use them to perform trial identities. Hilfiker’s most cited work, *Actor & Avatar* (2023), which has garnered 2 citations, offers a groundbreaking interdisciplinary examination of what it means to play, perform, and co-exist with artificial others. By bridging artistic practice and scholarly inquiry, he illuminates how these encounters reshape our understanding of identity, embodiment, and social connection in an increasingly mediated world. His contributions have been recognized for their originality in framing the puppet and the avatar as kindred figures in a continuum of performance, challenging traditional boundaries between the human and the non-human. Hilfiker’s work is essential reading for researchers in performance studies, new media, and robotics, offering a compelling lens through which to understand the profound implications of our growing intimacy with artificial beings.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Actor & Avatar

   2 citations · 2023

Key Collaborators

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