On 28 September 2025, Steward.exe released blockroots.tar, the first of a series of tracks and albums. Born from the meeting between Italian composer Luca Severino and Jonathan Hankins, Steward.exe aims to be a synthesis of sound research and ethical reflection in the age of artificial intelligence. The project emerged in 2025 as a natural evolution of their multidisciplinary collaboration under the aegis of the Giannino Bassetti Foundation.

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Steward.exe debuted at the N.I.N.A. Festival in Milan in 2025 with a performance that integrates AI-generated compositions, live acoustic elements, and features performance artist Lisa Mos as a dancing robot. Further shows followed in addition to live DJ sets in club settings. The project goes beyond simple technological experimentation to become an artistic manifesto on the creative and ethical dilemmas of the digital age. Through the fusion of generative algorithms and human sensitivity, Steward.exe questions the future of art and redefines the boundaries between creator and creation, positioning itself as a pioneer of a new form of poiesis-intensive, philosophically informed electronic music. The duo continues to develop the concept through songs, articles, performances, and dialogues, establishing Steward.exe as a benchmark for responsible innovation in the contemporary electronic music scene.

About the Artists

Luca Severino brings over a decade of experience in the international club scene to the project, with releases on prestigious labels such as Defected and Snatch!. His transition to media composition has seen him contribute to Netflix productions such as Emily in Paris and RAI productions, his most recent soundtracks including De Occulta Imagine by Stefano P. Testa and René Va Alla Guerra, the latter of which won an award at the 81st Venice Biennale. With numerous albums of music for images through international publishers, Severino has established himself as a sound architect capable of blending strong melodic elements, electronics, and innovative sound design.

Alongside drums and percussion, Jonathan Hankins contributes his theoretical expertise in responsible innovation, developed through his work at the Bassetti Foundation in their concept of Poiesis Intensive innovation and crystallized in his book Responsible Innovation, a Narrative Approach (2021). As scientific correspondent for the Bassetti Foundation and co-editor of the International Handbook on Responsible Innovation (2019), Hankins has dedicated his academic career to exploring the ethical and social implications of innovation, most recently through performance. Before becoming an academic, Jonathan was a drummer and performer and has several post-punk albums and a BBC Peel Session under his belt, a passion that continues to this day.