Technobiographical adaptation: living for chess in <i>Rematch</i>

Abstract Building on contemporary research into biographical adaptation on screen, this article broadens the discussion to include the concept of technobiographical adaptation. In the era of generative AI, emerging forms of human–machine interaction enable a reimagining of shared human–machine lives in intellectual and artistic domains. Using the 2024 miniseries Rematch as a case study, the article examines the transformations in technobiographical adaptations within the context of socio-technological changes. Rematch depicts the lives of former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue, focusing on their 1997 rematch. Organized around three key areas—human, machine, and chess—the miniseries is analysed in parallel with the structure of a chess game (opening, middle game, endgame). The conclusion underscores three significant aspects of technobiographical adaptation in Rematch, with implications for future adaptations centred on generative AI: the genre-based (science fiction) influence on narrative structure and character development, the impact of the domain of interaction (e.g., chess) on the portrayal of human–machine relationships, and the connection between the (non)definitiveness of an era and the lives of humans and machines, both of which are critically evaluated in technobiographical adaptations.