Internet Artifacts, Dangerous Pills and AI Wizards
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things I found
The Wizard of AI
Alan Warburton made this very interesting video essay about the cultural impacts of generative AI. Using creative workflows unthinkable before October 2023, he takes us on a colourful journey behind the curtain of AI – through Oz, pink slime, Kanye’s ‘Futch’ and a deep sea dredge – to explain and critique the legal, aesthetic and ethical problems engendered by automated platforms.
Alan also made some other memorable video essays in the past, like Goodbye Uncanny Valley (2017), Fairytales of Motion (2019) and Spectacle, Speculation, Spam (2016).
2. Connections
I just discovered my new (old) favourite documentary series. It is titled Connections and it was aired by the BBC in 1978 an 1979. The series was written, and presented by British science historian James Burke. “It took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention, and demonstrated how various discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events were built from one another successively in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of modern technology.”
And to my immense surprise and delight, I also read that the series is coming back, 45 years later, with a brand new season.
3. The Library of Babel in VRChat
A programmer named Mahu recreated the layout of the Library of Babel, as described by Jorge Luis Borges as an infinite home for every possible book, in the virtual reality platform VRChat.
“The Library does things that are only possible in virtual reality,” explains Mahu. “It contradicts the laws of euclidean coordinate systems, allowing you to seamlessly traverse what I call fractal space. So in a way my take on the library is perhaps more infinite than Borges’ had imagined.”
4. Something in the suburbs
Fantastic AI assisted video by David Chance Fragale. Music by Warinhari.
“Things had gotten a little strange in the suburbs. If you had a camera you could even try to keep track of them.”
[thanks Claudio for the tip]
5. Internet Artifacts
Neal Agarwal is back with a new entry for his collection of entertaining tiny websites. Internet Artifacts is a virtual museum of artifacts from early Internet history. Funny, educational and immensely nostalgic.
6. Literally No Place
Hello baby dolls, it’s the final boss of vocal fry here. Daniel Felstead’s glossy Julia Fox avatar is back. Last time she took on Zuckerberg’s Metaverse. Now she takes us on a journey into the AI utopian versus AI doomer cyberwarfare bedlam, exploring the stakes, fears, and hopes of all sides. Will AI bring about the post-scarcity society that Marx envisioned, allowing us all to live in labor-less luxury, or will it quite literally extinguish the human race?
Literally No Place, brand new video(art) essay by Daniel Felstead & Jenn Leung.
7. This is serious we could make you delirious
A lovely PSA commercial for kids about the dangers of pills. Produced in the 1980’s by the Poison Control Center. The song is titled “We’re Not Candy!”
We could make you delirious (delirious).
You should have a healthy fear of us (fear of us).
Too much of us is dangerous (no no no no).
Doctors tell the pharmacies (pharmacies)
Types of pills that you will need (you will need).
And they know the harm that we can be (we can be)
If we’re not taken carefully (no no no no).
We’re not candy (believe us!)
Even though we look so fine and dandy.
When you’re sick we come in handy, but
We’re not candy… ohhh, no.
things I did recently
BOOK PRESENTATIONS (September/December) - I had the pleasure of presenting Exit Reality at NERO Editions in Rome with Andrea Natella, at Modo Infoshop with Fabiola Naldi, at Libreria L’Ornitorinco in Firenze with Francesco d’Isa, at COX18 with Giada Arena (AUDIO AVILABLE), at ESC in Rome with Valerio Mattioli (VIDEO AVAILABLE), at NABA in Rome, with Priscilla De Pace, and at Memissima Festival, in Turin with Mariano Tomatis.
Here is some press about the book, including a few interviews:
Linus, 01/10/2023 - REVIEW
Heavy Meta, 7/10/2023 - AUDIO INTERVIEW
Film Tv, 8/10/2023 - REVIEW
Il Tascabile, 10/10/2023 - REVIEW
Il Foglio, 12/10/2023 - REVIEW
Esquire, 14/10/2023 - REVIEW
Doppiozero, 16/10/2023 - REVIEW
L’Indiscreto (Classifica di Qualità – 9° posto categoria saggistica), 16/10/2023
Wired, 20/10/2023 - INTERVIEW
Corriere della Sera | Login, 30/10/2023 – PDF - INTERVIEW
Domani, 30/10/2023 - REVIEW
Link Idee per la TV, 2/11/2023 - INTERVIEW
Linkiesta, 16/11/2023 - INTERVIEW
Altri Animali, 22/11/2023 - REVIEW
Pulp Magazine, 23/11/2023 - REVIEW
Quants Magazine, 24/11/2023 - INTERVIEW
Repubblica Torino, 27/11/2023 - INTERVIEW
Also, MEMESTETICA IS OUT IN SPANISH! published by Turner Libros.
upcoming…
December 9th 2023 - Exit Reality book presentation at Più libri, più liberi, Roma
Early 2024 - Memestetica comes out in ENGLISH! More info very soon
new entries on my bookshelf
Vladan Joler, Black Box Cartography. A critical cartography of the Internet and beyond, 2023
Immersion: Les origines 1949-1969, Exhibition Catalogue, 2023
Matteo Grilli, Muori Romantica, 2023
Cormac McCarthy, Stella Maris, 2023
Erik Davies, Techgnosis, 2023
Jenny He, Tim Burton (a cura di), The World of Tim Burton, 2023
the great wall of memes updates
The Great Wall of Memes is a research project in the form of a visual archive. I started it in 2012 and it’s the place where I collect images and memes that feel relevant. Click here to see the latest uploads.
That’s all for now! Feel free to send me an email or leave a comment.