AI and its discontents
Hello!
First, we want to send infinite love and rockets to everyone who knew and loved Jess Search. Jess, one of the co-founders of Doc Society, died at the end of July but her invitation “to triple down and build rocket boosters for our shared work together” stays with us here at Immerse. Thank you for everything Jess.
To climb these coming crests
one word to you, to
you and your children:
stay together
learn the flowers
go light
Like many of you, we have been digging into some of the recent debates around artificial intelligence. It is frankly exhausting to wade through so much of the hype and hyperbole but we have also been delighted to read about the vital work people are doing in this space around ethical and trustworthy AI, bias, Silicon Valley hubris, and the limits of technology. We have been looking at the work of people like: Timnit Gebru and the Distributed AI Research Institute; Margaret Mitchell; Sam Gregory, Shirin Anlen and others at WITNESS; Emily Bender; Meredith Whittaker; Meredith Broussard; Safiya Noble; and Joy Buolamwini. And yes, we realize it is a tad ironic to talk about the hubris of Silicon Valley while still linking to Twitt…, urgh X. In a future newsletter we will talk about what Twitter meant as a public sphere and what will, or could, replace it.
Here are some articles on AI we found interesting:
These women tried to warn us about AI. “There are a few things they all want us to know: AI is not magic. LLMs are not sentient beings, and they won't become sentient. And the problems with these technologies aren't abstractions — they're here now and we need to take them seriously today.”
If you haven’t already seen the Primer on AI in/from the Majority World then this is an excellent resource from Data & Society. It was published last year but is full of fantastic links and frameworks that are perenially necessary.
AI often mangles African languages. Local scientists and volunteers are taking it back to school.
A relevant 2022 artice on the exploited labor behind artificial intelligence.
The new A.I. systems pretend to converse with us. But who’s writing the script?
Shirin Anlen and Katerina Cizek on the thorny art of deepfake labeling.
Paris Marx thinks generative AI closes off a better future. You may also be interested in Marx’s Tech Won’t Save Us interview with Molly Crabapple on why AI is a threat to artists.
A new app that creates brief episodes of South Park from a single prompt highlights the promise and peril of injecting generative AI into creative franchises.
What happens to Salma Hayek in Black Mirror might seem ridiculous - but the way celebrities handle their AI rights could affect us all.
An editorial from the Oberserver in the UK about how Hollywood’s strikes show that we can’t trust corporations with AI. Pair this with this review of Power and Progress, a new book looking at the political economy of technology.
Effective regulation of AI needs grounded science that investigates real harms, not glorified press releases about existential risks
Why we should all be rooting for boring AI.
What we’re reading and watching
The end of the Googleverse. For two decades, Google Search was the invisible force that determined the ebb and flow of online content. Now, for the first time, its cultural relevance is in question. Also, does anyone else remember Altavisa?
What are the best examples of museums using VR?
So where are we all supposed to go now? It’s the end of a social era on the web.
Chao Tayiana set out to retell colonial narratives – using digital technology to bring lost and suppressed stories to light.
“Transformational Experiences” are the new buzzword, but are you making change or just selling It? No Proscenium’s Noah Nelson on how any experience can change you and that’s not always a good thing.
Podcast: The co-founder of The VOID, Curtis Hickman, on his new book Hyper-Reality: The Art of Designing Impossible Experiences.
Neal Stephenson isn’t giving up on the metaverse, or crypto.
Casey Reas and art after the crypto crash.
Projects we’re eyeballing
TOGUNA WORLD and the Sanctuary of Dreams, a digital mixed-media art installation from Pierre-Christophe Gam, launches September 7.
The collective Looty in London virtually reclaims items from Western museums to give people from former colonies a chance to learn about their stolen heritage.
The Ecological Intelligence Agency, created by Superflux, is an autonomous inter-departmental government agency that encompasses an assemblage of localised AI models all of which advocate for ecological flourishing. Say that fast five times!
Fish doorbells! Historic sandwiches! 50 of the weirdest, most wonderful corners of the web. We’re putting this in the project section because so many of these are projects in their own right and there are some real gems here.
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats. What it’s like to attend a rave – in virtual reality.
South African artists Francois Knoetze, Amy Louise Wilson, and Russel Hlongwane have created DZATA: The Institute of Technological Consciousness, a film that reimagines Africa’s technological history.
Immerse receives funding from the MacArthur Foundation. Learn more about what’s currently happening with Immerse here.
Editorial Collective: Jessica Clark (Dot Connector Studio), Ingrid Kopp (Electric South), Sarah Wolozin (MIT Open DocLab)