Anatomy of an AI System
anatomyof.ai
Anatomy of an AI System - The Amazon Echo as an anatomical map of human labor, data and planetary resources. By Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler (2018)

While this kind of thing isn’t quite ‘theory’, it definitely has some elements of theory within it, but it also uses very grandiose writing and mythological references. This one seems to be created as a museum exhibit with some connection to Mozilla.

Is there a name for this type of essay or a way I could find more like it? This sort of thing is very fun to read even if it’s not serious theory. The subject matter is more or less unimportant to me.

  • Parsani [love/loves, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    5 months ago

    I know like two other people who have read it. Its a book with a small intended audience.

    When I read it I would explain it to my partner and they would look at me like I was losing my mind lmao.

    Have you ever found anything like it? I feel like anyone trying to emulate it would fall flat because it was compelling partly because it was pretty novel at the time. The only thing close for me is just reading a thousand plateaus, which has a similar unhinged quality lol

    • PM_ME_YOUR_FOUCAULTS [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      5 months ago

      Have you ever found anything like it?

      Honestly, no. I love stuff that is completely sui generis like that.

      I feel like anyone trying to emulate it would fall flat

      I agree about emulation. It is also emerges out of the moment where Deleuze and Guattari-influenced Accelerationist theory was all the rage, and that was the context that I read it in. No idea what someone picking it up now would make of it

      • Parsani [love/loves, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        3·
        5 months ago

        I agree about emulation. It is also emerges out of the moment where Deleuze and Guattari-influenced Accelerationist theory was all the rage, and that was the context that I read it in.

        I read it much later than that, but I first came across a quote of it in an essay a bit over a decade ago and never forgot it. The book is quite poetic. Anyone not familiar with the CCRU (particularly Land) stuff and D&G would definitely struggle a bit because he freely uses that kind of terminology, but I feel like the writing is compelling enough that someone could still enjoy it without.