Posts by emenel@post.lurk.org
(DIR) Post #AV0gDXm7NJk9Rlfbiy by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-04-25T12:10:45Z
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@tante @festal @tb @CyberneticForests this has become a bit of a cliche reference, excuse me if it seems obvious :) … Byung-Chul Han’s Psychopolitics does a good job of pulling together a number of threads from critical theory and saying basically this… as does Jane Bennett’s The Enchantment of Modern Life. Both books I reference a lot when thinking/writing/talking about so-called ‘ai’
(DIR) Post #AV1StpsXFicnYXu6RE by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-04-25T19:43:36Z
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a thought: so-called 'ai' is another step towards the complete devaluation of the act of making culture in favour of consuming it.It seems to me that a big part of what these generative systems do is continue to push the economic value of creating towards zero, while increasing the value of consuming. It aims to optimize out of existence the process of creating writing, images, music, etc to the point where all creative acts are commodified and consumption is the primary mode of interaction in order to make something. This isn't new, but it certainly expands and intensifies this aspect of neoliberal society to an extreme.It stems from a worldview that only values the output of creation as a consumable economic object. It intensely devalues the importance of what we learn about ourselves, each other and the world while making things; of what we express about our inner worlds through making things and how we connect with each other through those expressions. Art is amazing because it is a peek into somebody else's thinking, ideas, and values. Making art is amazing because if forces us to confront our values and ideas while trying to make them tangible. Corporate controlled generative algorithms are a shortcut to consumable 'products' without all the trouble of meaning-making or human connection.
(DIR) Post #AWgVATOMXyM6b3Wkwi by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-06-14T14:01:38Z
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Any recommendations for a relatively inexpensive co2 laser? I’m looking at the usual suspects — gweike, omtech polar, etc.
(DIR) Post #AafN0ZLgH3eYKMnd2G by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-10-11T16:35:43Z
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I'm all for critical studies/academic/critical theory about emerging so-called 'ai' ... but it feels like we could easily end up where we are with so many other issues facing humanity--a deep and correct body of literature that does nothing to actually change the impact of these technologies on people and the environment. We need to study, we need to write and talk, we need to build theory and critique. But this isn't enough and isn't the same as action. I have the same sinking feeling that I have when reading Fisher or Bennett or Illich or Weizenbaum or Berlant or Klein or (...) ... They are amazing at describing the systemic problems we face in our current culture/era/place, but it didn't stop things from continuing to get worse--more abusive, more oppressive, and more embedded.
(DIR) Post #AafScM24jPKNnqSwfg by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-10-11T17:42:07Z
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@entreprecariat of an author? no, not really. which is sort of my point. writing and thinking and talking are crucial. but not enough.
(DIR) Post #AafStfbHES2lPkBi0e by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-10-11T17:45:16Z
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@entreprecariat of an author? no, not really. which is sort of my point. writing and thinking and talking are crucial. but not enough. the writing and critiquing can (and does) inform action, but isn't necessarily direct action in itself. which is why it is so important but not enough to stop there, or to see the proliferation of critical writing as a indication of action. we need both.
(DIR) Post #AbfRpRQEEFpzv6CEoC by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-11-10T15:14:45Z
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Yes. Thanks @tante for bringing the conversation back this this point. https://tante.cc/2023/11/10/thoughts-on-generative-ai-art/"When I was a kid / teenager I wanted to play the guitar. Like many people that age. Got myself a guitar and everything but never really practiced at all in any meaningful way. I didn’t so much want to play the guitar but I wanted the reward I associated with the output, the cultural and social capital. In simpler words I wanted to be liked and thought that being able to do a cool thing (like playing the guitar) would get me there....for the longest time I kept coming back to who these [AI] systems were for. Why they existed and why they were – in their hollowness – embraced this fiercely. But the longer I think about it there is only one reasoning: “AI image generators” are a phenomenon of late stage capitalism.Like me when I was a teenager people using these systems don’t care about the product, the process of creation or the thought that went into it, they care about the output and what they feel that that output gives them. Now everyone can be an artist without taking the time to practice and try things and fail. You just are an artist with a few dollars worth of cloud processing credits. It’s “idea guy” heaven."
(DIR) Post #Ac10ovpqV7h6J4HjCC by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-11-21T01:06:13Z
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@Wolven feels very related to your recent posts about “ai” and consent. Anyone who understands and believes in the agency, autonomy, and informed consent could never lead a company like this. It’s professionalized edge-lord-ism as a service.
(DIR) Post #Ad0toPNrT1iPUlcCZM by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-12-20T21:39:54Z
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@killyourfm yes! I also stopped asking this question and instead try to ask something more like “what’s interesting you these days?” Or something like that.
(DIR) Post #Ad4phnHpN3VFlMaJCi by emenel@post.lurk.org
2023-12-22T16:38:38Z
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“Real AI isn't sci-fi but the precaritisation of jobs, the continued privatisation of everything and the erasure of actual social relations. AI is Thatcherism in computational form. Like Thatcher herself, real world AI boosts bureaucratic cruelty towards the most vulnerable.”Thank you @danmcquillan I’ll add that so-called “ai” is also a form of, and accelerator, of austerity practice and mindset overall. Automation and austerity go hand-in-hand, and this is a massive push for automation of things that had been thought as un-automatable.
(DIR) Post #AhSF6fwbNqeYqhh46a by emenel@post.lurk.org
2024-05-01T17:36:53Z
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Applying to university/college for the fall? Withhold or defer until the institution divests from genocide and arms. Students are both the customer and product of the institution. Deprive them of you.
(DIR) Post #AjzwVhwzFSVGDkLmLI by emenel@post.lurk.org
2024-07-16T19:40:10Z
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@futurebird @lzg this is my new fave definition of contemporary capitalism and technocentrism.
(DIR) Post #AsaMwA2UlJt5M4O6QS by emenel@post.lurk.org
2025-03-28T22:54:28Z
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It should be totally normal for well made software to not need updates. Ever.
(DIR) Post #AscvqEYSwglmKnAeRM by emenel@post.lurk.org
2025-03-31T14:46:21Z
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https://girlslivingoutsidesocietysshit.bandcamp.com/track/trans-day-of-revenge
(DIR) Post #Ax472aKIKDeY71nwC8 by emenel@post.lurk.org
2025-08-11T04:37:03Z
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@thgie @w0bb1t @asrg maybe it's time to add something like anubis to our instanace servers .... @lurk ?https://anubis.techaro.lol/
(DIR) Post #B15P99F6iV9hCsvXXc by emenel@post.lurk.org
2025-12-09T20:52:33Z
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Stop only citing Christopher Alexander challenge
(DIR) Post #B1MCxN09q8YMdps2SG by emenel@post.lurk.org
2025-12-18T01:13:29Z
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@foone amazing! @mralancooper might be interested in seeing this :)
(DIR) Post #B1t9MplQJpNJxCIWxc by emenel@post.lurk.org
2026-01-02T22:39:04Z
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@futurebird @rep_movsd @GossiTheDog there is verified csam in some of the largest image datasets. This was just in the media, for example— https://www.404media.co/massive-ai-dataset-back-online-after-being-cleaned-of-child-sexual-abuse-material/
(DIR) Post #B1tEaiZMMeVJSu5wbA by emenel@post.lurk.org
2026-01-02T23:09:05Z
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convenience is always a trap when the only thing it makes more convenient is consumption.
(DIR) Post #B1tlIYeRnUlLypQHfk by emenel@post.lurk.org
2026-01-02T23:08:14Z
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If you’re ditching spotify in 2026 (yay!), consider no streaming at all. Build a music collection of things you love and are meaningful to you. Share it with friends by listening together (get speakers!). Make playlists instead of being told what to listen to by a corporate algorithm.