lettre no. 46

Was Clippy the omen in our interface?

“Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring.” These words by Simone Weil could almost describe narratives told on artificial intelligence (AI). After her note on evil, the French philosopher adds: “Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.” 

Comparisons between manufactured and authentic evils and goodnesses help us to cut through the AI hype. We’ve been philosophising on technical invention for centuries, of course, but the current rhetoric of technology has turned the volume up. Voices increasingly sought out are now those who shake the status quo, indicative of a deep search for multidimensional perspectives. 

In support of such quests, author David Gerard and I recently discussed the psychosocial impacts of AI on those who don’t always get to hold the microphone. To unravel the current situation at grassroots level and to interrogate the omen of animated paper clips. 

lettre no. 45

Image courtesy Beeld & Geluid

Words by Cornelia Sollfrank. Translated by Valentine A. Pakis. From The Beautiful Warriors via transversal texts.

A code of conduct can thus be seen as a sort of invitation for diversity. The area of free software is closely attuned to the power and influence of language; codes and programs, after all, are nothing but behavioral instructions, and the step of reflecting and drafting a code for one’s own behavior can of course be taken in many other areas of life as well. Especially in the case of temporary events and short-term projects, there is much need for self-reflection and for the establishment of consistent codes of conduct in order to foster safe and inviting conditions. The potential of these types of guidelines is thus far from exhausted.

lettre no. 43

A word devoid of thought is a dead thing , and a thought unembodied in words remains a shadow.

— Lev Vygotsky

Artwork by © Nuno Leal

lettre no. 41

If a person experiences boredom while walking and has no tolerance for this state, he will move restlessly in fits and starts or go this way and that.

However, someone with greater tolerance for boredom will recognize, after a while, that walking as such is what bores him. Consequently, he will be impelled to find a kind of movement that is entirely different. Running, or racing, does not yield a new gait. It is just accelerated walking. Dancing or gliding, however, represent entirely new forms of motion. Only human beings can dance. It may be that boredom seized him while walking, so that after—and through—this “attack” he would make the step from walking to dancing. Compared with linear walking, straight ahead, the convoluted movement of dancing represents a luxury; it escapes the achievement-principle entirely.

Words by Byung-Chul Han, taken from The Burnout Society (2010). Image: American model Renée Gunter modeling Haute Couture clothing on a fashion runway circa 1970s. Source.

lettre no. 40

“Laws were made by men, and men made mistakes.”

― Joan D. Vinge

Video source: The Big Byte 1994 Episode 9 Vintage Computer TV Show. Original air date on SBS TV Australia: Thursday, 19th May 1994

lettre no. 38

Artwork courtesy of fashgif

Our anti-destiny is the media universe. I don't see how to make this mental leap which would make it possible to reach the fractal or fatal zones where things would really be happening. Collectively, we are behind the radio-active screen of information. It is no more possible to go behind that curtain than it is to leap over your own shadow.

— Jean Baudrillard

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Text source: Lotringer, Sylvere, and Jean Baudrillard. “Forgetting Baudrillard.” Social Text, no. 15, 1986, pp. 140–44. via JSTOR

lettre no. 36

They say 21 million hula hoops were sold in 2023. That's a lot of hula-ing of hoops, by any standard. But you don't have to have hula hooped recently, or ever, to gain from today's tech lesson. You just have to trust me when I tell you: hula hoops help us think about AI.

Defined as a large hoop spun round the body by gyrating the hips—for play or exercise—the hula hoop requires you to combine concentration and coordination in equal measure. One does not simply hula hoop on a whim, it's an activity done with care and intention. That’s why we should think about the hula hoop—and hooping the hula—when we employ AI.

Video: Studio Lernert & Sander X COS

lettre no. 34

You are untranslatable

Abused, praised,

Your voice is wild and simple.

You—are untranslatable

Into any one tongue.

You will pass into oblivion

Like people entering a temple.

I bless

You for this.

— Anna Akhmatova (1963)

Text source: Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova, translated by Judith Hemschemeyer and edited by Roberta Reeder. Image source: CANCER Anna Akhmatova astrology profile by Stellar Unfolding.

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From the sun I learned this:

…when he goes down, over-rich; he pours gold into the sea out of inexhaustible riches, so that even the poorest fisherman still rows with golden oars. For this I once saw and did not tire of my tears as I watched it.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

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lettre no. 32

“Starting from an analysis of "body-politics,' feminists have not only revolutionized the contemporary philosophical and political discourse, but they have also begun to re-valorize the body. This has been a necessary step both to counter the negativity attached to the identification of femininity with corporeality, and co create a more holistic vision of what it means to be a human being.”

— Silvia Federici | Caliban and the Witch (2004)

Footage: Silvia Federici addressing Occupuy Wall Street (OWS) Making Worlds Conference, February 2012, Hofstra University. Courtesy of School of Commoning.

lettre no. 30

The Internet Was 84.5% Male and 82.3% White Until Now by © Guerrilla Girls via Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts / JSTOR

lettre no. 29

Colour chart by Emily Noyes Vanderpoel. Via Color problems (1903)

Colour chart by Emily Noyes Vanderpoel. Via Color problems (1903)

One of things I'm thinking about lately: what it means to be creative is up for debate.

AI tooling has changed the game for all of us. Many things that used to take a long time are now shockingly simple, and fast too. At the same time, many people are asking — from both a philosophical and practical standpoint: how can we support and preserve what’s unique and special about the human creative process?

Right now, the tech industry is focused on productivity, efficiency, and optimization at all costs. I get it. As someone who is building a startup, where we need to squeeze the most we can out of our limited resources to survive and thrive, we also want to build as fast as possible...

But something is getting lost in the mix: protecting space for the inefficiencies of human creativity. The random walk that gets you to something incredible. The unexpected connections and observations that bring you to a new destination. The joy of discovery — and the awe of your own participation in it — that keeps you connected to the work.

I still think that’s how you build craft, how you solve hard problems, and how you stay engaged and motivated in your work and your purpose. For me, it impacts both the outcome, and the story you tell yourself about it.

It's all pretty "meta" for me, because at my company Focused Space we are quite literally building a platform to help people protect space for deep work, make progress on what matters most, and have fun doing it (in community with other humans, not AI).

I'm interested in seeing how human creativity evolves. I think we need to protect, nurture, defend, and value the unquantifiable aspects of creation — no matter what new tools rise to prominence in the years to come.

Words by Alexis Hope | Head of Product at Focused Space

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