To Be A Machine
Lecture Diary
This week’s session moved beyond the software of the previous week to interrogate the physical “afterlife” of technology, focusing on Garnet Hertz and Jussi Parikka’s concept of “Zombie Media.” I was interested in the argument that media never truly dies but instead “decays, rots, reforms, remixes, and gets historicised”, which challenges the tech industry’s narrative of linear progress and inevitable obsolescence.
Applying this to my “Victorian Smart Bike” project, I plan to treat the bicycle not just as a historical artifact, but as a “zombie” medium, perhaps a dead (or dying) technology resurrected to critique the “black box” nature of modern algorithms. I might design the “Quantum Routing Consciousness” to have a transparent chassis, physically exposing the mechanical “decision-making” gears to the rider. Moving forward, I intend to investigate the history of “planned obsolescence” to better design the “Wonder Credits” economy of my 2085 world.
Image: First iteration of my project cover for this module.
Some of my favourite memes:
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