MAGA

ZINE FOR
ART CULTURE
AND INNOVATION

Deutschland 4.50, Spanien, Portugal 5.00, Luxemburg 4.90, Schweitz 6.00

BEYOND HUMANITY
Die transhumanistische Bewegung
Juni \ 2015

1
issue nr
 \003\ Editorial\\DISclosed\

EDITORS NOTE
B ehind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in
Bo okmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is axx paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mout h. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a small line
of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do
so, bec ause there were thousands of bad Commas. wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didnt
listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills of
the Italica Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Village
and the subline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued her way. On
her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand
times and everything that was left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind Text should turn around and return
to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didnt take long until a few insidious Copy Writers
ambushed herst made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects
again and againn And if she hasnt been rewritten, then they are still using her. Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from
the countries Voka ia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large anguage ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It
is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts i t is an almost unorthographic life One day
however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little
Blind Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of
Alphabet Village and the sutline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she Tex t should turn around and return to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince
her and so it didnt take longt a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged
her into their agency, where th ey abused her for their projects again and again. And if she hasnt been rewritten, then they are
still using her.Far far away, behin d the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts.
Separated they live in Bookmarks grove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden
flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It iwild Question Marks and devious.

Niklas Ostwald
Editor in Chief

032 OUT OF THE
BLUE FASHION
Im blue dabedy this list thaneglect my talents. I
should be incapable of drawing a single stroke
at the present moment; and yet I feel that I
never was a greater artist than now. I should
be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the
present moment; and yet I feel that
\DISclosed\\ Content\\004\
015 THE TRANS
HUMANISTIC
EVOLUTION
032 INTO THE CLOUDS
DOCUMENTARY
With Sundance hosting 13 Virtual Reality (VR)
experiences under its New Frontiers umbrella
at the start of the year and Tribeca Film Festi-
val showcasing projects like The Enemy in their
Storyscapes line-up, we turn to a project that
has been among the first to experiment with the
use of Oculus Rift in a documentary context.
A new generation of trans-
humanists is emerging. You
can feel it in handshakes
at transhumanist meet-ups.
You can see it when check-
ing in to transhumanist
groups in social media. You
can read it in the hundreds
of transhumanist-themed
blogs. This is not the same
bunch of older dudes.
032 PC MUSICS
TWISTED POP
Hey Qt Yeah even though this list thaneglect
my talents. I should be incapable of drawing
a single stroke at the present moment; and
yet I feel that I never was a greater artist
than now. I should be incapable of drawing
a single stroke at the present moment; and
yet I feel that stroke
\DISclosed\\005\
CONTENT \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
USUALS
003 \ DISclosed: Editorial
006 \ Snapshot: Of the Month
And at some point, we
082 \ Quick Glance: Next Months Issue
wont see a difference be
MUSIC tween matter, energy,
034 \ Lower Dens: Jana Hunter talks about Nootropics
025 \ PC Music: A Handy Guide to the mysterious Label
judgment, and ourselves.
THOUGTS \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
054 \ Zoltjan Istvan: Transhumanism and Politics
032 \ Column: Why are we Meat? Do we have to be? 032 ZOLTAN ISTVAN
008 \ Beyond Humanity: The Transhumanistic Evolution
012 \ Column: How to tell if Robots a Robot
CLOTHING
032 SPECIAL
042 \ Fashionshooting: Out of the Dark
032 \ Column: Why Tech still isnt Trendy TRANSHUMANISTIC
110 \ Projekt Jackard: Googles Clothin Line
HISTORY OF FILM
ART From Frankenstein to Robocop this list that I neglect my talents. I should
044 \ Additivism: The Rise of the 3d Printer be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I
052 \ Art Spotlight: This Months upcomming Talents feel that I never was a greater artist than now.
112 \ Jonathan Meese: That crazy guy
073 \ H R Giger: The dark transhuman Pioneer
098 \ Rich Parents: How else are you getting money
104 \ Futurism: Not the one you are thinking
022 \ Daniel Arsham: Archeologist from the Future
069 \ Leo Contraire: Enigmatic Frenchman
GAMES
087 \ Column: Why Videogames cant teach Empathy
048 \ Second Life: More like no Life amirite
FILM
067 \ Clouds: Interview with VR Documentarists Minar
112 \ Transcendence: Not really that good though
080 \ Timeline: Transhumanistic Film throughout History
THINGS
114\ Gadgets: How to augment your Body for erveryone
102 \ VR-Tech: Is it even ready yet? It aint
Events
043 \ London Arts Fair: New Media and Colours
070 \ Coachella: Bro its awesome you need to go
105 \ Vernisage: Exclusive Exhibition at my Home
\006\\ Photo of the Month\\DISclosed\

\ artist: yun cheng lin\ facebook.com/3cm\

Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large
language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts.
Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large
language ocean.
 knowledge that youre watching the doc-
umentation of a performance, versus the
primary thing itself.
SG: Why do you call it a generative doc-
umentary? When I experienced it I had
the feeling that I was browsing a 3D en-
tion again and again, it would be slightly
different. You can only really apprehend
that by going back and trying again and
playing with it in some ways. The system
is designed to edit as an editor would. I
think it can feel linear, even though its
larger web structure that emerged was not
something that was coded. We never put
those things in sequence, but rather we
would prune and pick and link and create
small connections in the larger web that
you end up exploring. It was never some-

DEEP INTO
vironment where I could choose which
interview to watch next, but it felt more
as a branching narrative than a generative
experience.
JM: I hear what you mean. When you
not. thing where we laid tracks by hand, it was
more we created a system in which that
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ would emerge. Every small link is inten-
Oculus is a nice in- tional, so we know from one clip which
clips could possibly come next and then
terface for expressing to introduce questions, but thats system-
this because there

THE CLOUDS
make a selection of a question in the be-
ginning, theres an algorithm that we call
the Story Engine that does sequence out
a path that youre following along. So
unless you make a choice to divert from
that, it will continue. But I think that
when we watch any kind of content thats
meaningfully assembled, we have an as-
sumption of an inevitability, or that its
fixed in some way.
I think I have found this as well, expe-
is no other way to
display type of thing
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
JG: Also the generative nature of it in a
lot of ways had more to do with produc-
tion process than it did with its final form.
Oculus is a nice interface for expressing
atic, that decision making was systematic.
So its essentially a tag class that youre
now getting.
JM: Yes, so every clip is a node. They are
little points in a galaxy. As you traverse the
map, you are encountering one clip after
another, but it is a web like structure. Its
generative in another level, which is that
we are visualising the ideas that people
are talking about and since these are cod-

JAMES GEORGE AND riencing branching narratives and other

video projects, that I always assume that
this because there is no other way to dis-
play type of thing The way that Clouds
ers and designers, thats their native lan-
guage, we actually bring their work into

JONATHAN MINAR
the path I have taken is the only one. In was made, because we were essentially the documentary as code. So when youre
fact there is an element of randomness, assembling metadata at the level of the seeing one of these visualisations, that is
like even if you choose the same ques- clip, so that was all edited, but then the a separate file of C++ code thats being

TALK ABOUT THEIR NEW

By Sandra Gaudenzi
Pics from Clouds Documentary
VR-DOCUMENTARY
With Sundance hosting 13 Virtual Reality
(VR) experiences under its New Frontiers
umbrella at the start of the year and Tri-
beca Film Festival showcasing projects
like The Enemy in their Storyscapes
line-up, we turn to a project that has
been among the first to experiment with
the use of Oculus Rift in a documentary
context. CLOUDS, by media artist James
George and filmmaker Jonathan Minard
clearly shows the advantages and dis-
advantages of using a technology that is
not totally market It is with this question
in mind that I engaged a conversation
with James George and Jonathan Minard:
DISclosed: I am confused on how many
versions of Clouds do exist. You men-
tioned
\008\ Film\\DISclosed\
you would release and app, but there
only seems to be an Oculus Rift installa-
tion at the moment?
JG: Yes, it is the same piece of software
fundamentally.
JM: So the flexibility of the software lets
us bring it to different interfaces and plat-
forms. I think people think of the Rift as
being an entirely new paradigm, but its
quite possible to bring most 3D content
or video game like content into it. We just
use it as a different display and so then
the difference is in the interaction and
how people engage with it.
Will there also be a linear film out of it?
JM: I dont think the current version will
become a linear film and what we learned
is we made this original experiment that
was like a 16 minute film with a 5 min-
ute Vimeo release, that was a linear pro-
cess. The limitations of doing it that way
inspired us to make what Clouds is now.
I think when we then tried to and create
linear edits, even just for documentation
purposes, it felt very much like revisiting
the reasons why we went back to doing it
as an interactive thing to begin with.
The format, the form, the way its edit-
ed algorithmically works well when you
know as a viewer that you intentionally
are interacting with the system. As soon
as it becomes a passive experience where
youre watching a video, you have a dif-
ferent set of expectations. It doesnt really
feel like youve fulfilled the idea of what
its trying to be. We just released the IO
walkthrough and I think for me, this is a
really nice thing, as a linear 40-minute
experience of Clouds, but its set in the

brought up and youre interacting with it.
Those systems are generative. They have
elements of randomness and so were
able to make pre-sets, but there are also
decisions that are left up to the system,
they are created through your interaction
with them. You might see a flocking al-
gorithm and these different little artifi-
cial cells moving around and this kind of
thing, or polygonal forms that are being
generated.
SG: So those are generated on the fly?
JM: Yes. That is literally generative art,
right? Thats one reason that the Oculus
is a nice interface for expressing this be-
cause there is no other way to display
type of thing, for that file. If you have an
understanding of the medium when you
look at this work, you know its not a vid-
eo, a rendering on a screen, because you
have volition in just where you choose to
look.
SG: If I was able to read code could I have
access to it?
JG: Yes, and theres a separate story there,
like the Git repository has a year of col-
laboration thats documented through
people assigning their progress. Its only
\010\DISclosed\
accessible with a certain technical ex-
pertise, but its a different way of looking
at Clouds. Its an amorphous thing.
JM: Yes and its like open source soft-
ware, its almost like people coming to-
gether and creating a quilt, like a knitted
quilt, or building some kind of larger
structure together that has a bit of their
creative hand. But also its reflective of
the community and the film was made in
that same way. We have this repository
and a lot of the artists in the film con-
tribute to that, so when you look at that
record of the softwares creation, you can
see different peoples contributions com-
ing together. I think thats another reason
that that cloud or network is kind of an
apt metaphor. It feels like this thing weve
woven together.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I think there is a big
benefit to being
ahead of the curve
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
SG: By looking at your Kickstarter cam-
paign I had the impressions that you
didnt really know at that time what sort
of interactivity you would use in the proj-
ect?
JM: By the time we launched the Kick-
starter, we knew it was going to be an
interactive piece. There was some doubt
at a certain point, like mid-way through
production we were thinking, Okay, this
could be a linear film that has an interac-
tive component.
JG: Definitely. By the time the Kickstart-
er was launched, we had determined to
make it interactive, but we didnt know
how to do that.
SG: So did the Kickstarter campaign help
you to shape the project, rather than just
give you the money you needed?
there was a portion of these modules and
JM: Yes, it was actually definitely more
than the money because of the intention
of the project and how tightly knit this
community is and collaborative. People
wanted to be involved because they be-
lieved in the dream of the project and
were uniquely positioned to understand
its ambitions because they saw the way it
had come about was based on the values
that they hold as members of the com-
munity and collaborative software devel-
opers.
SG: But were speaking about lots of peo-
ple? What sort of numbers?
JG: Yes, but the core team ended up
being smaller. Wed have programmers
who were kind of lead developers who
were making more of the work and then
app store for virtual reality content right
systems that were commissioned. So we
approached curators where we knew we
needed to cover a certain range of topics
and we had a kind of hierarchy of those
topics. We then started developing ideas
for these visuals and then would sort of
find people to match them and develop
ideas with them and collaborate with
them. But we were essentially commis-
sioning those works. You started Clouds
two years ago. Last year you are obvious-
ly going around the world, showing the
Rift version. Whats next? Will you try
JG: Yes, I mean the end goal is always
distribution, just getting it to as many
theres a good avenue for them to discover
people as we can. It makes sense to use
the web to distribute it. We have a form
of the documentary, which can work on
Mac or PC. The problem is that there is no
has been participating in a conversation
now. So all of the possible outlets have
felt a little bit awkward or mismatched.
JM: The technical capabilities of the
channels and the audiences that they en-
gender in this work that falls into an in-
tersection is sometimes quite diverse. The
kind of software that we wrote for Clouds
is on a technical level very akin to a vid-
eo game, graphics, it runs on your com-
puter, its 3D, immersive, and there are
channels for distributing that, like Steam
being a named one.
SG: Exactly, Steam, but probably that is
not the target audience that youreIts a
cultural question; its a demographic ques-
tion. It would be great to capture new in-
terest through people in that area, but how
many people will download Steam just to
get Clouds?
JG: I feel about the distribution, the same
way there wasnt a clear beginning of the
project; there wont be a clear end. In the
same way theres not one way of experi-
encing it, there wont be one distribution
platform. Weve talked about a multiplicity
of ways of breaking apart the distribution,
everything from this very clean download
on Steam to a Bittorrent model where you
can archive the whole thing, for more of
an educational purpose.
I think that were reaching a stage where
we want to get to a point where were clos-
ing some of these ends and creating end-
points so people can find it, and then well
have a sense of closure with the project
because well be able to answer the ques-
tion When someone comes to us like,
Hey, how can I see the project? based
on who they are and their interest levels,
it at whatever level.
SG: Some final words?
JM: Well A wonderful outcome of this
around the future of cinema and VR and
where thats going. I think there is a ben-
efit to being ahead of the curve in some
ways and getting to define the language
and try something out and excite people
about possibilities. Clouds has always had
a hypothetical angle. You can call it kind
of a speculative film. Its a film the out-
come of which, in its ideal form, we cant
really attain with our current technolo-
gies. Its about exciting the imagination of
whats to come.
\011\DISclosed\
\018\\ Culture\\DISclosed\
THE TRANSHUMANIST
FUTURE OF SEX
The internet is rife with chatter
about the transhumanist age we
are entering, where radical science
and technology are already chang-
ing the way we live. Everything
from robotic hearts to personal
drones to mind-reading headsets
are here. The new tech coming in
just a few years will touch nearly
every aspect of our lives, including
one of the most personal ones:
sex. Words By Jeff Price
Mammals use sex as a means to generate
offspring, to experience pleasure, and for
bonding with partners. Throughout the
last few centuries, humans have embraced
tools, drugs, and even surgical operations
in an attempt to improve sex.
To date, the list of transhumanist-themed
tools and apparatuses our species has cre-
ated for sex is practically endless. Perhaps
the best known one is the condom, where
descriptions of their use and composition
begin to appear in 16th century writings.
The writings of 16th century physician Ga-
briele Falloppio includes one of the first
documented references to condoms, and
describes them as linen sheaths soaked in
a chemical solution. Today, the condom is
one of the leading life extension tools in
the world, due to the protection it offers
from disease, such as HIV. Over 300,000
Americans underwent breast augmenta-
tion via plastic surgery, which typically
aims to enhance sex appeal, in 2011. In
the last century, one of the most sensa-
tionalized applications for sex is Viagra,
whose name is almost as recognizable
as Coca-Cola or Rolls Royce. Along with
other options like Levitra and Cialis,
erection drugs have helped return sex-
ual health to millions of men (and their
partners) around the world.Today, sex
and technology for sexis all around
us, 24/7. The internet provides a contin-
ual stream of pornography, for better or
worse, to millions of users everyday. A
Forbes article citing neuroscientist Ogi
Ogas says that between July 2009 and
July 2010, 13 percent of web searches
were for erotic content. Its not just com-
puters, though. Many people routinely
use their cell phones for sexting. And the
sex toy industry is a multi-billion dollar
business, with thousands of workers and
engineers dedicated to it.
Yet, whatever has happened so far in the
history of sex is not going to be nearly as
exciting or bizarre as whats coming next.
Whether by drugs, technology, or surgery,
the future of sex is set to explode. Look
for virtual sex and foreplay to become
commonplace, where partners are linked
into brain wave headsets and virtual re-
ality goggles. Some will take it further,
and use full body haptic suitsa friend
of mine called it the future hump suitto
experience full sexual immersion. Virtual
worlds and Second Lives will keep peo-
ple experiencing sexual acts they might
not feel comfortable doing in real life
all without the risk of pregnancy or STDs.
I recently was asked by my wife what I
wanted for Christmas. I replied: I want an
exoskeleton suit. Theyre going to be all
the rage soon.
Indeed, exoskeleton technology is signifi-
cantly improving every year. Panasonic
is getting ready to sell the first mass-pro-
duced robotic exoskeleton for just under
$5,000. They are still crude, but in 5-10
years time, they are likely to make us fast-
er runners, stronger climbers, and better
athletes. I surmise an entire sporting and
recreational culture will develop around
them, similar to motorcycles and ATVs.
Can you imagine the growing discipline
of Parkour in one? Eventually, exoskel-
eton suits will look like the ones in the
blockbuster movie Elysium starring Matt
Damon. But what about sex? Will they
help? Yes! Potentially, a lot. Especial-
ly for disabled, obese, or unfit persons.
Harvard is working on a soft exoskeleton
suit. Someday soon, we will strap on exo-
skeleton suits and put ourselves in sexual
positions once only possible for Bikram
yoga expertsand then go at it. And we
Source: Flickr/Corilendavis200
wont be tiring very easily, either, not with
the suits doing much of the work. Almost
as strange is the new internal skeletal stuff
being developed, which combines struc-
tures inside your body to external artificial
limbs. In a recent article for ExtremeTech,
engineer and neuroscientist John Hewitt
writes: In order to wield any artificial
limb with full strength and confidence we
are going to need to plug it in properly,
so that it becomes a real part of our mus-
culoskeletal system. Researchers at the
Royal National Orthopedic hospital have
now created an implant that does just
that by interfacing a leg prosthesis direct-
ly to your endoskeleton. Weve already
seen penile implants and surgical mod-
ifications of sexual organs. But this new
musculosketelal technology is much more
revolutionary. If scientists can connect
internal human parts to external bionic
parts, (and theyre already connecting ro-
botic arms to the nervous system) then the
age of the cyborg is truly here. Surely bio-
hackers will remove body parts and limbs
in an attempt to become a stronger, more
agile entity.
If scientists can replicate that feeling
through firing signals from an implanted
chip or a brain wave headset, then it might
even be the end of sex altogether.
With those acquisitions will come cyborg
sexsomething that is sure to be an up-
grade to the usual romp. Dont forget,
those robotic fingers on those artificial
limbs will soon have sensors that can de-
tect some things, like heat and sweat, far
more specifically than biological fingers.
In time, every sense of ours will be im-
proved and updated with technology that
simply outmatches our biology.
How will this and all the other technolo-
gies affect sex for over seven billion peo-
ple in the future? Probably dramatical-
lyespecially when it is combined with
microchip implants. Erogenous zones
and orgasms are simply the product of
chemicals firing in the brain. If scientists
can replicate that feeling by firing signals
from an implanted chip or a brain wave
headset, then it might even be the end
of sex altogether. Wed turn on and off
endless orgasms with our cell phone (or
buzz our partners at will if theyll allow
us). Hopefully it will be better than this.
Implants are becoming more common-
place. Recently, Dr. Theodore Schwartz
and a New York Presbyterian/Weill Cor-
nell Medical Center team put a cranial
implant into an epileptic sufferer to help
stop attacks. Other brain implant surger-
ies are now occurring to fight Alzhei-
mers, a disease which affects over five
million Americans. Its not that big of a
leap to imagine someone figuring out
how to stimulate the sexual pleasure ar-
eas in the brain with an implant.
If all this seems crazy, then check out
this WiFi-enabled vibrator called Vibease
which will become available next month,
according to its website. People can leave
them in all day long, and enjoy for up to
three hours of use whenever they want to.
That might make you wonder about a lot
of things in the future. Did your date re-
ally enjoy the spaghetti you made, or was
something else going on?
The human species has come a long way
in developing its sexual mores. Thankful-
ly, many societies are philosophically and
psychologically freer than ever to enjoy
all that sex can be. But technologically,
we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg
for all for all that is coming, regardless
of tastes and desires. Transhumanism has
long centered on technologies that grant
better health.
\DISclosed\\019\
 \DISclosed\\018\

BEYOND
HUMANITIY
The Transhumanistic Far far away, behind the word

Evolution mountains, far from the countries

Vokalia and Consonantia, there-
live the blind texts. Separated they
Images by Claude Chevalle live in Bookmarksgrove right at
Words By Constantin Constantinovic
the coast of the Semantics, alarge
language ocean. A small river
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonan- named Duden flows by their place
tia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of and supplies it with the necessary
the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place regelialia
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far Far far away, behind the word mountains,
from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Far far at the coast of the Semantics, a large parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Far far away, behind the word mountains,
away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there- language ocean. A small riveAr named Even the all-powerful Pointing has no far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Seman- Duden flows by their place and supplies control about the blind texts it is an al- sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
tics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a most unorthographic life One day howev- arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
paradisematic country, in which roasted er a small line of blind text by the name at the coast of the Semantics, a large
it with the necessary regelialia
parts of sentences fly into your mouth. of Lorem . language ocean. A small riveAr named
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no Duden flows by their place and supplies
control about the blind texts it is an al- Sub Headline it with the necessary regelialia. It is a par-
most unorthographic life One day howev- Ipsum decided to leave for the far World adisematic country, in which roasted
er a small line of blind text by the name of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the not to do so, because there were thou- Sub Headline
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox sands of bad Commas. wild Question parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
advised her not to do so, because there Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Lit- Even the all-powerful Pointing has no
\010\\ CULTURE\\DISclosed\ were thousands of bad Commas. wild tle Blind Text didnt listen. She packed her control about the blind texts it is an al-
 Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
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they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
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their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a PIC: Choose to focus your and Consonantia,
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly there live the blind texts. Separated they in
Bookmarksgrove right.
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an al r hometown Bookmarksgrove,
the headline of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own
road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her
cheek, then she continued her way. On her way she met a copy.
The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from
it would have been rewritten a thousand times and everything
that was left from its origin would be the word and and the
Little Blind Text should turn around and return to its own, safe
country. But nothing the copy said could convince her and so
it didnt take long until a few inside.y live in Bookmarksgrove
right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A
small riveAr named Duden flows by their place and supplies

Technology is Coming
Most unorthographic life One day
however a small line of blind text
by the name of Lorem Ipsum de-
cided to leave for the far World of
Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised
her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious
Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text
didnt listen. She packed her sev-
en versalia, put her initial into the
belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills
of the Italic Mountains, she had a
last view back on the skyline of
her hometown Bookmarksgrove,
the headline of Alphabet Village
and the subline of her own road,
the Line Lane. Pityful a retho- Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
ric question ran over her cheek, Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
then she continued her way. On they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
her way she met a copy. The copy a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
warned the Little Blind Text, that their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
where it came from it would paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
have been rewritten a thousand into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
times and everything that was left about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
from its origin would be the word small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
and and the Little Blind Text leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
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its own, safe country. But nothing wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Human Communications
the copy said could convince her Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
and so it didnt take long until a into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
PIC: Choose to focus your and
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Longe and Parole and dragged her live in Bookmarksgrove right. line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
\012\\DISclosed\ she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
 Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would
have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was
left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind
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a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
There were Thousands
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then

to
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live

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ext

their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
s
.

paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would
have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was
left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind
\014\\DISclosed\ Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country.
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would
have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was
left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country.
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
PIC: Choose to focus your and Consonantia,
there live the blind texts. Separated they in
Bookmarksgrove right.
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
\016\\DISclosed\
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however
a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
A life Onqe
leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
Far far away, Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
behind the Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
word moun- they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
tains, far from a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by
the countries their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
Vokalia and Conso- paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly
nantia, there live the into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
blind texts. Separated about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a
they live in Bookmarks- small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to
grove right at the coast of leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
the Semantics, a large lan- not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.
guage ocean. A small riveAr wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind
named Duden flows by their Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial
place and supplies it with the into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
necessary regelialia. It is a para- the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
disematic country, in which roast- on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
ed parts of sentences fly into your line of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road, the
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then
has no control about the blind texts it she continued her way. On her way she met a copy. The copy
is an almost A life Onqe day however a warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would
small line of blind text by the name of Lor- have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was
em Ipsum decided to leave for the far World left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind
of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country.
to do so, because there were thousands of bad But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didnt
Commas. wild Question Marks and devious Se- take long until a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her,
mikoli, but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into
packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the their agency, where they abused her for their projects again
belt and made herself on the way. When she reached and again. And if she hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view using her. Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the
back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts.
the headline of Alphabet Village and the subline of her Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden
her cheek, then she continued her way. On her way she met flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary rege-
a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it lialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of
came from it would have been rewritten a thousand times and sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing
everything that was left from its origin would be the word and has no control about the blind texts it is an almos
and the Little Blind Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince
her and so it didnt take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
ers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and
dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their
projects again and again. And if she hasnt been rewritten, then
they are still using her. Far far away, behind the word moun-
tains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there
live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove
right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A
small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it
with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in
which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the
all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is
an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of
blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so,
because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question
Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didnt lis-
ten. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt
and made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills
of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline
of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
Village and the subline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful
a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued her
way. On her way she Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince \017\\DISclosed\
 PC Musics
Twisted
Electronic Pop:
A Users Manual
By Philip Sherburne

What is PC Music? A label, a scene, a subgenre, a red herring? It may be all of these
things at once. The shadowy operation and its bewildering brand of hyper-pop have
been everywhere in the past few months, from UK broadcasters like Rinse FM to the
XL Records roster to Boiler Room broadcasts, and its influence seems to be growing
on a daily basis. The label, and the aesthetic it promulgates, have been hiding in plain
sight for nearly a year and a half, releasing a steady stream of music all online and
mostly free that amounts to one of the freshest, funniest, and most confounding
pop-music phenomena to appear in a long time.

\020\\ Music\\DISclosed\
 HANNAH QT
DIAMOND
If theres a complaint to be made about Hey QT its that its a
bit too on-the-nose. QT, were told, is a sparkling future pop sen-
sationnot a person, but an energy drink, or an Energy Elixir,
to be precise, where organic and synthetic meet to stimulate an
As a recording artist, Hannah Diamond is credited with two uplifting club sensation. And yes, we get ittheir music is fizzier
PC Music singles, Pink and Blue and Attachment, as well than a bottle of Club Mate spiked with Pop Rocks. The dance
as guest vocals on A. G. Cooks Keri Baby. Shes an odd music scene is already dominated by an actual energy-drink
character, clad in pink puffer jackets and styled a little like brand, so its possible to read QT as a kind of subversive state-
Sporty Spice circa Wannabe, but with a voice that comes mentcuteness as a form of critique. So far, though, that an-
closer to that of an understudy in a production of Annie, gle fails to deliver, and QTs deadpan Boiler Room performance
maybe. Her infantilized qualities are reinforced by exagger- didnt necessarily add to the concept.
atedly nave lyrics, like these from the sing-songy Pink and The Boiler Room performance may be proof that translating PC
Blue: We look good in pink and blue/ You love me, maybe Musics aesthetic from URL to IRL is harder than it seems, but
its true/ You say baby how are you/ Im OK, how about the song itself is a masterful distillation of SOPHIE and Cooks
you. But shes no one-note character; the icy pathos of At- pipsqueak aesthetic, with a call-and-response hook so simple
tachment brings to mind Mike Oldfields Kanye-sampled Pink and Blue by Hannah Diamond (Hey QT! Yeeeeeah?), its like the pop-music equivalent of one Hey QT by QT
In High Places (again, as sung by that Little Orphan Annie of Saul Bass corporate logos. If they can just add a little more
understudy), resulting in an uncomfortable balancing act of their typical zaniness to the project, they may yet hit upon the
between blankness and earnestness. secret formula for actual pop domination.
In addition to her activities in PC Music, Diamond is co-edi-
tor and director of photography for LOGO Magazine, an on-
line publication whose slick, slightly creepy editorials cele-
brate the merger of high tech and tongue-in-cheek. Shes
also part of the creative team Diamond/Wright, which was
responsible for the art direction of QTs Hey QT cover;
the lookbook for London latex-clothing brand (and logo
obsessives) Meat; and fragrance campaigns for Princess
Bambithe singer (or avatar) responsible for the PC Music
A.G.COOK
single Less Love More Sex, who is typically styled like the
A. G. Cook is PC Musics founder and chief theorist. The 24-year-
girlfriend of a shady Russian oligarch.
old has credits on a handful of the labels releasesNu Jack
Swung, Keri Baby [ft. Hannah Diamond], Beautiful, Dux Con-
tents Like You and Lifestyleand hes contributed graphics to
releases by easyFun and Maxo; its a safe bet that hes also had
a hand in other projects on the label, like easyFun and the Lip-
gloss Twins.
Before founding the label, he ran Gamsonite, a pseudo-label
hes described as a prototype for PC Music. But for the most
part, it seems he arrived upon the scene with his vision fully
Quick Info:
choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
formed.For anyone who doubts Cooks genuine, non-ironic ap-
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live preciation for pop music, that TANK Magazine interview is worth
the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language
ocean. t calls for the creative community to submit ideas, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia a read. He cites producers Max Martin and Jam & Lewis as in-
and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the spirations and singles out Scritti Polittis Cupid and Psyche 85
Semantics, a large language ocean. t calls for the creative community to submit ideas to a larger project; to
begin a long, playful but critical debate with us. The text is strange, hopefully humorous, and e ocean. t calls as an example of extreme pop musica really beautiful bal-
for the creative community to submit ideas to a larger project; to begin a long, playful but critical debate with ance of great hooks, rhythms and sounds. Praising Cassie, he
us. The text is strange, hopefully humorous, and speaks to a long history of. Beautiful by A.G. Cook
says, some of her tracks epitomize the minimal, synthetic, al-
most robotic potential of commercial music, something which
can sound crap when its done badly, but can also become a
sort of perfect, untouchable product when done in the right way.
Eurovision 2013 entry, Zlata Ognevichs Gravity).

\022\DISclosed\ \023\\DISclosed\

Broken Flowers by Danny L Harle
GFOTY
Lets do it by GFOTY
\024\\DISclosed\
DANNY
L HARLE
Danny L Harles name doesnt figure prominently in PC Musics
catalog; besides his work alongside Cook in Dux Content, hes
recorded just one single for the labelthe delightful, bittersweet
Broken Flowers, a limpid take on deep house thats not too far
off from what Disclosure or Duke Dumont are doing, with the
requisite nods to MK and Todd Edwards. Its one of the most
outwardly sophisticated things to appear on the label, and not
just because it sounds somehow more grown-up, which it does;
behind the lyrics faux naivet, theres a graceful little twist to the
rhyme scheme that suggests some formidable pop craftsman-
ship at work.
Harles influence on the label may be greater than his credits
alone would suggest. Cook told TANK Magazine that the two mu-
sicians attended school together in their early teens and then
reconnected when they discovered that they were working in
parallel. We shared so many ideas that I think we both felt more
comfortable taking a slightly more conceptual approach, said
Cook. From then on music became much more of a craftwe
werent attached to any with Dan that I felt were satisfyingly
high-level I had more energy to try that kind of stuff out on my
own, or apply the same aesthetic to visual and web work.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, nant organ blasts, and generally madcap
air; Machauts 14th-century composition Complainte: Tels rit
au main qui au soir pleure
A. G. Cook is PC Musics founder and chief theorist. The 24-year-
old has credits on a handful of the labels releasesNu Jack
Swung, Keri Baby [ft. Hannah Diamond], Beautiful, Dux Con-
tents Like You and Lifestyleand hes contributed graphics to
releases by easyFun and Maxo; its a safe bet that hes also had
a hand in other projects on the label, like easyFun and the Lip-
gloss Twins.
Before founding the label, he ran Gamsonite, a pseudo-label
hes described as a prototype for PC Music. But for the most
part, it seems he arrived upon the scene with his vision fully
formed.For anyone who doubts Cooks genuine, non-ironic ap-
preciation for pop music, that TANK Magazine interview is worth
a read. He cites producers Max Martin and Jam & Lewis as inspi-
rations and singles out Scritti Polittis Cupid and Psyche 85 as
an example of extreme pop musica really beautiful balance
of great hooks, rhythms and sounds. Praising Cassie, he says,
some of her tracks epitomize the minimal, synthetic, almost
SOPHIE
While PC Music constitutes a largely self-contained uni-
verse, SOPHIE has travelled a parallel path, appearing first
on singles for Huntleys & Palmers and then Glasgows
Numbers label. Though not technically under the PC Mu-
sic umbrella, his affiliation with the label recently solidified
though a high-profile collaboration with A.G. Cook on a
project called QT. It was briefly rumored that SOPHIE and
Cook were, in fact, one and the same, but this photo of the
pair on stage at SXSW suggested otherwise.
Listening to SOPHIEs music, youre tempted to wonder,
how could anything so breezy be so dense? Every cubic
centimeter of his constructions is packed with detailhe-
lium-huffing voices, tea kettle squeals, Skittle-hued synth
leads, plasticized foley effects, beats that careen like wea-
ponized Slinkiesbut its also shot through with an aching
sense of emptiness, as though every sound were cush-
Bipp / Elle by Sophie
ioned in the dread that it might be the last sound you ever
hear. Then, after each heart-in-mouth moment of silence,
theres that reassuring cartoon zing! and were zapped
back to life, back to (hyper-)reality. I cant help but think of
SOPHIEs chain-reaction beats in relation to the spectac-
ular explosions of Alfonso Cuarons Gravity, and perhaps
thats because collision plays such a key role in his music.
The two opposed forces are, primarily, pop and anti-pop
the catchy and the cacophonous, the deft and the garish.
Like the J-pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, whom SOPHIE
interviewed for Dazed magazine, and with whom hes ap-
parently collaborating, SOPHIE seems fascinated by the
juxtaposition of the cute and the grotesqueor, more pre-
cisely, in the point where one becomes the other.
While PC Music constitutes a largely self-contained uni-
verse, SOPHIE has travelled a parallel path, appearing first
on singles for Huntleys & Palmers and then Glasgows
Numbers label. Though not technically under the PC Mu-
sic umbrella, his affiliation with the label recently solidified
though a high-profile collaboration with A.G. Cook on a
project called QT. It was briefly rumored that SOPHIE and
Cook were, in fact, one and the same, but this photo of the
pair on stage at SXSW suggested otherwise. J-pop artist
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, whom SOPHIE interviewed for Dazed
magazine, and with whom hes apparently collaborating,
SOPHIE seems fascinated by the juxtaposition of the cute
and the grotesqueor, more precisely, in the point where
one becomes the other.
\025\\DISclosed\
WHERE IS THE WEAR-
ABLE TECH THATS
FASHIONABLE
ENOUGH TO WEAR?
As I entered the room, my
nostrils were overwhelmed by
the distinctly pungent smell
of burning sage. I spotted at
least two people with white
dreadlocks. There was a man
lounging so inertly by the bar,
wearing a blue latex bodysuit,
that I mistook him for a man-
nequin. Another man clad in
black leather and a full-on
cape stalked the room like an
extra from the set of The.
While I couldve easily been
at Burning Man, instead I was
packed into a historic build-
ing in Torontos Distillery dis-
trict for Cirque-It, an event
that billed itself as a wearable
tech fashion circus featuring
collaborations between the
citys makers and fashion de-
signers. But it wasnt a fashion
show in the typical sense; in-
stead of models walking down
a runway, circus performers
wore wearable tech inven-
tions while performing mind
and limb-bendin routines.Most
wearable tech just looks like
flashing Christmas lights at-
tached to bodysuits
I was supposed to be viewing
the most groundbreaking wear-
ables collaborations happen-
ing in Toronto, but I left feeling
more confused than inspired.
Whether it was arduino com-
patible control boards with
addressable LEDs or a cyber-
punk insect-inspired harness
that is sound reactive, most
wearable tech just looks like
flashing Christmas lights at-
tached to bodysuits. On offer
was a wild array of the weird,
wonderful, sensory and immer-
sive. The first act featured a tra-
peze artist dressed like Harley
Quinn, a red bodysuit worn
\026\\DISclosed\
Source: Deviantart.com/xxFluttershyxx
THE SHEER DIFFICULTY
by Ben Dover
OF DEFINING WHAT A
ROBOT IS
beneath precarious strips of la-
tex. Embedded in the costume not roboticists, and especially
was a device called SoMo, de- by Richard Big not policy makers and labour
veloped by Toronto company advocates. This is a problem,
SonicWear. It used the motions because to reckon with all the
of the trapeze artist to trigger coming changes that robotics
layers of sound, which created What is a robot? You might say and artificial intelligence may
the soundtrack for the perfor- that a robot has arms and legs, bringwidespread worker dis-
mance. like C-3PO. Or, maybe, a ro- placement and killer machines,
Later in the night, a balle- bot is more like the drones in to name just a couplewe need
rina danced a broken doll hokey sci fi classic Silent Run- to know what were talking
routine while wearing a bal- ningthey dont need to be about.
loon-shaped dress, designed humanoid to be called a robot, Many different existing legal
by Wendy Ng of Dystropolis they just need to move. Per- regimes will be able to compe-
to mimic the bioluminescence haps, though, a robot is really tently address problems posed
of a jellyfish. With the help of more like HAL 9000; it doesnt by robots without having to
maker Eric Boyd, a series of have a body per se, but it con- settle on a standard definition,
lights sewn inside the dress trols physical objects and sys- Woodrow Hartzog, an assistant
illuminated the floor beneath tems. Wait, does a robot even law professor with a special-
the wearer. But while the circus need a body? ization in robotics at Samford
performances were intense, Ah yes, bodies. These deterio- University, told me. Howev-
and the wearable tech sounded rating, decrepit, frail things we er, robots might also present
interesting when it was being call meatbags. Our experience new challenges that require
describedan exoglove that as humans is intimately tied to new rules. If those rules are
conducts live music by moving our embodiment: we feel and going to be limited to certain
your hands!from a visual think with meat, and our mem- technologies, the decision will
perspective, it was all a little ories are etched in sensory have to be made as to whether
rote. Wearable tech has long inputs. In the Judeo-Christian a definition of what a robot is
been the vanguard of techno- tradition, the body is a curse will be necessary. As a bit of
logical hype, but Id argue it that carries with it the pain of an illustrative exercise, I asked
hasnt yet managed to success- childbirth and eventual death some very smart people a pret-
fully interact with fashion in a to remind us of a time, mil- ty simple question, at least on
meaningful way. see garments lennia ago, when we spurned the surface: What is a robot?
as a vessel for technology rath- God. And now, the story goes, I received answers dripping in
er than as part of the technol- were trapped until we die and ambiguity.
ogy itself Most of the commer- trade our imperfect bodies for Selmer Bringsjord, chair of the
cial iterations of wearable tech heavenly astral forms. department of cognitive sci-
involve taking a regular-look- Who could blame us for imag- ence at the Rensselaer Poly-
ing t-shirt or skirt, then adding ining that robots, the objects technic Institute, told me in
flashing lights or sensors to it. we make in our own image, an email, An [artificially in-
The MeU is a customizable must be similarly caged? But telligent agent] that has phys-
LED diplay you can attach to whether a philosophical co- ical sensors and effectors, and
your clothing to display mes- nundrum or a mere bias of whose physical.
sages, like some kind of human vocation is to blame, nobody
bus stop. Source: Flickr.de/SwagalicousD can agree on what a robot is,
in terms of their robo-bodies; \027\\DISclosed\

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
SHOULD WE LET AI RUN
THE GOVERNMENT ONCE
ITS SMARTER THAN US?
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
A
As the presidential candidate of the
Transhumanist Party, I often get
asked about the long term future
of politics. Frankly, its a daunting
subject. Looking forward 25 years
and trying to gauge how rapidly
advancing technology is going to
change the nature of governance
is a difficult, variable-filled pros-
pect.named Duden flows by their
place and supplies it with the nec-
essary regelialia
\028\\ Politics\\DISclosed\
THE TRANSHUMANIST
PARTYS PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE ON THE
FUTURE OF POLITICS
Technology, after all, is rapidly changing
just about every area of human endeavor.
Healthcare is morphing into cyborg-care,
where doctor visits sometimes include
software updates. New sports like Zorb
racing or Speed Riding, a combination of
paragliding and skiing, are born all the
time. Even travel is on the verge of some
possible colossal shifts with driverless
cars and projects like the Hyperloop. But
what about politics? Just about everyone
on the planet directly participates in pol-
itics, and has strong opinions about gov-
ernment. Will politics as it stands, with
its voting booths, hand-waiving candi-
dates, and rowdy national conventions
remain the same as the transhumanist age
thoroughly engulfs us? Or will govern-
ment itself change in form as digital-ev-
erything becomes the norm? Take virtual
reality for example. Its likely, especially
By Zoltan Istvan
after Facebooks purchase of the Oculus
Rift last year, that an increasing amount
of people will be immersed in VR worlds
within the next five to ten years. Its pos-
sible that an entire mirror civilization of
our species will appear in VR, one that
will surely be more welcome for some
than our current reality, as is sometimes
the case in Second Life.
Transhumanist Party
But who will monitor this expanding VR
world? Does it belong to national gov-
ernments? Right now it does, but what if
someone creates a VR world that shoots
its signal from space, as some entrepre-
neurs want to do? Will that virtual world
belong to Earth? Or to the company that
created it? Or to the person that created
it, who might declare themselves emper-
or or cult leader of their worlds. Such
PIC2
Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
ideas are not as far-fetched as they seem.
There are already a number of move-
ments and organizations afoot in the
physical world to bring about stateless
societies. The better ones tend to have
extensive manifestos and hold egalitarian
values. One group is Zero State, and its
basic idea is to create networks of people
and resources which could evolve into a
distributed, virtual state. They currently
have a few thousand members.Addition-
ally, the Transhumanist Party (Virtual) was
recently formed on Facebook, which aims
to unite and support the many national
transhumanist political parties that have
recently.
Nature of Governance
Voting in the future? Image: D
oD, Wiki-
media Commons Is it possible that in the
future, the state as we know it might not
exist? To be sure, wed need much more
radical technology for such an idea to
even be realistically feasible. But experts
say some of that technology is coming. In
2014, Jose Cordeiro, a Singularity Univer-
sity professor, told a crowd at the World
Future Society that spoken language
could start disappearing in 20 years.
He thinks mindreading headsets may re-
place spoken language and significantly
improve human communications. Ive
already written about how these min-
dreading headsets will make future mu-
sic concerts virtual, and how they will
also likely reduce the need for knowing
a second language, since something like
Google translator will make on-demand
translations for people. In short, everyone
on the planet will understand everyone
elseall the time. And this could start
being our main communication in as lit-
tle as two decades. When you think about
it, the planet could become a lot small-
er very quickly if we could get over the
language barrier that seven billion people
\DISclosed\\029\
have with each other. Furthermore, its
likely those mindreading headsets wont
even be headsets in 20 years. Theyll be
chip implants in our heads, and despite
everyones complaints about over-surveil-
lance, such implants will simply be too
useful not to have. Everyone will have an
implant, and theyll monitor everything
about our lives, including our health,
well being, and safety.
Zero State
If I had to guess (and mind you, Im not
advocating for this, but just telling you
how I see it playing out), Im betting that
many, if not most, countries will merge
in the 21st century as a digital-inspired
globalization further takes root. Im bet-
ting one central virtual currency will be
used toomaybe even Bitcoin if it can
get over some of its many birthing hic-
cups. Im betting borders will fall away
and people will be able to travel, work,
and live wherever they want. In general,
rules and barriers dont help prosperity
in the long term, but freedom and tech-
nology do. So how might such a global
government operate? Its possible in the
future, should we all be so interconnect-
ed, that one central agency will virtually
send out items for everyone to vote on.
Maybe there will be one special day of
the year where all major voting and de-
cisions take place. Possibly, smaller poli-
cies will be implemented on a rolling ba-
sis as they get enough people to consider
and support them. Thats democracy in
real timeand we should expect that in
the future too.
Biomechanical Landscapes
The wildcard here is AI, and the rise of an
Artificial General Intelligence that rivals
our own. Right about at the same time,
in approximately 25 years, when well be
reaching many technologies that will be
transformative for the human species
such as ubiquitous telepathy between
peoplewell also be launching AI. In its
first year of existence, AI could become
much, much smarter than us10,000
times smarter than us, even. I tend to
believe, like most everyone else, that AI
must be carefully regulated so it doesnt
create a Terminator-like scenario for the
planet. But Im also confident we can
create an AI that will help our species in-
definitely. Which brings us to the obvious
question: Should we let AI run the gov-
ernment once its smarter than us? Take
that one step furthershould we let that
AI be the Presidentmaybe even giving
it a robot form for aesthetics or familiar-
itys sake? Its not that bizarre of a con-
cept. Who didnt watch Deep Blue beat
Kasparov in Chess and wonder if a new
age of intellect had arrivedone that was
quite different than our own? In Arthur
C. Clarkes science fiction novel Child-
hoods End, aliens take over the world
and inspire humanity to live peacefully
and productively. The world experienc-
es a golden age of prosperity. Perhaps
AI policies would do the same thing. We
would have government and a leader
who really is after the worlds best inter-
ests, free from the hazards of corporate
lobbyists and selfishness. As a futurist and
a politician, a central aim of mine is to
do the most good for the greatest amount
of people. I still find the AI rulership sce-
nario a hard pill to swallow. I love my
freedoms, win or lose, more that infinite
productivity. But perhaps as technology
\030\\DISclosed\
engulfs us, and we grow less afraid of los-
ing our freedoms and more appreciative
of all our uber-modern benefits, well feel
differentlyespecially as we all experi-
ence near-perfect health, unprecedented
safety, and a utopian, transhumanist ex-
istence.Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
It is a paradisematic country, in which
roasted parts of sentences fly.into your
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has
no control about the blind texts it is an
almost unorthographic life One day how-
ever a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
Book:
language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a
large language ocean. countries Vokalia and Consonan-
tia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Book-
marksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large.
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a
large language ocean. countries Vokalia and Consonan-
tia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Book-
marksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large
hills of the Italic Mountains, she had
a last view back on the skyline of her
hometown Bookmarksgrove, the head-
line of Alphabet Village and the subline
of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful
a rethoric question ran over her cheek,
then she continued her way. On her way
she met a copy. The copy warned the Lit-
tle Blind Text, that where it came from it
would have been rewritten a thousand
times and everything that was left from its
origin would be the word and and the
Little Blind Text should turn around and
return to its own, safe country. But noth-
ing the copy said could convince her and
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
could convince her and so it didnt take
long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
paradisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
\DISclosed\\031\
were thousands of bad Commas. wild ers ambushed her, made her drunk with Even the all-powerful Pointing has no said could convince her and so it didnt
Question Marks and devious Semikoli, Longe and Parole and dragged her into control about the blind texts it is an al- take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She their agency, where they abused her for most unorthographic life One day howev- ers ambushed her, made her drunk with
packed her seven versalia, put her initial their projects again and again. And if she er a small line of blind text by the name Longe and Parole and dragged her into
into the belt and made herself on the way. hasnt been rewritten, then they are still of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the their agency, where they abused her for
When she reached the first hills of the using her.Far far away, behind the word far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox their projects again and again. And if she
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back mountains, far from the countries Voka- advised her not to do so, because there hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
on the skyline of her hometown Book- lia and Consonantia, there live the blind were thousands of bad Commas. wild using her. Far far away, behind the word
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks- Question Marks and devious Semikoli, mountains, far from the countries Voka-
Village and the subline of her own road, grove right at the coast of the Semantics, but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She lia and Consonantia, there live the blind
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question a large language ocean. A small river packed her seven versalia, put her initial texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks-
ran over her cheek, then she continued named Duden flows by their place and into the belt and made herself on the way. grove right at the coast of the Semantics,
her way. On her way she met a copy. The supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It When she reached the first hills of the a large language ocean. A small river
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy
said could convince her and so it didnt
take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
ers ambushed her, made her drunk with
Longe and Parole and dragged her into
their agency, where they abused her for
their projects again and again. And if she
hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
using her. Far far away, behind the word
mountains, far from the countries Vokalia
and Consonantia, there live the blind
Second Language
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks-
grove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small river
named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
It is a paradisematic country, in which
roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing
has no control about the blind texts it is
an almost unorthographic life One day
however a small line of blind text by the
Voting in the Future?
name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave DoD Wikimedia Commons
for the far World of Grammar. The Big
Oxmox advised her not to do so, because
there were thousands of bad Commas,
wild Question Marks and devious Semi- Italic Mountains, she had a last view back named Duden flows by their place and
koli, but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. iwild Question Marks and devious Semi- on the skyline of her hometown Book- supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
She packed her seven versalia, put her koli, but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet It is a paradisematic country, in which
initial into the belt and made herself on She packed her. Village and the subline of her own road, roasted parts of sentences fly into your
the way. When she reached the first hills the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has
of the Italic Mountains, she had a last Random Words ran over her cheek, then she continued no control about the blind texts it is an
view back on the skyline of her home- Far far away, behind the word mountains, her way. On her way she met a copy. The almost unorthographic life One day how-
town Bookmarksgrove, the headline of far from the countries Vokalia and Con- copy warned the Little Blind Text, that ever a small line of blind text by the name
Alphabet Village and the subline of her sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep- where it came from it would have been of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a retho- arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right rewritten a thousand times and every- far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
ric question ran over her cheek, then she at the coast of the Semantics, a large thing that was left from its origin would advised her not to do so, because there
continued her way. On her way she Text language ocean. A small riveAr named be the word and and the Little Blind were thousands of bad Commas, wild
should turn around and return to its own, Duden flows by their place and supplies Text should turn around and return to its Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
safe country. But nothing the copy said it with the necessary regelialia. It is a own, safe country. But nothing the copy but the Little Blind Text
 \DISclosed\\033\

PIC1
countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a
large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the
coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.

PIC2
Far far away, behind
the word mountains,
far from the countries
Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the
blind texts. Separat-
ed they live in Book-
marksgrove right at
the coast of the Se-
mantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. m the
countries Vokalia and
Consonantia, there
live the blind texts.
Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the
Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean.

LIVING IN
THE SHADOW
By Philip Sherburne

HR GIGERS DARK
VISIONSAND BIOMECHA-
S
Since H.R Giger has passed away,
He was one of the great artists
of the 20th Century. A brilliant
painter, sculptor, and designer.
He was a kind soul and will be
deeply missed.behind the word
mountains, far from the countries
parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no
control about the blind texts it is an al-
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem .

Biomechanical Landscapes
antics, a large language ocean. A small
riveAr named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary rege-
lialia. It is a paradisematic country, in
which roasted parts of sentences fly into
your mouth. Even the all-powerful Point-
ing has no control about the blind texts it
is an almost unorthographic life One day

NICAL NIGHTMARES
Vokalia and Consonantia, there-
live the blind texts. Separated they
live in Booxkmarksgrove right at
the coast of the Semantics, alarge
\032\\ ART\\DISclosed\ language ocean. A small river
Ipsum decided to leave for the far World
of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her
not to do so, because there were thou-
sands of bad Comma Question Marks and
devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text
didnt listen. She packed her seven ver-
salia, put her initial into the belt and made
however a small line of blind text by the
name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave
for the far World of Grammar. The Big
Oxmox advised her not to do so, because
there were thousands of bad Commas.
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen.
\DISclosed\\034\
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. A small riveAr named Dud-
en flows by their place and supplies it
with the necessary regelialia. It is a para-
disematic country, in which roasted parts
of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an al
Dark Star One
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
Village and the subline of her own road,
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question
ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she met a copy. The
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word and and the Little Blind
\017\\DISclosed\
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separat-
ed they live in Bookmarksgrove right at
the coast of the Semantics, a large l
Studios at Shepperton.
anguage ocean. A small riveAr named
Duden flows by their place and supplies
it with the necessary regelialia. It is a
paradisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no
control about the blind texts it is an al-
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semiko-
li, but the Little Blind Text didnt listen.
She packed her seven versalia, put her
initial into the belt and made herself on
the way. When she reached the first hills
of the Italic Mountains, shxe had a last
view back on the skyline of her home-
town Bookmarksgrove, the headline of
Alphabet Village and the subline of her
own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a retho-
ric question ran over her cheek, then she
continued her way. On her way she met
PIC4
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the
countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the
coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the
countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
\DISclosed\\035\
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep- Far far away, behind the word mountains,
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
at the coast of the Semantics, a large sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
language ocean. A small riveAr named arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
Duden flows by their place and supplies at the coast of the Semantics, a large lan-
it with the necessary regelialia. It is a guage ocean. A small riveAr named Dud-
paradisematic country, in which roasted en flows by their place and supplies it
parts of sentences fly into your mouth. with the necessary regelialia. It is a para-
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no disematic country, in which roasted parts
control about the blind texts it is an al- of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
most unorthographic life One day howev- the all-powerful Pointing has no con-
er a small line of blind text by the name trol about the blind texts it is an almost
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the unorthographic life One day however a
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox small line of blind text by the name of
advised her not to do so, because there Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far
were thousands of bad Commas. wild World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox ad-
Question Marks and devious Semikoli, vised her not to do so, because there
Humans and Mashines Cannonfodder
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She were thousands of bad Commas. wild
packed her seven versalia, put her initial Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
into the belt and made herself on the way. but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
When she reached the first hills of the packed her seven versalia, put her initial
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back into the belt and made herself on the way.
on the skyline of her hometown Book- When she reached the first hills of the
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
Village and the subline of her own road, on the skyline of her hometown Book-
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
ran over her cheek, then she continued Village and the subline of her own road,
her way. On her way she met a copy. The the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that ran over her cheek, then she continued
where it came from it would have been her way. On her way she met a copy. The
rewritten a thousand times and every- copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
thing that was left from its origin would where it came from it would have been
be the word and and the Little Blind rewritten a thousand times and every-
Text should turn around and return to its thing that was left from its origin would
own, safe country. But nothing the copy be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy
said could convince her and so it didnt
take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
ers ambushed her, made her drunk with
Longe and Parole and dragged her into
their agency, where they abused her for
their projects again and again. And if she
hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
using her. Far far away, behind the word
PIC4 mountains, far from the countries Voka-
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
lia and Consonantia, there live the blind
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia
and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks-
a large language ocean. grove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small river
named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
It is a paradisematic country, in which
roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has
no control about the blind texts it is an
almost unorthographic life One day how-
ever a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. A small riveAr named Dud-
en flows by their place and supplies it
with the necessary regelialia. It is a para-
disematic country, in which roasted parts
of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no con-
trol about the blind texts it is an almost
unorthographic life One day however a
small line of blind text by the name of
Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far
World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox ad-
vised her not to do so, because there
Album Artwork
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
Village and the subline of her own road,
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question
ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she met a copy. The
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy
said could convince her and so it didnt
take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
ers ambushed her, made her drunk with
Longe and Parole and dragged her into
their agency, where they abused her for
their projects again and again. And if she
hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
using her. Far far away, behind the word
mountains, far from the countries Voka-
lia and Consonantia, there live the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks-
grove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small river
named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
It is a paradisematic country, in which
roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has
no control about the blind texts it is an
almost unorthographic life One day how-
ever a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
\036\DISclosed\
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separat-
ed they live in Bookmarksgrove right at
the coast of the Semantics, a large l
Rest in Peace
anguage ocean. A small riveAr named
Duden flows by their place and supplies
it with the necessary regelialia. It is a par-
adisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no
control about the blind texts it is an al-
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Vil-
lage and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran
over her cheek, then she continued her
PIC6 / 7
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia
and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean.
PIC 8
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they
live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. A small riveAr named Dud-
en flows by their place and supplies it
with the necessary regelialia. It is a para-
disematic country, in which roasted parts
of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an al
Creation for Alien
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
Village and the subline of her own road,
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question
ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she met a copy. The
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy
said could convince her and so it didnt
take long until a few insidious Copy Writ-
ers ambushed her, made her drunk with
Longe and Parole and dragged her into
their agency, where they abused her for
their projects again and again. And if she
hasnt been rewritten, then they are still
using her. Far far away, behind the word
mountains, far from the countries Voka-
lia and Consonantia, there live the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarks-
grove right at the coast of the Semantics,
a large language ocean. A small river
named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia.
It is a paradisematic country, in which
roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has
no control about the blind texts it is an al-
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
\037\\DISclosed\
Far far away, behind the word mountains,
far from the countries Vokalia and Con-
sonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
arated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. A small riveAr named Dud-
en flows by their place and supplies it
with the necessary regelialia. It is a para-
disematic country, in which roasted parts
of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts it is an al
Creation for Alien
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet
Village and the subline of her own road,
the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question
ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she met a copy. The
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word and and the Little Blind
Text should turn around and return to its
own, safe country. But nothing the copy
Far far away, behind the word mountains, PIC4
far from the countries Vokalia and Conso- Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the
countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separat-
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at
ed they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
the coast of the Semantics, a large l m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live
the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove
right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language
Rest in Peace ocean.
anguage ocean. A small riveAr named
Duden flows by their place and supplies
it with the necessary regelialia. It is a par-
adisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no
control about the blind texts it is an al-
most unorthographic life One day howev-
er a small line of blind text by the name
of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the
far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there
were thousands of bad Commas. wild
Question Marks and devious Semikoli,
but the Little Blind Text didnt listen. She
packed her seven versalia, put her initial
into the belt and made herself on the way.
When she reached the first hills of the
Italic Mountains, she had a last view back
on the skyline of her hometown Book-
marksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Vil-
lage and the subline of her own road, the
Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran
over her cheek, then she continued her
way. On her way she met a copy. The
copy warned the Little Blind Text, that
where it came from it would have been
rewritten a thousand times and every-
thing that was left from its origin would
be the word.
\038\\DISclosed\

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
EVERYTHING
WILL CHANGE
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Jana Hunter chats about Lower Dens
transhuman themed Album, Nootropics.
Recently, CoS News Editor Chris
Coplan and front woman Jana
Hunter met to discuss that growth
and its impact on the bands cre-
ative and recording processes, the
state of their live show and touring
efforts, and much more.
According to a press release, the album ex-
plores the concept of transhumanism. How
did the whole initial concept become of in-
terest? Would you possibly consider this a
concept album, even of the most tangential
variety?Friends of ours in Baltimore have
\040\\ Music\\DISclosed\ one of the only things that people seem
By Chris Choplan
been interested in, and sometimes pro-
ponents of, transhumanism for a while. It
was a hot topic on a local message board,
as well. Were in the habit of buying
books for the van, passing them around,
and using them for fodder during other-
wise long and sometimes tedious drives,
so we bought Kurzweils The Singularity Is
Near after hearing it (and him) much dis-
cussed. It fit well into conversations we
were having already about society as we
traveled through lots of communities and
waxed pseudo-intellectual about human-
kinds relationship to itself. The record
isnt about transhumanism; thats just
to have latched on to. Our conversation
became a broad and passionate discus-
sion about the conflict between our still
ever-present animal instincts and moti-
vations versus the times, the near-future
we seem to be always present in, the epic
and sweeping movement towards techno-
logical embrace. Its still, then, very much
a record about our experience in our
world, an observational one, and doesnt
propose concepts so much as examine
them. Oftentimes those examinations are
made through personal experience and
never in judgment of others. experience
and never in judgment of others.
On a related note, how do you think the al-
bums overall concept, exploring the relation-
ship between man and machine, played out
through the course of the record? It seems
from listening to the record, the concept is
subtle, almost hidden, through a lot of the ef-
fort. How do you think the concept, an idea
you wanted to explore, shifted or changed, if
at all, your approach to creating the album?
The intention in using these ideas was to
have them be more of a thematic guide
than a conceptual basis. In other words,
these ideas were the topic of much band
discussion during the writing of the record,
and I used them as inspiration for lyrics,
but those lyrics either reflect my personal
feelings on a subject or my observations
of other peoples ideas about them. For in-
stance, Lambs narrator has a bit of my is what we do best as a group; we do it
own fear of immortality, whereas Brains
reflects more of the epidemic fear of tech-
nology versus the downhill snowball pace
of its grip on all of us.
In a recent interview, once again discussing
the albums concept, you noted that tech-
nology atomizes at such an astonishing rate
that we can barely process it as it happens in
front of us. Do you feel like this record is a
means to merely explore that concept, or are
you trying to perhaps do battle and make
people more aware of the ever-changing
technological landscape?
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Id like things to
remain open to
interpretation
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
With the record, I am, we are, only ex-
ploring conceptually and sonically. That
ing the transition to cans (headphones),
well, and its very deeply satisfying for us.
I do welcome the opportunity to go fur-
ther with it in venues such as this one,
to perhaps confront things like the dan-
gerous and detrimental alignment of tech-
nology and commerce. However, Lower
Dens is a music project, and its purpose
isnt to judge or battle.
PIC:
Taken from Lower
Dens Music Video of
their new ingle Brains
the word mountains,
far from the countries
Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the
blind texts. Separat-
ed they live in Book-
marksgrove right at
the coast of the Se-
mantics, a large lan-
guage ocean. m the
countries Vokalia and
Consonantia, there
live the blind texts.
Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the
Semantics, a large lan-
guage ocean.
I like to ask this of every band/project set
to release their sophomore LP: How was
the songcrafting and recording process this
time around? Easier, more streamlined per-
haps? Any observations you made, or any
strengths or weaknesses in the band/project
that came up with this second go-around?
Initially, during the first few months of
touring for Twin-Hand Movement, it was
very frustrating. Id always record at home
in the middle of night and had grown
very attached to having a lot of free time
and my own space in which to totally iso-
late myself. On tour, theres nothing like
this; theres no time, no personal space,
no isolation. You cant even jerk off, let
alone spend hours alone in your own
stink at only your own expense. Mak-
laptop, and Midi keyboard might have
seemed like a compromise when we first
considered it, but instantly it became not
just a solution to a problem, but an op-
portunity to expand. It seems like a small
thing when I describe to people mov-
\041\\DISclosed\
ing from one instrument to another, but
for me, the instrument in my hand can be
my main source of motivation, because I
am above all a player, and I love it more
than anything. So, welcoming in keys and
synthesized sound changed everything
for writing for me. The band adapted re-
ally, really well to this, taking in songs
that were much more skeletal than ones
Id written on guitar and developing them
from a textural and atmospheric aspect,
developing whole new palettes of sounds.
In that way, it highlighted our ability to
change as drastically as wed want or
need to and our ability to do it together. It
really also allowed for our two new mem-
bers, Nate and Carter, to show us what
they were capable of, and accordingly,
theyve provided some of my favorite mo-
ments on the record.
After touring so much behind Twin-Hand
Movement, do you foresee as much support
behind Nootropics? Having played the tracks
from Nootropics at least some shows by now,
how do you think theyve held up live? Do you
think they reveal anything new onstage, be it
a different meaning or new pacing or what-
ever, that they didnt in the studio?
I was always fretting in the studio about
what we were or werent going to be able
to translate live, and Carter, in particu-
lar, encouraged me/us to abandon that
and work towards making exactly what
we wanted to hear. Because of Drew
Browns aesthetic choices as much as our
own, we ended up with something that is,
even by our standards, very restrained. I
love it, and I love that its left us so much
room for live shows. These songs are in
\042\\DISclosed\
most cases something else entirely live.
On record, theyre very thoughtful; live,
they are very present and, for me, quite
intense. Ive been surprised. I guess I an-
ticipated more reservation from people
whove come to see us given that were
moving somewhat away from being gui-
tar-based and hence less rocker, if we
ever were, towards something that might
require more attention and less action,
but theres been none. No reservations.
Audiences have been very generous;
shows have been amazing and fun. I think
well tour as much as we can and as many
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
There seems to
be a tendency in
peoples reactions to
associate distance
with sadness.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
places as we can, but we might need to
be more cautious than weve been. That
carelessness in booking endless shows
nearly cost us Will. No tour is worth that.
Staying with the whole live show bit, Ive read
in a few reviews that, at least with the ma-
terial from Nootropics, the songs are more
cohesive, with less room for individual tracks
to stand out on their own. Is that something
present a whole, united musical experience?
In writing, the songs we decided to use for
the record were grouped for their seem-
ing ability to make a whole, although this
process was a least somewhat arbitrary.
Any somewhat confessional songs were
scrapped, and any that left a lot of room
for thought and exploration were pushed
to the fore for consideration. I think I can
speak on behalf of everyone else in the
band and say that there is a general pref-
erence for albums that have a cohesive
aesthetic or theme. We wanted to make a
record, something that is a body of work,
not just a group of songs.
One of the more dominant notions/concepts
I noticed between album #1 and album #2
is that this second effort has less variety to
it, that the emotional setting tends to hover
around cold or distant. There are tinges of
warmth and happiness, but the centerpiece
seems to be more focused on depressing
elements. Do you feel as if you focused the
emotional content more, or do you see the
sentiments on this record just as varied?
Does the whole transhumanism concept
most box one in to a more removed/barren
emotional framework?
There seems to be a tendency in peo-
ples reactions to associate distance with
sadness. For me, this is not a sad record,
just a contemplative one. The objects or
subjects of contemplation arent inher-
ently depressing, though they are heavy.
While music obviously has, of all the arts,
the best means to express pure emotion,
it also has the characteristic of pushing
all non-relevant thoughts aside, clearing
the mind and making space to consider
things apart from emotion, or with emo-
tions that are more tied to global concerns
than personal ones. I think the human in-
ability to reconcile our natures with our
desires might be tragic, but its also funny
and beautiful.
Youve mentioned in other interviews that
the new record was recorded at Michigans
Key Club, far away from the usual home set-
ting of past work. What was the process like
working off the beaten path as opposed
to in a more familiar setting? Is it an experi-
ence youd want to explore more? Or do you
think that professional recording situations
might take away something from the home-
spun material?
Theres not a whole lot to the town we
recorded in, and thats no slag. Its just
very simple, and there are farm stands
and a beautiful, great lake nearby. Fewer
distractions meant more focus. The studio
itself is very thoughtfully put together, a
well-constructed playground run by two
very smart, funny, kind people, and very
comfortable. We slept nights in bunk
beds above the studio. It was, in many
ways, perfect.
In talking to others who have heard the re-
cord, there seems to be a consensus about
the loads of metaphors strewn throughout.
Would you tend to agree with that, or do you
think maybe theres more direct grains of
truth or observation being laid out? Again,
has the whole concept or focal point of the
LP forced the album into a box of slightly in-
volved lyrical costructs? Is there one basic,
unwavering emotional statement that the
albums trying to get across?
I guess Id want to know more about this
consensus, but I feel that the distance be-
tween the lyrics and plainspoken obser-
vation isnt based in metaphor but rather
my tendency to obscure details. I do this
because Id rather not force literal mean-
ing down any throats; Id like things to
remain open to interpretation, and if peo-
ple want, Id like them to be able to asso-
ciate certain words or phrases with their
\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
own lives and experiences. As much as I I think the human
am interested in the heady ideas behind
some of the lyrics, I know the feeling of
inability to reconcile
wanting the music you like to be a vehi- our natures with
cle for unrestricted emotional release of
whatever sort you need. For me, the al- our desires might be
bum is about optimism. Believe it or not. tragic, but its also fun-
I think we followed exactly the path that
we needed to, took the time we needed. ny and beautiful.
Its become important to me that I follow a
sort of internal guided path. Sometimes it
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
takes a while; sometimes it is immediate.
Since weve only just gotten the record
out, I cant say. at all where well end up
on the next one, but Im very much look-
ing forward to going down that road.parts
of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind.
Album Info:
choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the
blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the
blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. t
calls for the creative community to submit ideas, a large
language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Conso-
nantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a
large language ocean. t calls for the creative communi-
ty to submit ideas to a larger project; to begin a long,
playful but critical debate with us. The text is strange,
hopefully humorous, and e ocean. t calls for the cre-
ative community to submit ideas to a larger project; to
begin a long, playful but critical debate with us. The text
is strange, hopefully humorous, and speaks to a long
history of.
\043\\DISclosed\
 THE ALTERNATIVE
LIMB PROJECT Words by Benoit Palop Images by Sophie de Oliviera Barata

London-based designer Sophie de Oliveira Barata, coming from an art background, with a first class
honours degree at London Arts University where she studied Special Effects prosthetics for film and
TV, uses her expertise for her Alternative Limb Project.
The Alternative Limb Project offers a personal and friendly bespoke service, which provides unique
prosthetics to blend in with the body or stand out as a un ique piece of art, reflecting the wearers
imagination, personality and interests. An alternative-style limb can help to break down social barri-
ers, delight the eye and provide an unusual talking point.

\044\\ART\\DISclosed\ \045\\DISclosed\
 Left: Choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right.
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind
Right: Texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.

\046\\DISclosed\ \017\\DISclosed\
 Left: Choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the texts. Separated they live in
Bookmarksgrove right. at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
Right: Texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the m the countries Vokalia
and Consonantia, there live the blind coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.

\048\\DISclosed\ \049\\DISclosed\
\050\\ART\\DISclosed\

ART
SPOTLIGHT
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia,
therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Se-
mantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies
it with the necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at
the coast of the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the
AUGUST

2015
countries Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove
right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their
place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from
the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove
right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of
the Semantics, alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the
necessary regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia,
therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge language
ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia
 O Emilie
One morning, when Gre-
gor Samsa woke from
troubled dreams, he found
himself transformed in his
bed into a horrible vermin.
He lay on his armour-like back, and if he
lifted his head a little he could see his
brown belly, slightly domed and divided
by arches into stiff sections. The bedding
was hardly able to cover it and seemed
ready to slide off any moment. His many
legs, pitifully thin compared with the size
of the rest of him, waved about helplessly
as he looked. Whats happened to me?
he thought. It wasnt a dream. His room,
a proper human room although a little
too small, lay peacefully between its four
familiar walls. A collection of textile sam-
ples lay spread out on the table - Samsa
was a travelling salesman - and above it
there hung a picture that he had recent-
ly cut out of an illustrated magazine and
\052\\DISclosed\
housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed
a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa
who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff
that covered the whole of her lower arm
towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to
look out the window at the dull weath-
er. Drops of rain could be heard hitting
the pane, which made him feel quite sad.
How about if I sleep a little bit longer
and forget all this nonsense, he thought,
but that was something he was unable to
do because he was used to sleeping on
his right, and in his present state couldnt
get into that position. However hard he
threw himself onto his right, he always
rolled back to where he was. He must
have tried it a hundred times, shut his
eyes so that he wouldnt have to look at
the floundering legs, and only stopped
when he began to feel a mild, dull pain
there that he had never felt before.
Oh, God, he thought, what a strenu-
ous career it is that Ive chosen! Travelling
day in and day out. Doing business like
Gervais
London-based designer Em-
ilie Gervais, coming from an
art background, with a first
class honours degree at Lon-
don Arts University where she
studied Special Effects prspoke
service, which provides unique
prosthetics to blend in delight
the eye and provide an unusual
talking point.
this takes much more effort than doing
your own business at home, and on top
of that theres the curse of travelling, wor-
ries about making train connections, bad
and irregular food, contact with different
people all the time so that you can never
get to know anyone or become friendly
with them. It can all go to Hell! He felt a
slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself
slowly up on his back towards the head-
board so that he could lift his head better;
found where the itch was, and saw that
it was covered with lots of little white
spots which he didnt know what to everything I would, let him know just
make of; and when he tried to feel
the place with one of his legs he
drew it quickly back because as
soon as he touched it he was
overcome by a cold shud-
der. He slid back into his
former position. Getting
up early all the time, theres still some hope; once Ive got the
he thought, it makes
you stupid. Youve got
to get enough sleep. Other travelling
salesmen live a life of luxury. For in-
stance, whenever I go back to the guest
house during the morning to copy out
the contract, these gentlemen are always
still sitting there eating their breakfasts. I
ought to just try that with my boss; Id get
kicked out on the spot. But who knows,
maybe that would be the best thing for
me. If I didnt have my parents to think
about Id have given in my notice a long
time ago, Id have gone up to the boss
and told him just what I think, tell him
to quietly sleep through that furniture-rat-
what I feel. Hed fall right off his desk!
And its a funny sort of business to be sit-
ting up there at your desk, talking down
at your subordinates from up there, espe-
cially when you have to go right up close
because the boss is hard of hearing. Well,
money together to pay off my parents
debt to him - another five or six years I
suppose - thats definitely what Ill do.
Thats when Ill make the big change. First
of all though, Ive got to get up, my train
leaves at five. And he looked over at the
alarm clock, ticking on the chest of draw-
ers. God in Heaven! he thought. It was
half past six and the hands were quietly
moving forwards, it was even later than
half past, more like quarter to seven. Had
the alarm clock not rung? He could see
from the bed that it had been set for four
oclock as it should have been; it certain-
ly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible
tling noise? True, he had not slept peace-
fully, but probably all the more deeply
because of that. What should he do now?
The next train went at seven; if he were to
catch that he would have to rush like mad
and the collection of samples was still not
packed, and.
\053\\DISclosed\
 Y DANIEL
You can never get to
know anyone or become
friendly with them. It can
all go to Hell! He felt a
slight itch up on his bel-
ly; pushed himself slowly up on his back
towards the headboard so that he could
lift his head better; found where the itch
was, and saw that it was covered with
lots of little white spots which he didnt
know what to make of; and when he tried
to feel the place with one of his legs he
drew it quickly back because as soon
as he touched it he was overcome by a
cold shudder. He slid back into his for-
mer position. Getting up early all the
time, he thought, it makes you stupid.
Youve got to get enough sleep. Other
travelling salesmen live a life of luxury.
For instance, whenever I go back to the
guest house during the morning to copy
out the contract, these gentlemen are al-
\054\\DISclosed\
ways still sitting there eating their break-
fasts. I ought to just try that with my boss;
Id get kicked out on the spot. But who
knows, maybe that would be the best
thing for me. If I didnt have my parents
to think about Id have given in my notice
a long time ago, Id have gone up to the
boss and told him just what I think, tell
him everything I would, let him know just
what I feel. Hed fall right off his desk!
And its a funny sort of business to be sit-
ting up there at your desk, talking down
at your subordinates from up there, espe-
cially when you have to go right up close
because the boss is hard of hearing. Well,
theres still some hope; once Ive got the
money together to pay off my parents
debt to him - another five or six years I
suppose - thats definitely what Ill do.
Thats when Ill make the big change. First
of all though, Ive got to get up, my train
leaves at five. And he looked over at the
alarm clock, ticking on the chest of draw-
moving forwards, it was even later than
half past, more like quarter to seven. Had
ARSHAM
Daniel Arshams multidisci-
plinary practice seems to be
tling noise? True, he had not slept peace-
everywhere, touching each end
of the art world spectrum. This
month, Arsham only furthers his
reach with a new work, Formless
Figure, at the Watermill Center
in New York, and simultaneous
kick-off of solo show, Remem-
ber the Future, at the Cincinnati
Contemporary Arts Center.
ers. God in Heaven! he thought. It was
half past six and the hands were quietly
the alarm clock not rung? He could see
from the bed that it had been set for four
oclock as it should have been; it certain-
ly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible
to quietly sleep through that furniture-rat-
fully, but probably all the more deeply
because of that. What should he do
now? The next train went at seven; if
he were to catch that he would have
to rush like mad and the collection
of samples was still not packed,
and he did not at all feel particu-
larly fresh and lively. And even
if he did catch the train he
would not avoid his bosss
anger as the office assistant
would have been there to
see the five oclock train
go, he would have put
in his report about Gregors not being
there a long time ago. The office assistant
was the bosss man, spineless, and with
no understanding. What about if he re-
ported sick? But that would be extremely
strained and suspicious as in fifteen years
of service Gregor had never once yet
been ill. His boss would certainly come
round with the doctor from the medical
insurance company, accuse his parents of
having a lazy son, and accept the doc-
tors recommendation not to make any
claim as the doctor believed that no-one
was ever ill but that many were workshy.
And whats more, would he have been en-
tirely wrong in this case? Gregor did in
fact, apart from excessive sleepiness after
sleeping for so long, feel completely well
and even felt much hungrier than usual.
One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke
from troubled dreams, he found himself
transformed in his bed into a horrible ver-
min. He lay on his armour-like back, and
if he lifted his head a little he could see his
brown belly, slightly domed and divided
by arches into stiff sections. The bedding
was hardly able to cover it and seemed
ready to slide off any moment. His many
legs, pitifully thin compared with the size
of the rest of him, waved about helplessly
as he looked. Whats happened to me?
he thought. It wasnt a dream. His room,
a proper human room although a little
too small, lay peacefully between its four
familiar walls. A collection of textile sam-
ples lay spread out on the table - Samsa
was a travelling salesman - and above it
there hung a picture that he had recent-
ly cut out of an illustrated magazine and
housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed
a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa
who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff
that coveredideas are not as far-fetched as
they seem.
\055\\DISclosed\
 A YUNG
Any moment. His many
legs, pitifully thin com-
pared with the size of the
rest of him, waved about
helplessly as he looked.
Whats happened to me? he thought.
It wasnt a dream. His room, a proper
human room although a little too small,
lay peacefully between its four familiar
walls. A collection of textile samples lay
spread out on the table - Samsa was a
travelling salesman - and above it there
hung a picture that he had recently cut
out of an illustrated magazine and housed
in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady
fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who
sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that
covered the whole of her lower arm to-
wards the viewer. Gregor then turned to
look out the window at the dull weath-
er. Drops of rain could be heard hitting
the pane, which made him feel quite sad.
\056\\DISclosed\
How about if I sleep a little bit longer
and forget all this nonsense, he thought,
but that was something he was unable to
do because he was used to sleeping on
his right, and in his present state couldnt
get into that position. However hard he
threw himself onto his right, he always
rolled back to where he was. He must
have tried it a hundred times, shut his
eyes so that he wouldnt have to look at
the floundering legs, and only stopped
when he began to feel a mild, dull pain
there that he had never felt before.
Oh, God, he thought, what a strenu-
ous career it is that Ive chosen! Travelling
day in and day out. Doing business like
this takes much more effort than doing
your own business at home, and on top
of that theres the curse of travelling, wor-
ries about making train connections, bad
and irregular food, contact with different
people all the time so that you can never
get to know anyone or become friendly
with them. It can all go to Hell! He felt a
slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself
slowly up on his back towards the head-
board so that he could lift his head better;
CHENG
found where the itch was, and saw that it
was covered with lots of little white spots
which he didnt know what to make of; just what I feel. Hed fall right off his desk!
and when he tried to feel the place with
LIN
one of his legs he drew it quickly back
because as soon as he touched it he was
overcome by a cold shudder. He slid back
into his former position. Getting up early
Artist yung cheng lin, common- all the time, he thought, it makes you
ly known as 3CM, visualizes stupid. Youve got to get enough sleep.
Other travelling salesmen live a life
themes of womens issues, so- of luxury. For instance, whenever I
cial standards, and body modi- go back to the guest house during
the morning to copy out the con-
fication through a photographic tract, these gentlemen are al-
lens. the artist interprets these ways still sitting there eating
their breakfasts. I ought to
subjects through simple tools
just try that with my boss;
and materials Id get kicked out on the
spot. But who knows,
maybe that would be
the best thing for me. If I didnt have my the alarm clock not rung? He could see
parents to think about Id have given in my from the bed that it had been set for four
notice a long time ago, Id have gone up oclock as it should have been; it certain-
to the boss and told him just what I think, ly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible
tell him everything I would, let him know to quietly sleep through that furniture-rat-
tling noise? True, he had not slept peace-
fully, but probably all the more deeply
And its a funny sort of business to be sit- because of that. What should he do now?
ting up there at your desk, talking down The next train went at seven; if he were
at your subordinates from up there, espe- to catch that he would have to rush like
cially when you have to go right up close mad and the collection of samples was
because the boss is hard of hearing. Well, still not packed, and he did not at all feel
theres still some hope; once Ive got the particularly fresh and lively.
money together to pay off my parents
debt to him - another five or six years I
suppose - thats definitely what Ill do.
Thats when Ill make the big change. First
of all though, Ive got to get up, my train
leaves at five. And he looked over at the
alarm clock, ticking on the chest of draw-
ers. God in Heaven! he thought. It was
half past six and the hands were quietly
moving forwards, it was even later than
half past, more like quarter to seven. Had \057\\DISclosed\
 H LISA
However hard he threw board so that he could lift his head better; what I feel. Hed fall right off his desk! oclock as it should have been; it certain- company, accuse his parents of having a
himself onto his right, found where the itch was, and saw that it And its a funny sort of business to be sit- ly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible lazy son, and accept the doctors recom-
he always rolled back to was covered with lots of little white spots ting up there at your desk, talking down to quietly sleep through that furniture-rat- mendation not to make any claim as the
where he was. He must which he didnt know what to make of; at your subordinates from up there, espe- tling noise? True, he had not slept peace- doctor believed that no-one was ever ill

have tried it a hundred
times, shut his eyes so that he wouldnt
have to look at the floundering legs, and
only stopped when he began to feel a mild,
dull pain there that he had never felt before.
Oh, God, he thought, what a strenu-
ous career it is that Ive chosen! Travelling
day in and day out. Doing business like
this takes much more effort than doing
your own business at home, and on top
of that theres the curse of travelling, wor-
ries about making train connections, bad
and irregular food, contact with different
people all the time so that you can never
get to know anyone or become friendly
with them. It can all go to Hell! He felt a
slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself
slowly up on his back towards the head-
\058\\DISclosed\
and when he tried to feel the place with
one of his legs he drew it quickly back
because as soon as he touched it he was
overcome by a cold shudder. He slid back
into his former position. Getting up early
all the time, he thought, it makes you
stupid. Youve got to get enough sleep.
Other travelling salesmen live a life of
luxury. For instance, whenever I go back
to the guest house during the morning to
copy out the contract, these gentlemen
are always still sitting there eating their
breakfasts. I ought to just try that with my
boss; Id get kicked out on the spot. But
who knows, maybe that would be the best
thing for me. If I didnt have my parents
to think about Id have given in my notice
a long time ago, Id have gone up to the
boss and told him just what I think, tell
him everything I would, let him know just
PARK
Brain power takes on a liter-
suppose - thats definitely
al meaning when it comes to
EEG painting, mind-responsive
furniture, and the work of Lisa
Park. Park combines EEG scan-
ning with speakers and pools of
water to visualize her thoughts
and emotions. Last year, she ex-
posed her brain patterns to the
world with Eunoia
cially when you have to go right up close fully, but probably all the more deeply
because the boss is hard of hearing. Well, because of that. What should he do now?
theres still some hope; once Ive got the The next train went at seven; if he were
money together to pay off my parents to catch that he would have to rush like
debt to him - another five or six years I mad and the collection of samples was
still not packed, and he did not at all feel
what Ill do. Thats when Ill make the big particularly fresh and lively. And even if
change. First of all though, Ive got to he did catch the train he would not avoid
get up, my train leaves at five. And his bosss anger as the office assistant
he looked over at the alarm clock, would have been there to see the five
ticking on the chest of drawers. oclock train go, he would have put in his
God in Heaven! he thought. It report about Gregors not being there a
was half past six and the hands long time ago. The office assistant was the
were quietly moving forwards, bosss man, spineless, and with no under-
it was even later than half standing. What about if he reported sick?
past, more like quarter to But that would be extremely strained and
seven. Had the alarm clock suspicious as in fifteen years of service
not rung? He could see Gregor had never once yet been ill. His
from the bed that it boss would certainly come round with
had been set for four the doctor from the medical insurance
but that many were workshy. And whats
more, would he have been entirely wrong
in this case? Gregor did in fact, apart from
excessive sleepiness after sleeping for so
long, feel completely well and even felt
much hungrier than usual. One morning,
when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled
dreams, he found himself transformed in
his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on
his armour-like back, and if he lifted his
head a little he could see his brown bel-
ly, slightly domed and divided by arches
into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly
able to cover it and.
\059\\DISclosed\
 Source: Flickr.de/LegueofLegendsfan98 \061\DISclosed\

WHY VIDEOGAMES CANT

TEACH YOU EMPATHY
by Leo Contraire
Anna Anthropy was furious.
A New York teacher had re-
cently boasted online that she
used Anthropys Dys4ia, an
8-bit flash game that Anthropy
made to evoke her experience
with hormone therapy, to teach
students what its like to be
trans.
game does seem to invite
an empathetic response. In
Dys4ia, players shave chest
hair off budding breasts and
wait frustratingly long at the
doctors for a spironolactone
prescription. A misshapen Te-
tris piece is a metaphor for
Anthropys changing body.
After its 2012 release, Dys4ia
perience getting on estrogen.
Anthropy, 32, is now challeng-
ing the idea that a digital game
can confer an understanding of
her lived experience, marginal-
ization, and personal struggle.
The term empathy game re-
fers to a rapidly expanding
genre of games designed to in-
spire empathy in players. Over

WHY ARE
players effused about how the the last few years, news outlets
Flush yrself down game brought them closer to have covered their arrival on
the toilet, Anthro- the trans experience. the market with enthusiasm

WE MEAT?
by Sam Hyde
Did you hear about the guy
getting a human head trans-
plant?Yeah, he changed his
mind.Whatever, that joke al-
most works.
Did you hear about the guy
getting a human head trans-
plant, though? I mean, maybe
getting a human head trans-
plant. Or maybe turning into a
Human Centipede-level medi-
cal horrorshow, o r maybe dy-
ing, or maybe never going un-
der the knife at all.The surgery
is years off, and many experts
are calling it immoral and in-
sane, but a Russian man with a
genetic muscle disease, Valery
Spiridonov, has volunteered to
be the first human head trans-
plantee.
Im ready for your experi-
ments! he wrote in an email
to the doctor Sergio Canave-
ro, author of Head Transplan-
tation and the Quest for Im-
mortality and now the worlds
most prominent peddler of the
idea that immortality can be
achieved through the Gillette
mo del.One day, Dr. Canavero
says, we will clone our bodies,
grow them in artificial wombs,
\060\DISclosed\
py wrote to her and optimism. These games
Twitter follow- By the time the 15-minute range from text-based interac-
ers, if you experience was over, one tive fiction to sensory-immer-
think youve blogger wrote, I was clos- sive virtual reality experiences.
transplant our learned er to understanding the T in Many focus on highly personal
heads onto them empa- LGBT than ever before.Dy- experiences, rushing the player
as our old meatbags t h y s4ia: Useful for education and through developers more diffi-
weaken and wither. Got for empathy. Both learning facts cult life milestones.
a bad knee? Diabetes? Ear- and sharing in what she went
ly stage cancer? No problem, through, read one Tweet. But, Empathy games, emphatical-
well just change the whole Anthropy maintains, Dys4ia ly, are not meant to be fun.
thing out.Increasingly, the hu- was never intended to be an In 2013, game developer
man body seems cosmetic Dr. empathy game. It never Zoe Quinn made Depression
Canavero is a very optimistic pretended to invite you Quest, the text-based interac-
man. But his vision does seem into the trans experi- tive fiction game that spurred
like one logical conclusion to ence, to immerse the GamerGate controversy,
the Information Age. Our bod- ry of you in Anthropys to illustrate how depression
ies have been declining in im- bio-hack- experience get- suffocates and cripples people
portance since the machines ing. What ting on es- who suffer from it. As the main
took over mass production. is the fourth trogen. An- character attempts to navigate
Computers exponentially en- industrial rev- t h r o p y, the mundanities of college life
hanced our intellectual abil- olution? Has the 32, is (with his choice of text narra-
ities, while our physical abil- first person to live to now tive options), he is immobi-
ities remain limitedat least be 1,000 already been lized by anxiety. To translate
until bionic arms become a born? What if we create this to players, the healthier
thing. Gchat is replacing con- the technology for everlast- options like shake off your
versation, robots are replacing ing life and bionic arms, but funk are blocked out. It is,
manual laborers, drones are not everyone can afford it? If by design, what its like
replacing soldiers, and virtual that technology were here, to be me, to be trans.ift
reality is potentially replacingwould youshould youuse experience, provoke
everything. Increasingly, the it? Well also be talking to meaningful feelings
body seems cosmetic. Worse, Valery Spiridonov, the first hu- of understanding
its fatally flawedit dies. man head transplant volunteer, and compassion?
and his doctor, Sergio Canav- Do empathy
This week, were running a ero, along with a host of peo- galectual
slate of special stories about ple working on transcending person is
the future of the human body. the limits of the human body. thinking
Well be talking about immor- We will also be presenting our a n d
tality,
m ind uploading, trans- original documentary, Inhu- as-
humanism, cryonics, the histo- man Kind, about the automa-
ry of bio-hacking. What is the tion of war. Source: Tumblr.com/Angrysjw
fourth industrial revolution?
\017\\ Culture\\DISclosed\
GOOGLE DEEP
DREAM
Porcelain kittens on grandparents couch-
side tables. Tie-dye on hippies. Eight-bit
pixel patterns for 90s nerds. Lumberjack
plaid on Brooklyn hipsters. Each cultural
era tends to develop its own characteristic
patterns. These are imagery and symbols
that may have once had some kind of liter-
al significance for human beings or specif-
ic reason for beingthe necessity of mini-
mal graphics in early video games leading
to eight-bit style, for examplebut grad-
ually lose their specific meanings as they
transform into kitsch. We are lucky, if that
is indeed the right word, to have received
a glimpse into the kitsch of the future this
week. Popping up around the Internet has
been warped, surreal imagery that looks
like a computer took acid and stared at
itself in the mirror too long. Curved lines
distort into biomorphic shapes, and then
evolve into specific animals. Eyes appear
where eyes should not be. This nightmare
plague was caused by Googles Deep
Dream project, an image-processing al-
gorithm that turns otherwise normal pho-
tos into sickly visions worthy of Hierony-
mus Bosch. Deep Dream is described as
a neural network. What this vague term
means more prosaically is that Googles
filter is a set of equations that has been
trained on a pre-existing body of knowl-
edge to recognize certain patterns in
datain this case, colored pixels. Deep
Dream was fed a bank of images, from
which it was taught to see various re-
al-world objects (the same technology be-
hind Googles image recognition research)
by their specific shapes. Then, it is given
a fresh image, works to recognize objects
within it, and re-filters the results so the
objects it finds look more like objects. Re-
peat ad nauseam, literally, until the results
sicken you. Googles Deep Dream proj-
ect: an image-processing algorithm that
turns otherwise normal photos into sickly
visions worthy of Hieronymus Bosch.
It might be easier to put Deep Dream un-
By Francis Ohulahand
Gogle has spent the last few years
teaching computers how to see,
understand, and appreciate our
world. Its an important goal that
the search giant hopes will allow
programs to classify images just
by looking at them.
der the category of machine learning,
since theres little analytical intelligence
used on the images. They lack all logic,
at least of a human variety. Deep Dream
transforms the Horsehead Nebula into a
series of dog faces (perhaps the neural
network has looked at the meme-ified
Three Wolf Moon T-shirt one too many
times). Pornography evolves toward ex-
tremely gross slugs that have grown arms
and legs.
If Deep Dream looks psychedelic, its be-
cause the computer is undergoing some-
thing that humans experience during hal-
lucinations, in which our brains are free
to follow the impulse of any recognizable
imagery and exaggerate it in a self-rein-
forcing loop. Think of a psychedelic ex-
perience, where you are free to explore
all the sorts of internal high-level hypoth-
eses or predictions about what might
have caused sensory input, Karl Friston,
professor neuroscience at University Col-
lege London, told Motherboard. Deep
Dream sometimes appears to follow par-
ticular rules; these arent quite random,
but rather a result of the source materi-
al. Dogs appear so often likely because
there were a preponderance of dogs in
the initial batch of imagery, and thus the
program is quick to recognize a dog.
This reinforces Deep Dream as not just
a piece of technology but as a discrete
visual style, the same as Impressionism,
Surrealism, or the geometric abstraction
of Piet Mondrian. Just as Mondrians work
was printed on pants or the iconic Solo
Jazz Cup pattern reproduced on T-shirts,
Deep Dream imagery will eventually en-
ter into the vernacular. It will no longer
be strange, but instantly recognizable.
Kitsch offers instantaneous emotional
gratification without intellectual effort,
without the requirement of distance,
without sublimation, according to the
philosopher Walter Benjamin, a pioneer
of the idea. The description fits perfectly
for this new genre of algorithmically gen-
erated imagery. It requires no criticality
or particular intellectual effort to digest,
nor does it provide much reward in re-
turn. Deep Dream is our own visual cul-
ture, chopped up in a blender and spoon-
fed back to us. Deep Dream makes this
complex algorithm somewhat tangible;
that is what makes for Benjamins quali-
fication of gratification without intellec-
tual effort. It gives us a coherent, funny
\063\\ Art\\DISclosed\
 ADDITIVISM DISclosed: Can you explain to us what
Farword
the far Additivist
away, behind
means? the word

3D PRINITINGS CALL TO ACTION

mountains, far from the countries
Morehshin Allahyari: The most literal way
Vokalia and Consonantia, there-
to explain the term is through the fabri-
live the
cation blind 3D
process: texts. Separated
printers they
are machines
live in Bookmarksgrove right
that use additive methods to create ob- at printer helps an engineer, a design stu-
the coast
jects, versusoflaser
the Semantics,
cutters or CNC alarge
ma- dent or an artist realize their idea, all that
chines which use subtractive
language ocean. A small river methods. deep history is stored in the resulting ob-
By Benoit Palop Initially we became interested in the ject. Then we chuck the results into land-
named Duden flows by their place
term because of this definition, but as the fill, or let them get washed into the ocean
It took over a year of intense reflection and exploration for San Francisco-based new-me- and supplies
project it with the
moved forward necessary
we realized that and absorbed by corals. Thats the sim-
regelialia can be a movement in and
#Additivism plest way of thinking through Additivism,
dia artist and art activist Morehshin Allahyari and London-based writer and artist Daniel
of itself. A term and concept we coined the meshing of forms on a computer; the
Rourke to create The 3D Additivist Manifesto, a research project that combines art, en- by extending and understanding the ways adding of layers over time, in plastic, or
gineering, science fiction and digital media aesthetics into a call to arms to soar beyond 3D print technology and other additive the geological record. But, as Morehshin Allahyari: In January 2014, Daniel inter-
the current limits of 3D printing. Here, the creative, intelligent, and evolutionary tech- tools shape and influence our lives cur- mentioned, that take on Additivism hard viewed me for Rhizome about a project I
rently and in the future. did called Dark Matter which focused on
nologyfor which the possibilities are still being exploredis probed in a 10-minute video \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 3D printing a combination of objects that
essay that takes viewers deep into an uncanny journey of 3D-rendered landscapes and
surreal objects, set to a soundtrack by Andrea Young.
Daniel Rourke: Additivism is a term in
lieu of a movement. An extended met-
Additivism can are forbidden/unwelcome in Iran. In that
project I talked about the censored poten-
its a dynamic call to artists, researchers, and other interested parties to reflect on the cur- aphor for the contradictions inherent in emancipate us. tials embedded in 3D printers and how,
rent state of additive manufacturing. The end goal is the Additivist Cookbook, a method- material thinking. Morehshin and I have in a poetic way, I thought about them as

ological collection that will bring together submitted ideas, thoughts, and designs for the
talked a great deal about those contra-
dictions, focusing on oil and the part it
future of 3D printing. has to play in additive manufacturing. We
To learn more about Additivism, DISclosed spoke with Allahyari and Rourke: humans and machines suck that stuff up
from deep under the ocean and then we
process it into constituent elements, some
of which eventually go into the produc-
\070\\ \\DISclosed\ tion of 3D plastic filament. So when a 3D
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
ouches on the politics of oil, its human
cost, its dark, bloody history, or the tens
of millions of years it took to form un-
der the Earths crust. Additivism is about
that chain of processes. Can you talk to us
about the genesis of this project? What
was the starting point? Any inspirations?
machines for documenting and archiving
the forbidden aspects of my life and a
portion of the history of Iran. Daniels
questions and then the conversations that
grew out of that, made me realize that we
were both interested in a lot of common
\071\\DISclosed\
concepts including the radical, invisible,
and more in-depth notions of digital tools
and 3D printers. Then in February 2014
we met in Chicago for The CAA Confer-
ence.At an event at Tritriangle Gallery we
briefly talked about William Powells An-
archist Cookbook (1969) and how the 3D
printer could have its own Cookbook. A
month after that (in March 2014) we start-
ed our research and our text, which we
worked on for almost a year (with some
small breaks in the middle).
Rourke: Morehshins Dark Matter series
really colored my own thinking about 3D
printing and its potential. That, and a proj-
help us compose The 3D Additivist Man-
ifesto. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (1961),
Philip K. Dicks concept of kipple
(1960s), Shinya Tsukamotos sci -horror
film Tetsuo:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Additivism will be in-
strumental in accele
rating the emergence
and encounter with
The Radical Outside.
Whats the goal of this manifesto and
what are your expectations?
Allahyari: Our Manifesto takes the form of
a text and a 10-minute video. The video
brings together a surreal series of land-
scapes and objects; an imagined context
for the future of a speculative movement
we are calling #Additivism, focusing on
digital, plastic, metal, and oil aesthetics.
We hope that it creates a utopian/dystopi-
an backdrop against which our Manifesto
sits. It calls for the creative community to
submit ideas to a larger project; to begin
a long, playful but critical debate with us.
The text is strange, hopefully humorous,
of possibilities that might exist there. The
3D Additivist Manifesto is about that pre-
tense, and The 3D Additivist Cookbook
will be a list of ingredients for fabricating
new possibilities.
In a recent lecture Donna Haraway
coined the Cthtulucenefrom the myth-
ical creatures imagined by horror writer
H.P. Lovecraft. Creatures so impossible
for us to comprehend that our nightmares
barely suffice to illustrate them. Addi-
tivism is about embracing the Cthtulu-
cene. Its already here, hiding in between
things, watching as we adapt towards our
inevitable extinction.
for documentation and archiving. Butlook
at the larger picture, especially in the art
world, I dont think that 3D printers have
been pushed to certain limits yet.
We wanted to take this opportunity to
both criticize the fetishization of 3D
printers and this urge to 3D print stuff
(crap, junk) just because we can, while
also suggesting that there is a big po-
tential locked inside these technologies.
For me, this is an ongoing interest since
I am also currently doing a residency at
Autodesk Pier 9 program and so many
new and radical ideas about 3D printing,
materials, and Additivist methods comes
allows you to bypass the DRM on your
coffee machine. From the sublime to the
ridiculous. And that really resonates with
a contemporary condition that comes out
of globalization, and feeds into concepts
like the Cthtulucene. We live in an age
where our contradictions are writ large
every tiny thing we do. A lot of my own
research tries to address the space be-
tween the material and the digital; the
human and the nonhuman. Morehshins
Dark Matter series was one of the first
uses of 3D print technologies that real-
ly spoke to that. The blended objects in
Dark Matter slip beneath cultural, polit-

ect I did with artist Alex Myers that lead

us to realize the work as a series of un-
printable 3D objects. Another super im-
portant 3D-printed project that inspired
Morehshin and I was The Free Universal
Construction Kit, produced by F.A.T. Lab
+ SyL ab (2012). The project plays with the
very idea of proprietary objects, and be-
cause it is freely available to anyone who
wants to download and print it, it gestures
to an openness and mediation between
forms that is radical in its implications.
To speak to that radical openness we
turned to speculative fiction and theory to
RIGHT PIC
choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the
blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the
blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right
at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
t calls for the creative community to submit ideas to a
larger project; to begin a long, playful but critical debate
with us. The text is strange, hopefully humorous, and
speaks to a long history of.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Iron Man (1989), A Cyborg Manifesto by
Donna Haraway (1985/1991), and Reza
Negarestanis blending of theory and fic-
tion, The Cyclonopedia (2008). They all
successfully generate spaces where con-
tradictions can play themselves out. All of
them look past the human in some way,
or at least generate parallel material
realities from which the human can be
glimpsed obliquely.
We asked ourselves how we could be
provocative in a way that remained gener-
ative, that produced positive alternatives
and revolutionary possibilities. The Anar-
chist Cookbook is about that openness.
The book is most definitely troubling,
even 40 odd years after its original pub-
lication, because it speaks of an outside
to the norm. That outside is far more radi-
cal than any particular design for a bomb
or a gun inside the book. We thought a
3D Print Anarchist Cookbook was such
a great idea that it was a surprise to us
when we couldnt find one already out
there in the wild. So of course it was up
to us to gather the ideas and the talent
together and make the cookbook happen.
and speaks to a long history of iconoclas-
tic manifesto texts.So much of our Man-
ifesto comes from both criticizing and
admiring previous manifestos. The lan-
guage and tone of our text is bold, iron-
ic, ridiculous, and completely serious all
at once. For example, one topic that we
greatly discussed is the masculine history
of previous manifestos in general and the
lack of female voices both in the mani-
festos language as well as the history of
technology. Our cyborg therefore is post-
human and postgender. Our Manifesto
suggests an unmanned future or perhaps
a gender-neutral future where other kinds
of bodies can exist beyond our imagina-
tion or definitions of gender.
Rourke: One of the terms that is echoing
around academia and the arts at the mo-
ment is the Anthropocene, popularized
by chemist Paul Crutzen. The term was
intended to focus the worlds attention on
the impact our civilization is having on
Earth, and try to illustrate that influence on
vast, deep timescales. But theres a prob-
lem in that intense self-reflection. Yes, the
Anthropocene makes us feel small and
insignificant, and reminds us that our ex-
tinction is inevitable. But it also raises us
to the height of a force of nature. All time
and space made to center on the here and
now in a kind of perverse amplification directly from our space right here in San ical, and material categories. Similarly,
of humanism. Claire Colebrook in her re- Why did you choose to focus your re- Francisco.Rourke: the most radical thing about the 3D-print-
cent book Death of The Posthuman says search project on the 3D printer? ed gun is not that it can pass unnoticed
that the Anthropocene is a nostalgia for \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ through xray scanners, or that it might be
a future that we will never see. We have
already started trying to look back at our-
Allahyari: I remember how amazed I was
two years ago when I first read about 3D
Additivism will used to inflict damage on people, but that
it can be zipped into an encrypted file
selves and figure what our legacy will be. printers. There was this video, I think ac- eradicate us. and emailed around the world.
Thats a disturbing idea. tually at The Creators Project, showing an Like the first line of our Manifesto says,
object being printed. I was so fascinated \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The plastic used in 3D Additive manu-
What will remain of us a million years by that, just the gesture, the very fact that facturing is a metaphor before it has even
from now? Probably nothing as profound I could own a machine in my studio that If you tune into the conversation around been layered into shape. We really hope
and incomprehensible as crude oil. Our could bring a digital life to physical form. 3D printing, youll hear about everything the submissions we receive to The 3D
Manifesto tries to channel that weird out- When I first started to work on a project from 3D printing an exact copy of a ba- How did you divide the tasks on this
sideness. Or at least, to open a crack in that used 3D printers, I really loved that I bys skull to help save its life, all the way
reality long enough for us to get a glimpse could think about these machines as tools through to 3D printing a tiny clip that \073\DISclosed\
 work on, and especially so with Andrea
who equaled our enthusiasm and took
our visuals and text to another place.

What was your creative process? How did

you work and which tools did you use?

Morehshin: I dont think Ive ever been

PIC1
choose to focus your and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the
coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts.
Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
project? Who made what?
Allahyari: In developing the concepts,
gathering resources, and ideas, we
worked closely and side by side (virtualin
deciding what topics, theories, and items
we wanted to include in our Manifesto.
We spent months writing, editing, and
adding to our text in a series of Google
Drive documents. I would say that Daniel
played an important role in the style and
language/tone of our Manifesto. It was a
complex and challenging process for me
as an artist for whom English is her sec
In the animation/video production of our
project Daniel played the role I did in the
writing. Giving ideas, finding 3D models,
suggesting edits or changes in the aes-
thetic or the camera movements while I
was creating the scenes and rendering. So
somehow everything found its balance so
that we could both equally be involved
in writing the text and making the video.
though a more complex creative process
in terms of time and space. I think our
biggest challenge, but also a super inter-
esting aspect of our process, was work-
ing virtually for a year without meeting in
person in timezones that are nine hours
apart. We lost a lot of time sleeping or
waiting on the other person to wake up!
Its also crazy to realize how much Ive
learned through this process. Daniel has
been an amazing inspiration in my en-
trance to the limitless world of writing,
science fiction, and theory in a way I had
not discovered previous to this collabora-
tion. So for me, I would say that beyond
a collaborative project, this has shaped a
lot of my own research and thinking as
an artist and activist. In terms of tech-
nologies, we used Google Documents,
Dropbox (to share video files, audio, im-
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ages, texes has taught me a lot. Its been
There is no innovation amazing.Our Manifesto has compressed
within it countless forms of deliberation
that has not an ag- and creative practice. We sourced a lot of
preexisting 3D objects.
gressive character.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Rourke: Morehshin is playing down her

input on the text, but it really was a joint
effort. It has been a really organic work-
ing process. A lot of the time it has felt
like the project carried us with it and told
us how to do things. For instance, we de-
cided pretty late on that we needed to
work with someone on the sound for the
Manifesto. We came upon Andrea Young,
and her work was so rich and seemed to
perfectly fit our vision for the project. It
therefore felt natural and exciting when PIC1
she agreed to collaborate with us. All Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts
these little stages have been a pleasure to Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. m the countries
Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the

\074\\DISclosed\
Semantics, a large language ocean
 FRITZ LANG \077\\DISclosed\
Metropolis
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia,
there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about
the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text
by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas.

Visions of TERENCE

The Afterlife FISHER

The Curse of
Frankenstein
Small river named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia.

TRANSHUMANISM It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted

parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even

TROUGHOUT THE HISTORY the all-powerful Pointing has no control about

the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic

OF FILM life One day however a small line of blind text

by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave

Behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive the blind
texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge language
1927 for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there were
thousands of bad Commas.
ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the
Little Blind Text didnt listen. She packed her
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, therelive
seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and
the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, alarge

1944
made herself on the way. When she reached
language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a
regelialia Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, last view back on the skyline of her hometown
therelive the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Vil-
alarge language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the nec- lage and the subline of her own road, the Line
essary regelialia Lane.

\076\\Film\\DISclosed\
\078\\DISclosed\ GEORGE LUCAS
Star Wars
The truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids plea-
sure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue
pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there
anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but be-
cause occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great
pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise,
except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man
who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a
pain that produces no resultant pleasure? On the other hand.
RIDLEY SCOTT \079\DISclosed\
BLADE RUNNER
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising
pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the ac-
tual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness.
No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because
those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that
are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain
pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which
toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure.

PAUL VERHOEVEN
STANLEY Robocop
KUBRICK Explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or

2001: avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how
to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor

A Space again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it
is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure

Odyssey him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious
physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find
fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far
one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure.
from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia,
there live the blind texts. Separated they live
in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large language ocean. A small
river named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is
a paradisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even
the all-powerful Pointing has no control about
the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic
1977
life One day however a small line of blind text
by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave
for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox

1968 1982 1987

advised her not to do so, because there were
thousands of bad and devious Semikoli, but the
Little Blind Text didnt listen. She packed her
seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and
made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic.

\017\\DISclosed\
 ANDREW NICCO
Gattaca
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denounc-
ing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a
complete account of the system, and expound the actual teach-
ings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of
human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure it-
self, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know
how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that
are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or
pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain,
but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and
pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial ex-
ample, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise,
except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right
to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that
has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that
produces no resultant pleasure?
LUC BESSON \081\\DISclosed\
Lucy
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia,
there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and
supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted
parts of sentences fly into your mouth. But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea
of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account
of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the
master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, be-
cause it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally
encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves
or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally

MASAMUNE NEIL BURGER

SHIROW 1997 Limitless
Ghost in
the Shell
Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at
the coast of the Semantics, a large language
ocean. A small river named Duden flows by
their place and supplies it with the necessary
No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is
regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which
pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue
roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth.
pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extreme-
Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
ly painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or
about the blind texts it is an almost unorth-

2014
desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because
ographic life One day however a small line of
occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can
blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided
procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example,
to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big
which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except
Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there
to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find
were thousands of bad Commas. the belt and
fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no
made herself on the way. When she reached
annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that pro-

1994 2011
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a
duces no resultant pleasure? On the other hand, we denounce
last view back on the skyline of her hometown
with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled
Bookmarksgrove, the headline.
and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so
blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee.

\017\\DISclosed\
 Attonement
\017\\ Culture\\DISclosed\ Not every Singulatarian agrees on what
the exact consequences of the Singularity
will be. Some suspect that it could cre-

THE TRANSHUMANIST
ate a sentient artificial intelligence thats
smarter than a human. Others suggest
that it will allow humans to implant a
small computer in the brain that will give
them access to infinite knowledge. Some

FUTURE OF SEX
believe that it will be the point where hu-
mans figure out how to transfer a mind

How Would the Worlds

into the computer.
The Catholic Church has issued an offi-
cial declaration about the Singularity and

Religions Respond to the transhumanism, which is the idea of us-

ing technology to achieve the next state
of human evolution. In the declaration,
The internet is rife with chatter Singularity? the XVIII International Science and Life
Congress stated that the movements ten-
about the transhumanist age we dency to emphasize non-human forms of
life has the side effect of devaluing hu-

are entering, where radical science Words By Constantin Constantinovic

man life in itself. However, most religions
havent taken time to officially deal with

and technology are already chang-

the potential existence of the Singulari-
Images Second Life ty. As a religion journalist, I believe its
possible to predict how the leaders of the
ing the way we live. Everything major world faiths might react to the Sin-
gularity based on relevant doctrine. The

from robotic hearts to personal groups most resistant to the idea of the
Singularity would likely be the Abraham-

drones to mind-reading headsets

Source: Flickr/Corilendavis200

A
ic faiths: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
All of these faiths hold to the idea of an
immutable soul; that human beings are
are here. The new tech coming in unique creatures created by God, that
God or Allah has a special place for man

just a few years will touch nearly in the created world, and that the human
soul and body are intertwined.

every aspect of our lives, including Human Communications

The Singularity could open up opportu-
one of the most personal ones: nities for people to avoid physical death
while they wait for the Second Coming of

sex. Words By Jeff Price

The concept of the Singularitythe
point when machines become so
intelligent that humanity can no
longer keep uphas captivated
many technologists and futurists
in Silicon Valley and beyond. The
Singularity is so hotly anticipated
by these believers that conserva-
tive commentator Wesley Smith
described it as the materialist ver-
sion of the Rapture, where man
abandons his body through tech-
nology to become immortal.
Christ Singularity would have a particular
effect on the Christian and Judaic doc-
trine of Imago Dei, the idea that man is
made in Gods image. While many Chris-
tians and Jews believe this doctrine to be
sacred, they arent sure what the Imago
Dei provides. The most popular theory
is that Imago Dei provides man with his
ability to imagine and reason. If the Sin-
gularity were to create a sentient machine
with the ability to reason and imagine, it
would give theologians reason to doubt
whether mans reasoning ability origi-
nates in the Imago Dei.
Imago Dei is also why Christian and Is-
lamic scholars are skeptical of whether
the Singularity could enhance computers
to the point where they can store a hu-
man mind. The same could be said about
the Islamic doctrine of man, which em-
\065\\ Culture\\DISclosed\

phasizes the uniqueness of Adam at the
time of his creation in the Garden of Eden.
The Mormon and Christian transhumanists
While the Singularity seems to oppose key
doctrines in the Abrahamic tradition, there
is a small group of believers who are more
open to the Singularity than the rest. Over
the last ten years, some Christians and
Mormons have founded pro-transhuman-
ism groups (such as the Mormon Transhu-
manist Association or the Christian Trans-
humanist Association) that believe their
faith is compatible with the principles that
the Transhumanist Declaration proposes.
The Mormon faith is quite compatible
with the Singularity, says Mormon Trans-
humanist Association president Lincoln
Cannon, because Mormons believe that
they are progressively being transformed
\066\\ DISclosed\
into immortal beings. This transforma-
tion comes in two stages: transfigura-
tion and resurrection. The transfiguration
gives people a temporary physical and
spiritual change that would allow them to
exist in Gods presence. The resurrection
is the full recreation of their bodies in the
image of God. Cannon believes that this
would include the incorporation of tech-
nology (either life-enhancing devices or
the transference of consciousness into a
machine, or avatar).
Eastern Religions
That doesnt mean that technologically
enhanced Mormons are perfect. Cannon
emphasized that all Mormons will have
to go through the process of resurrection,
regardless of the condition of their bod-
ies. Christopher Benek, a Presbyterian
minister and well-known Christian trans-
humanist, expressed a similar notion. I
think that the concept of the Singularity
forces humans to consider the fact that
we are special, not necessarily because
we are the most intelligent creatures in
Gods creation but instead, because we
are loved and cherished by God, he
told Motherboard. Benek goes on to ex-
plain that the Singularity could open up
opportunities for people to avoid physi-
cal death while they wait for the Second
Coming of Christ.
the Abrahamic and Western religions may
have some doctrinal issues with the Sin-
gularity, Eastern religions may be more
open to it. Many prominent Buddhists
and Hindus including the Dalai Lama
have expressed support for various forms
of Singularity-dependent projects. Those
include the development of a new kind
of human being as well as the 2045 Ini-
tiative, a group of transhumanists who are
trying to build an artificial body (or ava-
tar) that could store their consciousness
after death. Buddhisms doctrines are
perfectly compatible with the Singularity
because they dont require a sense of self,
Buddhist futurist James Hughes told the
Buddhist magazine Tricycle in 2010.
The core idea of anatta (Buddhist per-
ception of soul-lessness) is that there is
no permanent and abiding or authentic
self, he said. There is only change and
your own conscious process of self-cre-
ation. The Abrahamic faiths believe in a
soul, which is carried into secular ideas
of authentic self. But Buddhism doesnt. Hindus including the Dalai Lama have
Mormons believe that they are progres-
sively being transformed into immor-
tal beings The lack of emphasis on the
soul therefore allows Buddhist doctrine
to more readily accept the implications
of a machine becoming sentient, or the
transferring of a mind into a comput-
The Mormon and Christian transhumanists
While the Singularity seems to oppose key
doctrines in the Abrahamic tradition, there
is a small group of believers who are more
open to the Singularity than the rest. Over
the last ten years, some Christians and
Mormons have founded pro-transhuman-
ism groups (such as the Mormon Transhu-
manist Association or the Christian Trans-
humanist Association) that believe their
faith is compatible with the principles that
the Transhumanist Declaration proposes.
The Mormon faith is quite compatible
with the Singularity, says Mormon Trans-
humanist Association president Lincoln
Cannon, because Mormons believe that
they are progressively being transformed
into immortal beings. This transforma-
tion comes in two stages: transfiguration
and resurrection. The transfiguration gives
people a temporary physical and spiritu-
al change that would allow them to exist
in Gods presence. The resurrection is the
full recreation of their bodies in the image
of God. Cannon believes that this would
include the incorporation of technology
(either life-enhancing devices or the trans-
ference of consciousness into a machine,
or avatar).
Human Communications
That doesnt mean that technologically
enhanced Mormons are perfect. Cannon
emphasized that all Mormons will have
to go through the process of resurrection,
regardless of the condition of their bodies.
Christopher Benek, a Presbyterian minis-
ter and well-known Christian transhuman-
ist, expressed a similar notion. I think
that the concept of the Singularity forces
humans to consider the fact that we are
special, not necessarily because we are
the most intelligent creatures in Gods cre-
ation but instead, because we are loved
and cherished by God, he told Mother-
board. Benek goes on to explain that the
Singularity could open up opportunities
for people to avoid physical death while However, Moores Law doesnt necessi-
they wait for the Second Coming of Christ.
the Abrahamic and Western religions may
have some doctrinal issues with the Sin-
gularity, Eastern religions may be more
open to it. Many prominent Buddhists and
effect on how one strives to fulfill ones
expressed support for various forms of
Singularity-dependent projects. Those in-
clude the development of a new kind of
human being as well as the 2045 Initia-
tive, a group of transhumanists who are
trying to build an artificial body (or ava-
tar) that could store their consciousness
after death. Buddhisms doctrines are
perfectly compatible with the Singularity
because they dont require a sense of self,
Buddhist futurist James Hughes told the
Buddhist magazine Tricycle in 2010.
The core idea of anatta (Buddhist per-
ception of soul-lessness) is that there is
no permanent and abiding or authentic
self, he said. There is only change and
your own conscious process of self-cre-
ation. The Abrahamic faiths believe in a
soul, which is carried into secular ideas
of authentic self. But Buddhism doesnt.
Mormons believe that they are progres-
sively being transformed into immortal
beings
Abrahamic Religions
The lack of emphasis on the soul there-
fore allows Buddhist doctrine to more
readily accept the implications of a ma-
chine becoming sentient, or the trans-
ferring of a mind into a computer. The
Hindu conception of the soul is similar
to the Buddhist conception. Hindus be-
lieve in the Atman, a soul-like element
that cannot be accessed or understood by
material senses. This soul is condemned
to an existence of death, suffering and
reincarnation. However, an Atman that
realizes itself could eventually pass on
into the realm of ultimate reality, known
as Brahman. The fact that ones Atman
is constantly reincarnated in a variety of
bodies wouldnt contradict the Singular-
ity. In fact, such a development would
give a devoted Hindu the incentive to
transfer his or her mind into a machine,
and spend the rest of their lives seeking
self-realization. While many leaders in
the transhumanist community believe
that the Singularity is an undeniable fact,
the fact is that most of the evidence sci-
entists have for it is theoretical. The ba-
sis for the idea is Moores Law, which is
a fairly accurate portrayal of how com-
puting power has grown over the years.
Yet, whatever has happened so far in the
tate the results that pro-Singularity lead-
ers believe it does. Thats why so many
critics compare the Singularity to the
Christian notion of the Rapture; theyre
both doctrines that have a significant
commonplace, where partners are linked
goals, but are (for the most part) based
on evidence that is hotly debated within
each community. And just like the Rap-
ture, its nearly impossible to prove that
the Singularity will happen until after it
has already happened.Mammals use sex
as a means to generate offspring, to ex-
\067\\ DISclosed\
perience pleasure, and for bonding with
partners. Throughout the last few centu-
ries, humans have embraced tools, drugs,
and even surgical operations in an at-
tempt to improve sex.
To date, the list of transhumanist-themed
tools and apparatuses our species has
created for sex is practically endless. Per-
haps the best known one is the condom,
where descriptions of their use and com-
position begin to appear in 16th centu-
ry writings. The writings of 16th century
physician Gabriele Falloppio includes
one of the first documented references
to condoms, and describes them as linen
sheaths soaked in a chemical solution.
Today, the condom is one of the leading
life extension tools in the world, due to
the protection it offers from disease, such
as HIV. Over 300,000 Americans un-
derwent breast augmentation via plastic
surgery, which typically aims to enhance
sex appeal, in 2011. In the last century,
one of the most sensationalized appli-
cations for sex is Viagra, whose name is
almost as recognizable as Coca-Cola or
Rolls Royce. Along with other options
like Levitra and Cialis, erection drugs
have helped return sexual health to mil-
lions of men (and their partners) around
the world.Today, sexand technology for
sexis all around us, 24/7. The internet
provides a continual stream of pornogra-
phy, for better or worse, to millions of us-
ers everyday. A Forbes article citing neu-
roscientist Ogi Ogas says that between
July 2009 and July 2010, 13 percent of
web searches were for erotic content. Its
not just computers, though. Many people
routinely use their cell phones for sexting.
And the sex toy industry is a multi-billion
dollar business, with thousands of work-
ers and engineers dedicated to it.
Transhumanist Community
history of sex is not going to be nearly as
exciting or bizarre as whats coming next.
Whether by drugs, technology, or surgery,
the future of sex is set to explode. Look
for virtual sex and foreplay to become
into brain wave headsets and virtual re-
ality goggles. Some will take it further,
and use full body haptic suitsa friend
of mine called it the future hump suitto
experience full sexual immersion. Virtual
worlds and Second Lives will keep people
experiencing sexual acts they might not
\068\\ DISclosed\
feel comfortable doing in real lifeall
without the risk of pregnancy or STDs.
I recently was asked by my wife what I
wanted for Christmas. I replied: I want an
exoskeleton suit. Theyre going to be all
the rage soon. Indeed, exoskeleton tech-
nology is significantly improving every
year. Panasonic is getting ready to sell
the first mass-produced robotic exoskel-
eton for just under $5,000. They are still
crude, but in 5-10 years time, they are
likely to make us faster runners, stronger
climbers, and better athletes. I surmise
an entire sporting and recreational cul-
ture will develop around them, similar to
motorcycles and ATVs. Can you imagine
the growing discipline of Parkour in one?
Eventually, exoskeleton suits will look
like the ones in the blockbuster movie
Elysium starring Matt Damon. But what
about sex? Will they help? Yes! Potential-
ly, a lot. Especially for disabled, obese,
or unfit persons. Harvard is working on
a soft exoskeleton suit. Someday soon,
we will strap on exoskeleton suits and
put ourselves in sexual positions once
only possible for Bikram yoga experts
and then go at it. And we wont be tiring
very easily, either, not with the suits do-
ing much of the work. Almost as strange
is the new internal skeletal stuff being
developed, which combines structures
inside your body to external artificial
limbs. In a recent article for Extreme-
Tech, engineer and neuroscientist John
Hewitt writes: In order to wield any ar-
tificial limb with full strength and confi-
dence we are going to need to plug it in
properly, so that it becomes a real part of
our musculoskeletal system. Research-
ers at the Royal National Orthopedic
hospital have now created an implant
that does just that by interfacing a leg
prosthesis directly to your endoskeleton.
Weve already seen penile implants and
surgical modifications of sexual organs.
But this new musculosketelal technology
is much more revolutionary. If scientists
can connect internal human parts to ex-
ternal bionic parts, (and theyre already
connecting robotic arms to the nervous
system) then the age of the cyborg is truly
here. Surely biohackers will remove body
parts and limbs in an attempt to become
a stronger, more agile entity.
If scientists can replicate that feeling
through firing signals from an implant
The Rapture
ed chip or a brain wave headset, then it
might even be the end of sex altogether.
With those acquisitions will come cyborg
sexsomething that is sure to be an up-
grade to the usual romp. Dont forget,
those robotic fingers on those artificial
limbs will soon have sensors that can de-
tect some things, like heat and sweat, far
more specifically than biological fingers.
In time, every sense of ours will be im-
proved and updated with technology that
simply outmatches our biology. How will
this and all the other technologies affect
sex for over seven billion people in the
future? Probably dramaticallyespecial-
ly when it is combined with microchip
implants. Erogenous zones and orgasms
are simply the product of chemicals firing
in the brain. If scientists can replicate that
feeling by firing signals from an implant-
ed chip or a brain wave headset, then it
might even be the end of sex altogeth-
er. Wed turn on and off endless orgasms
with our cell phone (or buzz our partners
at will if theyll allow us). Hopefully it
will be better than this.
Implants are becoming more common-
place. Recently, Dr. Theodore Schwartz
and a New York Presbyterian/Weill Cor-
nell Medical Center team put a cranial
implant into an epileptic sufferer to help
stop attacks. Other brain implant surger-
ies are now occurring to fight Alzhei-
mers, a disease which affects over five
million Americans. Its not that big of a
leap to imagine someone figuring out
how to stimulate the sexual pleasure ar-
eas in the brain with an implant.
If all this seems crazy, then check out
this WiFi-enabled vibrator called Vibease
which will become available next month,
according to its website. People can leave
them in all day long, and enjoy for up to
three hours of use whenever they want
to. That might make you wonder about a
lot of things in the future. Did your date
really enjoy the spaghetti you made, or
was something else going on?
The human species has come a long way
in developing its sexual mores. Thankful-
ly, many societies are philosophically and
psychologically freer than ever to enjoy
all that sex can be. But technologically,
we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg
for all for all that is coming, regardless
of tastes and desires. Transhumanism has
long centered on technologies that grant
better health.
and extended longevity to people, but
we shouldnt forget that it will also make
some of our most cherished experienc-
eslike sexa lot more fun in the future.
by showing it millions of training exam-
ples and gradually adjusting the network
parameters until it gives the classifica-
tions we want. The network typically con-
sists of 10-30 stacked layers of artificial
neurons. Each image is fed into the input
layer, which then talks to the next lay-
er, until eventually the output layer is
r e a c h e d . The networks answer comes
from this final output layer. One of the
challenges of neural networks is under-
standing.
what exactly goes on at each layer. We
know that after training, each layer pro-
gressively extracts higher and higher-level
features of the image, until the final layer
essentially makes a decision on what the
image shows. For example, the first layer
maybe looks for edges or corners. Inter-
mediate layers interpret the basic features
to look for overall shapes or components,
like a door or a leaf. The final few layers
assemble those into complete interpreta-
tionsthese neurons activate in response
to very complex things such as entire
buildings or trees.
One way to visualize what goes on is to
turn the network upside down and ask it
to enhance an input image in such a way
as to elicit a particular interpretation.
Say you want to know what sort of image
would result in Banana. Start with an
image full of random noise, then gradu-
ally tweak the image towards what the
neural net considers a banana (see relat-
ed work in [1], [2], [3], [4]). By itself, that
doesnt work very well, but it does if we
impose a prior constraint that the image
should have similar statistics to natural
images, such as neighboring pixels need-
ing to be correlated.
So heres one surprise: neural networks
that were trained to discriminate between
\082\\ Subscription\\DISclosed\
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Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Sep-
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B ehind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in
Bo okmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small riveAr named Duden flows by their place
and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is axx paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your
mout h. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost A life Onqe day however a small line
of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do
so, bec ause there were thousands of bad Commas. wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didnt
listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills of
the Italica Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Village
and the subline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued her way. On
her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand
times and everything that was left from its origin would be the word and and the Little Blind Text should turn around and return
to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didnt take long until a few insidious Copy Writers
ambushed herst made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects
again and againn And if she hasnt been rewritten, then they are still using her. Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from
the countries Voka ia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the
Semantics, a large anguage ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It
is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control
about the blind texts i t is an almost unorthographic life One day
however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox
advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little
Blind Text didnt listen. She packed her seven versalia, put her initial into the belt and made herself on the way. When she reached
the first hills of the Italic Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of
Alphabet Village and the sutline of her own road, the Line Lane. Pityful a rethoric question ran over her cheek, then she continued
her way. On her way she Tex t should turn around and return to its own, safe country. But nothing the copy said could convince her
and so it didnt take longt a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into
their agency, where th ey abused her for their projects again and again. And if she hasnt been rewritten, then they are still using
her.Far far away, behin d the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated
they live in Bookmarks grove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their
place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It iwild Question Marks and devious versalia, put her initial into the belt and
made herself on the way. When she reached the first hills of the Italica Mountains, she had a last view back on the skyline of her
hometown Bookmarksgrove, the headline of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road.

NEXT ISSUE
SEPTEMBRE
2015:
A wonderful serenity has
taken possession of my
entire soul, like these sweet
mornings of spring which I
enjoy with my whole heart. I am
alone, and feel the charm of exis-
tence in this spot, which was creat-
ed for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so
happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the
exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence,
that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable
of drawing a single stroke at the present moment;
and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than
now. When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour
around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper sur-
face of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few
stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself
down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie
close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by
me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and
grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects
and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in
his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and
sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend,
when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth.