1. FIN DE SIECLE
The end of the 19th century was seen as a time of social degeneracy, ennui, and pessimism. Rapid tech advancements made the world more global, and culture decadent and subjective. Society changed, and we broke into accelerationists and doomers. Sound familiar?
2. THE DECADENTS
From this period came the decadents: a cultural art and lit movement of fantasy, hedonism, emotion, excess, and a fascination with the grotesque. Believing in no ultimate truth, they were ruled by emotion and rebellion. Class was largely the dividing factor for ideology in this time. (decadents, haves, have nots)
3. THE DIVISIONISTS
Around the same time, the color wheel was created, and from it, divisionism arose. This art movement placed tiny bits of paint close together, rather than combining them, to produce optical mixing. The luminous result was the basis for pixels in LED screens. A controlled, scientific approach meant to evoke feelings of spiritual awe was their aim.
Les Nabis sprouted from these seeds, with artists exploring abstract aesthetics and new, loose techniques and concepts. They focused on the human experience, candid moments and suggestive, simplified strokes. A sense of freedom and possibility took hold of us all. (divisionists, les nabis)
4. FUTURISM
From the decadents and divisionism, futurism arrived. Hating the past, its art centered progress. Youth, speed, tech, violence, power, auto, airplane, and city.
They preached dynamism: that motion and form are simultaneous. Men on a bus are themselves and each other, and the bus, and standing still, and moving, all at the same time. Physics, light & time are persistent, repeating echoes. (futurist)
5. MELTING POT
As the world became connected, cultures began to mix. Japonisme swept the West, and cultural movements with it. This melting pot blurred cultural lines and brought vivid mashups of aesthetics to fashion, lit, philosophy, and more. It felt like a new age.
The Appropriation movement came on the heels of this global reality, and remix culture along with it. The world was our palette, and the internet, regardless of class or place of origin, made it accessible to all–an endless, dazzling array of variety. Opinions, values, passions, manifestos, masterpieces; all of human history built on all of human history, and became another step to higher ground. (appropriationist)
6. E/ACC
Now, tech-optimists are evangelical about advancement, particularly AI. Blending progress into culture, politics, fashion, economics and philosophy, they view humanity as a whole, and AI as our next evolutionary step, whatever the cost. (e/acc)
Unsurprisingly, the d/acc movement disagrees, holding up a black mirror to rapid tech progression. They wish to slow advancement to preserve and protect our species and our planet, whatever the cost. (d/acc)
7. SURVEILLANCE STATE
In response to increasing distribution of power, authority tightens its grip. Privacy moves from basic human right to naive and suspicious expectation. Some citizens fight to remain anon. Some embrace “nothing to hide, nothing to fear.” Some report to their respective authority figures. Some do all three.
Trust is at once ultimately necessary and ultimately unthinkable. When AI is closed-source, in the hands of power alone, there will be no catching up.
How this story ends is entirely up to us–right now, before this chapter closes. (surveillance state, radical transparency, anon)
