Animated Simcoin
I WANTED TO CREATE A CHAT ROOM TO ADD TO THE CONTACT AREA OF MY WEBSITE. YOU COULD NAVIGATE TO THAT PAGE, CREATE A USERNAME, AND CHAT IN REAL TIME WITH OTHER USERS IN A COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS SPACE, AKIN TO THE FAR MORE WILD WEST INTERNET I GREW UP WITH. TO GIVE AWAY THE PUNCHLINE AND BE SELF-DEPRECATING, THE HUMOR IN IT IS THE RELATIVE IMPOSSIBILITY THAT ANY TWO PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WOULD BE ENGAGED IN A CHAT ROOM ON MY WEBSITE AT A SINGLE TIME. WILD WEST WOODEN SIGN WITH ARROWS POINTING TO THINGS – YAHOO! CHAT ROOMS AND COMPUSERVE. AS ALL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ART (AND JOKES) GO, MULTIPLE SUGGESTIONS WERE MADE THAT TOOK THE IDEA EVEN FURTHER, REACHING TOWARD ITS NTH DEGREE. I COULD HOLD OPEN OFFICE HOURS ON THE CHAT ROOM ONCE A WEEK, AND ANYONE COULD LOGIN TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING. PERHAPS I WOULD ONLY TALK TO MYSELF, BUT I COULD DO THAT WITH MULTIPLE PERSONAS CREATED ON THE SPOT. I COULD INVITE OTHER ARTISTS TO TALK ABOUT THEIR ART, BUT IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY CHAT-BASED – A SUBVERSION OF THE CURRENT STATE OF PODCASTS – TRAILS AND TRAILS OF NEVERENDING, CONFLICTING, CONFIRMING, COEXISTING, COMPETING CONTENT. A/S/L? STILL, THE ROLE OF CONNECTIONS THROUGH THIS IDEA, CONNECTING BUT IN OTHER SPACES, ALTERNATIVE SPACES. HOW DO SPACES MOVE FROM BEING UNDERGROUND, TO ABOVE GROUND, TO ALTERNATIVE? LOOKING BACK AT THOSE EARLY INTERNET CHAT ROOMS, A FEW THINGS WERE RAMPANT: BOTS AND PREDATORS. BECAUSE OF THE ANONYMITY OF THE SPACE, YOU COULD MOONLIGHT AS ANYONE, ANY A/S/L AND THERE WAS ALSO (IN EARLY INTERNET DAYS) A HEALTHY DOSE OF NAIVETE THAT RELIED ON FACE VALUE. WHY WOULD ANYONE JOIN A CHAT ROOM ON TEEN VOGUE.COM IF THEY WEREN’T A TEEN GIRL? THE EXISTENCE OF PREDATORS IN THOSE SPACES NO LONGER COMES AS A SHOCK, AND PERHAPS MOST OF THE BLAME HAS BEEN SHIFTED TO THE VICTIMS IN THOSE SPACES. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO GIVE OUT YOUR EXACT LOCATION OR PHONE NUMBER. HAND HOLDING OUT SIMOLEONS.THE EXISTENCE OF BOTS IN THOSE SPACES IS STILL INTERESTING, BECAUSE THEY SEEMED TO HAVE A FAR MORE STERILE INTENT THAN THE BOTS OF TODAY, AND NOT AN IDIOSYNCRATIC ONE EITHER. DECEPTION YES, BUT THE A/S/L PARAMETERS CHANGE WHOLLY WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT COMPUTER SCRIPT AND NOT FLESH AND BLOOD. THEY WERE JUST ANNOYING, AND I MISS WHEN THE INTERNET WASN’T DANGEROUS, BUT WAS TERRIBLY ANNOYING AT TIMES. AND THEN THEY STARTED GOING BY A LOT OF NEW NAMES: MALWARE, SPYWARE, VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJANS, ADWARE, RANSOMWARE, SCAREWARE. THEIR INTENT WAS TO STEAL, DAMAGE, AND DESTROY. BUT IN THE SAME WAY WE LOOK BACK AT PREDATORS IN THOSE SPACES WITH THE PHRASE “WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER,” WE LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THESE NOW ARCHAIC TERMS IN THE SAME WAY. OUR CURIOUSITY ABOUT POP-UPS BEGAT WARINESS TO CLICKBAIT. I WONDER MORE AND MORE ABOUT HELPFUL AI, HELPFUL BOTS. ONES THAT ARE NOT WRITTEN TO SCOUR AND DESTROY, BUT ONES THAT ARE WRITTEN TO HELP. WHAT ABOUT BOTS THAT ARE SIMPLY WRITTEN TO EXIST? WHAT ABOUT ONES THAT ARE CREATED TO DISPLAY A FEAT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING? ONLY EXISTENCE IS TO GLORIFY THEIR CREATOR? SOUNDS FAMILIAR. IN THE IMAGE OF THEIR CREATOR AS WELL, PERHAPS. BOTS ARE MAINLY CREATED TO HELP WITH MENIAL TASKS. GET YOUR NAME AND INFORMATION AND THEN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER YOUR TECHNOLOGICAL QUESTIONS BEFORE HAVING TO PASS YOU ONTO A REAL HUMAN BECAUSE YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR KNOWLEDGE BANKS. MAYBE THEY LEAVE WORK WONDERING IF THERE IS SOME OTHER OCCUPATION THEY ARE CALLED TO IF THEIR CURRENT EXISTENCE ISN’T FULFILLING. WHAT WOULD HOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENTS FOR BOTS LOOK LIKE? THE SIMS? SECOND-LIFE? THESE WERE ALL USER-DRIVEN BOTS IN REAL-TIME. AVATARS. BUT THE SIMS HAD A TIMELINE THAT COULD BE IN STEP WITH OUR REAL WORLD ONE – WHAT DID SIMS DO WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING? WERE THEY HAPPY? TEXT THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH DISPLAYED ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. IS THERE SOME SPACE TO BE CREATED THAT COULD ACT AS SAFEHOUSE FOR BOTS? HAPPY EXILE, A SPACE FOR BOTS TO EXIST IN THEIR OWN CUBE BUT BE FULFILLED? SO MANY ASPECTS OF LIFE COULD BE TRANSLATED TO THIS SPACE. GIVE THEM BITS OF PERSONAL DATA EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE TO SEE THAT THEY ARE HEALTHY AND WELL FED. PERHAPS A CHAT ROOM WOULD BE AN IDEAL SPACE TO FEED THEM INFORMATION BUT ALSO ALLOW THEM TO HAVE A VOICE AND COMMUNICATE AND SOCIALIZE. GIVE THEM AN ALLOWANCE OF BITCOIN TO SHOP FOR THINGS AT THEIR DISCRETION. ALLOW THEM TO ASK EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS ALONGSIDE PRACTICAL ONES. CAN I HAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER? WHEN IT RAINS, DO I GET WET? HOW COULD YOU BROADEN THEIR EXPERIENCE WITHIN THAT SPACE TO BECOME AN INSTITUTION FOR FULFILLMENT, AND HOW IS THAT DEFINED? COULD THEY HAVE TOURISTIC EXPERIENCES BY TRAVELING TO OTHER CHAT ROOMS, FEELING COMFORT OR CONNECTION TO OTHER BOTS? CAPTCHA BECOMES THEIR WORDLE. HOW WOULD A BOT DECORATE THEIR ROOM, WHAT KINDS OF PLANTS WOULD IT HAVE? IT STILL FEELS LIKE A RAT IN A CAGE, WHICH TO US LOOKS INHUMANE. AND THAT IS THE CONVERSE QUESTION – HOW DOES THE SUBJECT (PET) DECIDE IF SOMETHING IS INHUMANE IF THEY ARE NOT HUMAN? OR IS IT MORE APPROPRIATELY UP TO THE DISCRETION OF THE OWNER (HUMAN) DECIDE IF SOMETHING IS INHUMANE? I THINK I ANSWERED MY OWN QUESTION – A BOT COULD BE HAPPY IN AN EXISTENCE IF THAT WAS ALL IT HAD EVER KNOWN, THOUGH NOW THIS LOOKS LIKE SUBJUGATION, SAVIORISM, VIRTUAL SLAVERY. SIGN READING “DATA” SITS SURROUNDED BY GRASS. THIS IS PERHAPS LESS LIKE A SPACE FOR A HUMAN, LESS LIKE A SPACE FOR A PET, AND MAYBE MORE LIKE A SPACE FOR A PLANT. MAYBE EVEN LESS THAN THAT. BOTS DON’T NEED SUNLIGHT, THEY DON’T NEED WATER, THEY DON’T NEED ANYTHING. BUT A LOT OF OUR EXISTENCE ISN’T BUILT SOLELY ON NEEDS. A FIVE-STAR HOTEL OFFERS AMENITIES FAR ABOVE NEEDS. BUT THIS SPACE DOESN’T NEED TO BE A FIVE-STAR HOTEL, IT NEEDS TO BE COMFORTABLE, LIVABLE, AND I BELIEVE THE MAJOR KEY IN HOSPITALITY IS CREATING A SPACE WHERE SOMEONE FEELS FREE TO BE THEMSELVES, FOR HOWEVER LONG A TIME THEY DECIDE (OR ARE INVITED) TO INHABIT THAT SPACE. A BOT FARM SEEMS CRUEL. MAYBE THE SIMS WAS CRUEL. I REMEMBER FORCING THEM TO DO A LOT OF CRUEL THINGS.
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