Apr'24 ::: Nervous Systems @ ICA, London

(Sunday April 14th, 14h00) ::: Nervous Systems @ Institute of Contemporary Art, London ::: More info

I’ll be speaking on ideologies of scarcity and systems on the brink of failure at the upcoming Nervous Systems symposium at ICA London.

As the planet warms, and markets commoditise all that humanity holds dear, technologically-mediated systems predicated upon ideologies of scarcity threaten to destabilise our fragile planetary balance. At one extreme is the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with its landmark invention of metaphysical finitude and leaderless operation through its proof-of-work "mining" function. The price of Bitcoin's anarchy is its unlimited desire for energy, and its indifference to the ecological and economic consequences. Far from being an autonomous system, Bitcoin relies on the constant efforts of an army of faithful human actors. These acolytes are so steadfast in their ideological and financial alignment with the network, that it would seem that they would rather see an end to the world than a change to their sacrosanct protocol.

At the other end of the scale, is the age-old contest over the physical: land, sea, and now space. Today, new cryptographic colonialisms are emerging, as an ascendant cabal of messianic technology elites attempt to reshape the world map in their favour. These would-be patriarchs are challenging the nation-state system itself, by creating counter-sovereignties and privatised zones of exception such as the emerging organisational paradigm of so-called "Network States". The desires driving new conquests in old frontiers echo throughout history, resonating particularly strongly with the 'militarised pilgrimages' of the Middle Ages best known as the Crusades.