The nostalgia algorithm: examining the interplay of hauntology, technology, and collective memory in the anthropocene

Maya Hershey*, Cristina Sá

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

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Abstract

The essence of this research revolves around anthropos as an archetype of melancholia, positioned as the universal subject at the center of all contemplations. This anthropocentric perspective has led humans to a false sense of centrality, grappling with deep anxieties in a rapidly deteriorating world. Anthropos embodies a reductionist paradigm that favors a universal, technologically-driven future in pursuit of Promethean absolution. This research foregrounds the ancient narrative underpinning our current technological ethos and highlights the melancholia stemming from the dichotomy of such discourse. Anthropos, in its planetary reach, amplified by AI and capitalism's extractive mechanisms, faces a critical juncture as the planet continues to react. This collective identity, central to anthropos, has laden humanity with profound environmental guilt. In the process, the richness of pluralistic perspectives and injustices are lost, subsumed under a universal, homogenized identity. This loss engenders a nostalgic torment, not merely for what has been lost, but for the inability to recall in the midst of a complete reconfiguration of social memory. Algorithms restructure the world's diversity into alien computational ontologies, erasing the memory of what once was. This phenomenon is what we term the 'nostalgia algorithm.' Confronted with this technological constraint, humanity is thrust towards an inevitable fate, embodied in the culmination of anthropos. This monstrous figure, having reached its peak without deviation from its path, signifies widespread destruction as a form of self-preservation. In this ultimate convergence, all histories, possibilities, and alternate realities implode into a singularity.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023
Event10th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology - Venice, Italy
Duration: 13 Sept 202316 Sept 2023
https://resource2023.sciencesconf.org

Conference

Conference10th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology
Abbreviated titleRE:SOURCE
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityVenice
Period13/09/2316/09/23
Internet address

Keywords

  • Nostalgia
  • Melancholia
  • Anthropocene
  • Social memory
  • Algorithms
  • Technics
  • Anthropos

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