The nostalgia algorithm

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

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 respond. 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 plurality into alien computational ontologies, diluting memories 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 amalgamation, all histories, possibilities, and pluralities implode into a singularity.

Date of Award	8 May 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Cristina Sá (Supervisor)