scholarly journals The Utopian Code: Cyberspace as a Democratization of Technology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cole Bisson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Global Information ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Current Time ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Program

[Introduction] William Gibson’s 1984 novel, Neuromancer, declared cyberpunk as a fully realized science fiction subgenre that reverberates into the current time. The text follows a hacker, Case, who was recruited by an artificial intelligence program, Wintermute. The AI plans to release itself into cyberspace or the matrix; a virtual reality separate from the cruel outside world of the novel. Case joins a veteran solider, Armitage, an assassin-like agent, Molly, and other morally ambiguous individuals in a novel that pushes the boundaries of the 1980s culture. In addition to this, Neuromancer also represents postmodern architecture in the form of the text’s urban cityscapes, but also through the virtual reality of cyberspace. Each location relays a strained relationship between humanity and technology. The development of the 1980’s information technology along with the growth of the personal computer was believed to be a harbinger of a shifting paradigm. Paweł Frelik’s article, “Silhouettes of Strange Illuminated Mannequins: Cyberpunk’s Incarnation of Light,” examines the ocularity of light pertaining to cyberspace’s visual aesthetic. Frelik defines Neuromancer’s technological equipment as a gateway to cyberspace which is where global information is made concrete in the form of neon light. I will take up this technological gateway as defining cyberspace to be an information utopia. The construction of data into concrete light establishes the freedom a tangible identity can occupy in a world where physical limitations have no relevance. I will integrate this with a postmodern architectural and literary theory. Sabine Heuser’s text, Virtual Geographies: Cyberpunk at the Intersection of the Postmodern and Science Fiction¸ examines the representation of postmodern architecture in relation to cyberpunk. She defines “double coding” as communicating not only with the public, but with a concentrated minority consisting of learned professionals working in the industry. Heuser’s text declines to apply this theory to Neuromancer as she explains double coding is too binary to be useful, but Gibson’s spatial descriptions allow for a coded interpretation into the purpose of each temporality: cyberspace and reality. By using double coding, I will utilize this architectural concept to examine Neuromancer’s representation of neon lights as concrete fixtures of data which liberate a person’s identity. Therefore, this situates the dichotomy of cyberspace as a utopia and the cityscape as a dystopia in order to capture the zeitgeist of the democratization of technology (the relinquishment of computers from the elite to the masses).

scholarly journals The Utopian Code: Cyberspace as a Democratization of Technology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cole Bisson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Global Information ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Current Time ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Program

[Introduction] William Gibson’s 1984 novel, Neuromancer, declared cyberpunk as a fully realized science fiction subgenre that reverberates into the current time. The text follows a hacker, Case, who was recruited by an artificial intelligence program, Wintermute. The AI plans to release itself into cyberspace or the matrix; a virtual reality separate from the cruel outside world of the novel. Case joins a veteran solider, Armitage, an assassin-like agent, Molly, and other morally ambiguous individuals in a novel that pushes the boundaries of the 1980s culture. In addition to this, Neuromancer also represents postmodern architecture in the form of the text’s urban cityscapes, but also through the virtual reality of cyberspace. Each location relays a strained relationship between humanity and technology. The development of the 1980’s information technology along with the growth of the personal computer was believed to be a harbinger of a shifting paradigm. Paweł Frelik’s article, “Silhouettes of Strange Illuminated Mannequins: Cyberpunk’s Incarnation of Light,” examines the ocularity of light pertaining to cyberspace’s visual aesthetic. Frelik defines Neuromancer’s technological equipment as a gateway to cyberspace which is where global information is made concrete in the form of neon light. I will take up this technological gateway as defining cyberspace to be an information utopia. The construction of data into concrete light establishes the freedom a tangible identity can occupy in a world where physical limitations have no relevance. I will integrate this with a postmodern architectural and literary theory. Sabine Heuser’s text, Virtual Geographies: Cyberpunk at the Intersection of the Postmodern and Science Fiction¸ examines the representation of postmodern architecture in relation to cyberpunk. She defines “double coding” as communicating not only with the public, but with a concentrated minority consisting of learned professionals working in the industry. Heuser’s text declines to apply this theory to Neuromancer as she explains double coding is too binary to be useful, but Gibson’s spatial descriptions allow for a coded interpretation into the purpose of each temporality: cyberspace and reality. By using double coding, I will utilize this architectural concept to examine Neuromancer’s representation of neon lights as concrete fixtures of data which liberate a person’s identity. Therefore, this situates the dichotomy of cyberspace as a utopia and the cityscape as a dystopia in order to capture the zeitgeist of the democratization of technology (the relinquishment of computers from the elite to the masses).

scholarly journals Augmented Reality and Life in the Cyberspace in William Gibson’s Neuromancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Md. Shafiqul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Story Line ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Fiction Writers ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Relationship

This paper attempts a cybercritical reading of William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer (1984) to explore the genesis of cyborgs in the novel, address issues pertaining to cyberpunks and scrutinize the portrayal of a cyberculture set in the futuristic dystopian city of Chiba. The relationship between humans and machines has gone through multiple phases of changes in the recent past. That is why instead of satirizing machinized-humans, science fiction writers have embraced different dimensions of man-machine relationships during the past few decades. ‘Cyborg’ is no longer represented as the ‘mutation of human capabilities’, but as ‘machines with Artificial Intelligence’. Gibson’s Neuromancer, a landmark piece of literary work in the sphere of Sci-Fi literature, specifically predicts a new height of man-machine relationship by employing both human and cyborg characters at the center of his story line. This paper shows how Gibson accurately prophesizes the matrix of machine-human relationship in his novel. It also explores Gibson’s depiction of female characters through the lens of cyberfeminist theories. In view of that, this paper uses contemporary critical and cultural theories including Donna Haraway’s idea of cyberfeminism, Baudrillard’s simulation and simulacra, Foucauldian discourse analysis, Jeremy Bentham’s concept of tabula rasa and other relevant theoretical ideas to examine and evaluate the transformative changes.

Virtual Reality

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Benno
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Evening News ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Enquirer ◽  
Virtual Events

Much has been written over the years about virtual reality. Frequently, it is explored in science fiction literature. Mass media outlets, from the National Enquirer to Popular Mechanics to the evening news have both celebrated and feared virtual worlds. The attention has escalated recently as more powerful computers have been developed and the public is aware of virtual events such as the rover on the surface of Mars.

scholarly journals (CYBER) PUNK'S NOT DEAD – RICHARD MORGAN'S ALTERED CARBON

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1603-1607
Author(s):  
Ana Kečan
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Data Networks ◽  
Original Text ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Visual Potential

The term cyberpunk refers to an offspring or subgenre of science fiction which rose to popularity in the 1980s. It was first coined by Bruce Bethke in his story of the same name, published in 1983. Even though there are critics today who claim that cyberpunk is long dead, numerous examples from the 21st century show that it is still very well and alive, and this revival is particularly aided by television, as cyberpunk has a massive visual potential. Hence, the 21st century saw the sequel to the cult Blade Runner (originally released in 1982), titled Blade Runner 2049 (released in 2017), another (fourth) sequel of The Matrix (set to be released in 2020), TV adaptations of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (2017) and, the main interest of this essay, Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon (season 1 in 2018 and season 2 set to be released in 2020). In this essay we are going to, first, outline the main narrative and stylistic conventions of cyberpunk, which include: a time and place in the future dominated by advanced achievements in information technology, science and computers (hence the term ‘cyber’) at the expense of a loss or breakdown of social order (hence the term ‘punk’) to the point of a dystopia (or post-utopia, as has been argued); virtual reality, data networks, illusion, bodily metamorphosis, media overload, intensity of visual components, bordering on what Norman Spinrad said was a fusion of the romantic impulse with science and technology. All of these encapsulate a core theme of the loss of distinction between real and artificial. In addition to this, the term cyberpunk requires clarification against several other terms which often appear alongside it and are related in one way or another, including science fiction, neo-noir, hard-boiled, post-cyberpunk, transhumanism, post-anthropocentrism, etc. Second, we are going to look at how those elements come together in the context of the first novel of Richard Morgan’s trilogy about Takeshi Kovacs, titled Altered Carbon, published in 2002 (the sequels, Broken Angels - 2003 and Woken Furies – 2005, have not yet been adapted for television and will, therefore, not be included in our analysis). We are going to, then, compare those elements with the Netflix version of the novel, a 10-episode TV series, released in 2018. The comparison of the visual versus the verbal narrative will show the differences in the presentation of cyberpunk elements and how (or whether) these differences are dictated by the medium or not. It will also show whether what started out as a dystopia in the original text has grown into a post-utopia in the television series, simply reflecting the current trend of nostalgia and nostalgic recycling.

scholarly journals The relationship between Arthurian tradition and science fiction in Diana Wynne Jones's novel 'Hexwood'

Kultura ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 14-27
Author(s):  
Tijana Tropin
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Edmund Spenser ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
The Relationship

This paper analyses Diana Wynne Jones's use of the Arthurian tradition in her novel Hexwood and the links she establishes with the contemporary traditions of the fantasy novel for children and science fiction. By employing a complex non-linear narration and a rich network of intertextual allusions ranging from Thomas Mallory and Edmund Spenser to T. H. White, Wynne Jones creates an unusual and successful genre amalgam. The central concept of the novel, a version of virtual reality where individuals adopt false identities and act accordingly, enables a highly uncommon self aware use of motifs adopted from myth and literature.

scholarly journals A Study on Simulating Crowdsourcing Translation in Flipped Classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (08) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Zhongwei Mei
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Public ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Training Approach ◽  
Translator Training ◽  
The Times ◽  
It Revolution ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Network Technologies

As IT dramatically revolutionizes the world; many visionaries have introduced many new pedagogical methodologies and technologies over the years. Present translation teaching was hindered by the teacher-centered mode, while flipped classroom meets the challenges of IT revolution well. Crowdsourcing, as an emerging business mode in the era of internet+, builds up the problem solving strength of the public, is the trend of the times. Likewise, crowdsourcing translation subverts the traditional translation mode. This mode is based on network technologies, translating and proofreading jobs are handed over to volunteers via internet, and the jobs are completed on the wisdom of the masses, which inspires us to try a novel translator training approach. This paper proposes the novel approach to train market-oriented translators via simulating crowdsourcing translation model (CTM) in the “flipped classroom”, and analyzes the effects of the effects of the pedagogical reform. The study is of great significance for translator training and online learning.

A Compact Embodiment of Pluralities and Denial of Origins: Atwood’s The Year of The Flood

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Rana Sağıroğlu
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Margaret Atwood ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The World ◽  
Narrative Techniques ◽  
Why Questions ◽  
Near Future

Margaret Atwood, one of the most spectacular authors of postmodern movement, achieved to unite debatable and in demand critical points of 21st century such as science fiction, postmodernism and ecocriticism in the novel The Year of The Flood written in 2009. The novel could be regarded as an ecocritical manifesto and a dystopic mirror against today’s degenerated world, tending to a superficial base to keep the already order in use, by moving away from the fundamental solution of all humanity: nature. Although Atwood does not want her works to be called science fiction, it is obvious that science fiction plays an introductory role and gives the novel a ground explaining all ‘why’ questions of the novel. However, Atwood is not unjust while claiming that her works are not science fiction because of the inevitable rapid change of 21st century world becoming addicted to technology, especially Internet. It is easily observed by the reader that what she fictionalises throughout the novel is quite close to possibility, and the world may witness in the near future what she creates in the novel as science fiction. Additionally, postmodernism serves to the novel as the answerer of ‘how’ questions: How the world embraces pluralities, how heterogeneous social order is needed, and how impossible to run the world by dichotomies of patriarchal social order anymore. And lastly, ecocriticism gives the answers of ‘why’ questions of the novel: Why humanity is in chaos, why humanity has organized the world according to its own needs as if there were no living creatures apart from humanity. Therefore, The Year of The Flood meets the reader as a compact embodiment of science fiction, postmodernism and ecocriticism not only with its theme, but also with its narrative techniques.

Coronavirus: Towards controlling of the pandemic - Indian scenario

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 462-468
Author(s):  
Latika kothari ◽  
Sanskruti Wadatkar ◽  
Roshni Taori ◽  
Pavan Bajaj ◽  
Diksha Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Control Measures ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable infection caused by the novel coronavirus resulting in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV). It was recognized to be a health crisis for the general population of international concern on 30th January 2020 and conceded as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. India is taking various measures to fight this invisible enemy by adopting different strategies and policies. To stop the COVID-19 from spreading, the Home Affairs Ministry and the health ministry, of India, has issued the nCoV 19 guidelines on travel. Screening for COVID-19 by asking questions about any symptoms, recent travel history, and exposure. India has been trying to get testing kits available. The government of India has enforced various laws like the social distancing, Janata curfew, strict lockdowns, screening door to door to control the spread of novel coronavirus. In this pandemic, innovative medical treatments are being explored, and a proper vaccine is being hunted to deal with the situation. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the current situation. Thus, this review illustrates and explains the criteria provided by the government of India to the awareness of the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Influence Of Demographic Variables On Choice Of Media

GIS Business ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 415-424
Author(s):  
Sugandha Shekhar Thakur ◽  
Dr Sachin Sinha ◽  
Dr Deepti Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Employment Status ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emerging Media ◽  
Economic Background ◽  
The Common ◽  
Media Habits ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Immense Potential

Media is considered to be the fourth pillar of democracy. Mass media in particular has immense potential to shape the attitudes of the common masses. With the passage of time, media is becoming an all-powerful engine of social change. It plays the role a catalyst in churning the minds of the masses. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the news items brought to the knowledge of the public pay a strong role in creating a mandate. People have varied choices when it comes to their media habits. They are greatly influenced by their socio-economic background and educational exposure. This paper aims to identify the influence of demographic variables like gender, age, education and employment status on the choice of media.  The paper also highlights the current and emerging media habits of people.

Living machines in our cultural imagination

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Szollosy
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Cultural Imagination ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Future ◽  
Public Imagination ◽  
The Human Condition

Public perceptions of robots and artificial intelligence (AI)—both positive and negative—are hopelessly misinformed, based far too much on science fiction rather than science fact. However, these fictions can be instructive, and reveal to us important anxieties that exist in the public imagination, both towards robots and AI and about the human condition more generally. These anxieties are based on little-understood processes (such as anthropomorphization and projection), but cannot be dismissed merely as inaccuracies in need of correction. Our demonization of robots and AI illustrate two-hundred-year-old fears about the consequences of the Enlightenment and industrialization. Idealistic hopes projected onto robots and AI, in contrast, reveal other anxieties, about our mortality—and the transhumanist desire to transcend the limitations of our physical bodies—and about the future of our species. This chapter reviews these issues and considers some of their broader implications for our future lives with living machines.

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