Agents: The Lord of (the) Things

This chapter considers the forms subalterns assume under the conditions of advanced technology. As servers, demons, or other virtual creatures, they work without being seen or ever taking a break. By means of a comparative analysis of early computing systems, the mainframes, and the first machines from the age of personal computers, the discussion focuses on the conceptual and historical transfer from servant to server. The analysis is based on fieldwork conducted in California in the 1970s, when researchers at the legendary Xerox PARC center took a closer look at the conditions of formation of electronic services. What defines the communicative structure of the Internet was a specific informational architecture, the so-called client-server principle, developed in Silicon Valley after 1973.

MitsuDomoe: Ecosystem Simulation of Virtual Creatures in Mixed Reality Petri Dish

In this study, we propose the use of mixed reality (MR) for the purposes of biological education. Our objective is to create an interactive edutainment MR framework for users to learn about nature and human beings. MitsuDomoe, an interactive ecosystem simulator of virtual creatures in a petri dish, comprises three species of primitive artificial creatures. MitsuDomoe simulates the predation chain of the virtual creatures in the petri dish, and users can interact with this ecosystem via the petri dish interface. Users can also experience immersive observation by wearing HMD. By combining the MR petri dish and immersive virtual reality (VR) interfaces, we synergistically improve user understanding of the experience.