FreedomLab | Thinktank for future scenarios

Is objectivity a solitary, fixed standpoint? In this article, Pim Korsten explores what a 'TrustTech Stack' will look like and examines fake news through the lens of Bruno Latour’s network philosophy. Can these ideas contribute to a more positive conception of how digital facts and objectivity are constructed? #TrustTechStack #FakeNews #BrunoLatour #Objectivity

Last week, Sebastiaan Crul discussed Byung Chul Han’s ideas about the crisis of truth. The current problem is not so much that so many people lie, but rather that society hardly seems to care what is true and what is false anymore; we are, in that sense, truly beyond truth. Almost a century ago, the Dutch Historian Johan Huizinga offered a prelude to this diagnosis in his analysis about the decay of play as a constitutive and binding element of all cultures. In his analysis, Huizinga makes a distinction between the cheater who still respects the game and the player who breaks the enchantment of the ‘belief aspect’. Although the cheater generally needs to be revealed to keep the game fair, he still enacts the ‘magic circle’, the enchantment of the belief aspect of the game, which also constitutes the temporary social togetherness or community of the players. Nobody likes the cheaters, obviously, but at least they are better than those quitters who suddenly break the magic by shouting; “it is just a game, I quit”. Unlike cheaters, they disrupt the communal nature of a group more deeply, believing themselves to be exempt from societal norms, rights and obligations, that is: to be immune. Accordingly, the biggest problem of democracies in the post-truth era might not be liars but quitters. As I remarked before, lies in a post-truth society have mainly degenerated into ‘shit’, resulting in the ‘enshittification’ of the debate or dialogue, especially online. The term, coined by Cory Doctorow, primarily refers to the gradual decline in the quality of services and content on online platforms; initially beneficial to users, these platforms eventually start exploiting them bit by bit. This concept also captures the broader decay of online discourse, as the World Wide Web today increasingly resembles a chaotic Weird Wild West where despair and anger mix with irony and sarcasm.   In this essay, Sebastiaan Crul outlines what he thinks are three responses tied to the enshittification of online environments, namely (1) the volcanic response amplifying chaos online to exploit the fertile ground afterwards, (2) the waking-up response re-establishing a clear divide between True and False, and (3), the LOL response, that is, immersing yourself in funny videos and memes as a coping mechanism in times of despair. These can be seen as examples of what Hegel called the ‘unhappy consciousness’, where a person feels painfully split between their limited, everyday self and their unreachable, infinite ideals, leading to a sense of alienation. In this state, the individual or group struggle to see themselves reflected in the world around them. Visit our website to read his article. #posttruth #enshittification

"Science is just an opinion." This is a statement often heard from people who dislike the outcomes of scientific research or research-based policymaking. Their discontent leads them to question the value of scientific research and, quite often, to discredit individual scientists as well. In their view, these scientists are politically and ideologically motivated, almost certainly funded by corrupt governments or organizations. This happens, for instance, to scientists studying climate change, but also to researchers in health sciences or cultural studies. Regardless of the specific accusations or the field of study, these critics no longer regard science as a neutral and objective producer of knowledge. Instead, they see science as a human undertaking that comes with all the flaws and challenges of any other human activity. Unfortunately, there is some truth to this perspective. Read Sjoerd Bakker's latest article to understand why and how this is reflected in today's post-truth society. #science #posttruth #posttruthpolitics

Nearly eight years ago, Donald Trump was elected president, and in that same year, Oxford Dictionaries chose ‘post-truth’ as their word of the year, marking the dawn of a new era. Today, terms such as ‘fake news’ and ‘disinformation’ have become firmly ingrained in public discourse. The US appears more divided than it has been since the Civil War, a fact that makes last year’s release of a film by the same name all the more unsettling. As the upcoming elections approach, we will explore various perspectives that shed light on this post-truth era. In this brief article, Sebastiaan Crul provides an overview of the historical threads that we will explore in the coming weeks, helping us understand today’s post-truth politics. #posttruth #politics

Since FreedomLab started sharing its internal research with a broader audience, we have published 499 articles on our website. Today marks our 500th article, celebrating over five years of speculative essays, philosophical analyses, scenario thinking, zeitgeist documents and much more. To commemorate this milestone, we invited three thinktank members to reflect on our publication history and highlight some of the most remarkable pieces. In this article, Sebastiaan Crul reflect on the nature of transdisciplinarity in his pieces, Pim Korsten demonstrates how speculative thinking goes beyond merely extrapolating trends, and Sjoerd Bakker reflects on the generational research he's conducted, offering advice to Gen Z to focus on deepening their "under-the-hood knowledge" of generative AI. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eaNnZ8zc #FreedomLab #Thinktank #FutureScenarios

Interest from Wall Street in generative AI is becoming more cautious. As the initial hype surrounding generative AI cools off, questions about its long-term impact on the labor market are becoming increasingly pressing. So, what does this mean for the future of work? In this article, FreedomLab Fellow Elio Martorelli Nilsson examines three key narratives shaping the conversation around AI and their influence on the future of work.   #AI #GenerativeAI #FutureOfWork #FreedomLab

Last week, De Volkskrant published a compelling essay (https://lnkd.in/e8SZPXY6) on the internet trend 'Brat Summer', which strongly echoes our own reflections on the zeitgeist. As FreedomFab fellow Victória Ferreira noted in her article (https://lnkd.in/etRFskm2) last year on TikTok trends like Y2K and Weirdcore , 'Brat' is better understood not as a subculture but as an aesthetic—one defined by a mix of hedonism and defiance, that is, a coping mechanism for a generation caught between anxiety and escapism. This aesthetic aligns with what researcher Sebastiaan Crul and FreedomLab fellow Arief Ernst Hühn described in their article (https://lnkd.in/ehuWuyQT) on the resurgence of rave culture as "playful nihilism", a key characteristic of late modernity. Playful nihilism is marked by its duality: a carefree, laissez-faire approach to life that indulges in superficial pleasures, while simultaneously grappling with deep anxieties about the future, the environment, and societal collapse. "At worst, this nihilism of mostly younger generations degenerates into defiant behavior and world denial […] A form of passive nihilism that will lead nowhere as there is nowhere to go […] Rave until the grave." But there is another side to it: "Not all raves end up in rage and denial of reality. As Friedrich Nietzsche put it: "if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." At best, playful nihilism is a form of 'active nihilism' that sees nothingness also as the moral openness to a new order. Then it is about embracing and "rebranding chaos" and making party protest productive, not destructive." This unresolvable tension between carefree enjoyment and underlying concern encapsulates the ethos of playful nihilism. In contexts of festivals and 'Brat Summer', playful nihilism can either devolve into destructive hedonism (as seen in the blurred lines between rave culture and drug culture at events like Lowlands) or potentially evolve into a constructive force, channeling the chaos of our times into something new, unforeseen, and perhaps even revolutionary. Whether this hints at Kamala Harris' brat rebranding, we leave open to interpretation. #BratSummer #Zeitgeist

Understanding AI through the metaphor of the cyborg and posthumanism is not so much about envisioning a utopian (or dystopian) future beyond the human. Instead, it involves taking a critical stance, engaging in contemplation and deconstruction. This approach paves the way for new language and ideas, revealing and steering the performativity of words and signs. Forget about the humans. Meet the cyborgs. Head to our website to read the ninth chapter of 'AI Metaphors', a series in which we demystify artificial intelligence for our readers. Author: Sebastiaan Crul #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIMetaphors #Cyborg

In a lab reminiscent of Apple HQ, a figure lies down, receiving his most recent cognitive updates. He wears a sleek transparent exoskeleton, blending the dark look of Bat Man with the metallic of Iron Man. Implemented in his head, we find a brain-computer interface, enhancing his cognitive abilities. His decision-making, once burdened by the human deficiency we used to call hesitation or deliberation, now takes only fractions of seconds. Negative emotions no longer fog his mind; selective neurotransmitters enhance only the positive, fostering beneficial social connections. His vision, augmented to perceive the unseen electromechanical patterns and waves hidden from conventional sight, paints a deeper picture of the world. Garbed in a suit endowed with physical augmentations, he moves with strength and agility that eclipse human norms. Nano implants prolong the inevitable process of aging, a buffer against time's relentless march to entropy. And then, as a penultimate hedge against the finite, the cryo-cabin awaits, a sanctuary to preserve his corporal frame while bequeathing his consciousness to the digital immortality of coded existence. Head to our website to read the eighth chapter of 'AI Metaphors', a series in which we demystify artificial intelligence for our readers. Author: Sebastiaan Crul #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIMetaphors

Once we became upright bipedal animals, humans found themselves exposed and therefore in a state of fundamental need and deficiency. However, with our hands now free and our eyes fixed on the horizon instead of the ground, we gradually evolved into handy creatures with foresight. Since then, human beings have invented roofs to keep them dry, fire to prepare their meals and weapons to eliminate their enemies. This genesis of man does not only tell us about the never-ending struggle for protection and survival, but more fundamentally about our nature as technical beings, that we are artificial by nature. From the early cave drawings, all the way to the typewriter, touchscreens, and algorithmic autocorrections, technics was there, and is here, to support us in our wondering and reasoning. Everything we see and everywhere we live is co-invented by technics, including ourselves. Head to our website to read the seventh chapter of 'AI Metaphors', a series in which we demystify artificial intelligence for our readers. Author: Sebastiaan Crul #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIMetaphors