In the last fifty years, the musical scene has been inevitably transformed by the device that has... more In the last fifty years, the musical scene has been inevitably transformed by the device that has progressively defined the operation of human society since its advent: the computer. Computing machines have paved the way for the exponential advance of humanity's capabilities, shaping the economy, the nature of labour and human interaction along the way. Likewise, computers have radically changed the music industry in terms of its creation, dissemination and consumption. Vanguard musical creation is both highly contingent on the equipment at the hands of composers, and the cultural context of the era, which is heavily influenced by the existing material and sociological factors of society. The objective of this essay is to analyse how the 'computerized' sounds found in contemporary music, predominantly in the electronic music scene, act as the preeminent artistic reflection of the current zeitgeist, defined by the increasing scope of technology's integration into people's lives, as well as the effects of digital culture in shaping individuals' consciousness and anxieties. In order to build on the argument, the essay shall look at relevant contemporary artists such as Daft Punk, M83, Deadmau5 and Radiohead. Taking account of the current dynamic of 'cyborgisation' of the human species, the essay will go further to contend that these musical creations can be conceived as lyrical counterparts to the written post-human imaginative exercise present in Haraway's figurative cyborg imagery, and as such, represent how the sounds and messages present in music play a significant role in influencing individuals' dispositions to post-humanist mentalities.
This dissertation provides an analysis of the ideological component behind the crypto-anarchist e... more This dissertation provides an analysis of the ideological component behind the crypto-anarchist enthusiasm for the highly topical emerging technology of distributed ledger technology, commonly known as ‘blockchain’. Philosophy of technology scholars have drawn attention to the fact that technologies can possess political properties and serve to reinforce or challenge power structures. Public blockchains have an unquestionable social and political character due to their capacity to facilitate the emergence of cryptographic, decentralized and reliable peer-to-peer networks. The exponential adoption of this disruptive technology, which is poised to cause transformational changes across socio-technical systems and organizational structures, means that both its political properties and the ideological forces behind its development as a political technology must be recognized. Accordingly, this dissertation engages with some of the most ideologically-driven projects aiming to tap into blockchain’s political and economic potential, namely those of Bitcoin, FairCoin, Democracy Earth and Bitnation. These projects exemplify what is posited as the main ideological cleavage within crypto-anarchism, which revolves around the privileged agent and vision that should be empowered and trusted to capture the decentralizing potential offered by blockchain technology.
The paper offers an original contribution by conceptualizing the cleavage as separating; ‘crypto-libertarians’, whose neo-Hobbesian individualistic vision sees the invisible hand of the free market as the privileged agent driving a trustless technology; and ‘crypto-commonists’, whose collectivist vision regards blockchain as a trust-enabling technology that should be used to facilitate collaborative economic paradigms and participatory forms of e-democracy. The dissertation concludes that while both strands of blockchain enthusiasts have a shared interest in promoting personal privacy, radical transparency, and eroding the authority of nation-states, their diametrically opposed views on human nature and socio-economic organization seem presently irreconcilable.
The research undertaken for this paper has covered a substantial breadth of the existing academic material concerning the philosophy and politics of blockchain technology, consulting books, journals, white papers and online articles. This dissertation contributes with an ideological conceptualization to the fields of techno-politics and blockchain studies, an academic intersection still in its infancy, but which will undoubtedly attract increasing academic attention.
In the last fifty years, the musical scene has been inevitably transformed by the device that has... more In the last fifty years, the musical scene has been inevitably transformed by the device that has progressively defined the operation of human society since its advent: the computer. Computing machines have paved the way for the exponential advance of humanity's capabilities, shaping the economy, the nature of labour and human interaction along the way. Likewise, computers have radically changed the music industry in terms of its creation, dissemination and consumption. Vanguard musical creation is both highly contingent on the equipment at the hands of composers, and the cultural context of the era, which is heavily influenced by the existing material and sociological factors of society. The objective of this essay is to analyse how the 'computerized' sounds found in contemporary music, predominantly in the electronic music scene, act as the preeminent artistic reflection of the current zeitgeist, defined by the increasing scope of technology's integration into people's lives, as well as the effects of digital culture in shaping individuals' consciousness and anxieties. In order to build on the argument, the essay shall look at relevant contemporary artists such as Daft Punk, M83, Deadmau5 and Radiohead. Taking account of the current dynamic of 'cyborgisation' of the human species, the essay will go further to contend that these musical creations can be conceived as lyrical counterparts to the written post-human imaginative exercise present in Haraway's figurative cyborg imagery, and as such, represent how the sounds and messages present in music play a significant role in influencing individuals' dispositions to post-humanist mentalities.
This dissertation provides an analysis of the ideological component behind the crypto-anarchist e... more This dissertation provides an analysis of the ideological component behind the crypto-anarchist enthusiasm for the highly topical emerging technology of distributed ledger technology, commonly known as ‘blockchain’. Philosophy of technology scholars have drawn attention to the fact that technologies can possess political properties and serve to reinforce or challenge power structures. Public blockchains have an unquestionable social and political character due to their capacity to facilitate the emergence of cryptographic, decentralized and reliable peer-to-peer networks. The exponential adoption of this disruptive technology, which is poised to cause transformational changes across socio-technical systems and organizational structures, means that both its political properties and the ideological forces behind its development as a political technology must be recognized. Accordingly, this dissertation engages with some of the most ideologically-driven projects aiming to tap into blockchain’s political and economic potential, namely those of Bitcoin, FairCoin, Democracy Earth and Bitnation. These projects exemplify what is posited as the main ideological cleavage within crypto-anarchism, which revolves around the privileged agent and vision that should be empowered and trusted to capture the decentralizing potential offered by blockchain technology.
The paper offers an original contribution by conceptualizing the cleavage as separating; ‘crypto-libertarians’, whose neo-Hobbesian individualistic vision sees the invisible hand of the free market as the privileged agent driving a trustless technology; and ‘crypto-commonists’, whose collectivist vision regards blockchain as a trust-enabling technology that should be used to facilitate collaborative economic paradigms and participatory forms of e-democracy. The dissertation concludes that while both strands of blockchain enthusiasts have a shared interest in promoting personal privacy, radical transparency, and eroding the authority of nation-states, their diametrically opposed views on human nature and socio-economic organization seem presently irreconcilable.
The research undertaken for this paper has covered a substantial breadth of the existing academic material concerning the philosophy and politics of blockchain technology, consulting books, journals, white papers and online articles. This dissertation contributes with an ideological conceptualization to the fields of techno-politics and blockchain studies, an academic intersection still in its infancy, but which will undoubtedly attract increasing academic attention.
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The paper offers an original contribution by conceptualizing the cleavage as separating; ‘crypto-libertarians’, whose neo-Hobbesian individualistic vision sees the invisible hand of the free market as the privileged agent driving a trustless technology; and ‘crypto-commonists’, whose collectivist vision regards blockchain as a trust-enabling technology that should be used to facilitate collaborative economic paradigms and participatory forms of e-democracy. The dissertation concludes that while both strands of blockchain enthusiasts have a shared interest in promoting personal privacy, radical transparency, and eroding the authority of nation-states, their diametrically opposed views on human nature and socio-economic organization seem presently irreconcilable.
The research undertaken for this paper has covered a substantial breadth of the existing academic material concerning the philosophy and politics of blockchain technology, consulting books, journals, white papers and online articles. This dissertation contributes with an ideological conceptualization to the fields of techno-politics and blockchain studies, an academic intersection still in its infancy, but which will undoubtedly attract increasing academic attention.
The paper offers an original contribution by conceptualizing the cleavage as separating; ‘crypto-libertarians’, whose neo-Hobbesian individualistic vision sees the invisible hand of the free market as the privileged agent driving a trustless technology; and ‘crypto-commonists’, whose collectivist vision regards blockchain as a trust-enabling technology that should be used to facilitate collaborative economic paradigms and participatory forms of e-democracy. The dissertation concludes that while both strands of blockchain enthusiasts have a shared interest in promoting personal privacy, radical transparency, and eroding the authority of nation-states, their diametrically opposed views on human nature and socio-economic organization seem presently irreconcilable.
The research undertaken for this paper has covered a substantial breadth of the existing academic material concerning the philosophy and politics of blockchain technology, consulting books, journals, white papers and online articles. This dissertation contributes with an ideological conceptualization to the fields of techno-politics and blockchain studies, an academic intersection still in its infancy, but which will undoubtedly attract increasing academic attention.