Cybermedia: Explorations in Science, Sound, and Vision

473 Pages·2021·4.589 MB·English

by  Jonathan Leal (editor), Selmin Kara (editor)

Cybermedia
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New Approaches to Sound, Music, and Media
Series Editors: Carol Vernallis, Holly Rogers, and Lisa Perrott
Forthcoming Titles:
Biophilia by Nicola Dibben
David Bowie in Music Video by Lisa Perrott
Popular Music, Race, and Media since 9/11 by Nabeel Zuberi
Popular Music and Narrativity by Alex Jeff ery
Published Titles:
Transmedia Directors edited by Carol Vernallis, Holly Rogers, and Lisa Perrott
Dangerous Mediations by Á ine Mangaoang
Resonant Matter by Lutz Koepnick

ii
Cybermedia
Explorations in Science, Sound, and Vision
Edited by Carol Vernallis , Holly Rogers , Selmin Kara
and Jonathan Leal
iii
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
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50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK
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BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in the United States of America 2022

Volume Editors’ Part of the Work © Carol Vernallis, Holly Rogers, Selmin Kara,
and Jonathan Leal 2022

Each chapter © by the contributor

For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. x constitute an
extension of this copyright page.

Cover design: Carol Vernallis, Simona Fitcal, Paul Fox and Hannah Ueno
Hannah Ueno created the duotone drawing.
Cover image: Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, 2015 / Alamy.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
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third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in
this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher
regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have
ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: HB: 978-1-5013-5704-6
PB: 978-1-5013-5703-9
ePDF: 978-1-5013-5706-0
eBook: 978-1-5013-5705-3

Series: New Approaches to Sound, Music, and Media

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iv
Carol Vernallis: For Beatrice

Holly Rogers: For Daisy

Jonathan Leal: For my father, my fi rst science teacher
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Contents
Acknowledgments x
List of Editors and Contributors xi
Introduction J onathan Leal and Carol Vernallis 1
Part One AI and Robotics
1 Could the AI of Our Dreams Ever Become Reality?
James L. McClelland 15
2 Director Alex Garland Converses with C ybermedia ’s Scientists
and Media Scholars Jonathan Leal and Carol Vernallis 31
3 (S) Ex Machina and the Cartesian Th eater of the Absurd
Simon D. Levy and Charles W. Lowney 45
4 Epiphany, Infi nity and Transcendent AI Zachary Mason 65
Part Two Big Data, Sentience, and the Universe
5 A MASSIVE Swirl of Pixels: Radiohead’s “Go to Sleep”
Steen Ledet Christiansen 75
6 Th e Rise of the Machine: Body-Knowing, Neural Nets, and
Emergent Freedom Charles W. Lowney 97
7 Th e Quantum Computer: Sci-Fi Narrative’s Favorite Character
Leonardo P. G. De Assis 129
8 Composer Ben Salisbury Discusses Scoring Science for Alex
Garland B en Salisbury, Holly Rogers, John McGrath,
Carol Vernallis, and Dale Chapman 137
9 Ex Machina and the Question of Consciousness
Murray Shanahan 143
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viii Contents
Part Th ree Th e Neuroscience of Aff ect and Event Perception
10 “A Solid Popularity Arc”: Aff ective Economies in Black Mirror ’s
“Nosedive” D ale Chapman 151
11 Cognitive Boundaries, “Nosedive,” and U nder the Skin : Interview
with Jeff rey Zacks C arol Vernallis, Jonathan Leal, and
Dale Chapman 171
12 Toward an AI Future of Comics Study and Creation:
A Cognitive-Aff ective Approach Frederick Luis Aldama
and Laura Wagner 187
Part Four Th e Digital West
13 Th e Philosophy of Westworld Paul Skokowski 207
14 New Visions of the Old West: AI, Self, and Other in
Westworld Christopher Minz 223
15 Scoring Music for W estworld Th en and Now: A Cognitive
Perspective Annabel J. Cohen 237
Part Five Interface, Desire, Collectivity
16 Director Terence Nance Discusses R andom Acts of Flyness
Carol Vernallis, Jonathan Leal, Holly Rogers, Elizabeth Reich
and the contributors of Cybermedia 273
17 Th e Gift of Black Sonics: Interface and Ontology in
Sorry to Bother You and Random Acts of Flyness Elizabeth Reich 283
18 Technology, Chaos, and the Nimble Subversion of
Random Acts of Flyness Eric Lyon 311
19 Expecting the Twist: How Media Navigate the Intersections
Among Multiple Sources of Prior Knowledge N oah Fram 329
20 Face Color Bevil R. Conway 347
Part Six Productive Neuropathologies
21 Digital Vitalism M arta Figlerowicz 367
Contents ix
22 Neuroplasticity: From Experience to Healing Sara Ferrando
Colomer 389
23 Where is My Mind? M r. Robot and the Digital Neuropolis
Patricia Pisters 401
24 Th e Dopamine Circuits of Wanting, Liking, Habit and Goals:
An Interview about M r. Robot with Neuroscientist Talia Lerner
Jonathan Leal, Carol Vernallis and Patricia Pisters 419
25 Th e Taste of Cybermedia: An Interview with Hojoon Lee,
Th e Lee Lab at Northwestern University Julia Peres Guimarães,
Selmin Kara, and Carol Vernallis 431
Index 437