Down the Rabbit Hole of the Symbolic Landscape of Blockchain Technology

Exploring the symbolic world of Blockchain Technology evokes the whimsical universe of Carroll's Alice, filled with grids, codes, and mysteries. Through my interactive graphic novel, I intertwine metaphorical narratives with political and technological fiction. This exploration leads to a reconsideration of the consensus in our democratic society, exemplified by the “Byzantine Fault” of the Bitcoin network. Coined in 1982 by Lamport, Shostak and Pease, it reflects a dilemma in which Byzantine generals must agree on military action, emphasizing the need for “trade-offs” and the supremacy of consensus. As we delve into this amalgam of metaphor, military strategy and technology, we ponder the meaning of terms like "Byzantine" and the power of story in solving problems. Reflecting on past revolutions and our current reality, characterized by social disunity and authoritarianism, we take up the challenge of preserving democratic values. Despite radical differences, consensus remains crucial, shaping decision-making and action. But in this calculated system, random data can also simulate consensus. This raises questions about the sustainability of radical consensus. What seems logical in calculations takes on a new dimension within an emotional and social reality.

Down the Rabbit Hole of the Symbolic Landscape of Blockchain Technology, I am reminded of the enchanting and mysterious world of Carroll's Alice, with its grids, codes, and decodings. My inspired interactive graphic novel intertwines metaphorical tales with political and technological fiction.
Venturing into the symbolic landscape of Blockchain Technology can reevaluate our understanding of consensus within our democratic society. Take, for example, the Bitcoin network, where the term “Byzantine fault” is employed. But what does this truly entail? Coined by Lamport, Shostak, and Pease in 1982, it stems from a scenario where Byzantine generals must converge on consensus regarding a military maneuver. The conundrum appears unsolvable, yet choices must be made. This introduces a “trade-off” – a sacrifice of one benefit for another. “Trade-offs” are a known strategy in reaching consensus. However, in the case of the Byzantine Generals, the choice is starkly binary: attack or retreat. Hence, the solution is equally radical. Should consensus elude them, arbitrary data is conjured to enact a decision and proceed with action. Here, we witness the primacy of consensus over individual choice and the introduction of arbitrary data.
Let us delve deeper into the amalgamation of metaphor, military strategy, and technology. Why, for instance, are the generals deemed “Byzantine”? The moniker was coined by Leslie Lamport, Robert Shostak, and Marshall Pease themselves. They opined in 1982 that presenting a problem as a narrative garners more attention in the theoretical community. But is a title alone a tale? And does the employment of exotic terms in any way aid in resolving the issue? While it may provoke speculation and imagination across interdisciplinary realms.

Consensus within democracies of past, present, and future

As we cast our gaze back upon past revolutions such as the transformative Atlantic upheavals of the late eighteenth century, they continue to shape the narrative of the "modern" world with ideals of freedom, equality, and democracy. Our contemporary reality is marked by escalating social discord and the ascendancy of authoritarian regimes, encountering a crisis of consensus.

The revolutionary epoch still resonates with contemporary society: delineating the boundaries of equal rights, fostering good citizenship, and navigating political mobilization amidst social discord. The struggle for freedom of expression and the safeguarding of democratic values remain pertinent, as authoritarian forces seek to undermine these foundational rights.

In grappling with these challenges, we must acknowledge the inherent conflict of interests within politics and recognize the intricacies of democratic governance.

However radical the diverging interests may be, consensus is necessary in decision-making and enabling action. Because consensus dictates, arbitrary data must be created to simulate a consensus on the democratic course of action. Thus, decision-making and action ensue. In this scenario, consensus is pivotal in delineating the boundaries of equal rights, nurturing good citizenship, and navigating political mobilization amidst social discord. Can the struggle for freedom of expression and the preservation of democratic values endure within this simulated system of consensus? What seems plausible as a logical solution within a computational system takes on a different meaning within a social and emotional system, namely our democratic society.

DeCeNTRaLiZiNG ReaLiTy: Navigating the Symbolic Landscape of Consensus

 DeCeNTRaLiZiNG ReaLiTy is interactive graphic web novel by Fanny Zaman conceived in the context of the ARTeCHO fellowship March - November 2023.

DeCeNTRaLiZiNG ReaLiTy on vimeo

“What was meant to be a revolutionary tool for creativity soon became a cruel joke, a weapon of mass destruction. It was a tragedy of epic proportions, and yet somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, there was a certain dark humor to be found."

"They said that the world had entered a new era of decentralization.
Through this form of decentralization we had redistributed poverty and redistributed pleasure. We had redistributed agriculture and redistributed nature. We had redistributed family and redistributed housing. Redistributed anger and redistributed fear. We even had redistributed colors and redistributed sound."

"At the heart of this new world order was a technology called “Decentralized Information Interference” (D.I.I.). The D.I.I. served as a masking agent, taking the edges off things and thoughts, creating a sense of privacy and security. Some individuals formed a group known as 'Resistance against Information Oppression and Tyranny” (R.I.O.T.) and they began an insurgency to undermine the D.I.I.'"

DeCeNTRaLiZiNG ReaLiTy on vimeo

Excerpt from DeCeNTRaLiZeD ReaLiTy by Fanny Zaman 

ATLAS OF ID

 ATLAS OF ID

Developed in the context of CODE 2022

CODE 2022 is the second edition of CODE. The project is organized by IMPAKT in collaboration with the Berlin School of Machines, Making & Make Believe (Berlin) and this year also two Belgian organizations: Werktank (Leuven) and Privacy Salon/Privacytopia (Brussels).

It will be presented at the ARS Electronica festival Linz September 7th - 11th 2022.

With Michaëla Stubbers

Within the project ATLAS OF ID we developed a survey webgame.

The goal is to alter our future possibilities by filling in this survey. Your options are a typical 3 varying between yes, no or maybe.

Translating reality into data assumes that machines can read and comprehend it. Can machines translate reality’s full flavor? Or are the translations, more interestingly of a totally different alien order?

“Play the game NOW and alter your future possibilities FOREVER” is a survey text webgame that poses statements wrapped like questions and vise versa like:

• We make forecasts about people just as we make forecasts about the weather.

"We make it real!"

case “Yes":

text = "Excellent choice. Consumer thrust is good for business.";

       

case "No?":

text = "We do!";

case "Maybe":

text = "Really! We do!";

• Play webgame (best with Firefox)

pragma

 

Play short version 

• here and 
• here and 
• here.

PRAGMA, A MULTIPLE IN CROSS CORRELATION.

 

PRAGMA, A MULTIPLE IN CROSS CORRELATION.
Illustrated Book in progress.

(Introduction page)
I am in acoustic space. Gently pulsating bells are dotting the surface as far as I can see. The idea of color is entirely lacking, but I know it's there because of the elaborate geometry. 

In the back of my head lives a memory of something, something from here. I'm trapped in this universe. One in which there are no stars, no nights, and no tides. Yet, there are just the miniature bells, glowing in a sea of grey darkness. Light rains down on me, low and vibrant in the interior. Once I pass through the border, I will see it. For the first time in years, I know that there is something else out there. The sky is hazy and dark, with grey clouds and dark water. I know what they are: they are memories. Over the course of the next five years, they’ll fade until they are indistinguishable from the surrounding sky.

A sea of orange color, generated by billions of microscopic creatures, rises up from the depth. It's an intense color, like nothing I've ever seen before. Life is scattered almost everywhere like a fine dust. I blank my mind and relax my body. The tunnel will take me to the next spot. The creatures inside me show the gooey orange gunk that comes out of my body. I like this. “I will return here”.

THE FUTURE IS CODED

The first version of THE FUTURE IS CODED (videogame 20 min.) will be presented at the exhibition Differences which opens on Thursday September 9, 18:00 > 23:00 on the occasion of Brussels Gallery Weekend and will remain open that weekend Friday September 10 till Sunday September 12, 11:00 > 19:00.

 

Afterwards, the exhibition will be open from September 16 till October 3, from Thursday till Sunday, 11:00 > 18:00.

Gosset Site, Building A (first floor) 
Rue Gabrielle Petitstraat 4-6, 1080 Brussels 

Play short version here

THE FUTURE IS CODED refers to a future that's already present here and now but remains somehow inaccessible to us. It's an old philosophical idea that past, present and future exists simultaneously. If the future exists, it could be accessed like a space or a room. 

In Chris Marker's science fiction film La Jetée 1962 we hear the voice-over saying: 'The future was better protected than the past. After more, painful tries, he (the protagonist) eventually caught some waves of the world to come.'

Since ancient history we've tried accessing the future through mediators. Noise and randomness (chance) are media that are used worldwide to access the future in so called divination techniques. Noise mediates via articulating hidden layers to our conscious mind.

The future is like a wall of noise. We carve our path through time, sifting meaning from noise.

Shoshana Zuboff writes in her book Surveillance Capitalism about big data companies that harvest rich predictive data in the waste materials of our online behavior. The rich data companies are after are in the extra data, in the noise. They use them to forecast our future behavior.

The NOISESCAPES I create in the work are screens of noise depicting settings for a possible future. The videogame is about discovering and experiencing a particular set-up built from layers of noise.

'Invisible lines appear at bottom left, creating what feels like tremors. They resonate outward from the initial mark and become increasingly vague and indiscernible until a point where their origins are all but obscured.'

Pragma is the first character that appears in THE FUTURE IS CODED. She is a multiple and thus so forms a small group with herself.

She navigates in cross correlation with you and reflects what singular action does executed as a group.

'Picking up rhythmic, high-pitched beats, the pebbles vibrate against the body.'

THE FUTURE IS CODED is developed in the context of Ars Electronica FutureLab, Linz Austria of March 2021 supported by Vlaanderen Department CJM.

THE AIRSHIP

The work (in development) is inspired by the dystopian short story "The Machine stops" written in 1909 by E.M. Forster

This story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the earth. 

Each individual now lives isolated underground in a standard room, where all physical and spiritual needs are fulfilled by the almighty, global machine.

Fanny Zaman & Dominik Daggelinckx

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