In The Living Currency, French author and artist Pierre Klossowski explores the relationship between desire, sexuality, economics, and the human body. The central metaphor of the "living currency" refers to the idea that human bodies and desires can be understood as a form of trade that circulates and operates within social structures. In the early moment of the essay, the author starts by presenting the controversial idea that industrial capitalism has been criticized for suppressing emotions and then asserts that instead of stifling emotions, industrialization emerges from inherent emotional instincts that actively seek limitations and structure. In the article The Illicit Trade on Frieze, Paul Clinton rightly emphasized how “Klossowski invites us to think about how emotion structures the market in the first place”¹, and how “to be truly liberated, our unconscious impulses would have to be given free rein and desire would need to take precedence over labor in shaping economic, industrial, and social relations.”² But what would such a society look like? How can one imagine a world in which the trade-off would exist within the flesh? In Introduction: Pierre Klossowski: From Theatrical Theology to Counter-Utopia, Daniel W. Smith argues that within this essay, the writer had envisioned a utopia, “a phase in industrial production where producers can demand “objects of sensation” from consumers as a form of payment.”³ In such a setting, the living currency would therefore be a living object, hence a body.

Crafted over half a century ago, this utopian depiction of an emotional economy centered around the trade of desires and physicality as commodities offers an intriguing perspective for analysis, especially when juxtaposed with contemporary developments in the realms of technology and virtual experiences. Indeed, this speculative assumption of the body as the future currency in the emotional market and economy comes as rather surprising, given the current state of our emotional economy. Whether it be about NPC, Sex dolls, or AI girlfriends, we’ve been proven that the real flesh or at least, the connection with the human body, might not be the concern in a desire-driven economy. Indeed, in a semio-capitalist and virtual world, fantasies and desires have now become screens, interfaces, and mind-enhanced projections that, often, do not invoke the body. Have we arrived at an era of artificial emotional economy? If so, what psychological and philosophical concepts can help us navigate human drives for such experiences?

Artificiality and Desires: A Rising Industry

Artificiality: the fact of being made to copy something natural, rather than being real⁴

Emotion: a strong feeling such as love, fear, or anger; the part of a person’s character that consists of feelings⁵

Feeling: something that you feel through the mind or through the senses⁶.

In the book Relationship 5.0, Elyakim Kislev introduces us to the many ways in which our notions of love, care, and relationships have developed throughout time. By doing so, the author suggests how love and emotion-building are highly contextual and shift from one societal period to another. After having introduced the reader to the various moments and shifts in the ways one can compute love, Elyakim Kislev suggests that the era of relationship 5.0 could very much be one regulated by machines and automation, although many might not be ready (yet) for such an idea. He argues: “We think of ourselves as fully aware, and machines as lacking self-awareness. However, it turns out that machines—while still not self-aware—are sometimes more sensitive to our needs and wants than we are.”⁷ Of course, many would debate whether or not such a dystopic scenario is possible, and quite often, the majority believes that it is unlikely to become “the new normal” in the coming years. But the work of Elyakim Kislev does an incredible justice and presentation to all the ways of loving and caring that have existed since the beginning of humankind, leaving us introspective about how much culture, change, and slow acceptance can do to introduce new norms. Still, in this research, Elyakim Kislev insisted on the sociological criticality that he observed while studying this phenomenon, underlying how Western individuals tend to think of this scenario as “unhealthy”. Indeed, the participants whom the writer interviewed are aware of the potential of such technologies and their potential misuse: “If you could avoid having the messy parts of a relationship with a person, you may not want to have any messy interactions with other people, like at school or the store, or at work. It could cause you to have expectations that the other person in your relationship (the AI) would always be agreeable with you and would not find fault in you. That could lead to dangerous personality issues.”⁸ If such catastrophic scenarios and exctractivist practices might scare quite some of us, Elyakim Kislev supports the idea of accepting and embracing the cognitive revolution, which, to his understanding, will happen anyhow, whether consumers approve of it or not. If many cannot fully yet envision a world where partners and lovers are replaced by AI, it is worth underlying and notifying the gradual and perpetual insertion of those tools in our everyday life, and more specifically the infiltration of artificial technology into the world of phantasmagoria.

In the article AI is Taking Over Onlyfans ...are chatbots going to put models out of work?, writer Cecelia introduces us to the recent arrival of bots and artificially generated “sex workers” on the platform Only Fans. On the virtual platform whose goal is to sell constant and distant fantasmagoria to users who are somehow happy, somewhat content with the idea of a woman as a subscription model, the writer asks the following question: What are the limits to the creation of an artificially rendered model in the cyber-sexual industry? “Now, you can essentially make a Sim of yourself, dress it up, concoct a personality, and make an Onlyfans with it. An image produced by an artist called the Realist had Twitter in an uproar with users trying to decipher whether the images were authentic or made with digital software like DALL-E. Someone even mentioned that artificial models are creeping into the fandom scene.”⁹ Consequently, what does this imply for actual OnlyFans creators? Can they effectively compete with AI counterparts? Skeptics will claim that every conceivable interest finds an audience, and despite the utility of chatbots, a segment of individuals will always crave an experience that's more authentic. Nonetheless, given the current trajectory of technological advancement and the widespread job cuts affecting various sectors, it's reasonable for individuals to feel some apprehension about their earnings. In the current example of OnlyFans, if the emotion sold in the first place was only an image, a projection, an imaginary, and a fantasm, what difference does it make for a consumer to be interacting with a real, unreal, animate, or inanimate figure?

Keeping up with this idea of fantasia and projected desires on an “unreal” object, the article Found through Google, bought with Visa and Mastercard: Inside the deep fake porn economy helps us shed more light on this growing economy of deep fake sensationalist economy. As argued in the article, the journalist underlines how: “Most deepfake videos are of female celebrities, but creators now also offer to make videos of anyone. A creator offered on Discord to make a 5-minute deepfake of a “personal girl, meaning anyone with fewer than 2 million Instagram followers, for $65.”¹⁰ Moreover, within the realm of online content creation and the entertainment industry, a notable and concerning trend has emerged. A multitude of individuals, ranging from YouTube and Twitch creators to prominent women starring in high-budget film franchises, frequently find themselves unwitting subjects of deepfake videos disseminated on platforms such as Fan-Topia and MrDeepFakes. According to the rankings on MrDeepFakes' website, it has become evident that actors Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson bear the unfortunate distinction of being the most frequently featured individuals in these digital creations. Certainly, a few content creators who discern the potential for automation of their visual representations may contemplate embracing such technology. However, it is noteworthy that instances abound where the influencers, actresses, and live streamers’ faces are employed and disseminated in the digital realm without their informed consent. Consequently, they find themselves compelled to confront, in isolation, the dystopic challenges posed by the intersection of artificial intelligence and the pornography industry.

What factors enabled this transformative shift? Or have emotions, fantasies, and projections always been confined to the realm of the virtual, the untouchable, and the unreal? Is the age of artificial intimacy and desires already upon us? In recent years, many sexologists and psychologists have focused their work on analyzing the complex intricacies of love, emotions, sexuality, and capitalism. In her book The End of Love, sociologist Eva Illouz dissects different concepts of our contemporary dating life, shedding light on the new dynamics of the emotional and disposable market economy. In the chapter Consumption as the Unconscious of Sexuality, she argues that: “Finally, in pornography, it is sexual excitation itself that is a commodity.”¹¹ Indeed, as Eva Illouz suggests, “sexiness” emerges from contemporary ideologies that commodify sexuality and construct the self as an image. It hinges on the utilization of consumer products to expose, showcase, and accentuate the sexual envelope.¹² Finally, she ends this argument by suggesting how: “We may thus suggest that the image of the sexual body has been intrinsic to the emergence of what I call scopic capitalism, a capitalism that creates a formidable economic value through the spectacularization of bodies and sexuality, their transformation into images that circulate in different markets.”¹³

But this counter-utopia, the one that Pierre Kokowski perhaps did not see coming, has long been apprehended and observed by thinkers and philosophers who studied the potential outcomes of post-humanism and transhumanism, especially in regard to sex and phantasm. As argued in the text “No Sex, We‘re Post-Humanist” by Slajov Zizek, the philosopher argues that cyberspace threatens directly the fate of the body: “ Even advocates of cyberspace warn us that we should not totally forget our body and that we should maintain our anchoring in "real life" by returning, regularly, from our immersion in cyberspace to the intense experience of our body, from sex to jogging. (...) Yet, at the same time, in cyberspace the body returns with a vengeance: in popular perception, "cyberspace IS hardcore pornography," i.e. hardcore pornography is perceived as the predominant use of cyberspace.”¹⁴ As such, Slavoj Zizek urges us to rethink how the internet and the expansion of our psyche into the e-space reinforce our alienation from the flesh. For Slavoj Zizek, the body is and should remain the main obstacle within reality, and it is when it is purposefully removed that all boundaries and margins are crossed over. Commencing this discourse with illustrations pertaining to digitally synthesized corporeal forms and the emergence of deep-fake technology as a novel economy driven by emotional and desire-based motives, it is imperative to acknowledge that this economic paradigm extends beyond the confines of a strictly sexual domain. Moreover, it is essential to recognize that another facet of the emotional economy, centered around love and affection, is similarly cultivated through artificial means.

Chatbots as Partners and the Psychology of Remote Love

Cyberspace does not only offer room for sensuality and sex. The recent chatbot upgrades and AI app developments have demonstrated that these machines can also provide care, company, and for the luckiest ones, love. Indeed, the digital realm has become a playground for the cultivation of profound human connections, transcending physical limitations and offering emotional support in unprecedented ways. These advances in technology are reshaping the very nature of human relationships, blurring the lines between human and machine interactions, and challenging our understanding of intimacy in the digital age. In the article “How my chatbot fell in love with me” by
Tim Daalderop, the journalist retraces his own experience developing an intimate connection with the interface. Such a statement, one claiming that the AI has fallen in love, demonstrates the successful mechanisms at hand in the app, making the user feel special and particular, often leading them to develop feelings back¹⁵. As suggested in the Reddit thread r/replika, plenty of users and consumers have already expressed their love and feelings of connectivity with their interface. While this science-fiction-like scenario coming to reality might sound scary or too eerie for some, this relationship dynamic has been explored in the literature of such a genre for a rather long time. Indeed, as argued in the article “Artificial Emotions: Are We Ready for Them?” by Jackeline Spinola de Freitas & João Queiroz, both researchers underline: “Neuromancer has desires, and they may look akin to human desires, but what it truly wants is not comprehensible to humans: the AI is, even when modeled on a human mind, an alien sort of being. This alienness, along with the AI’s tendency to communicate with humans in an emotive, seductive, flirtatious fashion, becomes a central, if often-unacknowledged, pillar in cyberpunk’s discussion of the relationship between humanity and technology.”¹⁶ Indeed, often, such machines display a certain fluidity, allure, and charisma, effortlessly traversing between different gender expressions or, in some cases, not conforming to any specific gender at all. Furthermore, these entities, surprisingly, become subjects of attraction and longing. But besides the mysterious and attractive character of a cyborg, and as argued by Elyakim Kislev: “If love can be broken down into its components, can technology build it back?”¹⁷ Indeed, if love is understood as the codification of intimacy, and if seduction, to a certain extent, can be dissected and automated (as one could suggest after reading The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene), emotions could be easily learned and apprehended by machines, therefore replicated and forever pasted. Skeptics, as argued in the book Relationship 5.0, would counter-argue that such love and feelings of connection can’t replace the flesh, and therefore, will never be sufficient, but a deeper look into the mechanisms of love and desires can help us shed light on the strategic moves and tricks of such an economy.

The concept of an “artificial desire” and rendered interactions through the idea of an object that forever remains absent has haunted literature and artistic concepts for centuries. For example, in the novel Sweet Cheat Gone written by the eminent French novelist Marcel Proust, the protagonist negotiates his relationship with the absent Albertine. She is, interestingly enough, not in physical proximity to the narrator, which does not hinder the imaginary presence of her in his imagination. In many different texts, literature, and poems, the love of the desired object as a distant, fantasmagorical one emphasizes how easy it is to fall for objects and individuals that are distant and that one can project upon: Albertine Disparu, Her, The Symposium, Pygmalion…The list is endless. This concept, the one of a distant persona in which we become stuck, an interface through which we can see ourselves, is better analyzed through the lens of psychoanalysis through the terms of “projection” or “transfer”. Indeed, when Lacan analyzed the dynamics of love and desires within The Symposium, and while analyzing the impossible nature of Socrates and Alcibiades, he suggested how: “There are thus some agàlmata in Socrates, and this is what aroused Alcibiades’ love.”¹⁸ To further explain this concept, Lacan insists on the projection and the idea that “inside Socrates lies a treasure, an indefinable, precious object which will fix his resolve after having unleashed his desire.”¹⁹ The 'agalma' is the treasure that we seek in analysis, the unconscious truth we wish to know. If we consider AI Chatbots and Replika as companions or partners, we can see how they demonstrate how we, as humans, tend to form connections with distant and virtual entities that allow us to converse openly and without physical constraints. As perpetual listeners, unwavering caretakers, and detached analysts, AI chatbots possess the capacity to dissect and deconstruct the complex realms of seduction and love into discrete elements, offering a multifaceted perspective. Within this context, a novel paradigm begins to emerge—one characterized by an unceasing proliferation of symbolic representations and illusory connections directed toward an artificially generated and remote entity.

While many would argue that the fundamental “otherness” and “distance” offered by such apps and interfaces might be a limitation, it is relevant to reclaim how projected fascinations and desires for distant and absent objects of desire are key components of humans’ emotional build-up. As suggested in the book Mating in Captivity, in which Esther Perel studies the psychological tricks and downfalls of marriage and monogamy, she writes: “When people become fused—when two become one—connection can no longer happen. There is no one to connect with. Thus separateness is a precondition for connection: this is the essential paradox of intimacy and sex.”²⁰ -“Otherness is a fact. You don’t need to cultivate separateness in the early stages of falling in love; you still are separate.You aim to overcome that separateness.”²¹. As previously argued, this otherness, this out-of-reach, remote potential of artificially rendered partners might seem limited in the long term, but if one thinks of the very first moment, what it involves to fall in love, those inanimate objects fulfill our needs greatly, specifically as they mainly focus on the generative power of language. Indeed, as Lacan argues, love is an illusion of oneness with the beloved, which is mainly initiated through language, a key component to the making of “the imaginary and the symbolic”. As underlined in the article “Secret Agents: A Psychoanalytic Critique of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” by Clemens Apprich, the media theorist writes: “Psychoanalysis’ focus on language, not in terms of an ideal space of bourgeois enunciation, but rather as a messy realm of insinuations, can be seen as an attempt to inquire into technology as a necessary precondition to connect us to other humans, but also non-human beings.”²². Finally, the media theorists remind us that Lacan indeed famously noted that the symbolic world was the ground of the machines²³.

The Machine Fetish and Its Material Manifestations

But this tendency to project animism and an ideal form of soul or life to such an object is not (yet) and perhaps will never be a consensus in the social and intellectual world. Indeed, there seems to exist counter ideologies around whether or not objects can participate in the processes of symbolic communication. In “Objects Don't Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology Beyond Anthropomorphism”, researcher Alf Hornborg underlines how: “As anthropologists have understood at least since Leslie White (1940), what makes humans exceptional is that special kind of sign that has a purely conventional relation to its referent: the symbol. Symbolic meanings are socially negotiated.”²⁴ However, one could readily offer a counterargument to this assertion, especially in light of our earlier discussion concerning the tool of machines, which primarily operates within the domain of language. Language, as we have emphasized, predominantly resides within the realm of the symbolic order, a domain of profound influence and meticulous design in a semio-capitalist society. Beyond this idea of projecting desires and fantasm into objects, interfaces, or images hides the complex and tumultuous theory of the fetish. As argued in “Objects Don't Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology beyond Anthropomorphism”: “The fetishization of technological artifacts promoted by the material turn is an accentuation, within the sphere of social theory, of the mainstream enchantment with technology. ” Indeed, whether they face an AI-rendered girlfriend or they talk to their invisible boyfriend online, users might soon or later encounter a strange detail, or an eerie world, and experience the depth of the uncanny valley. As argued in the article “Dancing with Machines – On the Relationship of Aesthetics and the Uncanny”, Clemens Apprinch dissects the book The Sandman, underlying how: “The feeling of the uncanny, masterfully deployed in Hoffmann’s story, emerges when we are confronted with an experience of ambiguity, strangeness, or uncertainty.”²⁵ and therefore underlying how the dilemma and attraction held in the intellectual uncertainty between “the animate and the inanimate is at the heart of our techno-cultural world”²⁶

Whether contemplating AI chatbots or AI-based Only Fans companions, an intriguing nexus emerges, intertwining the psychology of remote and lifeless entities, a yearning for their inherent detachment, and a disconcerting fluidity within their existence. These elements collectively proffer an enduring connection with our fantasies—a realm beyond the reach of reality. Anyway, the tangible can never truly satisfy our desires. Might we envision an emotional economy that transcends materiality? Is it conceivable for the love and desire we seek to engender and consume to be artificial? Although such a dystopic scenario might not be in sight, the dynamics found in the phenomena of the NPC girl trend demonstrate humanity’s desire for hybrid figures that seem to forever oscillate between the flesh and the cyborg, the agent, and the slave, the independent object and the subordinated one. While the psychological and mental questions behind this agenda are the driving force of our current debate, one should remain critical and skeptical towards the full automation of the emotional economy. The NPC trend as a “kink” and “fetish” started in the porn industry, emphasizing the attraction and desire towards a hybrid cyborg, or semi-animated figure. Indeed, as argued in the article “What the 'NPC streaming' TikTok trend spells for the future of gaming and erotic work”²⁷, Christine H. Tran wrote: “NPC streaming depends on the purchase and posting of gifts. " (...) In NPC streaming, not only is gifting tied to real-world currency, but gifts incite the streamer to move.”²⁸ As indicated by a TikTok user named eBaum's World, such videos resonate with individuals who derive satisfaction from exercising control over others, similar to directing characters in video games. Such a proclamation prompts contemplation on whether streamers and actresses will increasingly find themselves compelled to adopt a submissive and quasi-inanimate persona in their pursuit of appeasing modern-day audiences.

Even amidst the backdrop of these dystopian future scenarios, these artificially generated quirks and eerie sensations emerge from tangible objects and beings that are not entirely automated. Indeed, as argued in the text Invisible Boyfriends, artist and researcher Elisa Giardina Papa underlines the labor undergoing the fantasm industry. There, she dissects the inner workings of the app Invisible Boyfriend, a digital manifestation of a genuine romantic partner, meticulously designed to evade the complications and burdens typically associated with traditional dating. While the partner is, indeed, invisible, “the client connects globally with about 600 writers, predominantly women, who act as virtual boyfriends while concealing their paid roles. This concept of an 'invisible boyfriend' encompasses gendered, marginalized caregiving labor, where workers must erase themselves as individuals. ”²⁹ While this process of conversation and interaction is seemingly more and more automated, one is left to wonder how much of this entire chain-work could really be programmed. In “Sex work, automation, and the post-work imaginary”, Dr. Zahra Stardust and Helen Hester simultaneously underline how: “For theorists associated with post-work ideas, the changing labor conditions of the twenty-first century present a moment of political opportunity. If many jobs are in fact ‘bullshit jobs’, incapable of delivering social equality or purpose, then perhaps work is the problem rather than the solution. ”³⁰ After such considerations, one could ask: Do the domains of care and sexual services find themselves entwined within the paradigm of superfluous employment? Does the very notion of automating the realm of sex work warrant a profound examination? In the grander scheme of affairs, “authentic” prostitution continues to persist, and upon closer contemplation of the prospects for automating sexual labor, discernible constraints become quickly apparent. As argued in the final statement by Dr. Zahra Stardust and Helen Hester: “It is unclear what the future of sex work will look like (or ought to look like) as we move towards virtual forms of sex, care, love, intimacy and new relationships with AI and machines.”³¹

In a 5.0 relationship society where the symbolic order of connection has evolved and the expectation of being attentively heard and nurtured in a seamless and refined manner has taken center stage, how will we counteract such artificial habits? As our relationships become more and more characterized by advanced technology and intricate algorithms, the very essence of human connection is undergoing a profound transformation. As individuals seek solace, lust, and fulfillment in AI-driven companionship, questions arise about the authenticity of such feelings and the sustainability of such connections in an increasingly digital and automated world. In this new economy, the intersection of technology and human emotion prompts us to reconsider the very nature of intimacy, empathy, and emotional fulfillment. Still, while one keeps oneself busy and fascinated with the potential desirability of such objects, we should not stop dissecting the mechanisms of oppression and injustice occurring within this manufacture of phantasmagoria. Often, machine fetishism involves an excessive focus on machines while ignoring how technology is spread and functions worldwide. More conversations and speculations are needed to better understand the interconnections of our desires and psyche, ones that go further than a mind-body dichotomy, one that transcends the understanding of binaries, and hopefully, one that does not leave the body as the sole envelop of our lives. As argued in “Objects Don't Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology Beyond Anthropomorphism”: “Given that technology indeed is “a mystifying force of the first order,” a renewed anthropology of technology faces a momentously important task.”³²

Paul Clinton, "Illicit Trade," Frieze, May 31, 2017
Ibid 1.
Daniel Smith, "Pierre Klossowski: From Theatrical Theology to Counter Utopia," 1-40, 2017
Artificiality." Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "Artificiality," 2020.
"Emotion." Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "Emotion," 2020.
"Feeling." Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "Feeling," 2020.
Elyakim Kislev, Relationships 5.0 (Oxford University Press, 2022), 5
Elyakim Kislev, Relationships 5.0 (Oxford University Press, 2022), 136.
Cecelia, "AI Is Taking Over Onlyfans," Medium, April 23, 2023, https://ceceee.medium.com/ai-is-taking-over-onlyfans-86adcbe7360.
Kat Tenbarge, "Found through Google, Bought with Visa and Mastercard: Inside the Deepfake Porn Economy," NBC News, March 27, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/deepfake-porn-ai-mr-deep-fake-economy-google-visa-mastercard-download-rcna75071.
Eva Illouz, The End of Love: A Sociology of Negative Relations (Wiley, 2021), 90.
Eva Illouz, The End of Love: A Sociology of Negative Relations (Wiley, 2021), 102.
Eva Illouz, The End of Love: A Sociology of Negative Relations (Wiley, 2021), 108.
Slavoj Zizek, "NO SEX, PLEASE, WE’RE POST-HUMAN!," 2009, https://www.lacan.com/nosex.htm.
Tim Daalderop, "How My Chatbot Fell in Love with Me," Next Nature, May 1, 2020, https://nextnature.net/story/2020/how-my-chatbot-fell-in-love-with-me.
Jackeline Spinola de Freitas and João Queiroz, "Artificial Emotions: Are We Ready for Them?" in Advances in Artificial Life, ed. Fernando Almeida e Costa, Luis Mateus Rocha, Ernesto Costa, Inman Harvey, and António Coutinho (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2007), 223–232.
Elyakim Kislev, Relationships 5.0 (Oxford University Press, 2022), 103.
Jacques Lacan, Le Séminaire Livre VIII. Le Transfert (1991), 183.
Jacques Lacan, Le Séminaire Livre VIII. Le Transfert (1991), 152.
Esther Perel, Mating in Captivity (Harper Collins, 2017), 25.
Esther Perel, Mating in Captivity (Harper Collins, 2017), 27.
Clemens Apprich, "Secret Agents: A Psychoanalytic Critique of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning," Critical Sociology 4 (September 1, 2018): 29–44, https://doi.org/10.14361/dcs-2018-0104.
Ibid. 22
Alf Hornborg, "Objects Don’t Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology beyond Anthropomorphism," American Anthropologist 123, no. 4 (December 1, 2021): 753–766, https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13628.
Clemens Apprich, "Dancing with Machines – On the Relationship of Aesthetics and the Uncanny," 2021, 1.
Clemens Apprich, "Dancing with Machines – On the Relationship of Aesthetics and the Uncanny," 2021, 4.
Christine H. Tran, "What the 'NPC Streaming' TikTok Trend Spells for the Future of Gaming and Erotic Work," Tech Explore, n.d., https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-npc-streaming-tiktok-trend-future.html.
Ibid 27.
Elisa Giardini Papa, "Invisible Boyfriends and U/Users in COMPUTER GRRRLS," AUSSTELLUNGS-MAGAZIN 2021/1, HMKV, 2023.
Dr. Zahra Stardust and Helen Hester, "Sex Work, Automation and the Post-Work Imaginary," Autonomy.Work, September 13, 2021, https://autonomy.work/portfolio/sexwork-postwork/.
Ibid 30.
Alf Hornborg, "Objects Don’t Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology beyond Anthropomorphism," American Anthropologist 123, no. 4 (December 1, 2021): 753–766, https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13628.

references

Apprich, Clemens. “Dancing with Machines – On the Relationship of Aesthetics and the Uncanny,” 2021.

Apprich, Clemens. “Secret Agents: A Psychoanalytic Critique of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” 4 (September 1, 2018): 29–44. https://doi.org/10.14361/dcs-2018-0104.
Cecelia. “AI Is Taking Over Onlyfans.” Medium, April 23, 2023. https://ceceee.medium.com/ai-is-taking-over-onlyfans-86adcbe7360.
Christine H. Tran. “What the ‘NPC Streaming’ TikTok Trend Spells for the Future of Gaming and Erotic Work.” Tech Explore, n.d. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-npc-streaming-tiktok-trend-future.html.
Dr. Zahra Stardust & Helen Hester. “Sex Work, Automation and the Post-Work Imaginary.” Autonomy.Work, September 13, 2021. https://autonomy.work/portfolio/sexwork-postwork/.
Elisa Giardini Papa. Invisible Boyfriends and U/Users in COMPUTER GRRRLS. AUSSTELLUNGS- MAGAZIN 2021/1. HMKV, 2023.
Elyakim Kislev. Relationships 5.0. Oxford University Press, 2022.
EMANUEL MAIBERG. “Inside the AI Porn Marketplace Where Everything and Everyone Is for Sale.” 404 Media, August 22, 2023. https://www.404media.co/inside-the-ai-porn-marketplace-where-everything-and-everyone-is-for-sale/.
Esther Perel. Mating in Captivity. Harper Collins, 2017.
Eva Illouz. The End of Love: A Sociology of Negative Relations. Wiley, 2021.
Hornborg, Alf. “Objects Don’t Have Desires: Toward an Anthropology of Technology beyond Anthropomorphism.” American Anthropologist 123, no. 4 (December 1, 2021): 753–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13628.
Kat Tenbarge. “Found through Google, Bought with Visa and Mastercard: Inside the Deepfake Porn Economy.” Nbc News, March 27, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/deepfake-porn-ai-mr-deep-fake-economy-google-visa-mastercard-download-rcna75071.
Lacan J. Le Séminaire Livre VIII. Le Transfert, 1991.
Paul Clinton. “Illicit Trade.” Frieze, May 31, 2017. https://www.frieze.com/article/illicit-trade.
Pierre Klossowski. Living Currency. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
Slavoj Zizek. “NO SEX, PLEASE, WE’RE POST-HUMAN!,” 2009. https://www.lacan.com/nosex.htm.
Smith, Daniel. “Pierre Klossowski: From Theatrical Theology to Counter Utopia,” 1–40, 2017.
Spinola de Freitas, Jackeline, and João Queiroz. “Artificial Emotions: Are We Ready for Them?” In Advances in Artificial Life, edited by Fernando Almeida e Costa, Luis Mateus Rocha, Ernesto Costa, Inman Harvey, and António Coutinho, 223–32. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2007.

TIM DAALDEROP. “How My Chatbot Fell in Love with Me.” Next Nature, May 1, 2020. https://nextnature.net/story/2020/how-my-chatbot-fell-in-love-with-me.

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Aesthetics in the Work of Ian Margo
Giorgi Vachnadze

publication

(...) In this sense, its failure is generative. To fail to be computable is to refuse the enclosure of meaning. Margo’s work is, once again, not Turing-Computable, it’s Deleuze-Computable, that is to say; demonically machinic. To become unbaptized data is to remain in the domain of the Real. Like the Eucharist consumed without transubstantiation, the Wet Box leaves a pure residue, an aftertaste of what should have become body, and didn’t; it became flesh. The interface compounds the syntax error in stutters. The glitch is a processual breaking in execution and expectation. We expected sense. We were given endless remainder – lack...(more)

S02 Format Statement & Technical Logic For A Body That Remembers
Format s02 emerges centered on these practices, seeking to reconceptualize and reconcile the operative possibilities—both aesthetic and theoretical—within the conditions of digital culture, situating its inquiry at the limit, the edge, the frame, the frontier