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Zuckerberg’s Smile, or Presence in the Age of Digital Technologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2024

Diana Taylor
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Abstract

AI and AR do not merely coexist with the archive and repertoire as modes of transmission but profoundly alter them and prove profoundly anti-archival. “Live” transmission from body to body is radically altered by digital technologies that simulate presence. “Feeling truly present with another person,” Mark Zuckerberg stated, “is the ultimate dream of social media.” He aspires to create an avatar that can simulate an emotion that he cannot express—and make him more human. Are we being led back into Plato’s cave? Artists and humanists must be centrally involved in the epistemic, ontological, and political changes that accompany these new and evolving forms of transmission.

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Article
Information
TDR , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , June 2024 , pp. 24 - 34
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press for Tisch School of the Arts/NYU

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References

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