5. The “Real” Question

“A machine has yet to officially pass such a test, and though it’s still a talking point in the dialogue about artificial intelligence, many argue that passing the Turing test doesn’t prove intelligence as much as an ability for mimicry. Which leads to the question: how much of what we call human intelligence is actually just mimicry? Isn’t repetition pretty much the basis of our whole educational system? Also, we often hear the human mind is often likened to a machine. On some level it is a pattern recognition machine, programmed by evolution to detect approaching danger and avoid being eaten. Not surprisingly, studies show that pattern recognition goes up when the mind is experiencing fear. If internet conspiracy culture is any indication, fear seems to be building in the populace. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Reptilian conspiracy, in which a malevolent race of shape-shifting lizard elite controls the world….”

0:00 —The Depersonalization Questionnaire

02:01 —Notes on the Turing Test

09:40 —The Derealization Questionnaire… or, more questions for human robots and robot humans . . .

11:30 minutes

“Poa Alpina” by Biosphere

4. The Invisible Script

“It occurs to me that these poor ghost hunters have been captured on video and in that sense have already been forced into ghostly repetition.”

00:00 —Intro (“Hot enough for you?”)

01:21 —An intimate moment in the elevator…

03:01 —A page from an uncolored coloring book…

05:09 —Ghosts in the waiting room…

10:56 —The Doctor…

15:44 minutes

“Unseen Forces” and “Red Cabin” by Justin Walter

3. TMI

“A street person on a street corner is screaming street words—words that aren’t words, though they come into sharper focus whenever someone walks by.”

00:00 —TMI

01:46 —A sci-fi writer and a scientist disagree about dystopias…

03:55 —TMI

05:42 —A broken TV (signs of reality at the electronics store)…

07:59: —TMI

09:36 —A noise coming from the news anchor’s ear piece…

10:45 —Street Words

15:03 —TMI

16:27 —Stranger’s MacGuffin and the coming of the Roboroach…

21:20 —TMI

24:30 minutes

“Disintegration Loops” by William Basinki

2. Plato’s Cave-In

I watch the novice robot mimicking his mentor’s demonstration of this glitchy dance from the near future of our distant past . . .

00:00 —Intro

00:59 —An early morning tongue bath…

03:13 —On the balcony with the Mummy and Shadow…

09:40 —Plato’s Cave-In…

18:17 —A dream of fire wood and ancient skulls…

19:30 minutes

“Gymnopédie No. 1” by Erik Satie and “Pathologically Bored” by Deru

1. Somewhere in the Distant Present

“My personal space has been invaded by a man looking for an invasion by an insect that practices an invasive form of procreation…”

0:00 —The bug-man…

04:15 —Do you ever suspect that the world actually did end in 2012 and we’ve simply failed to notice? …

04:56 —An elevator glitch leads to a staring contest with a stranger in the 4th floor mirror…

12:31 —Another glitch leads to a case of mistaken birthday…

16:41 minutes

“Poa Alpina” by Biosphere, “Unseen Forces” by Justin Walter