Many people feel that there is something magical about computers and networks. But can you tell what it is? To begin with, we will exclude the obvious things: technologically, computers are very complex, and their detailed understanding gives the impression of secret knowledge. Computers allow you to do things that until recently were considered fantastic, for example, execute complex commands given by people in natural language. The dimensions of the worldwide network are huge, it allows you to instantly connect with people almost anywhere in the world and contains most of the knowledge of mankind.
All this is impressive and fits into the famous phrase that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. But let’s ask these questions: Is there technological magic that isn’t just highly advanced technology? And if any sufficiently advanced technology is like magic, then is there something magical that is inherent in computers and networks and not inherent in other technologies?
We will not consider the use of computers and networks as ancillary tools for traditional forms of magic, such as teleconferencing rituals or automatically generated sigils based on random number generators. This has its own charm, but it is obvious that this does not touch the essence of computer magic.
What could this essence be? To begin with, unlike many other technologies whose immediate role is to help humans make material changes, computers serve primarily as mind enhancers, performing tasks that are either tedious or boring or impossible for humans. Computers aren’t the first technology of its kind—think finger counting or household records on clay tablets—but it represents a huge leap in both power and flexibility. The unification of computers in a network makes it possible to strengthen the capabilities of not only individuals and groups, but the entire society, its culture. And although an individual, despite his daily use of computer devices, is far from the fantastic image of a cyborg as a synthesis of an organism and a machine, our society has long and firmly been cybernetic, based on the interaction of neural and electronic networks.
But in itself, the expansion of the possibilities of the individual mind and social culture does not seem like a miracle. Perhaps because although the possibilities are expanding, they are used to continue the long-existing and familiar patterns of existence of people and human society – the above was an example of the use of computers in traditional magic, when new tools appear, but the goals still remain unchanged.
It seems that one of the reasons for the slow progress in virtual reality technologies may be related to this: they are trying to simulate the real world, which is not only a very difficult task, but also not particularly in demand: we already have a real world! At the same time, any interaction with computers is already creating a new reality, new forms of experience, unlike non-computer ones and therefore interesting and even exciting, and due to the enormous flexibility of programming, very wide in possibilities and reconfigurable.
The early period of the development of the Internet is a vivid illustration of this phenomenon: for some time, the online society existed as a new world, little dependent on the old, without states, laws, rigidly defined identities. Pretty soon, the old world caught up with the new and merged with it, but so far, it seems that DIY culture, self-organization and flexible identity are important values of the most enthusiastic netizens.
Using human-machine interaction to transform personal and collective experiences and cultures beyond what is customary can be an approach to “computer magic.” This is an experimental, exploratory process, because we do not know in advance what lies outside the limits of our usual experience. In part, this process is comparable to modern, post-Jungian views on alchemy as a process of transmutation of the soul.
How exactly can such a practice be arranged? Her core ideas may include:
With all the flexibility and experimentation, a modular toolkit can be a structural help, allowing you to use the results of some tools as source data for others in various configurations (like unix command line utilities, or modules in sound synthesis). Such a toolkit will help organize collaboration and facilitate the transfer of best practices. The tools here mean, of course, not only computer programs, but also psychopractices and borderline techniques. Examples of such tools are:
When discussing what “computer magic” might look like, it would be useful to pay attention to the already accumulated experience in related fields – contemporary art, game design, cyber-, DIY- and maker culture, the psychology of creativity, and so on. All this is linked into a single process of research and transformation of people and their environment, which is constantly being improved thanks to the capabilities of computers and networks.