Tech zine by Kitt Peacock

“New Body” is an Acco-bound zine containing excerpts from Dwight van de Vate’s “The Problem of Robot Consciousness,” presented alongside images borrowed from Google Streetview. The screen captures follow moments where the Google Streetview robot inadvertently captures its own reflection in mirrors and is forced to reckon with its own body. In early photo it avoids mirrors entirely, implying careful guidance by a human hand, characterized more by a clear absence than a presence. As the robot evolves over the years, it begins venturing in front of the mirror as human control is loosened. Finally, a strange iteration is reached: an updated model of the Streetview robot begins triggering the human face-recognition algorithm as passes in front of mirrors. The robot mistakes itself for human.

“The Problem of Robot Consciousness” was a seminal essay on robotics and ethics published in 1971, detailing the obstacles a robot would have to overcome to achieve personhood. Two major points illuminate the accompanying images: to achieve personhood, other persons must be able to identify the location of the robot’s body (as the Streetview robot relentlessly announces its coordinates alongside each image), and it must be recognized as a person by others (as the Streetview robot is taken for a person by another algorithm). Although the Streetview robot does not fully achieve personhood by van de Vate’s argument, “New Body” follows along as it begins to chip away at the divide between robot and human.

——

Shipping readily within the USA
For international shipping requests, kindly email [email protected]