The Aether Complex:
Embodiment in the Age of Corporate Corporeal Commodity
November 14, 2023
Abstract
The Aether Complex is a term to describe the double edged contentions of virtual embodiment and participation in networked spaces. While embodiment in digital and networked spaces creates room for exploration, freedom from the constraints of physicality, and connection over geographic distances, we are still tethered to the normative societal structures that secure patriarchy, white supremacy, and colonialism at the forefront of each new technology. This manifests in digital tools being repurposed for surveillance, exploitation of labor, and control.
My goal is to explore how larger systematized forces become transmuted into the digital space and back out into the physical. I’m writing about the Avatar as a method of spectral analysis - a particular viewpoint into the realm of control, hierarchies, and power, using a specific technology that comes with new and contentious affordances that affect our interpersonal relationships. In an empire based on male desire we must propose alternatives from the normative ways we relate to the body. This is not to say that legislation is necessarily the answer to mediating solutions for the problems that arise from this increasingly digital world. Legislation is a tool that is created from the hierarchical systems that benefit from capitalist power asymmetries; that being said, it can be a practical tool for the moment. I am advocating for more mindfulness and broader public awareness in how we interact with one another's likeness in both digital and physical spaces.
I am not a legislator, nor a tech ethicist. My role as an artist is to provide a speculative and personal critique and use that to illuminate systemic connections that exist both virtually and physically today. Fundamentally, I encourage the rejection of digital dualism - the idea that these realms are isolated and do not affect one another. Through the lens of my own relationship with my Avatar as a performer and researcher, consumer and creator, I encourage us to remember that the personal is political.
Ontology of the Avatar
“If the plastic arts were put under psycho- analysis, the practice of embalming the dead might turn out to be a fundamental factor in their creation.”
- André Bazin, The Ontology of the Photographic Image
If we consider the history of the emergence of “plastic arts” we see a shift away from survival depending on the continued existence of the corporeal body - death being the conclusion of one's self preservation. The process of preservation could arguably be manifested as a means to provide defense against the passage of time. To preserve our bodily appearance and therefore our selves is a fundamental need, or a “Mummy Complex,” as Bazin puts it. One could argue that the development of painting and sculpture manifested as a means to capture the form and stow it away from the flow of time. The making of images puts forth a speculative ideal with a temporal future of its own.
In the 19th century the creation of photography was thought to have eliminated, or quelled the obsession with realism, creating a fundamental shift between representation, truth, aesthetic, and immortality. The photograph was the object itself that determined the veritability by the means in which it was produced; the medium of representation defines the basis of truth and value. Meaning, if we engage with a photographic image, we recognize and understand its basis, creation, and veritability because of the inherent and idealized truth of the medium. Photography transfers reality from the object to its reproduced form. We can see this concept of the veritability of medium furthered in Baudrillard’s The Precession of Simulacra where he proposes, "Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.... It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real" (1-2).
Film photography (as its true process) is inherently a more honest form of representation / media compared to its digital progeny and subsequently 3D modeling and digital representation of form. The advancements of CGI reproduction of human likeness and AI generation of persona are not constrained by abject truth.
In an increasingly virtual world, our means of communication, self agency, and expression have been relocated towards representational and abstract modes of existence, with the affordance of mutable forms of identity. Online, we have the ability to choose and curate what will represent our presence and individuality. Bazin’s Mummy complex can be applied beyond the advent of photography into contemporary culture where the fundamental need to maintain a presence that surpasses the body has led to the creation of avatars and virtual vessels - profile pictures, icons, disembodied default images, etc. Avatars are not new. However, the ontological shift from virtual representation to the ability to manipulate and control a 3D object, is significant, specifically in dealing with likeness of human individuals. The creation thus becomes the Simulacrum, the object that replaces reality with its representation. The phenomenologically passive nature of a 3D object elicits a conversation of who is in control, who is being controlled, and who gets to make decisions about these bodies.?
As an artist that masquerades as an avatar sometimes, I am both myself (Adrienne) and avatar (Avatar Lilith), contending with this dichotomy and seeking to define how we both relate to each other. My thesis idea began with the idea to distill myself against the passage of time and remove myself from the constraints and violation of physicality. I wanted to create a domain in which I was the master of my own agency. I call this the “Aether Complex” - no matter how hard we try to eliminate ourselves from the inevitable encroachment of oblivion, we will always wind up untethered and dissolved; back into the Aether from which we came.
I began researching avatars and virtual identity, from 3D human scan marketplaces, to Big Tech corporations, deep fakes, phenomenology, ontology, and more. I’ve found that the extent to which people readily exchange exhaust data online in exchange for convenience sheds light on potential problems once the boundaries between virtual identity and physicality dissolve. We need to figure out how to examine our relationship to agency and identity online - not only for the future but also as a means to reflect and understand our own physicality offline.
Render of Avatar Lilith (the artist) at the Digital Seam
Birth: Making Of
The process of creating any Avatar is one of birth, modification, revision, and reflection. As the Avatar is made, the creator reflects on their own physicality. Watch the avatar stare at you stare back at her, as if she somehow realizes the limitations of her domain, and you of yours. Reaching into the virtual Aether provides physical reassurance and permanence, reflecting the limitations of Our domain. Simultaneously, the action is a vain one; while the limitations of physicality are transcended here, there is no guarantee of permanence and security in virtual form.
A digital avatar is made by creating a series of data points in a 3D modeling software that correspond to spatial coordinates. This allows the computer to reproduce a mesh upon which additional programs tell the computer how to render the image based on physical lighting parameters. A 3D model is ontologically a very ‘passive’ object, due to its receptive nature. It is meant to be used and manipulated by a user or developer. A 3D object can be animated, manipulated, morphed, destroyed, etc. It is supposed to receive the action of another agent.
Screenshot from Unreal Engines Mesh to Metahuman
In 2018 I created the first version of my avatar. I spent hours upon hours staring into the mirror, sculpting a mesh from scratch, carving in the smallest details of my pores, and refining my measurements of how I perceive my own physicality. I was birthing myself into a new realm that I believed I could master — I could be an agent of this domain. This piece ended up as a video of my avatar animated via motion capture into a meditative trance-like dance in a non space with a surreal monologue depicting abstract hopes for this new body and domain that I have created. I entitled this piece VOID (Giving Birth to Myself), and showed it at my senior art show for school.
Still of VOID (Giving Birth to Myself), 2018
This piece would be a defining factor in proving how wrong I was about the security of this new domain into which I had created my own portal. Despite the fantasy of safety and reclamation over a version of myself that I could create and control, the reality of the situation conflicted with my own idealism. I would soon confirm that virtuality would not come with implicit security as much as I had hoped. Upon further research I understood that the extent to which our bodies are being sourced as sites of information was incomprehensible, even without the modality of avatars.
Not only was my need to create an avatar to engage the desire to be the agent of my own domain, but it was also an exercise to feel secure and validated such that no harm or violation could happen to my body, in contrast to my experience with violation in the physical world.
Surveillance Capitalism and Simulacra
It comes as no surprise to the general population that we are being surveilled. The practice of surveilling and monetizing our social and intimate online activity is known as surveillance capitalism. Surveillance is a distinct and defining characteristic of neoliberal America. Every platform, app, place, website, and even physical location we introduce ourselves into, our data is being captured and monetized. However we have come to an age where the unknown surpasses what is currently conceivable in the present and future. It’s impossible to know the extent and in what ways our data is being mined. The ability of such a practice lies within the immediate pathway tied to corporate America and our personal and virtual identities.
The temptation of self actualizing through designing your own image presents a problem: the extent to which the structural asymmetry of knowledge affects us, surpasses our agency of expression. Through inserting ourselves and our identity online through avatars, social media, and online presence, we provide information in exchange for our perceived freedom of expression. We unveil a little bit of data and security to receive comfort and convenience. However, the extent of this knowledge is not generally known to the public. We don’t truly understand how much of our personal data is being surveilled. We are blind to it, so we are comfortable with our exhaust data being gleaned; Exhaust data as in the trail of data left from users in networked spaces - a mouse click, the time spent on a post, transactions, and more.
Understanding this concept in relation to avatars is important to understand how readily available our data will be embedded in our online footprint. In solely the context of realistic and accurate avatars, embedded in these 3d objects are facial information, emotional information, body measurements, just to name a few. The afforded information from the avatar is not just a one-way street. If we do not have the right protections and legislation underlining our rights and agency to our bodies, corporations could potentially re-purpose our virtual bodies and use them for advertisements, deep fakes, promotions, and falsified media. This is just a small view into the potential exploitations of these bodies. An avatar can be “hacked” by anyone with a computer. All this information contained inside a 3D model being provided in virtual space is just coordinate points that can be downloaded and recreated in any 3D software.
Recently we’ve seen celebrities and porn stars taking the plunge beyond the point of no return and collaborating to develop their own digital doubles - chatbots with personalized voices that maintain the likeness and characteristics of their replicant, Meta’s celebrity doubles as we've seen - Billie the AI masquerading as Kendall Jenner, Bru as Tom Brady, Riley Reid launching Clona, a pornographic AI “creator led” platform. Replika AI created initially erotic chatbots that caused many users to form intimate relationships that were broken after its sudden change of terms and conditions that led them to remove its erotic content.
The difference between these new AI personas and CGI influencers like Lil Miquela is the control mechanism behind these avatars. Lil Miquela is made in-house by a creative marketing agency called Brud, arguably as a deceptive and controversial mode of persuading and manipulating instagram users to buy into their marketing schemes. Lil Miquela is a forever teen, racially ambiguous, and perfectly predictable in her nature, as she was crafted by a marketing team run by Trever McFedries and Sara Decou who get to decide exactly what she portrays, says, sings, and messages. She is run by flesh humans who in real time get to decide her narrative. Comparatively, new emerging AI chatbots based off of either the likeness of a celebrity or crafted into a completely new persona (like Tay.ai who accidentally became racist after learning fromform Twitter users), are less predictable. No longer is it that the Simulacra of CGI avatar replaces reality with its own form, but rather a next level of abstraction from the original source - “human likeness” emerges. Had Baudrillard been alive to see the progression of networked spaces and digital manifestations of the self, one must wonder if he would propose a 5th stage of Simulation that reflects a state that is even more diverted from corporeal reality. This stage devoid of social context and no longer references signs or symbols but rather becomes a simulation of the hyperreal itself - a recursive act of spiritual death.
It should be noted that there is a specific power dynamic embedded in these subservient companion AI systems that reflects normative gender dynamics and patriarchal mechanics. Consider why most AI assistants - Siri, Cortana, Alexa tend to be female. Particular biases seem to be amplified in virtual and digital spaces, particularly against marginalized bodies. With the already exploitative porn industry the potential for more harm is already manifesting. Civitai, an AI platform that profits off of non consensual deep fake porn was recently backed by an influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Its users, who are a majority of men, use a “bounty” system to create a marketplace for generating deep fakes of women they know, celebrities, or fictional characters. What is the value of likeness in a digitally mediated ecosystem that is informed by patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and hyper individuality? When the ability to control a body/Simulacrum that is tethered in it’s fifth stage of Baudrillardian abstraction in such that it references something so close to flesh - the sensation of an existing human that we already may have connections and ties to - at what point do we separate ourselves from the drive of control?
Screenshot of an Ad I got from an illegal movie viewing site, 2020
“Identity formation is inextricably linked to the urge to consume, and therefore the acceleration of capitalism necessitates an increase in the rate at which individuals assume and shed identities. The internet is one of many late capitalist phenomena that allow for more flexible, rapid, and profitable mechanisms of identity formation.”
- Jonah Peretti, Capitalism and Schizophrenia
Screenshot of Sketchfab model and comment, 2019
Systemic Critique
As we move into the future of newly manipulated identities and shifting forms of online presence, so too will the culture of corporate (see: corporeal) surveillance. Understanding the fluid basis of surpassing the corporeal body, providing defense against the passage of time will deepen our understanding of humanity and connection. However, as we adapt and forge new forms of existence, so too will surveillance find more pathways to infiltrate the omnipresent links in our shifting worlds. Dynamic mutations of identities insert a dimensional shift into our relationship with ourselves and each other. If our interaction is coded in the manipulation and stealthy data sourcing of our bodies, how can we exist in a future that holds truth and veritability as a pillar of society? How can we be true to ourselves and one another?
Just like the photograph, the avatar inserts a fundamental shift in the veritability of the medium that defines its own contextual validity. It creates an additional modal shift in the way we understand our place in the world, and how we interact with our identities. Just like the photograph, we again come to the apex of the human desire to capture our identities and essence in a modality that extends beyond the body. If the body is a reflection of our identity, and our identity is a vessel that inherits control, how can we maintain our autonomy and agency over our bodies within constraints in the age of corporate corporeal commodity?
Bazin’s mummy complex is nothing new, in fact, it drives much of our colonial progress and technological innovation. But at what cost does the ease at which we create, modify, and mummify ourselves return to only compromise our agency in the way we move through the world? It is not inherent in the medium that this danger expresses itself. We are already facing a monumental strike on our human democracy through data monetization within Big Tech corporations like Facebook, Instagram, and Google. If these companies believe that data is knowledge, and such it is that knowledge is power, we too can arm ourselves in the fight for our freedom of a secure and safe online existence. By understanding our place within the surveillance capitalist framework, we can use information and knowledge to our power. It is my hope as a first step in mediating our current normative systems that the public can be granted more agency to defend ourselves against these large hyper capitalist entities through a more intrinsic awareness of exactly how our data is taken, manipulated and profited off of by these tech conglomerate titans.
“For millennia, we have been compulsively figuring animals, people, and gods in search of some confirmation that we are whole, intact, and belong to something larger than ourselves. I know that such confirmation can never be vouchsafed by my own limited body; I must seek it elsewhere: in the face of the other, in representations, in simulacra The seductions of media begin here.” - Caroline A. Jones, “Going Beyond The Body”, Synthetic Times Media Art China 2008
When a body is created digitally, who owns its assets? Who is in control within hierarchies of technocracies? The phenomenologically passive nature of a virtual 3D object elicits a conversation of who is in control, who is being controlled, and who gets to make decisions about these bodies? It is important to understand how meaningful interactions between bodies elicit conversations of power and agency, and how we can navigate a future to transcend the barriers put in place by dominant societal structures. Who gets to control these bodies, and how do we protect the agency of whoever's body this is?
Sources
Baudrillard, Jean. "The Precession of Simulacra." Simulacra and Simulation, translated by Sheila Faria Glaser, University of Michigan Press, 1994.
Baudrillard, Jean, and Sheila Faria Glaser. Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press, 2020.
Bazin, Andre. "Ontology of the Photographic Image."
Deleuze, Gilles. Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983.
Dickson, Ej. “I Fell in (and out of) Love with Riley Reid’s AI Porn Bot.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 2023, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/porn-star-riley-reid-ai-porn-bot-clona-1234853964/.
Fan, Di'an, and Ga Zhang. Synthetic Times Media Art China 2008. National Art Museum of China, 2009.
Maiberg, Emanuel. “Andreessen Horowitz Invests in Civitai, Which Profits from Nonconsensual
Ai Porn.” 404 Media, 404 Media, 14 Dec. 2023, www.404media.co/andreessen-horowitz-invests-in-civitai-key-platform-for-deepfake-porn/.
“Jonah Peretti – Capitalism and Schizophrenia.” Genius, genius.com/Jonah-peretti-capitalism-and-schizophrenia-annotated. Accessed 12 Dec. 2023.