Hipertextos

Escape state: a proposal to study "the virtual in real life in virtual worlds"

José Francisco Zampieron — 2023-12-22

This paper intends to discuss a methodological proposal based on phenomenology and its capacity for ethnographic explanation of what I am going to describe an "escape state": a conceptual framework of analysis based on the epistemological perspective of the liminoid as perception and experience. The bibliographic articulation on the current state of digital ethnography and the use of classic anthropology texts will have great weight going through the article, given its theoretical-methodological premise. In this sense, by developing an ethnographic reflection of my experiences in Roblox, SecondLife and, more especially, VRChat, I am going to elaborate the idea of an "escape state" as the phenomenological step from “back and forth” of the perception of materials and materiality, to finally, at the end of the article, evaluate it as an analytical framework using examples of ethnographic experiences I had in VRChat, in an effort to indicate a path towards understanding the infrastructural, contextual and content realities that surround personal and communal relationships in virtual/digital worlds. Thus, I will work the qualitative and dense description of the ethnographic experiences during the exploratory field developed from april 2021 to february 2022 using storytelling elements such as explanation and remembrance of events, contexts and conversations that I had with interlocutors, based on my field notes and field diary, in addition to recorded photographic material (printscreens).

Transhumans and Cyborgs: Boundaries and Horizons in the Possibilities of Existence of Hybrid Subjectivities

Maria Tamara Frachea — 2023-12-22

This paper aims to reflect on the internal boundaries and horizons projected through the transhumanist and cyborg movements. Both actors, cyborgs and transhumans, present themselves as a type of hybrid subjectivity that originates in the body/machine - mind/software alloy. In the current stage of capitalism, scientific and technological developments have a broad impact on societies and the individuals within them, at different levels and intensities. In this sense, it is of interest to consider the voices of the actors of both movements with a perspective that, within the positions of cognitive capitalism, considers in the differentiation between cyborgs and transhumans the different perspectives on the role of science and technological progress in societies. This analysis aims to expand the view towards new forms of life, perceptions of oneself, others and the world around. Expert knowledge, technological development, digital information and its influence on the minds and bodies of individuals open the doors to explore these types of subjectivities that are formed in the alloy with the improvements that technology can offer.

Activism for the digital rights of women and LGBTQI+ people in Latin America.

Romina Gala — 2023-12-22

The article aims to analyse the dimensions of social and political activism for digital rights in Latin America, with emphasis on the actions and proposals of organisations and collectives that make demands and interventions addressing the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people in the digital environment. To this end, we observe the perspectives and political positions adopted by the organisations in relation to digital technologies and the Internet; the demands and agenda of digital rights that they defend; and the repertoires and modalities of intervention. A qualitative research approach was implemented, based on qualitative content analysis, which included the observation of activities, meetings and online workshops, the analysis of textual and audiovisual content on websites and digital social networks of a sample of 20 organisations and collectives that advocate for digital rights in the Latin American region and that adopt a gender perspective in their approach or define themselves as feminists.

Chano Charpentier: a case-prism of the discursive circulation of the National Mental Health Law 26,657 in hyper-mediatized societies

Milagros Luján Oberti — 2023-12-22

The objective of this work is to account for the process of discursive production and contemporary circulation that occurs in the mass media and the new media based on the Internet, regarding mental health and particularly National Law 26,657. To this end, the events reported in the media between July 25 and August 12, 2021 related to Santiago Moreno Charpentier, better known as Chano, who, after going through an episode of subjective crisis, generated multiple debates of social interest. In the media. We understand the case of Chano Charpentier as a privileged case-prism or analyzer that allows us to reflect, refract and break down an urgent issue-problem for society such as mental health, by presenting traits that make him a privileged analyzer: a protagonist of public interest, debates that contribute to the construction and support of the media discourse of the political rift; and it brings together topics such as violence, the police, the place of institutions, addictions and mental health. It admits to study contemporary culture characterized by circulation processes in a hyper-mediatized society and to investigate communication practices and discursive productions regarding the regulations of interest. The research methodology used for this work takes up the contributions of discourse analysis and sociosemiotics (Verón, 1987) and uses the tools of the hypermedia circulation theory (Carlón, 2015, 2021). Likewise, the current debates regarding the processes of medicalization in the 21st century are resumed (Bianchi, 2019a).

Survey of ChatGPT uses in Argentina

Mariano Zukerfeld — 2023-12-22

Since the spread of ChatGPT, discussions about the impacts of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) have become widespread. In Argentina, such debates have been developed by importing analytical frameworks and without empirical support. Therefore, this article seeks to disseminate partial results of an ongoing survey on the use of ChatGPT in Argentina. Theoretically, the article starts from understanding that GAI is part of the platform phase of digital capitalism, where the trend towards platformization and the digital automation of work prevail, and where the capital accumulation model of profit from openness stands out. ChatGPT represents both trends. The main findings presented here indicate a high penetration of ChatGPT in productive areas: 75% of those who have used it at least once claim to use it for work tasks. More relevantly, 85% of those who have used it believe they achieve hourly productivity gains. However, 60% believe that their job will not be automated in the future. Thus, the data suggests that the priority is not so much on the challenges of full substitution, but on those imposed by complementarity and the distribution of productivity gains.

Hacia una necesaria desnaturalización de las interfaces

Sebastián Agustín Torrez — 2023-12-22

Ficha técnica:

Título: Nanofundios: crítica de la cultura algorítmica

Año de edición: 2022

Autor: Agustín Federico Berti

Editorial: Editorial de la UNC - La Cebra

Ciudad de edición: Córdoba - Adrogué

Págs: 232

Hipertextos 11(20)

La dirección y el consejo editor — 2023-12-22

¿El código sigue siendo ley?

Joshua Dávila — 2023-12-22

En el marco de la conferencia "Blockchain Constitutionalism" (Florencia, Italia, Junio 5 al 7, 2023), Lawrence Lessig reflexiona y discute con Joshua Dávila y Primavera de Filippi, en torno a la vigencia de la idea de Lessig de que en Internet "el código es la ley" (el famoso título de su libro, muy influyente en especial en el mundo cripto), tanto en función de la relación con los valores políticos embebidos en esa arquitectura y su diseño original, como a la luz de nuevos desarrollos, en particular blockchain y las criptomonedas, y en especial la idea del Estado Red y la caja de Pandora de las soberanías en competencia con el Estado tradicional. Una discusión sumamente relevante respecto al rol del código y sus implicancias para la democracia.

Editorial N° 20

La dirección y el consejo editor — 2023-12-22