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From
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jaromil <jaromil@kyuzz.org>
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Date
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Tue, 28 May 2002 13:50:05 +0200
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Subject
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[HaCkmEeTiNg] <MATERIALI>
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scusate se la rimando in lista, giusto per riproporla all'interno del
booklet. in piu' allego la versione inglisc
========================================================================
------------------------------
jaromil@dyne.org
------------------------------
30 Mar 2002
{PRELUDIO}
Quando parliamo di software come di arte e' bene considerare l'intero
processo creativo che porta alla sua concezione e realizzazione,
concezione e realizzazione di una nuova operabilita' nel dominio
digitale: stiamo volgendo il nostro sguardo al codice sorgente[*1],
all'affascinante mondo dell'algebra e dell'algoritmo che nell'immanenza
digitale prende forma in espressioni molteplici: dense, riformulabili e
prodruttrici di senso.
Il codice sorgente o meglio gli algoritmi e l'algebra, strumenti
digi-artigianali privilegiati dalla nostra contemporaneita' e memori di
millenarie teorie matematiche[*2], solo da poco piu' di un quarto di
secolo arrivano a costituire il software: strumento di creazione
artistica e di comunicazione, una meta-letteratura che definisce
modalita' di veicolare e (ri)produrre senso moltiplicando le
possibilita' di comunicazione. Come il software e' uno strumento di
meta-comunicazione, cosi' esso stesso a sua volta rappresenta una
"Parole" (citando Saussure) che deriva la sua esecuzione da una
"Langue": l'universo grammaticale e linguistico del codice.
L'esercizio metafisico e' ricorsivo; anche se per molti e' un oscuro
criptogramma il codice sorgente condiziona indirettamente il nostro
modo di comunicare, ed ancor piu' l'efficienza con cui lo facciamo.
E' a fronte di tali premesse che proviamo a considerare il fenomeno dei
virus software: al contempo ribelle atto poetico, sintomo politico e
strutturale, tentativo di escursione della rete nella sua
permeabilita'; intelligenze artificiali (di rado dannose, a dover di
cronaca) che da sempre popolano l'universo digitale.
[*1] Per codice sorgente si intende una formulazione di istruzioni
espresse in un linguaggio comprensibile ad un calcolatore e
concatenate secondo schemi logici e condizionali, che una volta
interpretata ed eseguita da luogo ad un risultato. Tale risultato
varia al variare delle condizioni esterne prese in considerazione
dal codice sorgente, tramite le quali interagiamo con la sua
esecuzione.
Ogni linguaggio e' definito da una grammatica; tale grammatica
viene interpretata da un compilatore che ne "metabolizza" il
contenuto semantico (le istruzioni) producendo un "bytecode" che
il calcolatore puo' eseguire.
[*2] Muhammad Bin Musa al-Khwarizmi e' un matematico vissuto a Bagdad
tra l'813 e l'833 D.C, conosciuto per aver introdotto il concetto
matematico dell'Algoritmo, che da lui prende nome.
{DIGITAL BOHEME}
Nel considerare il codice sorgente letteratura dipingo i virus come
delle "poesie maledette", giambi rivolti contro chi vende la rete come
un posto sicuro e borghese. Il dominio digitale e' regolato da
rapporti di forza e leggi "fisiche" differenti dal dominio naturale:
realizza un chaos - scomodo perche' insolito, fertile - nel quale
navigare; in esso i virus sono delle composizioni spontanee, liriche
nel causare l'imperfezione di macchine "fatte per funzionare" e nel
rappresentare la ribellione dei nostri servi digitali.
Potrebbe sembrare che il lirismo di cui si parla sia apprezzabile solo
grazie a cognizioni tecniche specifiche, ma non e' cosi'; uno dei
tentativi dell'esposizione I LOVE YOU[*] sui virus softwares che si
terra' nel Museo delle Arti Applicate di Francoforte e' proprio questo:
esplorare aspetti troppo spesso trascurati di una "boheme digitale" che
e' riuscita a dare un corpo piu' organico alla rete nella quale ci
muoviamo oggi, elaborando in essa nuove modalita' di circolazione delle
informazioni ed una vera e propria estetica della quale la cosiddetta
net-art ha spesso saputo permearsi.
Il chaos:
"The last possible deed is that which defines perception itself, an
invisible golden cord that connects us: illegal dancing in the
courthouse corridors. If I were to kiss you here they'd call it an
act of terrorism--so let's take our pistols to bed & wake up the
city at midnight like drunken bandits celebrating with a fusillade,
the message of the taste of chaos."
Hakim Bey
Ora digita :(){ :|:& };: in un qualsiasi terminale UNIX.
[*] http://www.digitalcraft.org
{ANTICORPI DELLA RETE}
Cosi' come un organismo difende se' stesso dalle malattie che lo
infettano, cosi' la rete ha reagito producendo anticorpi che assalgono
i bachi di alcuni software difettosi. Una particolare specie di virus
che si e' maggiormente propagata di recente, i worms, lo ha fatto
soprattutto tramite programmi di posta e server di dati. Le case
produttricm dei software vulnerabili sono ancora impegnate nel
tentativo di migliorare la sicurezza dei propri prodotti, che nel
nostro caso significa la privacy delle nostre comunicazioni.
Sul piano politico vediamo che la reazione di molti scrittori di virus,
entita' che si identificano in rete per una profonda conoscenza dei
suoi elementi costitutivi, e' provocata proprio dall'approccio
corporativo e monopolista di alcuni giganti del mercato che sognano di
rendere la rete una piazza virtuale per i propri affari, senza
rispettare l'orizzontalita' che la caratterizza e le abitudini dei
cittadini che l'abitano.
Ad oggi contiamo innumerevoli tentativi di ostacolare la velocita' con
la quale le informazioni possono circolare, dalla censura alle
restrizioni sul copyright: [*]
"Since the earliest days of the personal computer, Cyberspace was
seen as a vehicle to restore disappearing public spaces. Lee
Felsenstein, one of the founders of the personal computer, advocated
using this new tool to restore an information commons (Felsenstein).
Felsenstein and many of his fellow personal computing pioneers
envisioned that the Internet could provide a vast public space that
would reflect diverse interests and encourage free speech and
creativity.
For many years popular discourse framed the Internet as a diverse
free speech zone where "anyone can be a creator". But in the early
days of the WorldWide Web, public areas of the Internet became
increasingly walled-off. In 1994 this author warned of the
"colonizing effect" that commercial interests would have on the
public space that the Internet then represented (Besser 1994). And
in 1995 he discussed how control by large industries would supercede
the public benefit and diversity aspects that the Internet had
promised. Almost a decade later, we see Internet spaces increasingly
fenced off, and peoples' actions increasingly tracked and recorded."
Howard Besser
i virus sono il sintomo politico di una comunita' ad oggi molto vasta e
bandirli non e' la soluzione ai problemi da cui scaturiscono.
Lo stesso discorso valga per anonimato e hacking.
[*] Intellectual Property: the Attack on Public Space in Cyberspace
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/pw-public-spaces.html by
Howard Besser, associate professor at the UCLA School of Education
& Information, describes how various industries are using their
leverage with copyright to make fewer locations on the Internet
less public.
{RHIZOGRAPHY}
Ad uno scrittore di virus interessa esplorare la permeabilita' della
rete. Un rizoma di tali e tante dimensioni come internet non puo'
essere rappresentato in nessuna topografia, ad oggi i tentativi sono
stati molteplici, ma mai completi. La sua estensione puo' essere
tracciata seguendo un cammino: sondare i meandri, seguirne i
percorsi e le connessioni. Iniettare un liquido di contrasto
nell'organismo per seguirne la conformazione e la struttura; al
risalto otteniamo il percorso tipico dei vasi nell'angiogramma.
Ora facciamo uno sforzo e consideriamo le origini dell'Istinto di
Esplorazione cosi' come possiamo rappresentarcelo nella nostra storia,
quella del mondo organico conosciuto.
========================================================================
ENGLISH
========================================================================
:(){ :|:& };:
{PRELUDE}
Any discussion of software as art requires consideration of the whole
creative process involved into its concept and realization, which leads
to a new operability in the digital domain: our attention here is
focused on source codes [*1], the fascinating world of algebra and
algorithm that can be seen in many expressions of form within the
digital immanence and all of them can be reformulated and produce
meaning.
Source codes, or rather algorithms and algebra, are the tools of the
digital craftsman in the modern age with over a thousand years of
mathematical theories behind them [*2], only for little more than a
quarter of a century have they acted as software.
Software is a means of creating art and communicating. It is a
metaliterature which defines how meaning can be carried and (re)produced
by multiplying the possibilities of communication. Just as software is a
means of metacommunication, so it represents a "parole", (to quote
Saussure), deriving its execution from a "langue", i.e. the grammatical
and linguistic universe of the code.
The metaphysical exercise becomes recursive here: although many see the
source code as merely an obscure cryptogram, it has an indirect effect
on the way we communicate and even more on the efficiency with which we
do so.
With all this in mind, let us now turn our attention to the phenomenon
of software viruses. These are a combination of poetical acts of
rebellion, political and structural symptoms, attempts to get into the
cracks of the net exploring its permeability; artificial intelligences,
(rarely harmful, just for the record), which have always populated the
digital universe.
[*1] Source code means a formulation of instructions expressed in a
language understandable to a computer and linked in accordance
with logical and conditional patterns which, once interpreted and
executed, gives rise to a result. This result varies as the
external conditions considered by the source code vary and through
which we interact with its execution. Every language is defined
by a grammar which, in turn, is interpreted by a compiler who
digests its semantic content (instructions) and so produces
a "bytecode" which the computer can execute.
[*2] The term algorithm derives from the name of Muhammad Bin Musa
al-Khwarizmi, a mathematician living in Baghdad between 813 and
833 A.D.
{DIGITAL BOHEME}
In considering a source code as literature, I am depicting viruses as
'poesie maudite', 'giambi' against those selling the net as a safe area
for a bourgeois society. The relations, forces and laws governing the
digital domain differ from those in the natural. The digital domain
produces a form of chaos - sometimes uncomfortable because unusual,
alltough fertile - to surf thru: in that chaos viruses are spontaneous
compositions, lyrical in causing imperfections in machines made to serve
and in representing the rebellion of our digital serfs.
It might seem that this notion comparing viruses to lyrical poetry can
only be appreciated by those with specific technical knowledge but this
cannot be true. This is, in fact, precisely one of the attempts made by
the I LOVE YOU exhibition of digitalcraft.org, exploring the too often
neglected sides of the digital boheme. This succeeds in making the net
we surf today more organic by devising new ways for information to
circulate on it and an aesthetic, in the true sense of the term, which
has often permeated so-called net-art.
The chaos:
"The last possible deed is that which defines perception itself, an
invisible golden cord that connects us: illegal dancing in the
courthouse corridors. If I were to kiss you here they'd call it an
act of terrorism--so let's take our pistols to bed & wake up the city
at midnight like drunken bandits celebrating with a fusillade, the
message of the taste of chaos."
Hakim Bey
Now type in :(){ :|:& };: on any UNIX terminal
{INTERNET ANTIBODIES}
Just as an organism defends itself against the diseases which infect
it, so the net has reacted by producing antibodies attacking the bugs
from several types of defective software. One particular type of virus
spreading recently is worms, which has done so particularly through
e-mail programmes and data servers. Vulnerable software manufacturers
are still busy trying to improve the safety of their products which, in
our case, means the privacy of our communications.
Politically speaking, we see that the reaction from many virus writers,
who can be identified on the net as having a profound knowledge of the
elements that make up the net itself, has been brought about precisely
because of the corporate, monopolistic approach of certain giants on
the market who are dreaming of turning the net into a virtual shopping
area for their own forms of business, with no respect for the horizontal
nature in the relationships of the citizens who live on it. So far, we
have had endless attempts to hamper the speed at which information can
circulate, ranging from censorship to copyright restrictions, with the
precise goal of centralizing the flow: [*]
"Since the earliest days of the personal computer, Cyberspace was seen
as a vehicle to restore disappearing public spaces. Lee Felsenstein,
one of the founders of the personal computer, advocated using this
new tool to restore an information commons (Felsenstein). Felsenstein
and many of his fellow personal computing pioneers envisioned that
the Internet could provide a vast public space that would reflect
diverse interests and encourage free speech and creativity.
For many years popular discourse framed the Internet as a diverse
free speech zone where "anyone can be a creator". But in the early
days of the WorldWide Web, public areas of the Internet became
increasingly walled-off. In 1994 this author warned of the
"colonizing effect" that commercial interests would have on the
public space that the Internet then represented (Besser 1994). And in
1995 he discussed how control by large industries would supercede the
public benefit and diversity aspects that the Internet had promised.
Almost a decade later, we see Internet spaces increasingly fenced
off, and peoples' actions increasingly tracked and recorded."
Howard Besser
Viruses are a political symptom of a community which continues to be
extremely vast and banning them is not the solution to the problems
deriving therefrom. The same holds true for anonymity and hacking.
[*] Intellectual Property: the Attack on Public Space in Cyberspace
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Papers/pw-public-spaces.html by
Howard Besser, associate professor at the UCLA School of Education
& Information, describes how various industries are using their
leverage with copyright to make fewer locations on the Internet
less public.
{RHIZOGRAPHY}
A virus writer is interested in exploring the permability of the net. A
rhizome of such and so many dimensions as the internet cannot be
represented by any map many have tried but no one has so far completed
this task. Its extension may be traced by following a path, sounding
where it wanders off and tracing its directions and connections.
Injecting a contrast medium into the organism to follow shape and
structure will produce an angiogram showing the typical arrangement of
veins.
Let's now make an effort and consider the origins of the Instinct of
Exploration as we can represent it in our own history, the history of
the organic world as we know it.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyleft 2002 jaromil <http://korova.dyne.org>
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with all Sections being Invariant.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
document page provided this permission notice are preserved on all
copies.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
jaromil ][ http://dyne.org ][ GnuPG _key__id_
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