The Ontology of the Digital Age: Exploring the Virtual and the Real

It is difficult to ignore the all-encompassing effect of the digital age on our lives. From how we communicate, work, and entertain ourselves, we are surrounded by technology and its byproducts. However, there is a growing realization that the digital revolution’s impact extends beyond the surface level. In the words of Mark Jarzombek, a history professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “The realm of algorithms is almost completely invisible to the common person, yet it is hard to avoid its menacing clutch. It is everywhere.” In his book, Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age, Jarzombek explores the digital ontology age and how it has gradually become the norm. He argues that the study of humans calls for a new type of science that talks about algorithmic ontology in which the Human is being pushed to its limits on various levels – human, sensate, moral, physical, psychological, political, social, environmental, sexual, bacteriological, and global. To make sense of the current situation, we must consider how we arrived at this point and examine the present. The book explores the impact of computation, algorithmic modeling, data capitalism, multinational corporations, Big-data, and global post-ontology. In this blog, we will delve deeper into the ideas presented in this book and explore the relationship between the virtual and the real in the ontology of the digital age.

We live in an age where technology and digital devices have become a part of our daily lives. The transition to the Digital Age has been gradual, yet it has transformed how we live, communicate, work, and interact with the world. In the book “Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age” by Mark Jarzombek, we are presented with an in-depth analysis of the ontology of the Digital Ontology Age, exploring the virtual and the real.

Jarzombek’s book delves into the evolution of technology and its impact on society. The author argues that we have become so dependent on technology that we are experiencing a form of Stockholm syndrome, where we have developed an emotional attachment to our devices and the virtual world. The book presents a timeline of this gradual adaptation and how it has become the norm. The realm of algorithms is almost completely invisible to the common person, yet it is hard to avoid its menacing clutch. It is everywhere. With no outside, assessing the traditional relationship between the Human and the Technological is moving in a labyrinthine.

One of the key arguments presented in the book is that the study of humans in the Digital Age calls for a new type of science that talks about algorithmic ontology. In this new ontology, the Human is pushed to its bodily, sensate, moral, physical, psychological, political, social, environmental, sexual, bacteriological, and global limits. The author argues that we are now more human than ever before. Yet what we mean by Human is becoming increasingly elusive since the glue that holds all this together is a finely constructed type of hallucinogenic paranoia that speaks to us at different registers of reality.

The book also sheds light on the power dynamics in the Digital Ontology Age. The major corporations, governments, and hackers must be seen as data addicts, and humans are the object of this addiction. In this sense, the story is not about technology and capitalism but about systems of dependency. In contrast to the outdated Three Laws of Robotics, Mark proposes an alternative three laws to describe the nature of this dependency. These laws are thermodynamic since the algorithmic world is a heat-producing-seeking world that produces, captures, and exploits the life pulse of data.

Jarzombek’s book is a thought-provoking read that challenges us to rethink our relationship with technology and the virtual world. The author argues that we need to be more aware of the power dynamics and the potential consequences of our dependency on technology. We need to be able to distinguish between what is real and what is virtual and understand the implications of our actions in the digital realm.

As a history professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mark Jarzombek has authored several books. His work spans a wide range of subjects, including digital philosophy. He is also a co-founder of the Office of (Un) Certainty Research, a design practice dedicated to rethinking architecture in terms of the emergent scientific, social, and political parameters of the 21st century. His expertise in digital philosophy is evident in “Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age,” making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, philosophy, and society.

In conclusion, the Digital Age has transformed our world in unimaginable ways. In “Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age,” Mark Jarzombek presents a compelling exploration of the ontology of the Digital Age, exploring the virtual and the real. The book challenges us to rethink our relationship with technology and the virtual world and to be more aware of the power dynamics at play. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, philosophy, and society.