Lochlan Bloom's Blog, page 2
March 19, 2018
The Open Cage Giveaway
*** To enter this giveaway to win a free copy of The Open Cage simply follow this blog and then send an email with the subject GIVEAWAYTOC and your name, email and postal address ***
About the book
When an expedition encounters a gigantic iron cage, lying open, in the depths of the jungle their leader is forced to question not only what it once contained but also those forces buried deep within him.
[image error]The Open Cage is published by Melbourne-based InShort Publishing as one of a set of limited-edition chapbooks.
Each book measures 140 x 90mm and the distinctive yellow covers are each inlaid with a geometric design unique to the book.
https://biblio.co.uk/book/open-cage-lochlan-bloom/d/1029511056?view=1
March 5, 2018
Unsound Methods Episode 03: Iosi Havilio
Episode 03 of Unsound Methods podcast is out now and Jaimie and I speak to Iosi Havilio, author of Open Door, Paradises and Petit Fleur all published by And Other Stories,
You can listen below, headover to unsoundmethods.co.uk or download it in all the usual podcast places.
https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/6666496-iosi-havilio/embed/v4?eid=AQAAAIlWlFoAuWUA
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We speak about Iosi’s upbringing in Paris and Buenos Aires, the links between music and literature and the process of creating and exploring a unique new universe with each progressive novel.
Open Door, Paradises and Petit Fleur are all published by And Other Stories, and you can buy them here: http://www.andotherstories.org/book/petite-fleur/
Follow us: @unsoundmethods or unsoundmethods.co.uk
February 15, 2018
Unsound Methods Episode 02: Megan Dunn
Episode 02 of Unsound Methods podcast is out now. This week we speak to Megan Dunn, author of Tinderbox (Galley Beggar, 2017).
[image error]We cover the act of balancing fiction and non-fiction, wrestling with the estate of Ray Bradbury and writing the great mermaid novel of the Western canon.
Headover to unsoundmethods.co.uk to check it out or find it in all the usual podcast places.
You can find Megan’s website at: https://www.megandunn.org/
Follow her on Twitter: @MeganDunn90
Tinderbox is available from Galley Beggar Press: https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/shop-1/z7du0g4kxeypqtatvaftcnxrjqil2d
January 31, 2018
Unsound Methods is live…
Episode 01 of Unsound Methods is finally live… after a fair amount of tinkering and learning of the podcasting ropes we now have the first episode of our new podcast Unsound Methods for your listening pleasure.
Listen here https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/episode-01-neil-griffiths/ or find it at all the usual podcast places.
In this episode we speak to Neil Griffiths, author of Saving Caravaggio and Betrayal in Naples as well as the more recent As A God Might Be published by Dodo Ink. Neil is also the founder of the Republic of Consciousness Prize which recognises independently published novels that combine ‘hardcore literary fiction and gorgeous prose’.
We discuss the ecosystem of fiction, the present golden age of indie publishing and the Republic of Consciousness prize, which Neil founded.
If you enjoy the podcast please do sign up or follow us @unsoundmethods or unsoundmethods.co.uk
Unsound Methods is a podcast hosted by Jaimie Batchan and Lochlan Bloom where we talk to contemporary writers of literary fiction about process, what makes fiction ‘real’ and the motivation to sit down in front of an empty page and make things up…
December 4, 2017
Philosophy Now, Issue 123
My recent article – The Rise Of The Intelligent Authors – is published in the latest issue of Philosophy Now magazine.
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You can get the physical magazine at all the usual places or read a slightly extended version online here
November 29, 2017
Join the Unsound Methods mailing list
More details on this to come but here is a quick update on the Unsound Methods podcast and where we are up to.
We now have a rudimentary site up at unsoundmethods.co.uk and a logo (see below) as well as most of series one recorded.
We aim to launch in the new year but for now you can stay up to date by signing up via this link and get notified when we launch.
October 5, 2017
Engineering New Language
[excerpt from London Literary Review]
…It can be argued that the entirety of human civilization has developed purely because of our ability to create those fictions which allow us to co-operate. The idea of an all powerful god, the ideas of nationhood and culture, the concepts of money and capitalism.
These fictions are powerful but ultimately limited. They can be ignored. Tuned out. We can all recognize the difference between our own first-person experience and what we are told by others.
While religion or capitalism may appear seductive they are both abstract concepts, both lack any direct sensory component. We may believe we are part of a nation or cultural group but we can’t smell a country or taste culture.
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The more our language has developed — broadened in vocabulary, branched into different tongues, deepened in meaning — the more persuasive and powerful these fictions have become but still language has limits.
What happens then when our communication is linked more deeply into our brain? When it is on a par with our other senses? Plugged directly into our first-person experience? Maybe even more primary to our existence than our sense of sight or of taste?
Is it not likely that the forms of fiction we will develop in such circumstances will run deeper even still? If the immediacy of these intercortical communications is on a par with immediacy with our sense of touch or taste will we not believe them more — even if they are deceptions?
A bridge to new language
This is not to say that we will be hoodwinked or deceived in some way — at least no more than mankind was hoodwinked with the development of language.
Language has deepened our understanding of the natural world, doubtlessly, but it has also allowed us to create rich and deep fictions which in some cases allow people to manipulate whole populations. Is it not likely similar themes will play out with any new form of communication?
The rats in the Duke experiment already exhibited some signs of emergent behaviour. Since both rats got a reward each time the decoder chose correctly, the encoder rat started to try and aid its partner in the US by adjusting its movements to create a clearer signal.
Over the course of the experiment the Brazilian rat refined its movements making clearer, smoother presses on the lever. In this case, the system was set up to favour collaboration but what would the result be if only one rat could receive a reward each time? Would the Brazilian rat try to obfuscate its mental signal?
When it comes to human social interactions there are of course a far wider range of options than simply ‘left’ or ‘right’ lever. Some people will blurt out whatever is in their head while others show icy restraint, some people speak plainly while others always rely on irony, some people invariably tell the truth while others lie incessantly.
Would intracortical microstimulation make these variations less pronounced or more? Would an additional sensory input lead to fewer lies or more?
Before the first written language, human cooperation was limited but so too was organised religion or nationwide warfare. Certainly written language has done little to reduce the amount of fiction in the world.
It begs the question — what forms of language will this lead us to?…
Read the full article at London Literary Review
August 29, 2017
Guest spot on SE daily podcast
I recently had the chance to talk with Jeff Meyerson and appear as a guest on his SE daily podcast.
Jeff came across an article I had written for Flux Magazine about the future of AI and religious indoctrination and we had a fairly wide-ranging conversation covering everything from extremism and machine learning to the nature and manipulation of perception online.
You can listen to the podcast in full here: https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2017/08/25/internet-extremism-with-lochlan-bloom/
August 7, 2017
The coming battle: AI, extremism and the new war of ideas
Living in the secular West it is easy to believe that religion is a completely outdated idea – a quaint tradition that still persists in some corners of the world, but one that will steadily wither as modern society progresses.
However, the news that Google is stepping up its battle against online extremism, through “the power of targeted online advertising” and machine learning, offers the potential to launch a new kind of religious warfare, a war of ideas, that may consume much of the next century.
Pitting AI against Extremism
Google is without any doubt at the top of the tree when it comes to combining online advertising techniques and artificial intelligence so the fact that it might use these skills to curb radicalisation of vulnerable people might be seen as only good news.
The global search giant announced four key initiatives for its YouTube platform that include: the use of technology to help identify extremist and terrorism-related videos, an increase in the number of independent experts in YouTube’s Trusted Flagger programme, a tougher stance on videos that contain inflammatory religious or supremacist content and an expansion of its counter-radicalisation efforts.
“This promising approach harnesses the power of targeted online advertising to reach potential Isis recruits, and redirects them towards anti-terrorist videos that can change their minds about joining,”
Kent Walker, general counsel at Google.
On the face of it, these seem entirely reasonable aims and while the story was mainly covered by the tech press, coverage has nonetheless been widely supportive. After all there are very few people, outside perhaps of ISIS training camps, that would argue that unprovoked killing of innocent people is a good thing.
The idea that we might use technology to identify and prevent the spread of violent ideology online therefore would seem only to be a good thing until we consider the potential battleground it sets out for our future.…continue reading on Medium
The coming battle: AI, extremism and the new war of ideas
Living in the secular West it is easy to believe that religion is a completely outdated idea, a quaint tradition that still persists in some corners of the world, and one that will steadily wither as modern society progresses.
However, the news that Google is stepping up its battle against online extremism, through “the power of targeted online advertising” and machine learning, offers the potential to launch a new kind of religious warfare, a war of ideas, that may consume much of the next century.
Pitting AI against Extremism
Google is without any doubt at the top of the tree when it comes to combining online advertising techniques and artificial intelligence so the fact that it might use these skills to curb radicalisation of vulnerable people might be seen as only good news.
The global search giant announced four key initiatives for its YouTube platform that include: the use of technology to help identify extremist and terrorism-related videos, an increase in the number of independent experts in YouTube’s Trusted Flagger programme, a tougher stance on videos that contain inflammatory religious or supremacist content and an expansion of its counter-radicalisation efforts.
“This promising approach harnesses the power of targeted online advertising to reach potential Isis recruits, and redirects them towards anti-terrorist videos that can change their minds about joining,”
Kent Walker, general counsel at Google.
On the face of it, these seem entirely reasonable aims and while the story was mainly covered by the tech press, coverage has nonetheless been widely supportive. After all there are very few people, outside perhaps of ISIS training camps, that would argue that unprovoked killing of innocent people is a good thing.
The idea that we might use technology to identify and prevent the spread of violent ideology online therefore would seem only to be a good thing until we consider the potential battleground it sets out for our future.…continue reading on Medium
