The Karmic Editions-Release 01
I'm rethinking a bunch of stuff in light of recent changes, and this is one item lifted out of those brainstorms: The Karmic Editions. New, EPUB-only versions of several older eBooks. Karmic because they're now entirely free to download.
As an economic model, especially at this particular juncture, it makes little sense. And I'm definitely struggling with the very real concern that I might be contributing to the continued devaluation of creative work. But you can label this as a reaction. In AI we're facing an enemy that's not only threatening to subsume us into irrelevance, but pulling all its resources into convincing us of that irrelevance. Gaining ground bit by bit, inch by inch, pixel by pixel, fakery by fakery. This story, for instance, about an AI "artist", doesn't inspire fear in me as much as extreme, wretch-inducing disgust. I don't know what's worse: the record deal, or the millions of people happy to listen-in and accept this as part of their lives. And now we have Tilly—right on cue and beyond predictable.
Releasing these books, however paradoxical, is my way of saying no by injecting Team Human content into the network/bloodstream, hopefully reaching more people. A small rebellion against slop, against the Velvet Sundowns and Xania Monets and Norwoods of the world, and the spreading debilitating menace of pre-digested summaries and fabricated thought. A very small gesture, I get it. But it's all I know and all I can do. (1)
To those who previously purchased these books: a heartfelt thank you. You can of course get these new editions as well, knowing that the ones you already own are phased out and now (somewhat) unique. (2)
Not all books are ready yet. I ran into an important snag along the way: some of them were created with Serif's Affinity Publisher, and the updated app refuses to open them. It just beachballs. There may be a solution, or not, but life's too short so I'll be rebuilding those books from scratch in Pages.
First batch: the 1EYE, ROAMING trilogy—France, Venice & Rome, and Tokyo. Next up: Subterraneans, Ordained, and Motherland. All three are now on sale and will remain online for the next ten (10) days (October 20) in case anyone's interested in a soon to be "rarer" edition (I know I know… see 2 again).
Now, back to brainstorming.
1: That video is Doug Rushkoff on a TED Talk, pre-AI (2019). And I know: the more we share the more they devour and regurgitate. But beyond deleting everything there isn't much we can do about it unless regulators step in. And they won't. The only recourse is to raise awareness. Constantly.
2: As unique as any digital file can be, anyway. But I revisited the sequencing and content of these new releases to fit the double-page spread format, with some of the changes minor, others more expansive.
