Implausipod

What happens if your community disappears? How do online groups deal with the challenges of maintaining their social ties across fickle and fleeting platforms? And are there lessons to be learned by the TikTok creators from the online MMO communities that were shut down in the early 2000s?Bibliography:Bartle, R. (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders Press.Granovetter, M. (19

How much of your experience online is dictated by the environment you're in, and how it was constructed? What is you rebuild Twitter, and it still ends up being toxic? Did you fail, or succeed without knowing it?These are the kinds of questions that arise when we look at technology from a deterministic point of view: that technology is the driver of cultural and social change and g

Are the new GPTs - Generative Pre-trained Transformers - powering the current wave of AI tools actually the emergence of a new GPT - General Purpose Technology - that we will soon find embedded into every aspect of our lives? Earlier examples of GPTs include tech like steam power, electricity, radio, and computing, all tech that is foundational to our modern way of life. Will our A

With the release of Dune part 2 in cinemas, we return to Appendix W with a look at Frank Herbert's original novel from 1965. Dune has had a massive influence on the Warhammer 40000 universe in many ways, especially when looking at the original release of the Rogue Trader game in 1987, in everything from the weapons and wargear, to space travel and technology, to the organization of

Why does it always come down to a Butlerian Jihad, a War on Robots, when we imagine a future for humanity. Why does nearly every science fiction series, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Warhammer 40K, Doctor Who, The Matrix, Terminator and Dune have a conflict with a machinic form of life?With Dune 2 in theatres this weekend, we take a look at the underlying reasons for this conflic

How does your technology work? Do you have a deep understanding of the tech, or is it effectively a "black box"? And does this even matter? We do a deep dive into the history of the black box, how it's understood when it comes to science and technology, and what that means for AI-assisted science.Dr Implausible can be reached at drimplausible at implausipod dot comBibliography: Bij

The parable of the Old Man and the River tells us it isn't now deep the water is, but how swift the water flows when it comes to looking at pop culture. There's magic in how crystal clear those swift waters flow. Join us for a review of the theories underpining the value of studying pop culture for academic analysis, what that means for the future of the Implausipod, and hints at w

Silicon Dreams are those glittering visions of mythic intensity that inspire the continued development of revolutionary technologies. Listen to this episode of the Implausipod to learn more about where they come from, and how the mythic imagination has been behind the development of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other tech innovations.Contact the show at drimplausib

Echanger - a French verb meaning to trade, to replace, or to swap, is a metaprocess of translation, that covers three main factors contributing to technological unemployment - automation, virtualization, and agentrification, the replacement of workers with generative AI tools. Join us for our introduction and overview of the concept of echanger, in the third of our two part series

In our final episode on the 2023 Dr Who specials, we take a look at the 2023 Christmas Special and the introduction of the 15th Doctor as played by Ncuti Gatwa. We'll take a quick take at some of the larger themes of the show, and how it connects with the past and the (possible) future(s) of Dr Who.Dr Implausible can be reached at [email protected] guest Dr. Aiden Bu