Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
Sophisticated, but not intelligent
ANDY HEDGECOCK is inspired by accessible insights into the theory, function and psychological impact of our digital tools
program
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
Program or Be Programmed
Douglas Rushkoff, OR Books, £15
THIS critique of the annexation of human planning and decision-making by digital systems was originally published in 2010. The revised edition, which includes a new preface, afterword and reading list, is essential reading.
The arguments at the heart of the book — Douglas Rushkoff’s “11 commands for the AI future” — have gained in relevance over a period in which digital technology has encroached into every aspect of human life and culture.
The book is marred by a fundamental contradiction. Its exploration of the threats and promises of digital tools and systems is haunted by a figure I would characterise as Schrodinger’s CEO. Like the cat in Erwin Schrodinger’s famous thought experiment, Rushkoff’s tech billionaires occupy two contradictory states.
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While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
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The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
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