here’s @lizziewlsn and #pastagang and #algorhythms on the BBC except i edited out all the AI stuff!
“TECH NOW (pastagang’s version) (from the pot)”
https://youtu.be/NNW_poqN-3E?si=mABGW7r-1wK2nBVj
i re-edited it to loosely present collaboration and “kickdrum” as the solution to live coding’s challenges instead of AI agents. the most satisfying shots to delete were the ones that showed nudel on screen while the narrator was talking about AI agents(???).
as someone involved in organising algorhythms and developing nudel (alongside many other people) i certainly felt mixed feelings when the BBC’s coverage first came out. it was nice to see them both being showcased and i was really pleased to see lizzie in particular getting the spotlight! (lizzie is a POWERFUL live coder and I feel really lucky to have performed with her a couple of times now)
on the other hand, i felt uneasy to see both algorhythms and nudel being used to essentially live-code-wash AI agents as a concept more generally. algorhythms and nudel are both highly political and tend to come with strong anti-AI sentiment, so it feels like a betrayal to portray them in that light, or even as the backdrop of a pro-AI agent piece.
bear in mind, this is all within the wider context of the BBC becoming increasingly known for its staunchly anti-trans and anti-queer disinformation drivel that it drivels out day-in day-out. and this only makes it all sting a bit harder, especially since: i see algorhythms as both a queer event and a queer-friendly safe-haven within the largely straight London tech scene.
not that i’d expect them to cover that, but it feels like a further slap in the face: flattening the sharpened edges of our politically motivated community (although we did manage to get the palestinian flag into one shot)
editing the segment in the way that i did might seem like a small and silly thing to do. but it felt mildly personally important to me! i want to send a signal to both myself and others that we can’t wait for the world at large to accurately report on what we do.
we need to tell our own story instead.
back to the wikiblogardenite