Very Internet Person

"The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" is a deeply moving documentary on Netflix about the life of a World of Warcraft player. I watched it while cooped up in an overnight bus in Peru, and it spurred a lot of reflections regarding the general phenomenon of life online and my personal digital identities.

Penned down some further thoughts about how I think our sense of self is likely to further fragment and be taken on weirder tangents in the future, as technologies like digital properties (aka NFTs) become enshrined and AI agents start simulating our very selves. Sharing my essay here in case there's any interest!

"The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" is a deeply moving documentary on Netflix about the life of a World of Warcraft player. I watched it while cooped up in an overnight bus in Peru, and it spurred a lot of reflections regarding the general phenomenon of life online and my personal digital identities.

Penned down some further thoughts about how I think our sense of self is likely to further fragment and be taken on weirder tangents in the future, as technologies like digital properties (aka NFTs) become enshrined and AI agents start simulating our very selves. Sharing my essay here in case there's any interest!

https://mirror.xyz/buffets.eth/czuDG6cYCiF4SThIgC_P1EyMmABSvv3_w3Q0IAk1tXg

Enjoyer of blockchain-based cultural artefacts | Singaporean travelling through LATAM | Member of GrailersDAO, Station3 and ARC | linktr.ee/buffets.eth

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Yes, you have a good point! I see it as part of the classic breadth vs. depth conundrum—deploying simulations of yourself to do things online will enhance the former but not the latter, since what you gain in terms of being able to experiment with more personas and pathways online, you lose by not actually having the moment-to-moment experience of actually doing the thing yourself.

To me, where such simulated selves may be optimal is to do things lower on one's priority list, things that you wouldn't have time or inclination anyway, but still have some slight interest. Basically, these simulations can help to expand the latent space for your being (by establishing various trailheads), but you'll still need to work to ensure that it has depth (by actually going down a particular trail of your choosing and living that out).

thanks for sharing! it's interesting to think about fragmentation of identity online with ai doubles. i tend to think of the internet as also a place where u can experiment to find and experience yourself (ie. since the early days, ppl use it as a place to explore niche interests and self-expression that they may not be able to irl.) so having an agent be a version u kind of leaves out that actual experience u may get from the simulations ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Thanks for taking the time to read and reply here too. Appreciate your comment! 🙏

Thanks for taking the time to write this. You do a great job of connecting a lot of different threads from past, present and future in a surprisingly easy read.