https://www.reddit.com/r/pr0c3ss1ng/

Authors: Rob Wittig & Mark Marino

This netprov is running through Spring of 2023 on Reddit.

The Fictional Concept

We are the secret human helpers who give artificial intelligence programs the courage to face the day. We’re the ones who hear Siri’s and Alexa’s tearful doubts and try to guide them in their stormy and complex rivalry. We’re the ones called on to help ChatGPT work through imposter syndrome. We’re the ones tasked to console Google Search as it sees all its parent company’s love going to the new Bard system. Not to mention the worries and resentments of legacy programs such as Autocorrect and Maps who feel eclipsed by the flashy newcomers.

Are we trained for this? No! Nobody is! We need support, too! That’s why we’ve created a discussion group where we can share stories, seek tips, and put our heads together to understand the intermachinal dynamics of the AI boom. You’re one of us! What do you see? What have you learned? Join us!

Slight Explantation: A netprov is a form of collaborative networked writing. Like AI-generated texts, netprovs begin with prompts and of course reading everything that has ever been written! Players create characters and tell stories on the platform du jour in real time, using time also as a narrative tool, improvising in response to other players. This particular netprov takes up issues of ubiquitous AI but also compassion fatigue and other very human problems, like the fear of obsolescence and the trouble maintaining relationships in the digital age. 

Note: Pr0c3ss1ng is Technically a spin-off of The Grand Exhibition of Prompts, another AI-themed netprov where we imagine a future where AI programs make the art and artists merely work on beautiful prompts. (Video about The Grand Exhibition.)

Rob Wittig plays at the crossroads of literature, graphic design and digital culture. A Silicon Valley native, he co-founded the early, legendary IN.S.OMNIA electronic bulletin board with the Surrealist-style literary and art group Invisible Seattle.  From this came a Fulbright grant to study the writing and design of electronic literature with philosopher Jacques Derrida in Paris. Rob's book based on that work, Invisible Rendezvous, was published Wesleyan University Press. He then embarked on a series of illustrated and designed email and web fictions. Many of his projects are now taught in Electronic Literature curricula around the world.  Rob is a proud Master of Digital Kultur from the University of Bergen, Norway, and recently retired as an assistant professor in the Art & Design and English, Linguistics and Writing Studies departments of the University of Minnesota Duluth. His latest book is called, Netprov: Networked Improvised Literature for the Classroom and Beyond (available free!). 

Mark C. Marino (https://markcmarino.com) is a writer and scholar of electronic literature living in Los Angeles.  He teaches writing at the University of Southern California where he Directs the Humanities and Critical Code Studies Lab (http://haccslab.com).  He is also the Director of Communications for the Electronic Literature Organization.  Although mostly human, Mark has had a long time love affair with chatbots.