Virus Is a Language

AI, QAnon, COVID-19 and the New Abnormal

On how Generative AI and cults such as QAnon spread digitally and culturally follow the same rules as biological viruses.

Viruses can be biological, digital, or cultural. All share basic viral properties that can be analyzed as a language (with its own principles, grammar, and vocabulary), which can help us achieve a better understanding of how they propagate and mutate. This is crucial for controlling their impact on human society. Generative AI, the Covid-19 pandemic and QAnon are the case studies. They are used to develop a full theory of Virus as a Language. The goal is to foster a conversation on viruses in various parts of society. And, in some ways, to learn to “speak” virus, so as to better think through such concepts as percentages, exponential growth, infection, immunization, mutation, agency, and extinction.

The book will help concerned readers understand and navigate our strange, complex world. In particular, it offers new insights on Generative AI, COVID-19 and other pandemics to come, Facebook, QAnon, and similar phenomena that impact almost everyone.
Acknowledgments
Introducing a Spiraling World
Controlling Ourselves
Accelerating History
Beyond Fallacies and Illusions
The Relentless Calls of the Sirens
A very important note on language
1: Viral Principles
  • On the Necessity of Speaking Virus
  • The Grammar of Virus
  • Viral Life Cycles
  • Language is a Virus From Outside Space
2: Viral Vocabulary
  • ’Ronaverse Slang
  • Technical Dictionary
  • Rhetorical Variants
  • Hosts, Vectors, Catalysts and Controls
3: Viral Ideas
  • Conspiracies: Burning Books, Bodies, Minds, 5G Towers, Fevers
  • Science and COVID-19
  • Spreading Vaccines
  • Dangerous Cultural Contagions
4: Culturing Cultures
  • Viral Evolution and Civilization
  • Plagues in History
  • Fashions and Fads, Status and Solidarity
  • Violence Begets Violence
5: Political Contagions
  • The Rise of Algorithmic Intelligence
  • The Politics of Social Media
  • QAnon—The Gamification of Alienation
  • Why Black Lives Matter, Matters
6: Mutational Economies
  • Sacred Hungers
  • Surveillance Capitalism
  • Going Full Circle
  • Spreading Innovations and Digital Proliferations
7: Speaking Virus—Cyberpunk Style
  • The Dialect of Cyberpunk
  • The Panoptic Present
  • Veillance and Viruses
  • The Affordances of Our Cyberpunk World
8: Viral Futures—New Abnormals
  • No Normal
  • Weird Lessons
  • Predictions and Possibilities
  • Living in Pompeii
Cited Sources
Illustrations, Figures, and Tables
Index
An academic in the Cultural Studies of Science and Technology Chris Hable Gray is a well known authority on human-machine systems, especially cyborgs (Cyborg Citizen, lead editor of The Cyborg Handbook and Modified: Living as a Cyborg). He is also known for his work on how digital technology shapes society, including AI and other computing approaches to war (Postmodern War; Peace, War and Computers). His work includes hundreds of articles—peer reviewed and otherwise—in a dozen disciplines and fields. He has been a guest professor at University College Cork in Ireland, Jan Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, the University of Toronto in Canada, and has lectured extensively in the Netherlands, the UK, and Spain.

About

On how Generative AI and cults such as QAnon spread digitally and culturally follow the same rules as biological viruses.

Viruses can be biological, digital, or cultural. All share basic viral properties that can be analyzed as a language (with its own principles, grammar, and vocabulary), which can help us achieve a better understanding of how they propagate and mutate. This is crucial for controlling their impact on human society. Generative AI, the Covid-19 pandemic and QAnon are the case studies. They are used to develop a full theory of Virus as a Language. The goal is to foster a conversation on viruses in various parts of society. And, in some ways, to learn to “speak” virus, so as to better think through such concepts as percentages, exponential growth, infection, immunization, mutation, agency, and extinction.

The book will help concerned readers understand and navigate our strange, complex world. In particular, it offers new insights on Generative AI, COVID-19 and other pandemics to come, Facebook, QAnon, and similar phenomena that impact almost everyone.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introducing a Spiraling World
Controlling Ourselves
Accelerating History
Beyond Fallacies and Illusions
The Relentless Calls of the Sirens
A very important note on language
1: Viral Principles
  • On the Necessity of Speaking Virus
  • The Grammar of Virus
  • Viral Life Cycles
  • Language is a Virus From Outside Space
2: Viral Vocabulary
  • ’Ronaverse Slang
  • Technical Dictionary
  • Rhetorical Variants
  • Hosts, Vectors, Catalysts and Controls
3: Viral Ideas
  • Conspiracies: Burning Books, Bodies, Minds, 5G Towers, Fevers
  • Science and COVID-19
  • Spreading Vaccines
  • Dangerous Cultural Contagions
4: Culturing Cultures
  • Viral Evolution and Civilization
  • Plagues in History
  • Fashions and Fads, Status and Solidarity
  • Violence Begets Violence
5: Political Contagions
  • The Rise of Algorithmic Intelligence
  • The Politics of Social Media
  • QAnon—The Gamification of Alienation
  • Why Black Lives Matter, Matters
6: Mutational Economies
  • Sacred Hungers
  • Surveillance Capitalism
  • Going Full Circle
  • Spreading Innovations and Digital Proliferations
7: Speaking Virus—Cyberpunk Style
  • The Dialect of Cyberpunk
  • The Panoptic Present
  • Veillance and Viruses
  • The Affordances of Our Cyberpunk World
8: Viral Futures—New Abnormals
  • No Normal
  • Weird Lessons
  • Predictions and Possibilities
  • Living in Pompeii
Cited Sources
Illustrations, Figures, and Tables
Index

Author

An academic in the Cultural Studies of Science and Technology Chris Hable Gray is a well known authority on human-machine systems, especially cyborgs (Cyborg Citizen, lead editor of The Cyborg Handbook and Modified: Living as a Cyborg). He is also known for his work on how digital technology shapes society, including AI and other computing approaches to war (Postmodern War; Peace, War and Computers). His work includes hundreds of articles—peer reviewed and otherwise—in a dozen disciplines and fields. He has been a guest professor at University College Cork in Ireland, Jan Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, the University of Toronto in Canada, and has lectured extensively in the Netherlands, the UK, and Spain.

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more