Kaustubh Kulkarni / Syl
The School of Technomancy: Manifestoes of the Techno Spiritual
Spirituality, Virtuality, Nascent Technology
"Reality varies with each era of the world, in turn shaping the field of what is possible to do, think and imagine."
This epistemological premise by Federico Campagna's work in Technic and Magic, catalyzes the project’s inquiry into the possibility of designing for the ineffable and profound facets of the human condition.
The School of Technomancy seeks to forge a nexus between the wisdom inherent in spiritual traditions and the burgeoning potential of technologies such as narrow AI, neural implants, and virtual reality. As traditional spiritual frameworks grapple with the nuanced complexities of contemporary life, new approaches emerge, reflecting a contemporary search for meaning, connection, and ethical orientation.
Technological development, concurrently, is erasing the demarcation between what was once deemed tech and magic. Advances in AI herald societal transformations while the FDA's embrace of neural devices heralds the convergence between the corporeal and the digital.
"Technomancy," as we define it; is the harmonious amalgamation of the arcane with the digital, affording a new praxis for exploring intangible human experiences. This undertaking will articulate, develop, and prototype speculative designs through a multifaceted interdisciplinary lens, encompassing literature, film, game development, and visual arts.
Our focus converges on five central tenets of this technomantic spiritual paradigm: Life, Education, Ceremony, Love, and Death, all crystallizing around the seminal question:
“Is it possible to design a good death?”