Ruby Justice Thelot presents a talk at Gray Area asking why there are no new aesthetics emerging in contemporary culture.

According to him, new aesthetics:

• exist in new media
• emerge from synthesis
• require a philosophy
• require search
• require a shared vision of the future

I find this take interesting and inspiring. Especially as it comes in direct support on the common complaints about tech.

1. Popular platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are notoriously difficult to search. AI slop is flooding the google index and it becomes increasingly labor-intensive to find good quality results.
2. The constant focus on hyper-personalization of digital experiences is a massive friction to our ability of sharing a common vision of the future as it makes difficult to even share the same present reality.
3. Geopolitics and product management dominates big tech decisions. Philosophy isn't really on the menu.