User:Laurier Rochon/notes/proposalv0.2

Intro

3 case studies

1) Claude Shannon's Ultimate Machine

2) A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter by Caleb Larsen

Every ten minutes the black box pings a server on the internet via the ethernet connection to check if it is for sale on the eBay. If its auction has ended or it has sold, it automatically creates a new auction of itself. If a person buys it on eBay, the current owner is required to send it to the new owner. The new owner must then plug it into ethernet, and the cycle repeats itself.

3) The self-referential aptitude test (genius!)

Commonalities

The are very simple in their "mechanics"
They do one, and one thing only
Nonetheless, they can be complex technically, and conceptually
Most importantly : the final product is purposefully designed to destroy the agency this same product could have. They are basically designed to cancel themselves in a way or another.