The Congress (2013) is a very interesting movie that is way too slow in the beginning. It explores how digitization opens up possibilities in individual perception. You can choose your own avatar basically, but people are also free to interpret/see you as they wish.

In any event, go see the movie; but I wanted to talk about Kabouters. Being expressed in various types of folklore, the Kabouter is a tiny fellow that effectively hides from human perception.

Thinking of the dead Internet Theory, and the increased risk of getting tricked into wondering through the figments of an AI's imagination; perhaps we could create this botnet of kabouters, that live their kabouter lives and form their kabouter community on Nostr, ignoring any outside interaction. A friendly mundane expressly fake community, that we can observe as a ‘living’ monument reminding us of the real fake dangers out there.

In my eternal search for the kabouter, i then realized we don’t need bots. What if there is a client that ignores everyone avatar, and replaces it with a Kabouter? And an A.I. assesses the activity of the profile, in order to apply to the image generated. Is it a happy kabouter or an angry kabouter? What is the interest or occupation of the kabouter?

The result of such a client is, that i can’t be sure if you see me as i present myself, or that you have chosen to turn me into a kabouter, and color me based on how you (or well, your A.I.) perceives me.

The theme of fluidity of identity in a digital age is not new, it is just getting worse and more confusing. The Congress starts right at the cutting edge of that time, and subsequently paints its extrapolated future. Now almost a decade later we can already see some of the contours of that future. It chose an interesting style to express the confusion; don’t watch a trailer and enjoy (given you can make it through that excruciatingly boring start).

https://cdn.satellite.earth/3839891c9a9576ebeb5d57baa5c2027eef190d5e48a37e8604d15c9d26c8b369.mp4