(18) Death and Data: Digital Value Offerings
Offer your favorite AI model to your ancestor!
Death and data are two topics often at the top of my mind when I think of technology. Death in the sense of how do we prepare ourselves to leave behind material (and immaterial) possessions that define us; and data as one of the (im)material possessions that shapes us.
I wrote a piece on the death of the digital self back in 2024, which developed into a full-fledged creative endeavor of mine. I have been thinking about how contemporary ideas of value placing are quick to change alongside the tools handed to us. Back in the day, value was defined by tangible quantities: a collection of rare gems, stones, and fine jewelry, or acres of land. There was a more direct transaction of goods and formulas to value placing that equated to one’s wealth and identity. This still holds today, but contemporary value is also dependent on intangible assets, notably in the digital space: virality of content, virtual currency, the number of followers on social platforms, and simply data.
Like most people, my material possessions have expanded with age and time. They will continue to grow as long as I live, except for sporadic purges and declutters here and there. This is true for my digital assets as well. While physical assets are easier to navigate, I fear that my absence will leave my loved ones in a conundrum when navigating my digital assets. Parsing through what to delete, what to keep, and even how to access things in the first place. This also arises from the obscurity that most users are unsure how to navigate the legal boundaries of true ownership in the digital landscape.
In hopes of navigating and organizing these efforts, I started a video series compiling my data as digital estates to gift to loved ones. I also gave a talk on Digital Legacy Rituals at a small gathering co-hosted with Connie on values-based software. Next Friday, April 17th, I am sharing my first piece of the series at Gray Area’s exhibit ./local_memory: soft systems.
My piece, Digital Value Offerings, is an interactive AR altar inspired by various East Asian ancestral offering practices, specifically the Korean Jesa-sang (offering table) and the Chinese Zhizha (papercraft). Traditionally, during these rituals, food, paper models of objects, and/or written wishes are placed/burned as offerings for the deceased or out into the world. This practice has evolved further to include burning paper models of luxury goods such as printed Chanel bags, mansions, sports cars, and more.
Traditional rites of passage that memorialize death depend on centuries-old customs that define each family’s culture and history. Yet an evolution in modern offerings reveals a generational sociocultural shift in objects deemed valuable. A meticulous selection of such offerings reveals how forms of care are often translated as gifting unattained experiences of luxury, comfort, and convenience.
How should we consider contemporary values that exist within the digital space? And could they be translated as “modern offerings?” Today’s notions of convenience, comfort, and luxury are heavily intertwined with technology: generating prompts on AI, ordering food through DoorDash, and studying viral reel formulas. Would you offer your favorite AI model to your grandma so she can learn to vibe code? Surely, she could benefit from no longer cooking…or perhaps she would like to become an influencer. The offerings on the altar focus on the absurdity of value placing in today’s digital world and how this influence intimately bleeds into physical personhood. The sentimentals of tradition do not suffice with cut fruits, photos, and memories, but now hinge on the values of both physical and digital – the desire for immediate gratification to click, consume, and cash out.
Come say hi and see the exhibit! Gray Area (on Mission St, San Francisco)
Friday: Opening Reception, 6-10 pm
Saturday: Open gallery hours, 4-10 pm
Sunday: Open gallery hours, 12-6 pm
Hope to see you all there!
— Eileen
Other notes & musings:
🌀 Schema Acquisition officially turned 2 last February! I have been so busy planning for my exhibit that I haven’t had the chance to celebrate properly, but this is the longest time I have committed to writing consistently. I still have a love-hate relationship with writing, and I find myself stopping completely if I don’t discipline myself to keep up. I have been pretty absent with SA because I have a new piece coming out soon (this spring!), but I hope to be back more regularly once it is finished. As always, I am filled with so much gratitude and joy to have new and old readers on this journey with me. Thank you, thank you <3
🪁 roveywade on TikTok hacked a Clearblue pregnancy test to display the lyrics of Clearblue by Lorde, which I think is so genius and whimsical. Thanks to Soph for the incredible find
🅰 Arco.type by Gabbi is a super dope and whimsical type foundry. I have been learning so much about fonts through her content!
🎼 Are.na is accepting pitches to their Annual Vol. 8 on the theme of score. Let me know if you end up making a pitch!
🫛 ella.b.winters used her rejection letters to make poetry
go Eileen!! send pics of your exhibit!!