[rohrpost] Arse Elektronika: pr0nnovation? / Tickets, press accreditation

[das ende der nahrungskette]

monochrom's
ARSE ELEKTRONIKA
pr0nnovation?

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---> http://www.monochrom.at/arse-elektronika/

A conference about pornography and technological innovation

Oct 5-7, 2007 @ Kink.com's Porn Palace / San Francisco, USA

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According to a study by Simon Smith, more than 800 items were 
registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as sex 
toys between 1840 and 1997. Among them was a condom with a built-in 
computer chip that can play music. Progress?

 From the depiction of a vulva in a cave painting to the newest 
internet porno, technology and sexuality have always been closely 
linked. No one can predict what the future will bring, but history 
indicates that sex will continue to play an essential role in 
technological development.

The porno effect accompanies every new technological development. 
Immediately after producing his famous bible, Gutenberg used his 
press to print erotica. Photography was utilized just as quickly. In 
1874 the London police discovered 130,000 pornographic photos in the 
course of a single house search. The introduction of cinematic 
technology also confirmed the close relationship between pornography 
and technological innovation: in 1896 a pornographic film was shown 
publicly for the first time, two years after the premiere of the 
first films of any interest to the general public. Since then, more 
pornographic films than nonpornographic films have been produced. 
That in 1977 the first video cassettes to appear on the market 
featured pornographic content should come as no surprise. The 
development of the camcorder and the instamatic camera made it 
possible for anyone so inclined to produce porno in privacy at home. 
The fact that the first affordable Polaroid model was named "The 
Swinger" seems to indicate that the industry was well aware of this 
possible use.

All of these facts could be relegated to the status of curiosities 
were it not for the important role that pornography has played in the 
development of new technologies. New technologies are quick to appeal 
to pornography consumers, and thus these customers represent a 
profitable market segment for the suppliers of new products and 
services. Without telephone sex, a sector that has been yielding 
enormous profits since the 1980s, providers would have had no 
incentive to upgrade the communicational infrastructure. And of 
course one should not forget the internet, which is notorious for 
being flooded with pornography. Porno sites were the first to use 
technologies like audio and video streaming. They were also a driving 
force behind the spread of high-speed internet connections and made 
necessary the development of better data systems. Additionally, porno 
sites have promoted the development of new cultural technologies like 
(in)formal partnering, outsourcing, upselling and site tracking. 
Today a new technology's success with porno consumers is a dependable 
indicator of the product's overall market potential. Currently, all 
factors show that high-tech developments like virtual reality owe a 
great deal of their success to the need for further sexual 
stimulation. One could cite the example provided by the 
science-fiction concept of a full-body interface designed to produce 
sexual stimulation. But it isn't science fiction anymore.

Is it going too far to assume that research in nanotechnology and 
genetic engineering will be influenced by our sexual needs. The 
surgical modification of sexual organs is no longer something very unusual.

The question is not whether these technologies alter humanity, but 
how they do so.

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Oct 5-7, 2007 @ Kink.com's Porn Palace
415 Jessie St., San Francisco, CA 94103

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Tickets / Press accreditation
---> http://www.monochrom.at/arse-elektronika/tickets.html

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