AS THE PUBLIC COMMONS exists ever more online, the political spectrum we use to describe society is gaining other dimensions, too. For SimSociety, New Models invited deep-systems researcher CADE and New York-based artist JOSHUA CITARELLA to present their work on MMORPG world building and political identity formation (particularly among Gen Z users) in the online space.

TALK 1: Cade, Our Artificial Wilderness: Virtual Beauty & Ecological Decay
TALK 2: Joshua Citarella, Evolution of the Political Compass
SOUND: bod [包家巷], Prelude to SimSociety: Low-Poly NPC Background Music

The event, which featured sound by musician/producer bod [包家巷], took place as part of Mary-Audrey Ramirez & LUKAS8K's exhibition, "QT, UR, EA," curated by Madalina Stanescu and facilitated by Kyle van Horn for Trauma Bar Und Kino, Berlin. 

Cade is a deep infrastructure researcher and the founder of New Design Congress, a research group developing a nuanced understanding of technology’s role as a social, political, and environmental accelerant. Last year, Cade was a guest on the New Models Podcast discussing weaponized design. 

Joshua Citarella is a New York-based artist researching political identity formation of Gen Z users in the online space. He is the author of 20 Interviews, an in-depth survey of young political spaces online, as well as several related articles including, "Irony Politics and Gen Z." 

📹 NM SimSociety was filmed and edited by New Models.