Dream Lovers
The Gamification of Relationships
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Pluto Press
Published:20th May '22
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£85.00(9780745344881)
This insightful exploration in Dream Lovers reveals how technology reshapes our desires, influencing relationships and the economy in unexpected ways.
In Dream Lovers, the author explores the profound impact of new technologies on human desire and relationships. The book delves into how our innate capacities for desire have been intricately woven into the fabric of digital capitalism, transforming our emotional landscapes for profit. From the realms of online dating to the allure of virtual reality, these technologies are not merely tools but are reshaping our very understanding of love and connection. Richard Seymour aptly describes it as an astute analysis of this phenomenon, highlighting how our desires have been commodified in the digital age.
The concept of a 'desirevolution' is at the heart of Dream Lovers, suggesting a significant political and social shift in how we experience and express our desires. The author argues that we often overlook the ways in which our lives are being altered through the manipulation of our deepest impulses. By examining the gamification of our drives, the book reveals how economic and political agendas are influencing our relationships with everything from food to friendships.
Through a lens that encompasses a range of emergent technologies, including sexbots, AI, and dating algorithms, Dream Lovers scrutinizes the future of love and desire within the context of a rapidly evolving society. It raises critical questions about the implications of these advancements for our emotional well-being and the very fabric of capitalism, ultimately inviting readers to reflect on what it means to love in a digital world.
'If you want a glimpse into how our desires are manufactured under our new techno-feudal order, and how love can prove our last defence, read Alfie Bown's 'Dream Lovers''
-- Yanis Varoufakis'Alfie Bown is one of the smartest writers around. Dream Lovers is an exciting, astute analysis of how our capacity for desire and reverie has been slotted into the grooves of digital capitalism, and made to work for profit - from porn to Pokémon'
-- Richard Seymour, author of 'The Twittering Machine''A brisk and engaging examination of the gamification of love, a sharp analysis of contemporary technopolitics and of the synthetic quality of desire'
-- Helen Hester, Professor of Gender, Technology and Cultural Politics at the University of West London, and author of 'After Work: The Fight for Free Time' with Nick Srnicek'Informative, entertaining and devastating all at once. Extremely well-argued and persuasive, it clearly shows how the technologies that promise to help us find love, or even just sex, are also perfectly designed to exploit us at our most vulnerable'
-- Anouchka Grose, writer and psychoanalyst at the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research'When love is being turned into NFTs and algorithms know more about our desires than ourselves, we should subject this new libidinal economy to ruthless analysis. Dream Lovers does precisely this in an erudite and exciting way'
-- Srećko Horvat, author of 'The Radicality of LISBN: 9780745344874
Dimensions: 215mm x 135mm x 11mm
Weight: 167g
160 pages