Issues

Still, we love the idea that the machine feels disrespected, that it can object to its exploitation. At one end of the spectrum, the occasional blink signals a resentful grumble; at the other, the Blue Screen of Death is the full-throttle hissy fit (just to keep us on our toes). Smirk as you might, pillaging technology at the same rate as developing it has done us no good. 

The point at which a machine can actually voice its displeasure is nearly upon us. Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to Alexa and ChatGPT is increasingly becoming a common courtesy, an effort to ‘treat one as we wish to be treated’, the subtext being that machines might one day be in charge of us. In this context, we hold onto the glitch in urgent, shaking hands; it is our reminder that we still have the authority, regardless of the inevitability of technological advancement. That flicker lets the light in. How nice it is to be reminded of what is real and to… ….e!?e…!”%$Matrix.%.&…

As we—D5$%6d-..-=!”—..£%$)(

Let us…+=-!£*&^!?>}{wwv”””……###L;;;;v—The Machine Stops—346ww….

AMY: What are we going to write for our editor’s letter? 

APRIL: Oh wow, has that come around already? 

AMY: I’m, like, sooo tired. 

APRIL: Shouldn’t Yudi be involved? They’ve been editing like a trooper. 

AMY: Agreed. 

APRIL: Yeah.

AMY: But it’s probably a bit late to call them into this meeting. 

APRIL: We could give them a shout-out in the letter. 

AMY: Yeah.

APRIL: And Hazel too. What do you think?

AMY: Yeah, I’m just writing that down.

APRIL: We’re so late. It’s a bit late for all this, really. 

AMY: True. But it is what it is.  

APRIL: Good things come to those who……+=-!£*&^!?>}{wwv”””……###L;;;;v—

—D5$%6d-..-=!”

….e!?e…!”%$ER.%.&……Glitch. The word suggests a rupture, an error or a pause in the usual seamless machination of our lives. A quick search in the dictionary attaches more disruptive words to the term. A glitch is a ‘problem’ or ‘default’. It’s something to be fixed, a hurdle or obstacle to be overcome. But what happens when that unexpected pause – that brief rip in reality – yields something positive? What if a glitch enables us to see the world in a way we’ve never seen it before? What happens when a glitch yields inspiration to go against the norm?

Just as technology has the power to break down and glitch, so does the world around us. Sometimes our lives glitch. Today, artificial intelligence takes up most of the space when talking about technologies of the future. But is it something to be feared or embraced? As we explore new ways of experiencing reality, whether it’s via 3D cameras, avatars or personas that only exist online, so do the ways we have of telling stories transform too.   

We asked our writers to explore these very topics, calling on them to be disruptors and produce something that glitches and pivots from the norm. Whether it’s a ‘crooked’ poem or an online ‘anti-novel’, each piece approaches the theme in a different way. Each piece is imperfectly perfect, inviting us, the reader, to consider alternatives to the more traditional forms of prose, audio and fiction. Put together like this, the creative pieces form an unusual mix. Instead of answering those endless, big questions on technology, each story or essay or visual piece offers up more questions for thought, proving perhaps that glitch is not something to be defined. Maybe glitch is something that is destined to temporarily throw us off orbit to explore the previously unknown and hidden. Maybe that’s what makes a glitch so human. 

Amy Lilwall and April Roach