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"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Synthespian | ||
| A synthetic media personality. |
The word "synthespian" appears in Gibson's work, but was coined by Jeff Kleiser. Kleiser and Diana Walczak created the first digital actor for their 1988 short film Nestor Sextone for President.
The film Final Fantasy is almost entirely populated by digital actors, but has an astonishing realism. The liquid-metal robot for Terminator II is another example.
| "What did Blackwell mean, last night, about Rez wanting to marry a Japanese girl who isn't real?"
"Idoru," Yamazaki said... "'Idol-singer.' She is Rei Toei. She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents, the creation of information-designers. She is akin to what I believe they call a 'synthespian,' in Hollywood." |
| Technovelgy from Idoru,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1996 Additional resources -
|
See a brief excerpt of Nestor Sextone in the following video.
"Max Headroom was written and directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel (now of MJZ) and they used Matt Frewer in makeup to represent a CG character. We were poking fun at them in Nestor Sextone for President: Nestor is running for president of the synthetic actors guild, and promising that humans in makeup will no longer take work away from synthetic actors." - Jeff Kleiser
This term is somehow reminiscent of Robert Heinlein, for me. It is a portmanteau word combining "synthetic" and "thespian" (actor). See Idoru for additional information.
Compare to Adam Selene from Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966).
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and Technology from Idoru
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and Technology by William Gibson
Tech news articles related to Idoru
Tech news articles related to works by William Gibson
Synthespian-related
news articles:
- Emily Lifelike Animation Sets New Standard
- James Cameron's Avatar Synthespians
- Synthespian Wannabe: Tron Legacy's Jeff Bridges
- Disney Keeps Backups Of Star Wars Franchise Actors
- Xinhua AI Anchor Puts CGI Face To Automated News
| Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter |
| Metaverse Hardware - Run And Flail Like A Maniac, Or Lie Quietly? |
| Virtual Co-Embodyment - Two People Control One Virtual Body |
| Sorry, Futurists! Tamagotchi Kids, Virtual Children Already Predicted By SF Writer in 2008 |
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'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'
