<em>Update September 2022 - This was published in December 2021, just months prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and only weeks before the initial build-up of troops. A year later against the backdrop of the illegal invasion and the devastation it has wrought, the observations might now be read in an entirely different way. I felt it was important not to edit the original writing except to acknowledge this and as well as my support for the people of Ukraine.</em>

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<p><em>Update September 2022 - This was published in December 2021, just months prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and only weeks before the initial build-up of troops. A year later against the backdrop of the illegal invasion and the devastation it has wrought, the observations might now be read in an entirely different way. I felt it was important not to edit the original writing except to acknowledge this and as well as my support for the people of Ukraine.</em></p>

This text and set of photographs were the result of a single day – 18th August – spent walking through the centre of Moscow in the summer of 2021.

<p>This text and set of photographs were the result of a single day – 18th August – spent walking through the centre of Moscow in the summer of 2021.</p>

I had the sudden appreciation that, despite having spent significant time in the city, I spent very little of it simply wandering around.  Moscow's gargantuan roads don't exactly invite psychogeography and the extremes of its climate narrow the annual windows for any extended exploration, but while visiting earlier this year I found myself heading out with an empty schedule and only a minimal plan; visit Lenin's Tomb.

<p>I had the sudden appreciation that, despite having spent significant time in the city, I spent very little of it simply wandering around.  Moscow's gargantuan roads don't exactly invite psychogeography and the extremes of its climate narrow the annual windows for any extended exploration, but while visiting earlier this year I found myself heading out with an empty schedule and only a minimal plan; visit Lenin's Tomb.</p>

Like many other aspects of contemporary life - the digital has become a default scaffold in comprehending the city, both in the professional spheres of all that is 'data-driven' but also in the personal relationships we build with places, especially those unfamiliar. The text below, that emerged during that day felt like something of a reminder to myself about the value of finding ways to organise subjective thoughts about places and maintaining an alertness to the lived experience of cities away from the safety of the desk and the smartphone.

<p>Like many other aspects of contemporary life - the digital has become a default scaffold in comprehending the city, both in the professional spheres of all that is 'data-driven' but also in the personal relationships we build with places, especially those unfamiliar. The text below, that emerged during that day felt like something of a reminder to myself about the value of finding ways to organise subjective thoughts about places and maintaining an alertness to the lived experience of cities away from the safety of the desk and the smartphone.</p>

I also realised as I edited the text that the date was coincidentally the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the failed '<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsF4c06txHM" target="_blank">August Coup</a>' against Mikhail&nbsp;Gorbachev by Soviet hardliners. The instigators of the coup accosted Gorbachev at his dacha on the evening of August 18th, 1991 before mobilising a 'state of emergency' during the early hours of the following morning – an event that would serve as a key precursor to the collapse of the Communist Party and the dissolution of the USSR.

<p>I also realised as I edited the text that the date was coincidentally the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the failed '<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsF4c06txHM" target="_blank">August Coup</a>' against Mikhail&nbsp;Gorbachev by Soviet hardliners. The instigators of the coup accosted Gorbachev at his dacha on the evening of August 18th, 1991 before mobilising a 'state of emergency' during the early hours of the following morning – an event that would serve as a key precursor to the collapse of the Communist Party and the dissolution of the USSR.</p>

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If the one of the basic conditions of '<em>the city</em>' is a phase state of continual change, then Moscow is very good at being a city.

<p>If the one of the basic conditions of '<em>the city</em>' is a phase state of continual change, then Moscow is very good at being a city.</p>

Ironically for the start of a photographic essay reflecting on a city changing, the day begins queueing outside a building dedicated to an absolute form of preservation, the contents of which is closely guarded against visitors taking pictures: Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square.

<p>Ironically for the start of a photographic essay reflecting on a city changing, the day begins queueing outside a building dedicated to an absolute form of preservation, the contents of which is closely guarded against visitors taking pictures: Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square.</p>

Lenin's corpse - like many of Moscow's extremities - represents a great act of maintenance. Beyond the rigorous management of humidity and temperature, he may of course  been, like many of the cities other residents, the beneficiary of some light surgical assistance.

<p>Lenin's corpse - like many of Moscow's extremities - represents a great act of maintenance. Beyond the rigorous management of humidity and temperature, he may of course  been, like many of the cities other residents, the beneficiary of some light surgical assistance. </p>

The limited window for visiting - 10am - 1pm sometimes three, sometimes four days a week - was one of the first things I researched on arriving but somehow a trip itself never materialised. Over time of course, actually queueing up to enter the Mausoleum had slipped down the list of indefinitely postponable activities belonging to someone no longer a tourist.

<p>The limited window for visiting - 10am - 1pm sometimes three, sometimes four days a week - was one of the first things I researched on arriving but somehow a trip itself never materialised. Over time of course, actually queueing up to enter the Mausoleum had slipped down the list of indefinitely postponable activities belonging to someone no longer a tourist.</p>

The persistent rumour that Lenin's body might be relocated, supported by recent legislative changes in advance of the approaching centenary of his death - and with it perhaps the most logical moment for such rearrangements - gave me the sudden appreciation however that I might miss my chance.

<p>The persistent rumour that Lenin's body might be relocated, supported by recent legislative changes in advance of the approaching centenary of his death - and with it perhaps the most logical moment for such rearrangements - gave me the sudden appreciation however that I might miss my chance.</p>

Why visit at all?  A small element of morbid curiosity maybe, but even more simply perhaps simple historical <em>fomo</em>. Russia, through the melting cold war telescopes of the west, retains an almost clumsy aura of intrigue and the mausoleum is the most stark, saturated clump of mystery to the outsider. Preservation is not Moscow's natural mode, and yet Lenin's tomb, and the processes of its maintenance remain, a generation after the system that built it collapsed.

<p>Why visit at all?  A small element of morbid curiosity maybe, but even more simply perhaps simple historical <em>fomo</em>. Russia, through the melting cold war telescopes of the west, retains an almost clumsy aura of intrigue and the mausoleum is the most stark, saturated clump of mystery to the outsider. Preservation is not Moscow's natural mode, and yet Lenin's tomb, and the processes of its maintenance remain, a generation after the system that built it collapsed.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03006-1-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03006-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2401"/></a><figcaption>Sous&nbsp;les pavés, The Nike Store. In this case a compact Nike boutique facing down an Adidas store directly opposite across a narrow subterranean hallway, finished in faux marble corrugated metal.</figcaption></figure>

The experience of visiting the mausoleum is of course odd. The common trope is to discover that Lenin is smaller than you expect - he is. The most obvious sensation is the curious blend of chilled air and flat, rose light. Despite its grandeur and solemnity, it feels not unlike the set-piece in a music video and the entire interior visit lasts perhaps as long. Yet its hard not to be struck by the sheer historic intensity and the curious staying power of its symbolism, still locked in the centre of Red Square, three decades after the end of the USSR and more than a century after the revolution that would create it.

<p>The experience of visiting the mausoleum is of course odd. The common trope is to discover that Lenin is smaller than you expect - he is. The most obvious sensation is the curious blend of chilled air and flat, rose light. Despite its grandeur and solemnity, it feels not unlike the set-piece in a music video and the entire interior visit lasts perhaps as long. Yet its hard not to be struck by the sheer historic intensity and the curious staying power of its symbolism, still locked in the centre of Red Square, three decades after the end of the USSR and more than a century after the revolution that would create it. </p>

In English the '<em>red</em>' of red square has a singular translation relating only to colour although occasionally with an implied relationship with communism despite the name being of 17th century origin. In Russian I'm told that '<em>Krasnaya</em>' of '<em>Krasnaya Ploschad</em>' has a more expansive connotation sharing the historical etymology with the Russian word for 'beautiful'.

<p>In English the '<em>red</em>' of red square has a singular translation relating only to colour although occasionally with an implied relationship with communism despite the name being of 17th century origin. In Russian I'm told that '<em>Krasnaya</em>' of '<em>Krasnaya Ploschad</em>' has a more expansive connotation sharing the historical etymology with the Russian word for 'beautiful'.</p>

Walking away from the mausoleum and trying to avoid sticky summer heat I take the first downward escalator I encounter, underground into maze of nearby malls. The subterranean grandly multi-storey arcades fuse stone grandeur with faux marble, setting the precisely invitational fit-outs of multinational brands between columns of painted corrugated metal.

<p>Walking away from the mausoleum and trying to avoid sticky summer heat I take the first downward escalator I encounter, underground into maze of nearby malls. The subterranean grandly multi-storey arcades fuse stone grandeur with faux marble, setting the precisely invitational fit-outs of multinational brands between columns of painted corrugated metal.</p>

Any visitor searching for material and historical anachronisms in the centre of Moscow will find plenty but this may be a sideshow from getting comfortable with the complexity of the type of city that that this actually produces.

<p>Any visitor searching for material and historical anachronisms in the centre of Moscow will find plenty but this may be a sideshow from getting comfortable with the complexity of the type of city that that this actually produces.</p>

To get to know a city is to hunt for clues as to its personality. Yet any experience of a city, especially one as large is supremely subjective and partial, it can only be a sliver of interactions mined from turbulent deep complexity, especially in a place so layered, so expressive of the tension between the grand plan and the individual. Yet to think about any city in detail is to also reflect on the simple importance of the human compulsion to urbanise which far outlives any specific political eras that a city hosts.

<p>To get to know a city is to hunt for clues as to its personality. Yet any experience of a city, especially one as large is supremely subjective and partial, it can only be a sliver of interactions mined from turbulent deep complexity, especially in a place so layered, so expressive of the tension between the grand plan and the individual. Yet to think about any city in detail is to also reflect on the simple importance of the human compulsion to urbanise which far outlives any specific political eras that a city hosts. </p>

Moscow and the wider region has long qualified as a mega-city, not least on the basis of more realistic population estimates that include those not officially registered, bumping its official estimate from around 12 million, to something more like 15 or even 20 million inhabitants. The <em>global mega-city</em> and the study of agglomerations however seem to have drifted out of favour within the discourse of urbanism and architecture, despite the condition of rapid urbanisation steam rolling ahead as forecast.

<p>Moscow and the wider region has long qualified as a mega-city, not least on the basis of more realistic population estimates that include those not officially registered, bumping its official estimate from around 12 million, to something more like 15 or even 20 million inhabitants. The <em>global mega-city</em> and the study of agglomerations however seem to have drifted out of favour within the discourse of urbanism and architecture, despite the condition of rapid urbanisation steam rolling ahead as forecast.</p>

One explanation may be the growing recognition that as urban formations have morphed into something beyond the bounds of a previous definitions and we may be missing the language or a frame of reference by which to consider them. As Neil Brenner and Christian Schmid noted in '<a href="http://www.urbantheorylab.net/publications/planetary-urbanization/">Planetary Urbanism</a>' (2012), based in part on the emergence of new scales that   "<em>...despite its continued pervasiveness in scholarly and political discourse, the category of the “</em>city<em>” has today become obsolete as an analytical social science tool.</em>". Moscow appears to be a useful example of why this might be conceivably true.

<p>One explanation may be the growing recognition that as urban formations have morphed into something beyond the bounds of a previous definitions and we may be missing the language or a frame of reference by which to consider them. As Neil Brenner and Christian Schmid noted in '<a href="http://www.urbantheorylab.net/publications/planetary-urbanization/">Planetary Urbanism</a>' (2012), based in part on the emergence of new scales that   "<em>...despite its continued pervasiveness in scholarly and political discourse, the category of the “</em>city<em>” has today become obsolete as an analytical social science tool.</em>". Moscow appears to be a useful example of why this might be conceivably true.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03038-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2402"/><figcaption>The stained glass domed ceiling of the Okhotny Ryad&nbsp;underground shopping mall.</figcaption></figure>

There is also an on-going reconsideration of the boundaries and tendrils of the networks that support a city both ecologically and economically, especially within the context of climate change and planetary scale systems and the explosive expansion and importance of digital infrastructure to reconfigure exactly how the city self-organises.

<p>There is also an on-going reconsideration of the boundaries and tendrils of the networks that support a city both ecologically and economically, especially within the context of climate change and planetary scale systems and the explosive expansion and importance of digital infrastructure to reconfigure exactly how the city self-organises.</p>

The case study of Moscow here is not just instructive as a combination of scale, political centrality and history but also its current porosity to new technological systems and platform experimentation, somewhere between the status of an 'early adopter' and maximum viable prototype.

<p>The case study of Moscow here is not just instructive as a combination of scale, political centrality and history but also its current porosity to new technological systems and platform experimentation, somewhere between the status of an 'early adopter' and maximum viable prototype.</p>

In the foreign popular imagination the 20th century picture of Moscow and the Soviet Era is perhaps more firmly connected with a one particular colour scheme than perhaps any other place, at any other time.  This categorisation makes it easier for outsiders to sustain an <em>idea</em> of Moscow that might obscure the fact that it is exemplary of a kind of novel vastness and complexity taking place amid the rapid uptake of networked technologies that nibble away at the edges of urban governance and perhaps even fundamental definition.

<p class="has-text-align-left">In the foreign popular imagination the 20th century picture of Moscow and the Soviet Era is perhaps more firmly connected with a one particular colour scheme than perhaps any other place, at any other time.  This categorisation makes it easier for outsiders to sustain an <em>idea</em> of Moscow that might obscure the fact that it is exemplary of a kind of novel vastness and complexity taking place amid the rapid uptake of networked technologies that nibble away at the edges of urban governance and perhaps even fundamental definition.</p>

The fact that Moscow's future feels like its hard to predict may actually be a clue that it can tell us something significant about the nature of cities and urbanism of the coming decades. If Moscow is no longer 'red', what colour <em>is</em> it?

<p>The fact that Moscow's future feels like its hard to predict may actually be a clue that it can tell us something significant about the nature of cities and urbanism of the coming decades. If Moscow is no longer 'red', what colour <em>is</em> it?</p>

For outsiders curious about the relationship betwen urban infrastructure, governance, Moscow's recent history is a rich mystery and a tangle of legacy systems. What actually happened to its institutions, systems and infamously dense and rigid administrative processes during the collapse of the USSR - an event of perhaps without real parallel, in recent history at least in terms of systematic upheaval? What happens when you unravel a state, let alone a super power?

<p>For outsiders curious about the relationship betwen urban infrastructure, governance, Moscow's recent history is a rich mystery and a tangle of legacy systems. What actually happened to its institutions, systems and infamously dense and rigid administrative processes during the collapse of the USSR - an event of perhaps without real parallel, in recent history at least in terms of systematic upheaval? What happens when you unravel a state, let alone a super power?</p>

<p>History counts, but let's start with the water.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03360-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03360-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2417"/></a><figcaption>Kamaz trucks spraying water on the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge in front of the Kremlin. An hour later Moscow would be hit by an intense summer rainstorm.</figcaption></figure>

Moscow appears at times, locked in combat with the thermodynamics of water. The feeling of continual transformation is partly driven by the extremes of its weather, the speed at which the snow arrives, the late summer light, blinding spring sunlight on as yet unmelted snow.

<p>Moscow appears at times, locked in combat with the thermodynamics of water. The feeling of continual transformation is partly driven by the extremes of its weather, the speed at which the snow arrives, the late summer light, blinding spring sunlight on as yet unmelted snow.</p>

It may be that the vast municipal team and army of Kamaz trucks are rendered more visible simply because they are decked out in a consistent glow of orange, but the sheer number of people at work on the upkeep of bridges, pavements, stairs, surfaces, pipes, can seem sometimes seem remarkable. You can't walk for ten minutes without encountering men digging holes.

<p>It may be that the vast municipal team and army of Kamaz trucks are rendered more visible simply because they are decked out in a consistent glow of orange, but the sheer number of people at work on the upkeep of bridges, pavements, stairs, surfaces, pipes, can seem sometimes seem remarkable. You can't walk for ten minutes without encountering men digging holes.</p>

Winter brings the daunting and Sisyphean task of clearing, shifting and transporting tons and tons and tons of snow. In summer, the same bouncing orange rolls through the city, this time spraying water apparently to cool asphalt.

<p>Winter brings the daunting and Sisyphean task of clearing, shifting and transporting tons and tons and tons of snow. In summer, the same bouncing orange rolls through the city, this time spraying water apparently to cool asphalt.</p>

In winter, the sky is a blur of saturated tungsten and faded purples that never quite settles, pulsing far brighter than most cities, and frequently coating entire districts in other worldly fogs of color, as the lights of Arbat and Luzhniki Stadium bounce smudges of RGB between snow and low winter cloud.

<p>In winter, the sky is a blur of saturated tungsten and faded purples that never quite settles, pulsing far brighter than most cities, and frequently coating entire districts in other worldly fogs of color, as the lights of Arbat and Luzhniki Stadium bounce smudges of RGB between snow and low winter cloud.</p>

In the city centre, many buildings at street level appear to only loosely tolerate commercial enterprise, giving the impression that consumerism is a guest in a longer history. Further out the landscape, like the hinterland of most metropolises, appears peppered with monolithic malls.

<p>In the city centre, many buildings at street level appear to only loosely tolerate commercial enterprise, giving the impression that consumerism is a guest in a longer history. Further out the landscape, like the hinterland of most metropolises, appears peppered with monolithic malls.</p>

Many of the 20th century buildings, mostly housing blocks are starkly legible with their facades a direct expression of the decade in which they were completed. Attempting to assess the age of some newer buildings in the city however is complicated by contemporary revivalism. There are sometimes few clues to distinguish between those constructed in the last 20 years or the 200 before, with stitched facades that have been rebuilt or dissolved and a resurgence of freshly squeezed church domes.

<p>Many of the 20th century buildings, mostly housing blocks are starkly legible with their facades a direct expression of the decade in which they were completed. Attempting to assess the age of some newer buildings in the city however is complicated by contemporary revivalism. There are sometimes few clues to distinguish between those constructed in the last 20 years or the 200 before, with stitched facades that have been rebuilt or dissolved and a resurgence of freshly squeezed church domes.</p>

Russia's borders are uniquely stretched and enormous - the map of its population distribution represents a flirtation with the far edges of habitability. The cliché of Moscow straddling between Eastern and Western mentalities is still broadly useful although there are very few major cities or capitals that co-ordinate so relative much power, especially so far from the sea.  There is so much that is unique about Moscow that it is unhelpful to search too deeply for cities to compare with but the most obvious might be Saint Petersburg. However its naval primacy, baltic air and historic preservation - in particular the diligently maintained height restrictions preventing any building being taller than the 30m Winter Palace - only highlight how unique both places are. That the two largest cities should feel so different is itself a telling clue.

<p>Russia's borders are uniquely stretched and enormous - the map of its population distribution represents a flirtation with the far edges of habitability. The cliché of Moscow straddling between Eastern and Western mentalities is still broadly useful although there are very few major cities or capitals that co-ordinate so relative much power, especially so far from the sea.  There is so much that is unique about Moscow that it is unhelpful to search too deeply for cities to compare with but the most obvious might be Saint Petersburg. However its naval primacy, baltic air and historic preservation - in particular the diligently maintained height restrictions preventing any building being taller than the 30m Winter Palace - only highlight how unique both places are. That the two largest cities should feel so different is itself a telling clue. </p>

As I was reminded fairly consistently when I first arrived in Moscow, a classic confusion by the outsider is to confuse Moscow with Russia. It may be more productive to conceptually separate the two. Along with Saint Petersburg, also starkly different from the rest of Russia, they may be better understood as almost <a href="https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/329689-why-moscow-not-russia">different countries</a>.

<p>As I was reminded fairly consistently when I first arrived in Moscow, a classic confusion by the outsider is to confuse Moscow with Russia. It may be more productive to conceptually separate the two. Along with Saint Petersburg, also starkly different from the rest of Russia, they may be better understood as almost <a href="https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/329689-why-moscow-not-russia">different countries</a>.</p>

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The community of urban professionals, researchers and architects I met appeared to have an above average fascination with not just cities - Russia is paradoxically one of the most highly urbanised countries - but a particular compulsion towards essentialising Moscow itself. Their local city as a vivid and evolving object of study, with its contradictory positions as both 'global' capital, a node floating within a hemispherical continental network of international trade, while also the capital of a nation state delineated by frosty border relationships. One avenue into decoding Russia's international reputation as inward-facing is the now somewhat rusted <a href="https://eurasianet.org/russias-colonial-allergy">1840's observation historian</a> of Sergey Solovyov, that<em> 'the history of Russia is the history of a country that colonizes itself'.</em>

<p>The community of urban professionals, researchers and architects I met appeared to have an above average fascination with not just cities - Russia is paradoxically one of the most highly urbanised countries - but a particular compulsion towards essentialising Moscow itself. Their local city as a vivid and evolving object of study, with its contradictory positions as both 'global' capital, a node floating within a hemispherical continental network of international trade, while also the capital of a nation state delineated by frosty border relationships. One avenue into decoding Russia's international reputation as inward-facing is the now somewhat rusted <a href="https://eurasianet.org/russias-colonial-allergy">1840's observation historian</a> of Sergey Solovyov, that<em> 'the history of Russia is the history of a country that colonizes itself'.</em></p>

Externally the wider reality of Russian urbanism in the 21st century doesn't appear to stimulate as much discussion as it might. As of 2021, in part due to Brexit, both Russia and the EU now coincidentally contain 15 cities with a million inhabitants or more. Scan through list of EU cities and all the names are deeply familiar, but many Europeans (including myself prior to visiting) might struggle to name the third or fourth largest Russian cities, let alone all 15. Within the Russian list are also several cities in the midst facing apparently rapid population decline, confusingly at odds with the global trend of urbanisation and provoking questions as to what the future balance of Russia's urban networks might be.

<p>Externally the wider reality of Russian urbanism in the 21st century doesn't appear to stimulate as much discussion as it might. As of 2021, in part due to Brexit, both Russia and the EU now coincidentally contain 15 cities with a million inhabitants or more. Scan through list of EU cities and all the names are deeply familiar, but many Europeans (including myself prior to visiting) might struggle to name the third or fourth largest Russian cities, let alone all 15. Within the Russian list are also several cities in the midst facing apparently rapid population decline, confusingly at odds with the global trend of urbanisation and provoking questions as to what the future balance of Russia's urban networks might be.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03310-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03310-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2415"/></a><figcaption>Interior of the Pushkin Literary Museum</figcaption></figure>

In terms of the most generic of urban metrics: density, Moscow is unusually hollow and concentric, defined by its infamous orbital rings and donuts of mass housing. You can sense of how far you are from the centre, but not necessarily in which direction. The cultural signals of gentrification are of course prickling, but they do so evenly across its surface. As a result of the relatively even quality and distribution of housing, there is no distinctly up-and-coming 'hot' neighbourhood and the sense of 'where' the city is transforming fastest is far less focused, in stark contrast, for example, to London's postcode-resolution real estate territorialism.

<p>In terms of the most generic of urban metrics: density, Moscow is unusually hollow and concentric, defined by its infamous orbital rings and donuts of mass housing. You can sense of how far you are from the centre, but not necessarily in which direction. The cultural signals of gentrification are of course prickling, but they do so evenly across its surface. As a result of the relatively even quality and distribution of housing, there is no distinctly up-and-coming 'hot' neighbourhood and the sense of 'where' the city is transforming fastest is far less focused, in stark contrast, for example, to London's postcode-resolution real estate territorialism. </p>

The occupation or transformation of out-of-use buildings is legally challenging and rare on even a semi-permanent basis, with the winter cold necessitating at least legitimate access to centrally distributed heat. The urban fabric of Moscow has a rugged informality that is less an emergent quality as in many cities but appears to be actively generated by the municipality itself albeit perhaps not intentionally. The sheer diversity in both the design and quality of rubbish bins throughout the city being an particular mundane example.

<p>The occupation or transformation of out-of-use buildings is legally challenging and rare on even a semi-permanent basis, with the winter cold necessitating at least legitimate access to centrally distributed heat. The urban fabric of Moscow has a rugged informality that is less an emergent quality as in many cities but appears to be actively generated by the municipality itself albeit perhaps not intentionally. The sheer diversity in both the design and quality of rubbish bins throughout the city being an particular mundane example.</p>

Moscow's perennially unfinished, dramatic historical transformations and material reorganisation appear to inspire ambitious thinking in the younger generation. Its youth culture appears both extremely alert to global trends and comprehensively aloof. Club nights and 'parties' outside the centre, often under the constant threat of police intimidation and shutdown, ripple with a sense of dark abandon that most of the cities on the international club circuit could only parody.

<p>Moscow's perennially unfinished, dramatic historical transformations and material reorganisation appear to inspire ambitious thinking in the younger generation. Its youth culture appears both extremely alert to global trends and comprehensively aloof. Club nights and 'parties' outside the centre, often under the constant threat of police intimidation and shutdown, ripple with a sense of dark abandon that most of the cities on the international club circuit could only parody.</p>

Any prediction of Moscow's future is like guessing the next move of an amber traffic light. Moscow is the nexus of an economy facing a brittle future and its dependency on oil and gas exports appearing ever more precarious in a world end its love affair with hydrocarbons. Its internal market still large enough to support a distinctive technology sector and an emerging service economy, albeit within the confines of a language barrier and cultural perceptions that leave Russia isolated.

<p>Any prediction of Moscow's future is like guessing the next move of an amber traffic light. Moscow is the nexus of an economy facing a brittle future and its dependency on oil and gas exports appearing ever more precarious in a world end its love affair with hydrocarbons. Its internal market still large enough to support a distinctive technology sector and an emerging service economy, albeit within the confines of a language barrier and cultural perceptions that leave Russia isolated. </p>

As my day walking continues I pass the Moscow Museum of Modern Art where I have a chance with Arseny Zhilyaev's exhibition<em> The Monotony Of The Pattern Recognizer</em> which includes a series of agonisingly bright, empty monotone orange rooms.

<p>As my day walking continues I pass the Moscow Museum of Modern Art where I have a chance with Arseny Zhilyaev's exhibition<em> The Monotony Of The Pattern Recognizer</em> which includes a series of agonisingly bright, empty monotone orange rooms.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2412"/></a><figcaption><em>Arseny Zhilyaev's exhibition '</em>The Monotony Of The Pattern Recognizer',<em>  Moscow Museum of Modern Art</em></figcaption></figure>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2412"/></a><figcaption><em>Arseny Zhilyaev's exhibition '</em>The Monotony Of The Pattern Recognizer',<em>  Moscow Museum of Modern Art</em></figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignfull"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03251-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2412"/></a><figcaption><em>Arseny Zhilyaev's exhibition '</em>The Monotony Of The Pattern Recognizer',<em>  Moscow Museum of Modern Art</em></figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03292-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03292-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2414"/></a></figure></div></div>

For now though, some parts of Moscow at least are seriously gilded. Crops of fresh high-end real-estate, as slickly finished as anywhere, sprinkled with the lavishness of frequently waxed cars, apartment stores and brass fixtures. It is not uncommon to encounter entourages of security, drivers and flexed muscle signalling the power, greed and brutal inequities exacerbated by an extraction economy in a resource hungry world. A point reiterated many times to me by friends and acquaintances is that any comprehension of contemporary Russia must engage with the folk memory of the 1990's, its food shortages and cliff edges.

<p>For now though, some parts of Moscow at least are seriously gilded. Crops of fresh high-end real-estate, as slickly finished as anywhere, sprinkled with the lavishness of frequently waxed cars, apartment stores and brass fixtures. It is not uncommon to encounter entourages of security, drivers and flexed muscle signalling the power, greed and brutal inequities exacerbated by an extraction economy in a resource hungry world. A point reiterated many times to me by friends and acquaintances is that any comprehension of contemporary Russia must engage with the folk memory of the 1990's, its food shortages and cliff edges.</p>

Nowhere is this legacy as stark as it in in the rapid adoption of digital services. As a city it feels alive with the agency and energy of young people looking to retool its systems, culture and cuisine. New urban technology, apps and platforms seem to be welcomed in Moscow, revealing ever more profitable niches in the services of the everyday. It hums with micro-transactions, food deliveries both robotic and human, scanned by fleets of autonomous taxis in training. The functionality of Moscows taxis is perhaps the most precise example of why.

<p>Nowhere is this legacy as stark as it in in the rapid adoption of digital services. As a city it feels alive with the agency and energy of young people looking to retool its systems, culture and cuisine. New urban technology, apps and platforms seem to be welcomed in Moscow, revealing ever more profitable niches in the services of the everyday. It hums with micro-transactions, food deliveries both robotic and human, scanned by fleets of autonomous taxis in training. The functionality of Moscows taxis is perhaps the most precise example of why. </p>

Prior to the emergence of the ubiquitous - and arguably highly innovative - Russian tech giant Yandex and its platforms, was an infamously shoddy casino of cabs, unable to guarantee either speed, price or safety. Where platform monopolisation in other cities jars with romanticised memories of the recent past - see the taxi's of London or New York - it is not easy to find a resident of Moscow keen to revert. It is likely, whatever transformations the continued automation and platform integration of cities might bring to their inhabitants, Moscovites maybe among the earliest global adopters.

<p>Prior to the emergence of the ubiquitous - and arguably highly innovative - Russian tech giant Yandex and its platforms, was an infamously shoddy casino of cabs, unable to guarantee either speed, price or safety. Where platform monopolisation in other cities jars with romanticised memories of the recent past - see the taxi's of London or New York - it is not easy to find a resident of Moscow keen to revert. It is likely, whatever transformations the continued automation and platform integration of cities might bring to their inhabitants, Moscovites maybe among the earliest global adopters.  </p>

The municipality itself appears keen to stake its claim for the world's most integrated municipal data network, with a gargantuan and highly-polished traffic surveillance centre and major investments in everything 'smart'. The city's local identity appears increasingly filtered through a barrage of internationalised platform branding. The monotone, fully saturated tangerines, reds and limes of competing start-ups, stretched across uniforms, cargo bags and rentable vehicles. Urban life in Moscow like so many other places is now encoded in packaging, restaurant menus and full of new things that are new in the same way everywhere. The eerie global echo of the 'flat white'.

<p>The municipality itself appears keen to stake its claim for the world's most integrated municipal data network, with a gargantuan and highly-polished traffic surveillance centre and major investments in everything 'smart'. The city's local identity appears increasingly filtered through a barrage of internationalised platform branding. The monotone, fully saturated tangerines, reds and limes of competing start-ups, stretched across uniforms, cargo bags and rentable vehicles. Urban life in Moscow like so many other places is now encoded in packaging, restaurant menus and full of new things that are new in the same way everywhere. The eerie global echo of the 'flat white'.</p>

The architectural writer Reyner Banham maintained that to understand Los Angeles required travelling by car, and learnt to drive before visiting. Something similar may be true of 21st century Moscow, albeit travelling by app, and observing it either through the window of a surprisingly cheap but frequently static taxi or from the deck of a surprisingly expensive but disconcertingly fast, rented micro-scooter.

<p>The architectural writer Reyner Banham maintained that to understand Los Angeles required travelling by car, and learnt to drive before visiting. Something similar may be true of 21st century Moscow, albeit travelling by app, and observing it either through the window of a surprisingly cheap but frequently static taxi or from the deck of a surprisingly expensive but disconcertingly fast, rented micro-scooter.</p>

Moscow is many things, most notably living proof that history ultimately outmanoeuvres simplicity and grand theory. The lived experience, and indeed simply the every day lives of millions of people has an inertia that even the most significant of social upheavals does not fully disrupt. The day is brought to a sudden but helpfully finite end with the arrival of a wildly intense summer rainstorm. I narrowly avoid being drenched as a Yandex self-driving taxi in training, speeds through a 4-inch puddle right in front of me. Leaping to avoid the splash I miss my opportunity to see if there is a human life-guard in the drivers seat ready to grab the wheel - although there always is. I instinctively check whenever I see these vehicles in the wild though, knowing that at some point the cabin might be empty. Moscow continues another daily tangle with water.

<p>Moscow is many things, most notably living proof that history ultimately outmanoeuvres simplicity and grand theory. The lived experience, and indeed simply the every day lives of millions of people has an inertia that even the most significant of social upheavals does not fully disrupt. The day is brought to a sudden but helpfully finite end with the arrival of a wildly intense summer rainstorm. I narrowly avoid being drenched as a Yandex self-driving taxi in training, speeds through a 4-inch puddle right in front of me. Leaping to avoid the splash I miss my opportunity to see if there is a human life-guard in the drivers seat ready to grab the wheel - although there always is. I instinctively check whenever I see these vehicles in the wild though, knowing that at some point the cabin might be empty. Moscow continues another daily tangle with water.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03423-scaled.jpg"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC03423-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2418"/></a><figcaption>A Yandex Self-driving car navigates through 4" deep rain puddles.</figcaption></figure>

core/separator

For more photography follow the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rawprocessing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@rawprocessing</a> instagram account.

<p>For more photography follow the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rawprocessing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@rawprocessing</a> instagram account.</p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>For more photography follow the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rawprocessing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@rawprocessing</a> instagram account.</p></div>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC01168-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2435"/><figcaption>Yandex food delivery robots, July, 2021.</figcaption></figure>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC01168-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2435"/><figcaption>Yandex food delivery robots, July, 2021.</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>For more photography follow the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rawprocessing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@rawprocessing</a> instagram account.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DSC01168-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2435"/><figcaption>Yandex food delivery robots, July, 2021.</figcaption></figure></div></div>

0002 – The Content House

0000 – Introducing… Fulfilment Centre

0001 – Orange Moscow (Notes on a City Changing Colour)

Over the summer, a new state-of-the-art AI image generator,  <a href="https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-public-release">Stable Diffusion</a> was released. Unlike its competitors which remain largely paywalled, it was made freely downloadable, smashing open a piñata of hype, panic and potential. Influential researcher (and former Director of AI at Tesla) Andrej Karpathy described it as ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/karpathy/status/1561818955966058500">a day of historic proportion for human creativity</a>'.

<p>Over the summer, a new state-of-the-art AI image generator,  <a href="https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-public-release">Stable Diffusion</a> was released. Unlike its competitors which remain largely paywalled, it was made freely downloadable, smashing open a piñata of hype, panic and potential. Influential researcher (and former Director of AI at Tesla) Andrej Karpathy described it as ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/karpathy/status/1561818955966058500">a day of historic proportion for human creativity</a>'.</p>

With <a href="https://thesequence.substack.com/p/generative-ai-fundraising-momentum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investment dollars pouring in</a>, including a $101m for Stability.AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion, the field of "Generative AI" has quickly become this seasons venture capital unicorn ranch and nothing will ever be the same again, again.

<p>With <a href="https://thesequence.substack.com/p/generative-ai-fundraising-momentum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investment dollars pouring in</a>, including a $101m for Stability.AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion, the field of "Generative AI" has quickly become this seasons venture capital unicorn ranch and nothing will ever be the same again, again.</p>

I've been experimenting with Stable Diffusion since its release – see the numbered images in this post – and while contending with such intense buzz requires caution - also TLDR;  I don’t think I’ve ever used a piece of code or software that has left such an intense impression so quickly.

<p>I've been experimenting with Stable Diffusion since its release – see the numbered images in this post – and while contending with such intense buzz requires caution - also TLDR;  I don’t think I’ve ever used a piece of code or software that has left such an intense impression so quickly.</p>

Stable Diffusion doesn't appear to be hugely more capable than its competitors MidJourney or Dall-E although the outputs it generates are generally more <em>fascinating</em>, especially in the terrain beyond style-transfer. Its primary advantage is that it's downloadable and free to operate on your own PC, providing space to both fine-tune it's process and to some extent reverse engineer its logic. As someone who spends a significant amount of time making and thinking about images - inputting my own images and drawings into Stable Diffusion has thrown up some knotty questions.

<p>Stable Diffusion doesn't appear to be hugely more capable than its competitors MidJourney or Dall-E although the outputs it generates are generally more <em>fascinating</em>, especially in the terrain beyond style-transfer. Its primary advantage is that it's downloadable and free to operate on your own PC, providing space to both fine-tune it's process and to some extent reverse engineer its logic. As someone who spends a significant amount of time making and thinking about images - inputting my own images and drawings into Stable Diffusion has thrown up some knotty questions. </p>

Before getting into these, the quickest shortcut through the hype might be just to try it for yourself and experience both its weirdness and limitations. There are many <a href="https://medium.com/geekculture/run-stable-diffusion-in-your-local-computer-heres-a-step-by-step-guide-af128397d424" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">guides</a>, <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/830179/how-to-run-stable-diffusion-on-your-pc-to-generate-ai-images/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tutorials</a> and easy to use interfaces such as <a href="https://github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui">webui</a>, which is perhaps the most active and <a href="https://github.com/cmdr2/stable-diffusion-ui" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stable-diffusion-ui</a>, which is possibly marginally easier to install. It can be used directly online at <a href="https://huggingface.co/spaces/stabilityai/stable-diffusion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">huggingface</a> or dozens of other hosted version that have sprung up, although tinkering with a local installation provides the most flexibility.

<p>Before getting into these, the quickest shortcut through the hype might be just to try it for yourself and experience both its weirdness and limitations. There are many <a href="https://medium.com/geekculture/run-stable-diffusion-in-your-local-computer-heres-a-step-by-step-guide-af128397d424" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">guides</a>, <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/830179/how-to-run-stable-diffusion-on-your-pc-to-generate-ai-images/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tutorials</a> and easy to use interfaces such as <a href="https://github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui">webui</a>, which is perhaps the most active and <a href="https://github.com/cmdr2/stable-diffusion-ui" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stable-diffusion-ui</a>, which is possibly marginally easier to install. It can be used directly online at <a href="https://huggingface.co/spaces/stabilityai/stable-diffusion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">huggingface</a> or dozens of other hosted version that have sprung up, although tinkering with a local installation provides the most flexibility.</p>

Sidestepping the tangled definitions of intelligence, we can at least recognise that such models are capable of extraordinary feats of translation, allowing us to skirt across vast dimensions of latent space and metaphorical image analysis that 150,000 hours of top grade GPU training time affords. We may not yet have sufficient metaphors to describe these interactions, landing somewhere between co-creation and augmented visual research made possible by ingesting 5.8 billion images. As a tool of self-evaluation it's remarkably useful to be able to supply it images and essentially ask '<em>what is this?</em>' and then '<em>what it would be like as something slightly, or significantly, or entirely different?'</em>. It's a process that feels conversational, and stranger still, one where the other party is adamantly attempting to convince you that images are not what you thought they were.

<p>Sidestepping the tangled definitions of intelligence, we can at least recognise that such models are capable of extraordinary feats of translation, allowing us to skirt across vast dimensions of latent space and metaphorical image analysis that 150,000 hours of top grade GPU training time affords. We may not yet have sufficient metaphors to describe these interactions, landing somewhere between co-creation and augmented visual research made possible by ingesting 5.8 billion images. As a tool of self-evaluation it's remarkably useful to be able to supply it images and essentially ask '<em>what is this?</em>' and then '<em>what it would be like as something slightly, or significantly, or entirely different?'</em>. It's a process that feels conversational, and stranger still, one where the other party is adamantly attempting to convince you that images are not what you thought they were.</p>

The term-of-art to describe the process of fine-tuning the inputs is known as ‘<a href="https://github.com/sw-yx/prompt-eng/blob/main/README.md">Prompt Engineering</a>’, although we may quickly need a more expansive term, that is less suggestive of a short, written starting points and more considerate of different potential input methods. How we feed such models is now encompassing all forms digital media - see emerging techniques for speech2video or text-to-3D aka <a href="https://dreamfusion3d.github.io">Dreamfusion</a>. Naturally some are already <a href="https://medium.com/mlearning-ai/using-an-ai-writer-to-generate-the-text-prompt-for-an-ai-image-generator-b331a6b94cdb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">using one AI</a> to work out what to ask another.

<p>The term-of-art to describe the process of fine-tuning the inputs is known as ‘<a href="https://github.com/sw-yx/prompt-eng/blob/main/README.md">Prompt Engineering</a>’, although we may quickly need a more expansive term, that is less suggestive of a short, written starting points and more considerate of different potential input methods. How we feed such models is now encompassing all forms digital media - see emerging techniques for speech2video or text-to-3D aka <a href="https://dreamfusion3d.github.io">Dreamfusion</a>. Naturally some are already <a href="https://medium.com/mlearning-ai/using-an-ai-writer-to-generate-the-text-prompt-for-an-ai-image-generator-b331a6b94cdb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">using one AI</a> to work out what to ask another.</p>

In a talk around a decade ago, I remember the artist <a href="https://markleckey.com">Mark Leckey</a> comparing image search engines to alchemy, since they could, if used effectively, conjure images from our imagination into being. In the era of “Big Data”, search could be considered be a productive, creative act.

<p>In a talk around a decade ago, I remember the artist <a href="https://markleckey.com">Mark Leckey</a> comparing image search engines to alchemy, since they could, if used effectively, conjure images from our imagination into being. In the era of “Big Data”, search could be considered be a productive, creative act. </p>

It was also an acknowledgement that, in a world where images are no longer scarce or hidden, how we work with them and what they mean might need to be fundamentally reconsidered.  As with many technologies, there is a window between our first interactions initial it and it’s maturity.  This same process feels like it’s happening with AI image generation, albeit slightly faster. I remember using Google Image Search not long after it was originally launched, it was both revelatory and yet also strangely limited. Before long it 'got good', and what once felt slightly unreliable, quickly cemented itself as an essential component of how we think about images.

<p>It was also an acknowledgement that, in a world where images are no longer scarce or hidden, how we work with them and what they mean might need to be fundamentally reconsidered.  As with many technologies, there is a window between our first interactions initial it and it’s maturity.  This same process feels like it’s happening with AI image generation, albeit slightly faster. I remember using Google Image Search not long after it was originally launched, it was both revelatory and yet also strangely limited. Before long it 'got good', and what once felt slightly unreliable, quickly cemented itself as an essential component of how we think about images. </p>

Emad Mostaque, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="http://stability.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stability.ai</a>&nbsp;describes using his model as&nbsp;‘<em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snn4Pq5DBIo">generative search</a></em>’ – perhaps he was also in attendance at Leckeys lecture. He also predicts bombastically that<em><a href="https://twitter.com/EMostaque/status/1581669854720888832"> "image will be solved within a year</a></em>". Siri - set a reminder, <em>17th October, 2023.</em> Hype train aside - it does seem likely that the underlying capacity of such technologies is going to keep growing in the near future. From the perspective of what they can already do, things are only going to get <em>weirder</em>.

<p>Emad Mostaque, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="http://stability.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stability.ai</a>&nbsp;describes using his model as&nbsp;‘<em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snn4Pq5DBIo">generative search</a></em>’ – perhaps he was also in attendance at Leckeys lecture. He also predicts bombastically that<em><a href="https://twitter.com/EMostaque/status/1581669854720888832"> "image will be solved within a year</a></em>". Siri - set a reminder, <em>17th October, 2023.</em> Hype train aside - it does seem likely that the underlying capacity of such technologies is going to keep growing in the near future. From the perspective of what they can already do, things are only going to get <em>weirder</em>.</p>

The crescendo of excitement surrounding Stable Diffusion is partly thanks to its public release. While the main competitor <a href="https://www.midjourney.com/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Midjourney</a> currently has <em>3 million</em> members on its discord, that's primarily because chatting with a bot is the primary way to use use it. By decoupling the model from the service offering, Stability.AI has been propelled skyward by a community eager to to build things on top of the technology. This community is growing wildly fast and releasing a stream of visual tools and genre-bending proof-of-concepts, with new <a href="https://github.com/cobanov/awesome-diffusion">resources</a> available almost daily.

<p>The crescendo of excitement surrounding Stable Diffusion is partly thanks to its public release. While the main competitor <a href="https://www.midjourney.com/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Midjourney</a> currently has <em>3 million</em> members on its discord, that's primarily because chatting with a bot is the primary way to use use it. By decoupling the model from the service offering, Stability.AI has been propelled skyward by a community eager to to build things on top of the technology. This community is growing wildly fast and releasing a stream of visual tools and genre-bending proof-of-concepts, with new <a href="https://github.com/cobanov/awesome-diffusion">resources</a> available almost daily. </p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1024x729.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3315"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Graph comparing 'stars' on GitHub of the Stable Diffusion repo vs several other popular open source libraries (it's the vertical blue line on the right) via <a href="https://twitter.com/EMostaque">@EMostaque</a></figcaption></figure>

Nowhere is this more evidence that the rapid-fire demoscene of interfacial experiments, such as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkOF3_MIDOs">VR &amp; 360 Demos</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/scottiefoxttv">ScottieFox</a>, and live AR demos by <a href="https://twitter.com/stspanho/status/1581707753747537920">Stijn </a><a href="https://twitter.com/stspanho/status/1581707753747537920" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spanhove</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/sergeyglkn/status/1580167837770870784">Sergie Galkin</a>. Daniel Eckler has also compiled <a href="https://twitter.com/daniel_eckler/status/1572210382944538624" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a fantastic thread</a>. For a general state of play, a good place to start is reddit: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/">r/StableDiffusion</a> and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/sdforall/">r/sdforall</a> or the <a href="https://discord.gg/stablediffusion">discord</a>. This outpouring of activity is the result to Stability.Ai's gamble to embrace an an alternative business model, helpfully summarised by swyx's "<a href="https://lspace.swyx.io/p/open-source-ai">How Open Source is eating A</a>I".

<p>Nowhere is this more evidence that the rapid-fire demoscene of interfacial experiments, such as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkOF3_MIDOs">VR &amp; 360 Demos</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/scottiefoxttv">ScottieFox</a>, and live AR demos by <a href="https://twitter.com/stspanho/status/1581707753747537920">Stijn </a><a href="https://twitter.com/stspanho/status/1581707753747537920" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spanhove</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/sergeyglkn/status/1580167837770870784">Sergie Galkin</a>. Daniel Eckler has also compiled <a href="https://twitter.com/daniel_eckler/status/1572210382944538624" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a fantastic thread</a>. For a general state of play, a good place to start is reddit: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/">r/StableDiffusion</a> and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/sdforall/">r/sdforall</a> or the <a href="https://discord.gg/stablediffusion">discord</a>. This outpouring of activity is the result to Stability.Ai's gamble to embrace an an alternative business model, helpfully summarised by swyx's "<a href="https://lspace.swyx.io/p/open-source-ai">How Open Source is eating A</a>I".</p>

It's tempting humanise these tools, thinking of the model as somehow intuitive since its outputs can sometimes feel so unexpected, complex or perhaps even baffling. For now at least the very opposite is true, part of what makes it so interesting is that the latent space from which it pulls images is fully explorable - we can export an image for every step of the way or restart the process where we left off.

<p>It's tempting humanise these tools, thinking of the model as somehow intuitive since its outputs can sometimes feel so unexpected, complex or perhaps even baffling. For now at least the very opposite is true, part of what makes it so interesting is that the latent space from which it pulls images is fully explorable - we can export an image for every step of the way or restart the process where we left off.  </p>

To such models, every image resembles a Monet painting or '<a href="https://mashable.com/article/werid-dall-e-images" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A bottle of ranch testifying in court</a>', to some extent - it's just that most of the time it's 0.000%.  To this end we can consider essentially all images, generated or otherwise as a bundle of definitions within Stable Diffusions <a href="https://jalammar.github.io/illustrated-stable-diffusion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hyper-dimensional latent space</a>. To generate an image is to chart a logical (or absurd) route through the model, sampling the states of confusion and intrigue along the way, jiggling images  from 0.041% of <em>this</em> to 0.98% of <em>that</em>.

<p>To such models, every image resembles a Monet painting or '<a href="https://mashable.com/article/werid-dall-e-images" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A bottle of ranch testifying in court</a>', to some extent - it's just that most of the time it's 0.000%.  To this end we can consider essentially all images, generated or otherwise as a bundle of definitions within Stable Diffusions <a href="https://jalammar.github.io/illustrated-stable-diffusion/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hyper-dimensional latent space</a>. To generate an image is to chart a logical (or absurd) route through the model, sampling the states of confusion and intrigue along the way, jiggling images  from 0.041% of <em>this</em> to 0.98% of <em>that</em>.</p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/diffusion-example-1024x757.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3217"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&nbsp;An example of training a diffusion model for modeling a 2D swiss roll data. (Image source:&nbsp;<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.03585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sohl-Dickstein et al., 2015</a>). - via <em>What are Diffusion Models?</em> by Lilian Weng </figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>Curiously the underlying technical <a href="https://lilianweng.github.io/posts/2021-07-11-diffusion-models/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">architectures of diffusion models</a>, i.e Stable <em>Diffusion</em>, have their origins in thermodynamics. Authors on one of the early papers on the topic summarise it as: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.03585">"The essential idea, inspired by non-equilibrium statistical physics, is to systematically and slowly destroy structure in a data distribution through an iterative forward diffusion process."</a> </p><p>It turns out to be deliriously effective to train a neural network by adding and removing noise from an image in tiny iterations. We might even think of Stable Diffusion as essentially hyper-specialised noise reduction repeated dozens of times over. Generally the individual gradual steps along this path are nearly imperceptible to the human eye - in aggregate however the model can travel on what appears to be a wild ride of imagination.</p><p>That doesn't mean we can directly parse it's reasoning. For instance the outputs can dramatically change form when it's underling parameters, such as 'de-noising' are only marginally adjusted, from say 0.875 to 0.9 as if crossing a threshold beyond which the model can no longer contain itself.</p></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/diffusion-example-1024x757.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3217"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&nbsp;An example of training a diffusion model for modeling a 2D swiss roll data. (Image source:&nbsp;<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.03585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sohl-Dickstein et al., 2015</a>). - via <em>What are Diffusion Models?</em> by Lilian Weng </figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>Curiously the underlying technical <a href="https://lilianweng.github.io/posts/2021-07-11-diffusion-models/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">architectures of diffusion models</a>, i.e Stable <em>Diffusion</em>, have their origins in thermodynamics. Authors on one of the early papers on the topic summarise it as: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.03585">"The essential idea, inspired by non-equilibrium statistical physics, is to systematically and slowly destroy structure in a data distribution through an iterative forward diffusion process."</a> </p><p>It turns out to be deliriously effective to train a neural network by adding and removing noise from an image in tiny iterations. We might even think of Stable Diffusion as essentially hyper-specialised noise reduction repeated dozens of times over. Generally the individual gradual steps along this path are nearly imperceptible to the human eye - in aggregate however the model can travel on what appears to be a wild ride of imagination.</p><p>That doesn't mean we can directly parse it's reasoning. For instance the outputs can dramatically change form when it's underling parameters, such as 'de-noising' are only marginally adjusted, from say 0.875 to 0.9 as if crossing a threshold beyond which the model can no longer contain itself.</p></div></div>

Stable Diffusion works because it is trained on 5.8 billion images but it's also appears fundamentally scarred by the process. It is common for images it generates to feature a hallucinated stock image watermark or 'garbled Getty images' banner. In her essay <em><a href="https://www.e-flux.com/journal/32/68260/the-spam-of-the-earth-withdrawal-from-representation/">'The Spam of the Earth: Withdrawal from Representation'</a></em> Hito Steyl reminds us that we have inadvertently flooded actual deep space with spam, <em>"Image spam is our message to the future."</em>.  Now we’re filling our artificial brains with spam and stock image offcuts as well.

<p>Stable Diffusion works because it is trained on 5.8 billion images but it's also appears fundamentally scarred by the process. It is common for images it generates to feature a hallucinated stock image watermark or 'garbled Getty images' banner. In her essay <em><a href="https://www.e-flux.com/journal/32/68260/the-spam-of-the-earth-withdrawal-from-representation/">'The Spam of the Earth: Withdrawal from Representation'</a></em> Hito Steyl reminds us that we have inadvertently flooded actual deep space with spam, <em>"Image spam is our message to the future."</em>.  Now we’re filling our artificial brains with spam and stock image offcuts as well. </p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/spam-collage.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3226"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Examples of watermarks and logos in images generated by Stable Diffusion (v1.5).</figcaption></figure>

However these issues may be trivial to bigger concerns now that a model with such power is out-in-the-wild. Stability.ai claim that the images are digitally watermarked, there are safeguards against NSFW content and mandate some fairly hefty licence restrictions. However judging by some of the community outputs this is almost impossible to regulate and potentially laying the groundwork for even more complex challenges.

<p>However these issues may be trivial to bigger concerns now that a model with such power is out-in-the-wild. Stability.ai claim that the images are digitally watermarked, there are safeguards against NSFW content and mandate some fairly hefty licence restrictions. However judging by some of the community outputs this is almost impossible to regulate and potentially laying the groundwork for even more complex challenges.</p>

Benjamin Bratton &amp; Blaise Aguera y Arcas, in their recent essay <em>"<a href="https://www.noemamag.com/the-model-is-the-message" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Model Is The Message: Why We Need New Language For Artificial Intelligence</a></em> <em>"</em> partially in response to Google Engineer Blake Lemoines claim that the LaMDA chatbot might be '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/technology/google-chatbot-ai-blake-lemoine.html">sentient</a>', define <em>"Seven Problems With Synthetic Language At Platform Scale"</em>.  Two of these seven seem of immediate relevance to the release of Stable Diffusion - <em>The Machine Majority Language Problem</em> - what happens when the majority of language is spoken machine made? Then as a chaser – <em>The Ouroboros Language Problem</em> - what happens when the models are then trained on a corpus that was machine made?

<p>Benjamin Bratton &amp; Blaise Aguera y Arcas, in their recent essay <em>"<a href="https://www.noemamag.com/the-model-is-the-message" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Model Is The Message: Why We Need New Language For Artificial Intelligence</a></em> <em>"</em> partially in response to Google Engineer Blake Lemoines claim that the LaMDA chatbot might be '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/technology/google-chatbot-ai-blake-lemoine.html">sentient</a>', define <em>"Seven Problems With Synthetic Language At Platform Scale"</em>.  Two of these seven seem of immediate relevance to the release of Stable Diffusion - <em>The Machine Majority Language Problem</em> - what happens when the majority of language is spoken machine made? Then as a chaser – <em>The Ouroboros Language Problem</em> - what happens when the models are then trained on a corpus that was machine made?</p>

<a href="https://www.stockphotosecrets.com/news/getty-images-shutterstock-ai-submission.html">Getty and Shutterstock have already banned AI generated images</a> given the sudden ease of being able to make them and the training pool for the next generation models is probably now already polluted. As Bratton and Aguera y Arcas observe, given the forthcoming onslaught of AI content, more radical approaches may be necessary, such as tagging content which is explicitly <em>'human made</em>'.

<p><a href="https://www.stockphotosecrets.com/news/getty-images-shutterstock-ai-submission.html">Getty and Shutterstock have already banned AI generated images</a> given the sudden ease of being able to make them and the training pool for the next generation models is probably now already polluted. As Bratton and Aguera y Arcas observe, given the forthcoming onslaught of AI content, more radical approaches may be necessary, such as tagging content which is explicitly <em>'human made</em>'.</p>

Although their focus is on language processing models, the underlying logic is not only directly transferable to image generation, but really all machine learning approaches to media – as they write <em>"the sequence modeling at the heart of natural language processing is key to enabling generalist AI models that can flexibly do arbitrary tasks, even ones that are not themselves linguistic, from image synthesis to drug discovery to robotics"</em>.

<p>Although their focus is on language processing models, the underlying logic is not only directly transferable to image generation, but really all machine learning approaches to media – as they write <em>"the sequence modeling at the heart of natural language processing is key to enabling generalist AI models that can flexibly do arbitrary tasks, even ones that are not themselves linguistic, from image synthesis to drug discovery to robotics"</em>.</p>

While of course Stable Diffusion is largely manipulated with text-based prompts, the deeper consideration here is that linguistic capacity is the likely foundation for computational systems that can learn or build models of the world with a comparable speed, flexibility or inventiveness that even small children might display when picking up grammar, syntax and vocabulary. When it comes to machine learning, metaphor isn't a metaphor.

<p>While of course Stable Diffusion is largely manipulated with text-based prompts, the deeper consideration here is that linguistic capacity is the likely foundation for computational systems that can learn or build models of the world with a comparable speed, flexibility or inventiveness that even small children might display when picking up grammar, syntax and vocabulary. When it comes to machine learning, metaphor isn't a metaphor.</p>

So the commercial viability of libraries of stock images, game textures (and in time footage, copy-right free music) is perhaps shaky, but more fundamentally, but so to is the very nature of the 'stock' image. It's easy to forget such archives represent an industrialisation of visual communication, though the continuous production of generic images, vector graphics, symbols, logos and templates. What's changing is that the 'stock' is no longer a store but likely to become a process - the fruits of which will be strange. Adaptive illustrations that A/B test themselves, hyper-personalisation, deep instability.

<p>So the commercial viability of libraries of stock images, game textures (and in time footage, copy-right free music) is perhaps shaky, but more fundamentally, but so to is the very nature of the 'stock' image. It's easy to forget such archives represent an industrialisation of visual communication, though the continuous production of generic images, vector graphics, symbols, logos and templates. What's changing is that the 'stock' is no longer a store but likely to become a process - the fruits of which will be strange. Adaptive illustrations that A/B test themselves, hyper-personalisation, deep instability. </p>

It is only within the last few years that architectural visualisation and product photography has really got anywhere close to a level of 'true' photo-realism which might reasonably confuse experienced professionals, mainly because achieving the right level of complexity and textural variation that we are subconsciously rely on is extremely tedious or expensive. At the very least we can imagine that a commercial rendering pipelines are going to start including AI if only to sprinkle some of this magic realism dust at various stages of the pipeline.

<p>It is only within the last few years that architectural visualisation and product photography has really got anywhere close to a level of 'true' photo-realism which might reasonably confuse experienced professionals, mainly because achieving the right level of complexity and textural variation that we are subconsciously rely on is extremely tedious or expensive. At the very least we can imagine that a commercial rendering pipelines are going to start including AI if only to sprinkle some of this magic realism dust at various stages of the pipeline.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sd-0001.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3172"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjlfg43Ib9x/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“#0001&nbsp;(geons, polished stones, building blocks, sheets of marble, film)”, 2022</a></figcaption></figure>

Stable Diffusion appears capable of generating a particular flavour of unreality. Given the right blend of inputs it will generate detail, form and lighting that reassure the human eye and appears to ‘<em>know</em>’ how to make something appear 3D or correctly textured while simultaneously making fundamental logical errors that we don't immediately acknowledge. While machine vision may be able to police machine image production, human labelling may soon be a thing of the past.

<p>Stable Diffusion appears capable of generating a particular flavour of unreality. Given the right blend of inputs it will generate detail, form and lighting that reassure the human eye and appears to ‘<em>know</em>’ how to make something appear 3D or correctly textured while simultaneously making fundamental logical errors that we don't immediately acknowledge. While machine vision may be able to police machine image production, human labelling may soon be a thing of the past. </p>

What this means for digital professional is a more complicated question. It's true that creative people who depend on a highly cultivated visual language may take a hit from unscrupulous actors if potential legal protections are fiddly to design or slow to be realised, but these may in time, also be easily addressable concerns to legislate for. To hold focus on the legal or economic side may gloss over the fundamental expansion and necessary reconstitution of what it means to be 'an artist' in the first place.

<p>What this means for digital professional is a more complicated question. It's true that creative people who depend on a highly cultivated visual language may take a hit from unscrupulous actors if potential legal protections are fiddly to design or slow to be realised, but these may in time, also be easily addressable concerns to legislate for. To hold focus on the legal or economic side may gloss over the fundamental expansion and necessary reconstitution of what it means to be 'an artist' in the first place. </p>

At a basic level, the premise that AI can independently make coherent art is essentially a boring category error, illustrating the somewhat reductive nature of conversations in mainstream and tech discourse, often based on the overestimation of the importance of 'style', as if visual art has remained static since Van Gogh chopped off his ear. While it may sound slightly obnoxious - it may also be literally true - that AI models and their creators might find a great advantage by somehow integrating lessons from art history and visual theory instead of presuming it can continue to be brute-forced a billion images 512px x 512px at a time.

<p>At a basic level, the premise that AI can independently make coherent art is essentially a boring category error, illustrating the somewhat reductive nature of conversations in mainstream and tech discourse, often based on the overestimation of the importance of 'style', as if visual art has remained static since Van Gogh chopped off his ear. While it may sound slightly obnoxious - it may also be literally true - that AI models and their creators might find a great advantage by somehow integrating lessons from art history and visual theory instead of presuming it can continue to be brute-forced a billion images 512px x 512px at a time. </p>

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