The effigy of an artificial Being

Artificial Beings are, of course, material, but they are also composite: they have a tangible part (hardware) and an intangible one (software). Both parts are necessary for them to operate as intended by their creator humans. The tangible part is easy to see: words are spoken (and later written down); money is printed (or in previous times mined) and exchanged; computer programs are installed on our information processing tools, or they move robots or drones. In most cases, hardware, which is the effigy of the artificial Being, is what is understood to be the artificial Being, and the part that is used by the vast majority of humans. The intangible, informational part of an artificial Being (the software necessary for it to operate) is harder to discern—but material too, nonetheless. Words cannot operate outside an informational system, a language (which is, in turn, only possible on the information platform that is the state). Money cannot operate without an informational system regulating its use—which is also only possible on the information platform that is the state. Computer programs cannot operate (or exist) outside the digital world.

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