Scott Rettberg sits down with philosopher Pierre Cassou-Noguès and artist-researcher Gwenola Wagon to discuss their collaborative theory-fiction book, The Pyromaniac Images (Les Images Pyromanes). Inspired by the 2022 Lande region megafires, they explore how social media and generative AI make ecological catastrophes simultaneously hyper-visible and curiously invisible. The conversation examines the energy costs of AI imagery as a form of "pyromaniac" spectacle, the role of kitsch and banality in generative media, and how speculative fiction can serve as a critical tool for navigating contemporary technological transformation.
References
Butler, S. (1872). Erewhon: or, Over the Range [Includes "The Book of the Machines"]. Trübner & Co.
Cassou-Noguès, P., & Wagon, G. (2019). Erewhon [Experimental Film].
Cassou-Noguès, P., & Wagon, G. (2021). Virus Island [Film and Book Project].
Cassou-Noguès, P., & Wagon, G. (2025/2026). The Pyromaniac Images: Theory-Fiction of Generative AI [Trans. J. Langan & E. Tapping]. UV Éditions / Set Margins'.
Ghosh, A. (2016). The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. University of Chicago Press.
Le Lay, P. (2004). Temps de Cerveau Disponible ["Available Brain Time" Statement]. TF1 / Les Éditions du Huitième Jour.
Resnais, A. (1958). Le Chant du Styrène [The Song of Styrene] [Short Film].
Stiegler, B. (2010). Taking Care of Youth and the Generations. Stanford University Press.
