Digital Reproduction Creates New Originals, Not Copies

An essay by an unnamed author argues that contemporary digital reproduction fundamentally differs from mechanical reproduction. Unlike Walter Benjamin's mechanical age, where copies lack aura, digital reproduction produces new originals with unique hic et nunc. Internet assigns each datum a URL, giving it a specific location. Digital images are performances of invisible data files, akin to musical interpretations. This performativity means each visualization is unique. The author claims digital reproduction returns to nature and the supernatural, as users summon data like spirits. This process also makes users visible to hidden spectators (governments, corporations), creating a new subjectivity. WikiLeaks exemplifies universal access through technical means, not ideology, but this access requires conspiracy and passwords, turning transparency into opacity.