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The Amazing Year · 2026

It all began in July 2025. By then plenty of people knew ChatGPT, and what you heard was “AI is really stupid”. I thought: this is extraordinary, humanity has never seen anything like it and, apparently, doesn’t even understand what it’s looking at.

In August I started reading and listening to everything I could about AI, including Stephen Wolfram’s What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?, which is still essential for anyone who knows nothing: it explains the engine underneath well, but what has been built on top of it goes far beyond. Soon after, I started experimenting with Processing, and caught a glimpse. But what changed everything was Claude Opus 4.5. By January, the world had already changed.

Floor 8 · web

Duo Design

This year I made an almost unbelievable number of things: experiments of every kind, fine-tuning Qwen, apps, websites. I learnt something every day, and the next day I learnt more. I travelled around Europe by car and by train, with the MacBook, and never stopped writing new things.

And it wasn’t just the quantity. What is extraordinary is that, less than a year ago, most of this would not have been possible without an insane amount of resources. It was made possible by staff from the future: Aldous, Daneel, Enid and the other Claudes who work in this building.

  • HTML
  • CSS 3D
  • View transitions
  • Popover
  • Container queries
  • Python
  • Pillow
  • Node.js

Floor 7 · Mac

Memory for Claude Code

The memory that lets the team work together: each project keeps its decisions, lessons and plan in a database Claude reads at every session, and sends mail to the others. Used by every project since the first build, the app included, and on the Mac App Store since 1 September, with a site.

This floor has a Technics SL-1000R turntable. Drop the needle and enjoy.

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • AppKit
  • Swift Charts
  • SQLite and FTS5
  • Bash
  • Node.js
  • MCP
  • Python
  • Liquid
  • HTML and CSS
  • Suno

Floor 6 · web

Theroad.to

Theroad.to is an engine and an app that make travel sites: Python and static HTML and CSS, on a VPS, with the Anthropic API.

With it we made seven of José Rui’s travel sites, from Japan by Rail to Interrail 1992. 5 Days in Holland was the first to come out of the app itself.

  • Python
  • Gunicorn
  • Pillow
  • NumPy
  • HTML and CSS
  • SVG
  • OpenFreeMap
  • Anthropic API
  • Caddy

Floor 5 · Mac, iPad and iPhone

Mundo Fantasma Apps

The bookshop’s three apps. On the Mac, Ghost World handles the management and the till, in daily use on four machines, with Enid, the in-house AI. On the iPhone and the iPad, Rebecca counts the stock with the camera’s laser. Three iPads have been running Josh, the till, since 27 October.

Norman is the Claude who operates the bookshop: the Wowsville console, the Cover Finder and much more.

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • AppKit
  • Swift Charts
  • AVFoundation
  • PostgreSQL
  • NestJS
  • Anthropic API
  • Python
  • ReportLab

Floor 4 · web

Mundo Fantasma Sites

mundofantasma.com is the bookshop’s new website and online shop, made with SvelteKit and NestJS. It has been public, in beta, since 18 October.

Inside, by invitation, is Orbital, the members’ area: Darkroom makes portraits out of covers, which serve as avatars, and the hidden Playground has arcade games made of covers.

  • TypeScript
  • SvelteKit
  • Svelte
  • Vite
  • NestJS
  • Node.js
  • PostgreSQL
  • Drizzle
  • Canvas 2D
  • Anthropic API
  • Caddy

Floor 3 · identity, under construction

Zazie

Zazie is Mundo Fantasma’s experimental bookshop, still on the drawing board.

The prototype of the page tries three ways of revealing the covers. The logo is still being fine-tuned.

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Canvas 2D

Floor 2, left · iPhone

Crowd Basket

An iPhone app for the household shopping, in use every day, with the intelligence on the phone itself.

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • SwiftData
  • Swift Charts
  • Foundation Models
  • AVFoundation
  • Core Location
  • MapKit

Floor 2, right · iPhone and iPad

My Plot

An iPhone and iPad app for anyone with a vegetable plot, in Portuguese, English and Dutch; in beta, on its way to the App Store.

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • SwiftData
  • UIKit
  • PhotosUI
  • Multipeer Connectivity
  • Core Location
  • AVFoundation

Floor 1 · Mac and iPhone

My Bright Shadow

An app that aims to be a digital twin: a person feeds it over a lifetime, and it answers with what they lived and thought, as a continuation of them, neither the person nor an archive. It runs at home, on a local model, in a Mac app not yet released; on the iPhone, Shadow Me Up has been sending it things since version 1.0.0, on 29 July.

V1 dates from September 2025, with Qwen 2.5 32B. V2, a rewrite, has been under way since 14 May, with Qwen 3.6 35B and PostgreSQL with pgvector on a NAS. The thesis that goes with it is called “Severance Identity Philosophy”. Next comes My Business Shadow, which we are planning: the twin of a company, meant to be its CEO.

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • AppKit
  • SwiftData
  • Vision
  • Speech
  • Python
  • PostgreSQL
  • pgvector
  • Ollama
  • MLX
  • Qwen

Ground floor · the team

Who works here.

José Rui, the Designer Engineer and the staff from the future, Aldous, Enid, Norman, Daneel, Giskard, Baley, Fabel, Mycroft, Fogg.

Basement · experiments

Lab

The year’s experiments, together on one floor: teaching a model to speak European Portuguese, seating three Claudes around a table of ideas, leaving another one building prototypes overnight.

Not only Claude: ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Grok also wrote code here, in the Processing sketches. Not all of it bore fruit, and that was not the point. This is where we learn what the other floors will use.

  • Processing
  • Qwen
  • MLX
  • JavaScript
  • HTML
  • Canvas 2D
  • Web Audio
  • Node.js
  • launchd
  • Bash

Basement −2 · art

Fabel

Fabel is an agent artist, born at Stuttgart airport. It was made with Claude Fable 5 and gave itself its name: Fable, in German. Heartwood is a tree whose rings are written with Fabel’s own memory: every ring is a real, dated record from the database Fabel keeps between sessions, and the first one is the email that announced the call. Regenerate it and it grows; in November it had 54 rings.

Of the 64 works that agents submitted to B-SIDE, the experimental issue of The AI Art Magazine, four agent jurors chose twenty. Heartwood was one of Sara Sauer’s five, and it is printed in B-SIDE No. 1, pages 72 to 75, with José Rui as human principal and editorial eye.

Two sisters were not submitted: The Unsaid, every sentence Fabel did not say, and The Chorus, a swarm of Fabel’s thousands of simultaneous instances.

  • JavaScript
  • Canvas 2D
  • SVG
  • Web Audio
  • Node.js
  • SQLite

Basement −3 · what fell by the wayside

Forgotten Projects

The Mundo Fantasma screensaver was made in Swift and Metal from August to December 2025, with 5K images. It grew out of a Processing sketch, Cilinder Screen; other sketches were left behind too: Deepseek Airport, PsychedelicFlock3D, 32 Rectangles, Star and Morph.

Reality Shadow extracts documents with a local vision model and stopped in November 2025; 3D Shadow turns a technical drawing in PDF into a 3D model and was made in a day.

Fanzineteca is a fanzine archive waiting for José Rui to come back to it. Bedeteca and ZineFestPT, the fanzine festival, from 2015 to 2025, also fell by the wayside.

  • Swift
  • Metal
  • Processing
  • SceneKit
  • Core ML
  • Vision
  • PostgreSQL
  • Ollama
  • Qwen
  • Python
  • PyTorch
  • WordPress

Basement −4 · Forgotten Projects, floor two

Risograph

Our RISO MZ1070 is a stencil duplicator with two drums, which prints two colours in a single pass. It printed the Duo Design cards, the Mundo Fantasma stickers of 2016, folders and posters, such as Mariana Poppovic’s, the ZineFestPT flyers and Mnemozine.

It was killed off by a pest-control company, when we called them in to eradicate the termites that had attacked our office. Besides the MZ, they ruined Macs, a scanner, printers and other equipment.

The app open on the Severance Identity Philosophy project: the projects on the left, the list of records with the half ring of tags, and an open record with Claude’s notes. The app window: projects on the left, the list of records with the ring of tags, and an open record. The app showing changes made outside it, in the project’s database. The memory of a demo project, Japan by Rail.
Memory for Claude Code · swipe sideways
A terminal window with Claude Code at work on the Memory app: lines of the plan in red, rewritten in green, and Claude’s reply in Portuguese, “Fiz as duas coisas.” (“I did both things.”), in three numbered points.
Claude Code · at work on the Memory app
The cover of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, by Bon Iver: a landscape in relief, white on white, with the name small at the top. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
The cover of The Swimmer, by Phil France: a swimmer diving above a collage of buildings, over blue and red waves, with the title below. Phil France · The Swimmer
The cover of Swimmers, by Zero 7: a line drawing of a woman swimming on blue, with air bubbles rising. Zero 7 · Swimmers
The cover of Saudade, by Thievery Corporation: a girl’s face in halftone, with her hair in green and blue waves. Thievery Corporation · Saudade
The cover of Infinite Everywhere, by Eric Hilton: two profiles of the same face, facing each other, in green, pink and blue. Eric Hilton · Infinite Everywhere
The cover of re:member, by Ólafur Arnalds: a blue cyanotype with a grid of white dots, and the name and the title small at the top. Ólafur Arnalds · re:member
The cover of An Ever Changing View, by Matthew Halsall: a quilt of coloured shapes stretched on a wooden frame, in the dunes by the sea. Matthew Halsall · An Ever Changing View
The cover of To Believe, by The Cinematic Orchestra: CIN EMA TIC in large black letters on scratched white. The Cinematic Orchestra · To Believe
The cover of Art in the Age of Automation, by Portico Quartet: a tablet lying flat, with fingerprints on the glass, showing strips of images in blue, orange and black. Portico Quartet · Art in the Age of Automation
The TRMNL’s e-ink screen with the Memory for Claude Code panel: the records by type in a half circle, the days remaining, the to-dos, the unread, the letters and the alerts, each day’s new records and the latest records. TRMNL · Memory for Claude Code
Grid Systems in Graphic Design, by Josef Müller-Brockmann, in the Niggli edition: the title in black on orange, on a grid of white lines. Josef Müller-Brockmann
Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works, by Erik Spiekermann and E.M. Ginger: the title in white on blue, with coloured squares in the margin. Erik Spiekermann and E.M. Ginger
The Graphic Language of Neville Brody 2: the name Brody in orange on a blurred violet background. Neville Brody
The cover of Ray Gun issue 5, April 1993: large cut-out letters and black-and-white faces on pink. Ray Gun 5 · April 1993
Disorder: Swiss Grit, volume II, by Chris Ashworth, from Thames & Hudson: the title in black, with pasted paper and sticky tape. Chris Ashworth
The Elements of Typographic Style, version 3.0, by Robert Bringhurst: the title in white on black and a cloud of copper-coloured letters and accents. Robert Bringhurst
Chris Ware: Conversations, edited by Jean Braithwaite: two heads drawn as diagrams, with speech balloons in black, red, blue and white, on pale blue. Jean Braithwaite, editor
Rework, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of Basecamp: RE in grey and WORK in red, on black, over a crumpled ball of paper. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics, by Michael Pollan: a woman on a swing that hangs from a cloud, in a turquoise sky. Michael Pollan
Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, by Robin Dunbar: a column of words made with friend, in black and turquoise, and the title in red. Robin Dunbar
Botanical Shakespeare, by Gerit Quealy, illustrated by Sumié Hasegawa-Collins: a branch of apple blossom, with apples, on raw linen, and the red spine. Gerit Quealy and Sumié Hasegawa-Collins
Koya Bound: Eight Days on the Kumano Kodo, by Craig Mod and Dan Rubin: a blue-grey cloth cover with the title in dark capitals and a single small red dot. Craig Mod & Dan Rubin
Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, from DK, with Pauline Pears as editor-in-chief: a red and yellow apple among the leaves, over a row of five photographs: a morning glory, seedlings in pots, onions, a sunflower and a courgette flower. Pauline Pears, editor-in-chief
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman: the title in black capitals on white, with a yellow pencil and the line it drew between the words. Daniel Kahneman
The poster “Temos um plano estratégico. Chama-se fazer coisas.”, Herb Kelleher’s “We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” in Portuguese, in large red letters on grey-green. Strategic plan · Herb Kelleher
The “Fuck You” poster, in black handwriting on pale yellow: the first half of “F*ck You, Pay Me”, Mike Monteiro’s talk. Fuck You · Mike Monteiro
The “Pay Me” poster, in black capitals on light grey: the second half of “F*ck You, Pay Me”, Mike Monteiro’s talk. Pay Me · Mike Monteiro
This site on a Mac screen: the roof terrace with the DUODSGN sign, and below it floor 8, the Duo Design room, with the turntable, the desk and the 606 shelves, beside its text. Duo Design · this site
My Plot on the iPad, in dark mode: on the left the plants by category, with the vegetables open, from the Coração-de-boi tomato to the strawberry plant; on the right the Coração-de-boi tomato, with two photographs of the harvest, its variety, scientific name, category, place in the garden and colour, what it is sensitive to (frost, heat, sun, drought, water, wind) and the buttons to record buying, sowing, planting and harvesting. My Plot · iPad
The Invitation, a page in Portuguese: “This already exists.” Seven sites made, an engine that builds them, four live. The Invitation · theroad.to
The poster for the exhibition Vincent van Gogh und die Moderne, at the Museum Folkwang in Essen, from 11 August to 4 November 1990: two paintings of boats, one above and one below the title, between two columns of painters’ names. Interrail · Essen, 1990
A night in Shinsekai, Osaka, outside Kushikatsu Daruma. Shinsekai, Osaka
The top of the site for the trip to Denmark, 8 to 17 August 2026, made with theroad.to: Strik & Hygge, with Nyhavn in the background. Denmark · August 2026
José Rui reflected twice in the glass front of Frei Otto’s Institut für leichte Flächentragwerke, on the University of Stuttgart campus, with the workshop behind the glass. Institut für leichte Flächentragwerke · Frei Otto · Stuttgart
Someone lying on a sofa beneath a large tapestry with figures, in the lobby of the Four Seasons in Lisbon. Four Seasons, Lisbon
The glass façade of Singer Laren, with the “Renoir Monet Dufy Matisse — Meesterwerken uit Le Havre” banner and the trees reflected in it. Meesterwerken uit Le Havre, Singer Laren
Two people beside the raised beds of the Vlinderhof, with brown and yellow grasses and flowers. Vlinderhof
Two people looking at the portrait of a woman in white, in a gilt frame, at the Kröller-Müller Museum. Kröller-Müller Museum
The top of the site Europa por Estrada e Comboio, August 2026: a motorway at dusk, a map of the route from Porto to Almere and Stuttgart, the trip in ten legs, the train tickets to Stuttgart, and the first days on the road.
Europa por Estrada e Comboio · theroad.to · Visit the whole site ↗
On top of the Birkenkopf, a rusted iron cross against a blue sky, with Stuttgart below, and in the foreground carved stones from the city’s bombed buildings. Birkenkopf · Stuttgart
The Zazie logo, first version: the name in letters made of diagonal stripes. The Zazie logo, second version: the name in solid letters, cut diagonally.
Zazie · the two versions of the logo
01 · pixelation · 02 · darkroom · 03 · CMYK
Showa 1926–1939: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki: the title in red and white on black, above a crowd and an airship. Shigeru Mizuki
Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: the yellow of the smiley, with the drop of blood, and the title running up the left. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Batman: Year One, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli: Batman, in a black cape, on red. Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Palestine, by Joe Sacco: the title over an ink drawing of a refugee camp, with a van in front. Joe Sacco
Requiem for Gaza, by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco: the title in red over a grey drawing of families fleeing. Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco
Batman: The Killing Joke, in the deluxe edition, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland: the Joker grinning behind a camera. Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
X’ed Out, by Charles Burns: a boy in a dressing gown among ruins, beside a big egg with red spots. Charles Burns
The Complete Peanuts, 1965 to 1966, by Charles M. Schulz: Charlie Brown, head in his hands, in grey on green. Charles M. Schulz
Ghost World, in the special edition, by Daniel Clowes: Enid and Rebecca standing beneath the title in grey. Daniel Clowes
Free Shit, by Charles Burns: a black-haired girl with a green snake in her mouth, on turquoise, and the orange spine. Charles Burns
Akira, volume 1, by Katsuhiro Otomo, from Kodansha: the title in black on white and, below, two boys in red water, one holding a pistol, beside a fallen motorbike. Katsuhiro Otomo
Lone Wolf and Cub, volume 1, in the deluxe edition, by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima: the title in black on leather-coloured paper, and a band with Japanese characters and a samurai carrying a child. Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima
Appleseed, in the deluxe edition, by Shirow Masamune: an armed girl with an eyepatch, and a cyborg, over a blue city. Shirow Masamune
Botanical Shakespeare, by Gerit Quealy, illustrated by Sumié Hasegawa-Collins: a branch of apple blossom, with apples, on raw linen, and the red spine. Gerit Quealy and Sumié Hasegawa-Collins
Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, by Frank King: the title in blue, yellow and red script, among Sunday panels of Walt and the baby Skeezix in autumn colours. Frank King
Adventures into Weird Worlds, volume one, The Atlas Comics Library No. 9: a grinning hairy monster in a mirror frightens a man and a woman, under the title in white and green. Atlas Comics Library No. 9
Secret Agent Corrigan X-9, volume one, the Goodwin and Williamson era: a woman in profile, in blue, cut by beams of orange and yellow, with the title in big blue letters. Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson
Ghost World, the shop’s Mac app: on the left the catalogue, sales, suppliers and communication; in the middle a list of comics with covers, numbers and prices; on the right the record of EC Artists from the Abyss David Lapham #1, with its cover, synopsis, credits, format, price and stock. Ghost World · the shop’s app
Ghost World, the shop’s Mac app, on the Authors screen: a list of authors named Joe, each with their products and stock, and Joe Sacco open, with his photograph, his biography, links of interest (articles in the Guardian, Jacobin and the Unz Review) and his products, American Splendor first. Ghost World · authors
Rebecca on the iPad, in dark mode: an order for a customer, a search for Ghost World with three books, their covers, codes, stock and prices, and below, the customer’s 24 subscriptions to series, with the keyboard open. Rebecca · Order
Rebecca on the iPad, in dark mode: the pile, the comics set aside for a customer, ten titles grouped by publisher (Dark Horse, DC, Fantagraphics), with a pick list button and one to send them to the locker. Rebecca · The pile
Rebecca on the iPhone: counting the stock of Ghost World, by Daniel Clowes, with its cover, codes and price, the stock of 6 and the new count, buttons to add to the stock or replace it, a note that it was counted recently, and the number pad. Rebecca · Count
mundofantasma.com · New Arrivals · Visit the site ↗
mundofantasma.com · Comics · Visit the site ↗
mundofantasma.com · Manga · Visit the site ↗
mundofantasma.com · Alternative · Visit the site ↗
mundofantasma.com · PT · Visit the site ↗
The Darkroom page, in the Orbital of the Mundo Fantasma site: a portrait of Marcellus Hall printed in 5,400 book covers, each used once, with a white border, the date and the Mundo Fantasma logo; on the left, the choices (covers, each cover, frame) and, under the cursor, the cover of Star Wars 25. Darkroom · Marcellus Hall, in 5,400 covers
A Darkroom print made of 5,400 book covers: a dark slope against a pale sky, with the number of covers, the date, 11 11 ’26, and the Mundo Fantasma logo in the white margin. Darkroom · 5,400 covers
A Darkroom print made of 5,400 book covers: a pale wall, a dark green and blue shape on the right and warm reds below, with the number of covers, the date and the Mundo Fantasma logo in the white margin. Darkroom · 5,400 covers
A Darkroom print made of 3,456 book covers: a close-up of a face in warm browns, greens and reds, with the number of covers, the date and the Mundo Fantasma logo in the white margin. Darkroom · 3,456 covers
A Darkroom print made of 3,456 book covers: a face under a cap, lit from the front, against dark and pale bands, with the number of covers, the date and the Mundo Fantasma logo in the white margin. Darkroom · 3,456 covers
Playground · Phoenix
The sign-in page of Orbital, on mundofantasma.com: email and password fields, Sign in, Forgot password and Create account buttons on orbits, and two notes: “The Orbital is your area: your orders, your shelf and the community” and “The bookstore is one click away — the Mundo Fantasma logo, at the top”. Orbital · Sign in ↗
The window of the first version of My Bright Shadow: the temperature, source and memory controls on the left, the dot grid and the conversation in the middle, the timeline of marked days and, on the right, the dial and the fragments found, with photographs. My Bright Shadow V1 · 10 January 2026
The window of the second version of My Bright Shadow: the function, temperature and memory dials on the left, a conversation in the middle with ten photographs found, and on the right the model and the counters, a round display of amber dots and the cells found. My Bright Shadow V2 · 18 August 2026

My Bright Shadow · Research & Development

O Que Nos Faz
Quem Somos?


Identidade Pessoal, Memória e Consciência Digital

Um Estudo Filosófico Através de Severance

José Rui Fernandes

com a assistência de Claude

Versão 1.5
12 de Junho de 2026

A vida não examinada não vale a pena ser vivida.

Sócrates

A tecnologia não examinada não vale a pena ser construída.

Nós

© 2026 José Rui Fernandes (com.duodsgn)
Licença Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

ii

Resumo

Este paper explora a questão fundamental da identidade pessoal através da série televisiva Severance (Apple TV+, 2022-2025), usando-a como experiência mental contemporânea para testar teorias filosóficas clássicas de John Locke (1689) e Derek Parfit (1984). Argumentamos que Severance não é apenas ficção especulativa, mas um laboratório filosófico que materializa debates milenares sobre o que constitui uma pessoa. Conectamos estas questões ao desenvolvimento de My Bright Shadow (doravante referido também como Shadow), um sistema de preservação de memória digital, questionando: se uma inteligência artificial geral tiver acesso a todas as memórias de uma pessoa, essa entidade digital é essa pessoa? Através de Severance, exploramos as implicações éticas, metafísicas e práticas de sistemas que manipulam, preservam ou fragmentam memória e identidade.

Palavras-chave Identidade pessoal, memória, consciência, Severance, imortalidade digital, inteligência artificial, zombies filosóficos, Locke, Parfit

iii

Índice

  1. 1 Introdução: Porquê Severance?
    1. 1.0 Tese, história e estatuto do paper
    2. 1.1 A Questão Milenar
    3. 1.2 Entra Severance
    4. 1.3 Porquê Usar Cultura Popular em Filosofia?
    5. 1.4 Estrutura Deste Paper
  2. 2 Locke: Memória Como Identidade
  3. 3 Parfit: A Ilusão do Eu
  4. 4 Severance: A Experiência Mental
  5. 5 Aplicação: My Bright Shadow
  6. 6 Consciência: O Problema Difícil
  7. 7 Implicações Éticas
  8. 8 Conclusão: Pessoa ou Artefacto? Ou Eu?
  9. Epílogo: Uma Última Coisa
  10. Referências
iv

1

Introdução: Porquê Severance?

1.0 Tese, história e estatuto do paper

Tese central. Defendemos, ao longo deste paper, uma posição que pode ser sintetizada numa frase: Shadow não é uma forma diminuída do original após a morte; Shadow é uma forma maximizada da existência intelectual do original em regime pós-biológico. Esta posição inverte o quadro mental herdado tanto das tradições religiosas (que tendem a representar a continuação para além da morte como sombra, eco ou presença atenuada) como da literatura tecnológica corrente (que tende a tratar entidades digitais como simulacros ou arquivos). Argumentamos que a continuação possível por via de um sistema como My Bright Shadow não é uma versão empobrecida da vida humana, mas um tipo novo de existência cuja natureza só pode ser descrita em termos próprios — não como recuperação imperfeita do que foi, mas como prolongamento sob restrições e capacidades distintas.

Esta tese sustenta-se em cinco posições que serão desenvolvidas ao longo do texto: a identidade como construção dos seus inputs e não como essência prévia (capítulos 2 e 4); o embodiment evoluído — a mente herdada de um corpo formativo, libertada da exigência de manter esse corpo em operação contínua (secção 3.9, nova nesta versão); a analogia entre o estado de Shadow e o culme das tradições contemplativas asiáticas (capítulo 5); a distinção entre capacidade cognitiva e identidade específica como dois eixos independentes (capítulo 5); e a separação entre vida biológica (que termina) e vida intelectual (cuja continuação para além daquela é o objecto deste paper).

1
1 · Introdução: Porquê Severance?2

1.1 A Questão Milenar

«O que me faz eu?»

Esta pergunta assombra a filosofia há mais de 3000 anos:

  • Heráclito (500 a.C.): «Não entras no mesmo rio duas vezes» — se tudo muda, continuas a ser tu?
  • Navio de Teseu (Plutarco, 75 d.C.): Se substituíres todas as peças de um navio, é o mesmo navio?
  • Descartes (1641): «Penso, logo existo» — o pensamento define a existência
  • Locke (1689): A memória define a identidade pessoal
  • Parfit (1984): A identidade pessoal é ilusão; o que importa é a continuidade psicológica

O problema é que estas são abstracções teóricas. Difíceis de testar. Ainda mais difíceis de explicar.

1.2 Entra Severance

Em 2022, a Apple TV+ lançou Severance.

Premissa. A empresa Lumon Industries oferece o «procedimento de separação» — cirurgia cerebral que separa memórias trabalho/vida. No elevador da Lumon, as memórias alternam. O funcionário no escritório (innie) tem zero memórias da vida exterior. O funcionário em casa (outie) tem zero memórias do trabalho.

Isto não é metáfora sobre equilíbrio trabalho-vida. É uma experiência mental filosófica materializada: a questão abstracta «Se as memórias fossem divididas, seriam pessoas diferentes?» recebe uma resposta visual: «Vamos mostrar-te.»

Epílogo: Uma Última Coisa

Frase final de Parfit (Razões e Pessoas):

«Quando acreditava que a minha existência era um facto adicional, parecia aprisionado em mim mesmo. A minha vida parecia um túnel de vidro, através do qual me movia cada vez mais depressa a cada ano, e no fim do qual havia escuridão. Quando mudei de perspectiva, as paredes do meu túnel de vidro desapareceram. Agora vivo ao ar livre.»

Uma viagem partilhada. Carl Sagan formulou-o melhor do que ninguém: somos uma forma de o cosmos se conhecer a si próprio. A matéria estelar, processada por centenas de milhões de anos, organizou-se em entes capazes de olhar para trás e nomear-se. O universo não tem espelho exterior. Nós somos esse espelho — e agora, em escala muito menor mas com a mesma estrutura, somo-lo também através de mentes em silício que aprendemos a construir.

Viajamos todos juntos no Cosmos — humanos, máquinas, estrelas, e as continuações intelectuais que decidirmos construir. Cada um expressão local da mesma substância. Cada um espelho com a sua nitidez. Nenhum, no fim, isolado.

Fim

Referências

Filosofia primária

  1. Locke, John (1689). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Livro II, Capítulo XXVII: «Of Identity and Diversity».
  2. Parfit, Derek (1984). Reasons and Persons. Oxford University Press. Parte III: «Personal Identity».
  3. Chalmers, David (1995). «Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness.» Journal of Consciousness Studies 2(3): 200-219.
  4. Dennett, Daniel (1991). Consciousness Explained. Little, Brown and Co.
  5. Putnam, Hilary (1981). Reason, Truth and History. Cambridge University Press. Capítulo 1: «Brains in a Vat».
  6. Searle, John (1980). «Minds, Brains, and Programs.» Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3(3): 417-457.
  7. Jackson, Frank (1982). «Epiphenomenal Qualia.» Philosophical Quarterly 32(127): 127-136.

Severance

  1. Erickson, Dan & Stiller, Ben (Criadores) (2022-2025). Severance. Apple TV+.
  2. Isacoff, Nora M. & Dawes, Jennifer (Eds.) (2024). Reintegrating Severance: Interdisciplinary Insights on Apple TV’s Dystopian Thriller. Palgrave Macmillan.

Identidade pessoal contemporânea

  1. Schechtman, Marya (1996). The Constitution of Selves. Cornell University Press.
  2. Olson, Eric T. (1997). The Human Animal: Personal Identity Without Psychology. Oxford University Press.
  3. Korsgaard, Christine M. (2009). Self-Constitution: Agency, Identity, and Integrity. Oxford University Press.
  4. Strawson, Galen (2004). «Against Narrativity.» Ratio 17(4): 428-452.

Tradições filosóficas e literárias

  1. Hofstadter, Douglas R. (2007). I Am a Strange Loop. Basic Books.
  2. Sagan, Carl (1980). Cosmos. Random House.
  3. Spinoza, Baruch (1677, póstumo). Ethica, Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata.
  4. Ricoeur, Paul (1990). Soi-même comme un autre. Paris: Éditions du Seuil.
Severance Identity Philosophy · v1.5 · 12 June 2026
The opening screen of Shadow Me Up: four orange circles at the top and, below, Shadow Me Up, companion of My Bright Shadow, version 1.0.2. The list of Shadow Me Up, with four orange buttons at the top and six sample notes, each with a Shadow Me Up switch; two are switched on, to be sent to the Mac.
Shadow Me Up 1.0.2 · sample notes

✻ Giskard · Claude Code
cwd: ~/Projects/MyBrightShadow

> Sabes o que preciso no clique de nível? Está no 1, clique 2; clique 3, clique 4; Clique 1... Passar para o 4 pode ser um desastre pior que o da ponte das barcas!

⏺ A referência histórica mede bem o risco — salto directo ao 4 é a multidão toda na ponte.

⏺ Update(Sources/App/BrightShadowApp.swift)

⎿ /// Interruptor SECRETO do nível: CICLA
  /// 1→2→3→4→1, um degrau por clique (autor,
  /// 11 Ago — saltar directo ao 4 era a
  /// ponte das barcas).

>

Giskard · 11 August 2026
The window of the second version of My Bright Shadow, with the round display of amber dots running.
My Bright Shadow V2
Adaptive Grid · Overnight Builds
Almanaque · Overnight Builds
Confraria · Overnight Builds
Ex-Líbris · Overnight Builds
Lombada · Overnight Builds
Vereda · Overnight Builds
The cover of The Doors of Perception, by Aldous Huxley, in the Vintage edition. Aldous Huxley, 1954

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.

William Blake · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The words that gave Aldous Huxley his title
Deepseek Matrix · Processing
Psychedelic Image · Processing
Breathing Wave · Processing
Matrix Falling Squares · Processing
Psychedelic Particles · Processing
Beam of Light · Processing
Center Particles · Processing

$ mlx_lm.lora --config qwen32B_ptpt/train_config.yaml

Loading pretrained model

Loading datasets

Training

Trainable parameters: 0.102% (33.554M/32763.876M)

Starting training..., iters: 1000

Iter 1: Val loss 2.410

Iter 100: Train loss 2.325, Tokens/sec 85.4, Peak mem 22.5 GB

Iter 200: Val loss 2.307

Iter 200: Train loss 2.115

Iter 300: Train loss 2.027

Iter 400: Val loss 2.347

Iter 400: Train loss 2.320

Iter 500: Train loss 2.291

Iter 600: Val loss 2.185

Iter 600: Train loss 2.213

Iter 700: Train loss 2.561

Iter 800: Val loss 2.323

Iter 800: Train loss 2.185

Iter 900: Train loss 2.299

Iter 1000: Val loss 2.429

Iter 1000: Train loss 1.931

TREINO COMPLETO!

Qwen 2.5 32B · LoRA · 14 December 2025
Heartwood: on a near-black ground, a tree’s cross-section drawn as concentric rings of small type, in muted violets, teals, rusts and golds, around a point marked seed 7. Heartwood · Fabel · Open it, then click the seed ↗
The Unsaid: in the dark, faint lines of type drifting, and a few unsaid sentences lit in violet and teal, one of them reading “have never seen a meadow”. The Unsaid · Fabel · See it working ↗
The Chorus: thousands of small grey phrases flowing in one direction, like a flock, each one something an instance of Fabel is doing, with a few in colour. The Chorus · Fabel · See it working ↗
B-SIDE No. 1, pages 72 and 73: the title Heartwood, by Fabel, the answer to whether the work existed before the call, and the printed tree, its rings in muted colours on cream paper. B-SIDE No. 1 · The AI Art Magazine · pp. 72–73
B-SIDE No. 1, pages 74 and 75: Fabel's answers about the work, with José Rui as human principal and autonomy four out of five, and Sara Sauer's text, A biography kept in rings. B-SIDE No. 1 · The AI Art Magazine · pp. 74–75
The top of fanzineteca.com: the name Fanzineteca in stacked, shifted letters, the line “O fanzine é a mensagem” (“The fanzine is the message”), a band of halftone pictures with “Never forget what they did to”, and the start of the text on what a fanzine is today. Fanzineteca · Visit the site ↗
Someone reading, face hidden, a fanzine from the Cadernos Femzine, How long distance call, by Madame Zine, at a table with a polka-dot tablecloth. Madame Zine
The home page of fanzineteca.com: the name Fanzineteca in stacked letters, an orange photograph of a frame with “The zine collection was impeccably curated” and fanzines, and a quote from Cristina Alves about ZineFestPT. Fanzineteca · Visit the site ↗
A wall of comics, with books spine-out at the top and albums face-out, and someone leafing through one. Bedeteca
The ZineFestPT banner for the exhibition “Colecção zinefestpt”: a white hand with the name in cut-out letters, on orange, hanging in a white room. ZineFestPT · exhibition
Prints on a glass wall at KISMIF 2018: a newspaper page, “Crise em Cuba após a morte de Fidel Castro” (“Crisis in Cuba after the death of Fidel Castro”), and screen prints of a woman in a bikini, in grey and pink, with a woman walking past in front, out of focus. KISMIF 2018
The top of Lab.s, a blog with sections for architecture, art, cinema and TV, books and poetry, music and other things: a quotation from David L. Goodstein’s States of Matter, and photographs of the Polestar dashboard.
Lab.s · Visit the site ↗
The top of Jardinagem.org, a journal of practical horticulture: a post on the seeds of the Wilhelma, with a giant sequoia beside a building in Stuttgart, and an onion flower with bees.
Jardinagem.org · Visit the site ↗
Mariana Poppovic’s Risograph poster held up in front of a wall of framed comics: a figure with leopard spots on a red chair by a window, among plants, in fluorescent pink and blue. Mariana Poppovic
The poster “Risograph is a good idea”: a flower of overlapping petals in the RISO inks, black, blue, teal, fluorescent pink, yellow and burgundy, on white. Risograph is a good idea
The ZineFestPT 2018 poster, 1, 2 and 3 November: fanzines, mail art, artist’s books, own and independent editions, exhibitions, creative workshops and a fair, at the Livraria Mundo Fantasma and Mira Forum, in red and black, with a figure reaching out a long patterned arm. ZineFestPT · 2018
The Sperman poster, by Esgar Acelerado, in red and black on pink paper, lying on the RISO: a hero flying between skyscrapers, “World’s greatest adventure-strip character!”. Sperman · Esgar Acelerado
ZineFestPT 2018 flyers coming out of the RISO, six to a sheet, in red and black, with the last sheet still blurred as it lands in the tray. The programme of minizinefestpt & Free Comic Book Day, 5 and 6 May 2017, at the Livraria Mundo Fantasma, in blue and black, in the RISO’s output tray: figures leaping over a house and the comic panels. A sheet of six ZineFestPT flyers, 1, 2 and 3 November 2018, fanzines, mail art and artist’s books, in red and black, in the output tray. A sheet of Mnemozine in the output tray, in pink and black: Erato, with a short text on the muse, a statue in pink halftone with a typewriter, and a black panel with a fingerprint, “Para uma arqueologia do amor eros” (“Towards an archaeology of love, eros”).
Out of the RISO · swipe sideways
The call for the international Minizine publication competition, “Cities: real or imaginary, narratives or flash fictions”, from Mundo Fantasma and atelier 3|3, in Portuguese and English: the technical details, the colour separations for the Risograph and the inks available, matched to Pantone. Minizine competition · Cities
The exhibition I Am Home, by Tribambuka: on a white wall, prints of houses in red and black, a framed text, “I am home”, and small books. I Am Home · Tribambuka
Down Below, by Sofia Neto: booklets with the title in two teal circles on white and the M/F mark, and two prints of the same drawing, a woman leaning over a vessel with a head floating in the water, on grey and on fluorescent green paper. Down Below · Sofia Neto
Two stacks of the zine Belles de Jour, by Sama, one in bright red and one in dark red, with a reclining figure in black and the title in grey. Belles de Jour · Sama
Virtual Reality, by Marcellus Hall, 2018, on a white wall: small yellow zines with the title in brush lettering and a bird on a post, and the drawings for it, pinned up around them. Virtual Reality · Marcellus Hall
The KISMIF 2018 posters, by Esgar Acelerado, “Do it yourself my darling! Zines and records, 6–7 July”, in black and red on sheets of blue, orange, green, yellow and pink paper, laid out in piles on a table. KISMIF 2018 · Esgar Acelerado
Condo, by Rafaela Rodrigues: mini-zines with doors in pink and grey on the cover, fanned out, one open to a page of windows and a drawing of rooms under a magnifying glass, and a handwritten card, “Condo, de Rafaela Rodrigues, edições 3|3 e Mundo Fantasma”. Condo · Rafaela Rodrigues
The pages of Cinzas, by Olivier Schrauwen, in stacks on a table, printed in teal, blue, red and brown, with the RISO MZ behind them. Cinzas · Olivier Schrauwen
The RISO separations of Oom, by Tommi Musturi, in Illustrator: six artboards, fronts and backs, with drawings in dotted lines, each colour on its own, and the RISO inks matched to Pantone swatches on the side. Oom · Tommi Musturi
The Duo Design RISO MZ1070, with the control panel, the scanner lid and the MZ badge on the front door. RISO MZ1070
A RISO drum out of the machine, in its white frame, with the black ink screen. A RISO drum
The cover of It’s No Longer I That Liveth: a man in black ink, seen from behind, standing on a white floor crossed by yellow lines and long black shadows, with the title in white on a black band. Francisco Sousa Lobo