Pervasive or Invasive?
March 6, 2010
Posted by victoria in: Events | Watershed | Innovation | pervasive | ethics | Add a commentHands up who likes using Facebook? Me, I do, I like being connected to a network of friends, sending messages and spying on their lives. But do you ever think about how the data you’re idly tapping in, is actually being used? I didn’t, well not until this week when UWE’s Digital Cultures Research Centre presented a talk by Rob van Kranenburg on The Internet of Things; followed by ‘Pervasive or Invasive?’- a seminar at the Pervasive Media Studio where the issues (good and bad) surrounding the ethics of pervasive media, we’re laid out on the table. And it seems a lot of people do think about it.
Not to paint Facebook as ‘the baddie’, logs are recorded by almost all the internet services we used regularly - Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Amazon, Twitter the list goes on - and this can generate a surprisingly clear picture of our lives. Nello Cristianini, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Bristol University showed us a list of web searches from a random IP address - and the results were scary. The list revealed the computer belonged to a couple; him bi-polar with a cocaine addiction; and her concerned with becoming pregnant and the effect his drug use could have on their ability to conceive. A private situation, and here we were reading it within a public context. It felt wrong, but it was supposed to. And in that moment I assessed what my own searches would say about me; who I am; where I live; what I do; who my friends are; and what a company such as Google or a Government could do with that data? Right now, Google would most likely make (more than a few) bucks through targeted marketing - allowing companies to try and entice me to buy things (they think) I’ll like. And what about the Government? They can’t persuade us to carry ID cards, but we all happily carry mobile phones that track our every movement. But where’s the harm? Most of us probably aren’t too concerned; the value of the transaction is worth it - so what if I get a few adverts on my Facebook page? I can just ignore them as I flick through my friend’s latest photo uploads. And what if I’m abducted? Great, the Police can use my phone’s location data to find me.
Now propel yourself 10 years into the future. As the majority of us now use email and mobile phones, telephone boxes and Royal Mail are extinct. The last 5% of us who held out have now been forced into this new digital world. Anonymity will be almost impossible. What will this mean? And what will happen when the dataset collected by Google is matched with the dataset collected by Amazon? What will this say about us? And what are the implications of Government and security in this? As we head into this new digital world (where the choice to opt out no longer exists), will the value of the transaction still be worth it? What will be the real price of free?
So that’s the scary scenario - it’s clear the digital world is upon us, expanding at an alarming rate (just think about all the changes we’ve seen in the last 20 years), so what can we do to make a positive future?
Rob van Kranenburg talks of a future (which has begun) where everything is digitally connected from yogurt pots to bus tickets via radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. This is a rapidly growing near invisible network, which Rob believes must be exposed and debated as it is implicated. A loose network of interested people formed to do this very job; they became The Council of the Internet of Things. You can check them out (and join them) here: http://www.theinternetofthings.eu/
But surely the Internet of Things and pervasive media services are corporate, expanding and out of our control? How can we as individuals, make positive change within this landscape? Well, there are many things we could do; we could join The Council; we could strengthen our physical communities by using data to enable sharing between neighbours; we could, as a majority, charge Facebook for use of our data; or we could follow Usman Haque’s lead and design companies like Pachube.
These are changing times, so it’s important that talks and seminars such as this take place - enabling free and open, ethical debate. I am however left wondering how conscientious our designers of the future need to be. As they create tools, services and experiences that utilise our data, will they lead the way in this new world?
Speakers at the symposium included Rob van Kranenburg, Innovation and Media Theorist; Nello Cristianini, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Bristol; Patrick Crogan, Senior Lecturer, Film/Media/Cultural Studies, UWE; Lizbeth Goodman, Director of Research, Futurelab Education; and Andy Miah, Professor of Ethics & Emerging Technologies, University of the West of Scotland.
Rob van Kranenburg’s talk will be available to watch on dShed.net from 9 March 2010 - and we’re inviting you to join the debate: On 26th March, Professor Jon Dovey from the Digital Culture’s Research Centre will chair a conversation on Twitter, so get involved and tell us your views. #DCRCUK
The Tweeture - set to destroy SXSWi next week?
March 5, 2010
Posted by Clare in: Events | Innovation | Gaming | 1 comment so far
On March 12th The Tweeture will arrive at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, intent upon devouring its population.
The Tweeture is a robot-monster of Godzilla proportions who tweets. He’s big, he’s angry and he is going to eat the delegates of SXSWi. What will become of him? Can you find him at the Festival and turn him into your friend?
The Tweeture will use artificial intelligence, digital technologies and social networking platforms to tear delegates away from their screens, strike up conversations and make some fun happen.
From the makers of 2009’s run away SXSW success The Hat Game, SlingShot have produced a game that will break out of the norms of the conference and challenge notions of how to behave in a technology-driven environment.
Follow him at http://twitter.com/thetweeture. And don’t forget to look out for this beast in the corridors, bars and events of SXSWi 2010.
The Tweeture is Produced by SlingShot with Hazel Grian and GreenGinger. Executive Produced by iShed and Supported by Arts Council England.
The Tweeture was commissioned as part of The Umbrella Group, an Arts Council England supported delegation of UK artists and producers attending SXSW. It is designed to promote UK innovation and creativity at one of the world’s leading technology conferences.
Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: succesful panel at SXSW interactive
October 19, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Innovation | Bristol | pervasive | Add a commentOne of the panels that I submitted (in conjunction with people from last year's Arts Council funded SXSW delegation) is now officially programmed for South by South West Interactive 2010:
Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: Rendering the Real World - The most photorealistic, networked environment you can play in is real life”. Mobile internet, pervasive gaming and sensor-enriched public spaces enable new possibilities in game-play, distributed story-telling and immersive events. Building on previous SXSW events,
leading practitioners will explore the ethics, design challenges and business potential of this new form.
I submitted the idea over the summer and it went to community vote, the SXSW Advisory Boards and SXSW staff before making it through to the first batch of events to be programmed this year.
Now to confirm panelists, which will be really tricky as there are so many brilliant people from all over that would make a valuable contribution…
Attending C&binet - what can it possibly achieve?
October 13, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Watershed | Innovation | Technology | Add a commentIn a couple of weeks time I am attending C&binet (The Creativity and Business International Network), a three day conference bringing together creative businesses and leaders from around the globe.
C&binet was created by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of Creative Britain's 26 commitments to bring the creative industries into the mainstream of the UK economy. The event's themes include access to finance, new business models, developing talent and securing creative rights. I am participating in a digital economy fringe panel led by Simon Evans of Creative Clusters and was asked by Alastair Findlay of the C&binet team to put together some thoughts for the conference blog on what I hope it will achieve:
What can C&binet achieve?
Producing a purposeful international dialogue around the challenges and opportunities of the creative economy is no small undertaking given the diverse set of interests, disciplines, business models and organisational cultures at play. What then are my hopes for C&binet? It is this very diversity (in attendee and theme) which plays into the concerns of Watershed, a ‘cross art form’ media centre established in Bristol in 1982:
As we know, the creative industries are going through a period of rapid change. As technologies converge and platforms proliferate, finding time and space to develop content, applications and services which capture imagination and deliver value has become even more tricky.
Across our artistic programme, through investment and support schemes like Media Sandbox and in The Pervasive Media Studio (an open innovation research space), Watershed seeks to develop meaningful opportunities for future, emerging and established talent. By joining up creative businesses, artists, researchers, technology firms and (critically) an engaged population of early adopters, we are able to link knowledge, explore new markets and produce innovative ideas, products and processes. But this space is high-risk and there is both challenge and opportunity in responding to demand with an open approach. A need for new thinking is required:
Public service content for instance is being redefined by the inexorable spread of digital connectivity. Digital Britain says 'Public service content in Digital Britain now comes from a much wider range of sources than in the analogue age’. Like Tate, the Royal Opera House and RSC, Watershed’s creative content now reaches a wider public online than through our physical building.
The combination of digital disruption and the UK’s global advantage in high-quality arts and broadcast provision provides huge opportunity: to engage more widely, to explore the pervasive power of 'prosumer' creative energy and to pioneer new forms of economic, cultural and social value. But significant culture shifts will need to occur to enable meaningful, equitable models of collaboration in this space.
For the UK the policy challenge is how we resource risk in a public funding climate that defaults to tangible known and measurable outcomes in conventional economy terms.
To push the boundaries of new technologies, engage the broadest pool of talent and stay internationally competitive we must involve a diverse range of producers and users from across the value chain, understanding that current mechanisms of support and development will be challenged to their core.
My hope is that C&binet will inform and sustain a genuine and meaningful commitment (from those working in the creative economy as well as from policy makers) to cross-sectoral collaboration which responds to this fast moving world with open, engaged ways of thinking and working.
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If you want to get involved, C&binet will be streamed live. You’ll be able to comment on the sessions during the live streaming and feed in to the debate. You can also submit your comments and questions in advance and follow the ongoing debate through the blog and via the c&binet twitter feed.
Hunt moose, dodge zombies, game the city: igfest 09
August 13, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Bristol | Add a comment
There is a festival where you hunt moose with your mobile phone and run away from zombies. Where you treasure hunt and throw paint over strangers. Where the city becomes a giant playground for the weekend and the consoles and computers are left behind. That festival is igfest: Bristol's international celebration of street games, social play and mucking about. It’s back, and they want to play with you.
igfest is based around Bristol’s stunning Harbourside and returns from 11-13 Sept. There are dozens of games from the best international artists and street games designers to choose from. Best of all, it's entirely free, thanks to support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The festival will kick off on Fri 11 Sept with La Noche de los Muertes (The Night of the Dead), a giant chase game across the city. Based on last year's huge hit Journey to the Middle of the Night, players are pursued by zombies between seven scenes set in secret locations around the city, ending with a Mariachi band and a macabre procession.
In the week leading up to the festival four Moose will make their way from their summer feeding grounds around Bristol into the city for the festival in the Moosehunt game. Local people can hunt these magnificent beasts and capture them on film and on Thursday night there is even a guided pre-festival hunt for city dwellers.
The programme continues over the weekend with games for all age groups. Some igfest games will test your stamina; others will challenge your wits. Some will have rich themes and narratives whilst others just ask you to chuck paint. Some games last hours and others take just a few minutes. Some are high tech and some use no tech. Every single one, however, is pure, unabashed fun.
Simon Johnson, Festival Director and Pervasive Media Studio resident, said:
With igfest, the city is your playground. You can run and hide, seek and find, kick a ball, throw some paint, outwit a zombie, dodge a laser, hunt a moose. Bring your family, bring your friends, and come out and play with us.
To get a flavour of the treats you’ll be in for, check out a 90 second film from last year’s festival at igfest.org/igfest08.
