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
PM Studio is looking for an adventurous, collaborative, creative technologist
February 23, 2010
Posted by Shirin in: Watershed | Innovation | Recruitment | Bristol | pervasive | Add a commentCreative Technology Research Associate (one year fixed term)
Grade: 2 £27,000
"Everyone at Watershed has a passion for doing a job properly. Often doing a job properly involves creativity, innovation and a lot of thought: being encouraged to do those things, and working with others who do too, every day, is what makes Watershed both a great place and a great place to work." Oliver Humpage, Watershed ICT Coordinator
The Role:
This one year research post will play a key role in developing collaborative, publicly-facing projects and ideas in The Pervasive Media Studio.
The role will provide residents and collaborators with technical inspiration, collaboration and support. It has a broad remit: sometimes you will be exploring cutting-edge research, sometimes you will be coding an artist's project, sometimes (but less so) you will be re-setting the router.
About you:
You will have the ability to understand and inspire, listen and communicate and then make brilliant ideas happen. You need to know your stuff and have a flexible, adventurous and collaborative approach to work.
About us:
The Studio is part of Watershed. We have a formal partnership with UWE's Digital Cultures Research Centre. We are a multi-disciplinary lab exploring and producing pervasive media content, applications and services. We work within a brilliant community of artists, creative companies, technologists and academics. Our projects include gaming, projections, location-based media, digital displays and new forms of performance. Some are commercial, some are cultural. We test our projects as early as possible and iterate. We have a great workspace, an open ethos and a can-do attitude.
This research associate post is supported by funding from the South West Regional Development Agency.
How to apply:
To visit the Studio Website to download the job description and application form click: here.
Where did January go?
February 1, 2010
Posted by Clare in: Watershed | Ideas | Bristol | Add a commentOver the last few months the Watershed team has spent a lot of time thinking about how we can a) be more joined up and b) communicate the thinking behind the ideas and people we work with, rather than just the end results. The process was started through the re-development of DShed (and how to represent a wide breadth of projects, artists and content), but also fits into the thinking being done as part of Watershed's Sustain funding. My new year's resolution then is to spend more time capturing what I am up to, as much for myself (maybe it will help me manage my diary better?) as for a wider audience to see what might be coming up.
So, highlights of last week:
Ed Cookson of The Sancho Plan emailed to ask if we would be interested in the large scale augmented reality installation they are producing. The meeting with Ed (and Phil Stenton and Tarim) was exactly the kind of meeting I like - clear ideas, a good reason to collaborate and lots of mutual value all round. The turn-around is a bit quick and I was obviously ignoring my 'no new projects post-it' but looks like we are going to make something together in early March. Hopefully this project will also bring all of Tarim's hard work to fruition and finally get some interactive work on Bristol's BBC Big Screen (in advance of The Pervasive Media Studio artists residencies in April).
Quite a lot of my time is spent showing people around the Studio, a role I refer to as Dancing Monkey. We host these visits for many reasons (to remain open to new ideas/contacts, to profile projects, to please funders). Whilst sometimes they feel like they are taking me away from 'real work' they often bring valuable and serendipitous contacts and Friday's visits were particularly good, especially as the studio was buzzing with Mobile Pie's Global Games Jam. First came Caroline Thomson, Chief Operating Officer of the BBC and then Paul Gough and Guy Orpen, Vice Chancellors of Research at UWE and University of Bristol respectively. Residents informally presented their projects and fed back on the value of the studio with sincerity and generosity. I am hopeful that UWE, University of Bristol and BBC will all become more involved in the Studio over the forthcoming months and the tour certainly helped establish some common interests.
A couple of years ago we started some interesting work (with Demos) on the public spaces around Watershed but a changed economy forced us to put this work on hold. This week it was really exciting to re-visit this thinking and get together a team from across Watershed to plan a series of Light Graffiti Workshops with Tine Bech. I met Tine when she was taking part in Method (Cultural Leadership Programme) and last year she secured a PhD place with UWE's DCRC. She is now partly based at the Studio and is researching the creation of interactive installations which enhance our engagement with our environment. With DCRC funding we are working with Tine to produce three light drawing workshops to explore how staff, audience and people who don't come to Watershed feel about the space outside of our building. The results will feed in to the eventual creation of a new installation by Tine for this space. Details of how to get involved will be posted soon on the Watershed website.
Other good things: Seeing the footage of AntiVJ's latest work (will post when it's online), Studio advisory group (two years in!), more Theatre Sandbox planning, interviewing for the DCRC Knowledge Transfer associate and catching up with Luke Jerram on his Aeolus project.
The bad bits - having to pull out of assessing for EPSRC's Research in the Wild Call and the Bristol Media digital dinner due to sporting a terrible cough and having to retire to bed.
Meanwhile this week brings a Watershed board meeting in which Mark, Louise and I will present the work we have done towards re-presenting our curatorial policy, and my final interview for the UK Young Interactive Entrepreneur award (which weirdly British Council seem to have taken down the website for).
Arts & Business Research digital case study
February 1, 2010
Posted by Clare in: Watershed | Innovation | Bristol | Add a comment
Back in November I was contacted by Arts&Business as they wanted to feature Watershed as a case study in some research they were doing on how digital technology is affecting the way cultural organisations engage with their audiences.
Today they published a really nice overview of some of the ways Watershed and The Pervasive Media Studio has engaged with digital technologies, through DShed and projects like The Extended Theatre Experience:
"Watershed embodies the future of audiovisual literacy, exploiting the shift towards conversation and participation (rather than mere didactic presentation) that digital technologies enable…. The second aspect is to recognise the entrepreneurial and innovative possibilities that digital technologies afford around a closer working relationship between the cultural and commercial sectors."
Read the full case study (as well as overviews of some other organisations doing great digital work) here.
My first week
December 11, 2009
Posted by Katie Day in: Watershed | Innovation | Technology | Recruitment | Add a commentHi there, I'm Katie Day, the newest addition to the iShed team. Over the coming year I'll be running a new programme: Theatre Sandbox (like Media Sandbox, but with Theatre).
My background is in theatre, and for the last 6 years I've been running my own experimental theatre company full time - www.theotherwayworks.co.uk
I'm based at Watershed for 12 months as part of a Cultural Leadership Placement, so I'm here with two hats on: one to run the Theatre Sandbox scheme, and two to 'develop as a cultural leader' (whatever that means exactly).
This week has been mostly about working out what goes on here at Watershed, iShed, and the Pervasive Media Studio, and who everyone is, and what they do. So, quite a lot then.
Hard to sum all of that up, but here are three things that I've heard people say in meetings this week that have stood out for me (mostly because they're a bit wierd or funny):
- The rendering of fur is a real problem
- Thank God for the Coen Brothers
- I'm very excited by archives
They make a bit more sense when the contexts are explained. Here they are below in the same order:
- In relation to the animation industry, and the creation of furry or animal type characters
- In the Monday morning meeting, in relation to box office takings from the Cinemas
- In relation to future digitisation and re-presentation of archives
I've received a very warm welcome, and have been inspired by what an open and collaborative organisation Watershed is.
I've also, most importantly, eaten some very nice soup in the cafe bar.
See you on Monday.
