Updates
Pervasive or Invasive?
Hands 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 is now available to watch on dShed.net - 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