behaviour under observation
TRANSCRIPT
2 Behaviour under Observation, Paying Attention, September 2010
Observation
“…we are all ambulatory autobiographies continuously and unavoidably emitting data for others’ senses and machines. The uncontrollable leakage of some information is a condition of physical and social existence.” Gary T. Marx
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Kitchen Stories (Bent Hamer)
• Observers may be nice & useful
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Observation, architecture & embodiment • From Jeremy Bentham’s conception to
modern Illinois penitentiary
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The Focus Room
“Bionetics’ corporate headquarters in Newport News, VA includes a state-of-the-art focus room …The facility is designed with all of the key features required to make it an effective market research tool, such as:
A 20 x 20 ft. focus room with modular furniture to meet all types of seating requirements, video and audio recording devices, easels, whiteboards and projection capability.
A theater-style client viewing room, with one-way mirrored glass, countertop lighting and seating for 12 persons ….
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Embodiment
• My body, my guarded statements, in their room • Their bodies & discussion behind one-way mirror
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Handful of paid people in a room?! That sucks!!!!
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Being in the experiment
• Every page from Facebook, Google, etc. is an experiment and a data-gathering exercise • Did this ad work in this context? • Did this UI design lead to more data acquisition than
that one?
• We are in the experiment whenever online • Anonymised or not • Anonymisation is suspended identification
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Embodiment
• My body at home or at a mobile location • My unguarded statements in their data centre
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Suggested response
• A series of performances that re-situate observers and observed
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1: Invoice Facebook
• For use of my data • How much?
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Economics of ‘free’
• Let D = value(my data), S = value(their service) • If D ≠ 0 then ‘free’ doesn’t really apply • Instead, a question: D ≤ S? • Suppose instead that D > S. Then they owe me.
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2: Open Market Floor
• Grain, minerals, … why not personal data?
3: Observation room
Participants in the ‘machine’, observing Facebook ‘performers’ Participants responding to status updates with product suggestions
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4: Google Homeview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMFBuHsKXb0
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Observers’ power
• Google etc. have £billions worth of computing power
• Pseudonymity/anonymity isn’t secure as long as our data is centralised
• Statistical attacks on anonymity
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Behaviour under observation
• Peer-to-peer technologies • Satirical and imaginative responses • Self-control • More care about where we invest our ‘thrall’ • The value of silence, reflection and reserve
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Thank you! Discussion…
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