DESIGN IMPROVISATION

It is the year 2050 and the world is slowly decaying politically, economically and environmentally. This is as a result of the hacking of an Emotion Balancing Unit (EBU), a chip designed to eliminate negative emotions in the human brain that can interfere with one’s ability to think positively. As a consequence of our own invention, the earth is now a dystopian world. This is further reflected by this imagined sketch of what has become of Sydney’s inner west area.

The narrative of our world follows our focus candidate Pedro Gonzales who has this EBU implanted into his brain and is trying to survive as he deals with the devastating repercussions of the chip. He is unstable and paranoid as he tries to get by in this dire world he lives in. After much consideration of what it must be like living in these circumstances, we asked ourselves what would ultimately be useful for Pedro and was not entirely unrealistic for him to make himself or find. We decided then that he would need a wearable object that provides camouflage and protection from the elements. This purely functional garment designed for everyday use has many attachments to what used to be a pair of worn jeans and wind breaker jacket. Through consistent work, addressing certain functional needs discovered through his everyday survival, wear and tear, and finding new materials, this garment is constantly being edited and is a work in progress. Although it may be clear, this garment was created with the idea that Pedro has no skill in sewing and therefore the stitch work is authentic.

This framework has made me realise that Pedro has become a designer in his own right; he improvises his way to freedom and survival. This style of designing is similar to that of The Campana brothers, Fernando and Humberto from Brazil. Their designs represent the colourfulness of their home country and their style is characterised by their trademark use of existing materials, which allows for much attention to be paid to the potential of each individual material with form and functionality as the main focus. Funnily enough, the most impressionable of the Campanas’ designs were those made through improvisational approaches to design. This direction has allowed them to experiment with materials and give them a new meaning. One of their most renowned works is the ‘Sushi Chair’. It has been made from scrap pieces of fabric, foam and carpet to form an aesthetically pleasing seat as a result of chaos.

The Sushi Chair, by the Campana Brothers

After much research I found that improvisational design – which may not always be created with the intent for survival- is a rather popular way of gaining inspiration when creating new forms. As a student of product design, I find myself often doing the same; making do when I do not have the ideal resources on hand. It is definitely a survival skill from any perspective.

Bradford Keeney, creative therapist, cybernetician, anthropologist of cultural healing traditions, improvisational performer, and spiritual healer further explains this notion of improvising as he states that “Becoming an artist involves moving away from impersonating others and developing one’s own improvisational style. An artist fully utilises his or her personal resources and limitations to create a unique style that is an aesthetic portrait of self-in-context” (1991). Furthermore, this supports the relevance of our speculative object in the context of the dystopian 2050 world.

 

References:

Ishizaki, S. 2003, Improvisational design, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

Keeney, B. 1991, Improvisational therapy, Guilford Press, New York.

Metropolismag.com, 2013, The Campana Brothers’ Improvisational Design – Point of View – February 2013, viewed 21 October 2015, <http://www.metropolismag.com/Point-of-View/February-2013/The-Campana-Brothers-Improvisational-Design/&gt;.

MY TRIP TO MARS

In our fourth week we had the honor of hearing a floor talk by Adam Norton, whose work was on display in the UTS Gallery. He presented My Trip to Mars which attempts to portray the mental and geographical landscape of our present, through the utilisation of scientific ideas from the recent past and near future. It is a multifaceted work as it consists of videos, installations, signage and various objects, and all of which help him set the tone for his audience through this world he has so seamlessly created.

“I have always had a deep interest in science ever since school and I like to keep up with new developments. As an artist I have been able to explore the grand themes of science, like nuclear warfare, the International Space Program and other esoteric interests like UFOlogy. Space exploration, for example seems to be a great optimistic and collective endeavour where a bunch of interested humans work together to realise extraordinary achievements. I like to celebrate that mythology by recreating personalised moments of that adventure and to share them through art. Art is the best delivery system for plugging ideas directly into the human brain.” (Norton 2015).

Here Norton explains the value and importance of art on the human psyche as well as the imagination as it opens many doors to discovery. His work explores technology’s affects on the human condition. It invites the viewer to imagine a scenario where a trip to mars is possible and as easy as a trip to the corner store. Norton frames the story around space exploration and as he adventures in the video Mars Project we watch him endeavour across the extremity of this red planet. It was in actual fact set in Broken Hill, which was chosen as the location because of its extreme environment; in its own way it is slightly another planet. The video became an exploratory travel log for Norton and was initially not created to be part of the exhibition. He was wandering the land while the camera was still rolling and after watching over it, he realised what an asset to the entire experience this film was. He gives no explanation of it but instead lets the audience decide what is occurring in the film clip.

All of the speculative objects he presented such as the wearable objects- the spacesuit, and goggles that we could decide are gas proof, all of which are hinting at technology, came about individually. It was an integral process and not every item was created in one sitting; it was constantly being refined. Norton has borrowed aesthetics from movies and novels to create this future idea that sparks the imagination, as no one really lives on mars.

This interview gave my group and I inspiration for our speculative object project. We decided on creating a garment as the centerpiece that our main character would wear for protection and a reflection of the dire times he was living in. As humans, we like to create our own speculative futures, and this is what Adam Norton has presented to us.

References:

Adamnorton.net, 2015, My Trip To Mars : Adam Norton, viewed 29 October 2015, <http://www.adamnorton.net/projects/my-trip-to-mars/&gt;.

Extending Scenario Design

Inspired by the topics ‘big data’ and ‘human technology interactions’, as a group we envisioned a future scenario for the year 2050.

We took our initial inspiration from a speculative fictional television series, Black Mirror (2011) (IMDB 2015), with dark, satirical themes revolving around an apocalyptic modern society that reveals the dark side of technology and human co-existence.

With this theme in mind we fashioned our own microchip designed to alter human emotions. The Emotional Balancing Unit (E.B.U), were implanted in the frontal lobe of the brain and designed filter its emotional output. The E.B.U eliminates the flow of negative emotions that inhibit your ability to think positively and work efficiently, therefore increasing overall human productivity. By January 2017, the government had imposed compulsory E.B.U implantations in all newborns and by 2048, 80% of the world population had the implant.

Fast forward to the year 2050, hackers had discovered a way to infiltrate the E.B.U’s and reverse its effects, causing worldwide anarchy, as those who had the implant were now highly unstable, unpredictable and dangerous.

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman, notes that the way that humans process and remember information, make decisions and solve problems, ‘cognitive biases’, are not always helpful in achieving the best result, yet are the most practical for time and energy expenditure and considered ‘good enough’ to survive. Human emotions have evolved to be our most valuable survival tools. “Hot” emotions, e.g. surprise and disgust, are experienced instantaneously and powerfully. These emotions signal an imminent threat to our initiating urgent action in response increasing our chance of survival. (Dr. J Taylor 2012).

As those who had the implant no longer had the ability to regulate between their emotions and were constantly experiencing emotions within the ‘hot’ spectrum survival is considered paramount.

As a group we decided that rather than focusing on producing a prototype of the E.B.U itself, we would explore the effects it had on the world after the hacking had occurred.

We came up with the idea of creating a character profile, describing how a person that had received the E.B.U implantation, in this case Pedro Gonzales, would live their day-to-day life, aiding his survival.

Design Academy Eindoven graduate Marie-Elsa Batteux Flahault created an ‘apocalypse survival coat’ incorporating floatation devices, signalling flags and weapons. Batteux Flahault designed this suit in response to a discussion she had with a group of ‘preppers’ preparing themselves for the end of the world, “I was exploring the end-of-the-world fever that expended with the 2012 Mayan prediction… I was interested in their approach that is more pragmatic than the religious fanaticism.” (D Howarth 2014).

Marie-Elsa Batteux Flahault’s  ‘Apocalypse Survival Coat’

(D Howarth 2014).

< http://www.dezeen.com/2014/01/08/jacket-to-help-prepare-for-the-end-of-the-world-by-marie-elsa-batteux-flahault/>

She utilised ‘life-saving features’ into a pale camouflage jacket that could assist the wearer in times of catastrophe. A visor and mask protect the eyes and respiratory system, sections of the jacket inflate to create flotation devices, a blade in the sleeve that can be used as a weapon and pockets in the lining that store food and water. Batteux Flahault notes that more survival tools can be added to jacket and that it designed to be a functional garment (D Howarth 2014).

For our speculative object we also decided to create a ‘survival suit’ designed for Pedro, to assist him in his own survival. We began with a jacket and a pair of jeans, we then sewed multiple pairs of pockets, belt loops, ‘D rings’ and back straps to the garments. Like Batteux Flahult’s survival coat, the idea was that our suit would be purely functional and self-sustaining, everything had a purpose and a function; to hold/carry everyday survival items that Pedro had found/stolen along the way e.g. rope, lighters, sewing equipment, a sleeping bag etc.

Our garment was designed to be ever evolving and provide a supportive and innovative piece of hand made technology, that would function in the future we predicted.

 

 

References:

 

IMDB, 2015, Black Mirror (2011-), viewed October 29 2015,

< http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/>

 

Taylor, Dr. Jim 2012, Psychology: Is Our Survival Instinct Failing Us?, viewed October 29 2015,

< http://www.drjimtaylor.com/3.0/psychology-is-our-survival-instinct-failing-us/>

 

Howarth, Dan. De Zeen Magazine, 2014, Jacket to help prepare for the end of the world’, viewed October 29 2015,

< http://www.dezeen.com/2014/01/08/jacket-to-help-prepare-for-the-end-of-the-world-by-marie-elsa-batteux-flahault/>

 

Nicole Jedelsky

 

 

 

Understanding Place, Space and Location in Design

The understanding of the word place varies based on the knowledge and personal social, economic and political experiences of an individual. It is a space which can be mapped and identified, a process referred to as ‘location’ according to John Agnew (1987). Agnew considers three layers within the understanding of place: the first, previously discussed, is location; the second is locale, the material structures which constitute a place; and finally, sense of place, the various meanings and associations which are formed within a place. Each of these layers establish a combination of physical, material and metaphysical phenomena, which are further developed in the human imagination. People are able to relate to places through these developments, which are formed based on their knowledge and sensory experiences.

Understanding this concept of place allows designers to create in relation to their environment. Scale, atmosphere, culture – these are all examples of factors which affect the space that influences one’s design, and allow individuals to relate to the piece.

‘Bulk Carrier’ is an industrial scale goon bag measuring 15 metres wide and 4 metres high. It was designed by artist Norton Flavel who is based in Mount Lawley, Perth. The giant goon bag was displayed in 2014 as a part of the ‘Sculpture by the Sea Festival’ at Perth’s Cottesloe Beach and is made out of reflective PVC and epoxy resin.The scale of this piece forces the public landscape to be altered. A piece like this demands attention from the public, both because it is so large and loud, but also because the dramatic shift in scale makes the public think twice about a seemingly average item. The entire tone of the area is interrupted, having had been reminded of what is potentially negative, but hopefully humorous element of Australian culture. Flavel considered the sheer scale of the beach and needed to design working with this scale of the environment in mind, hence the result of such a large sculpture. A small sculpture would not have been able to compete in such a large, open setting, and would not have the desired effect on the viewers.

For task 3 we designed two garments, a jacket and pants, belonging to a fictional character, “Pedro Gonzales”. We designed the garments imagining our dystopic world in 2050, taking into consideration the atmosphere and environment Pedro would be living in. In a post-apocalyptic world where life is like a game of survival, one would need to keep all of his items on his body, in order to keep them protected. Therefore the garments we created featured over 20 pockets combined, as well as D-rings and loops to hang objects from.

We drew upon the imagined location, locale and sense of place of the environments that Pedro would be living in. The location, shown below in a diagram of Newtown in 2050, features the locale or the material structures, being the broken down buildings and self-made tunnels. Understanding the sense of place required all group members to draw upon previous experiences and knowledge of similar environment, for example films such as I Am Legend (2007) or The Hunger Games (2012), which resulted in a combined vision of this world.

Considering the atmosphere and environment allowed us to design garments with relevance to our world in 2050. Our processes resulted in a completely functional, utilitarian suit, which works to make Pedro’s day-today activities as simple as possible.

References:

Agnew, J. A. 1987, ‘Place and politics: the geographical mediation of state and society’, Progress in Human Geography, vol. 27, pp. 605.

Cottesloe 2014 Artist Interview Series with Norton Flavel, 2014, video recording, Youtube.com, Perth.

Dumas, D., Ghabbar, Y., Jedelsky, N., Namura-Alves, J. 2015, Jeremy As Pedro Gonzales, photographed by Dumas, D., viewed 23 October, 2015 <http://i66.tinypic.com/2hwmduh.jpg&gt;

Edith Cowan University 2014, Sculpture By The Sea, viewed 29 October 2015, < http://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/communications-and-arts/news-and-events/sca/2014/03/sculpture-by-the-sea>

Flavel, N. 2014, Norton Flavel Inflates Massive Wine Cask Bag on Australian Beach, photographed by Seng, J., viewed 29 October 2015 <http://www.designboom.com/art/norton-flavel-inflates-wine-cask-bag-australian-beach-03-27-2014/&gt;

Namura-Alves, J. 2015, 2050 World After EBU, viewed 22 October 2015, <http://i67.tinypic.com/sl1ws1.jpg&gt;

Donna Dumas

PRIMARY RESEARCH: PEOPLE WATCHING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT

A recent exploration into the relationship between mankind and technology led me to complete several research studies to prove that we do in fact depend on technology, in particular, mobile phones. We use our mobiles every day for many different uses: setting alarms, organising schedules, taking photos, using the internet, social media, and more. My research involved travelling by public transport and observing all other passengers on that carriage. I documented their age group and made note of what each particular person did in order to pass the time on their journey. I logged the activities of passengers on 15 different journeys, and in order to ensure a wide variance in the study, I travelled on different forms of transport (bus, train, and ferry), on different days, and at different times.

An example of the documentation of one journey is as follows:

9 out of 15 passengers were seen using their phones. 2 of the passengers using their phones were aged below 20, 6 were aged 20-30, and 1 was aged 30-40. Of the remaining 6 passengers not using their phones, 2 were in their 20s, 3 were aged 30-40, and 1 was aged 40-50. The 3 passengers in their 30s travelled together and spoke with each other. The 2 passengers in their 20s travelled separately and simply looked out the window or around the train. The final passenger aged 40-50 was sleeping. 7 of these passengers were standing, and it was interesting to note that majority (6 out of 8) of the seated passengers were also those who used their phones.

The final result showed that 93 of 158 people used their phones on public transport, which equates to almost 60%. Most of these passengers were aged below 30, with a whopping 77.8% of all passengers below the age of 20 using their phones and 68.9% of passengers aged 20-30. The consistency changed with those between the ages of 30 and 50, with results showing 51.3% of passengers aged 30-40 using their phones and 57.9% of passengers aged 40-50. Only 4 out of 15 passengers above the age of 50 were seen using their phones, which is only 26.67%.

From my observations it can be stated that passengers of a younger age group are more likely to use their phone whilst traveling on public transport. Passengers in older age groups were often seen partaking in other activities, for example reading, eating, sleeping, completing crossword puzzles or traveling together and talking. There were a few exceptions with some passengers ages below 40 who were seen reading, eating or talking, and some passengers aged above 50 seen using their phones. One observation I made was that passengers who were standing during their journey were less likely to be using their phone, despite their age, which may be because they need to hold onto a pole or handle for support.

I found it interesting to observe passengers and the activities they completed on their journeys. Most passengers occupied themselves with some form of activity, and it was quite rare to see people simply and waiting to arrive at their destination. After completing my research study, I decided to complete an anonymous survey, questioning individuals on their desired activity in order to pass the time whilst traveling on public transport. The results are as follows:

The results of the survey come from individuals of all age groups, however once again, majority of those admitting to using their phones on public transport were those aged below 30. Younger generations are brought up surrounded by particular technologies such as mobile phones, whereas older generations were not. This may be the cause of results of both my research studies and the survey results.

Donna Dumas

Technology In Medicine – Primary Research

In an age when we are so heavily reliant on the use and development of technology it is no surprise that the world of medicine endeavours to keep the state of the human body up with the rapid speed of evolving technologies.

I observed a video of designer and architect, Neri Oxman, pioneering the search for ways in which digital fabrication technologies can interact with the biological world. From computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering and synthetic biology, Oxman is paving the way for symbiosis between microorganisms and the human body our bodies.

 

(TED 2015)<https://www.ted.com/talks/neri_oxman_design_at_the_intersection_of_technology_and_biology?language=en>

 

This got me thinking further into the possibilities of biomedical design and innovation and what the future will hold between the medical and technological world.

I interviewed a young team member at ‘Vestech – Medical Device Innovation’, Barbara Jedelsky, to understand the world of medical device innovation and commercialisation.

What is your background within the field of technology and medicine?

BJ: I have a degree in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Science, and have previously been involved in primary scientific research in the fields of bone and tendon biology. Currently, I am working within the medical device field, involved in the design and manufacture of novel medical devices, with a particular focus on orthopaedic devices.

How had technology changed the medical world?

BJ: There is no doubt that technology has had a major impact on the field of medicine, both in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Technological advancement has allowed for more efficient diagnosis of disease, through more sensitive equipment and diagnostic procedures. Furthermore, technological advancement has allowed for the development of new and novel treatments for a number of diseases, which were previously untreatable, thus resulting in the increased life expectancy of the general population. In addition, technology has allowed medicine to become more accessible to the developing world, significantly improving the quality of life within these developing regions.

 Are there any risks and/or limits with the use of technology and medical devices?

BJ: There are always inherent risks associated with any piece of technology, in particular those pertaining to the development and use of medical devices. It is for this reason that all medical devices go through a rigorous period of pre-clinical testing, followed by highly scrutinised clinical trials. Once on the market, medical devices are constantly assessed to ensure that they are fulfilling their specific requirements. Despite these rigorous assessments, the nature of biology is that we are always adding to our previous knowledge and learning things that were previously unknown. This may cause a device that was previously deemed at ‘safe’ to no longer be accepted. Therefore, it is important that all users medical devices, both medical professionals as well as primary consumers, remain vigilant and critical of the technology they are using.

Do you believe that society’s growing reliance on technology is a positive or a negative?

BJ: There are both positive and negative aspects to society’s growing reliance on technology. On the positive side, technological advancement has resulted in the vast improvement on the quality of life of the population by making day-to-day tasks both quicker and easier, allowing individuals to spend more time relaxing and partaking in leisurely activities. Furthermore, technology has greatly improved the quality of life of older generations, and this is mirrored in the growing aging population in western societies.

The growing reliance on technology has, however, also has a detrimental impact on the population. The reliance on technology resulted in a reduction in the activity of individuals by making day-to-day tasks simpler and easier to perform and research has shown that the proportion of individuals on western societies classified as overweight and obese in increasing at an alarming rate. 

What do you think the future will bring within the field of medicine, with regard to technological advancement?

BJ: I think in the future, great emphasis will be placed on mimicking biology as closely as possible. This is already seen in orthopaedic devices, where there are constant endeavours to more closely replicate the structural properties of bone in order to increase the longevity of implants. It is well known that nature has optimised the properties of biological systems, and thus replicating these properties as closely as possible in medicine will lead to much more sustainable medical devices. Furthermore, the shift from synthetic, artificial materials to more organic, natural materials will significantly reduce the impact on the environment. There is also great possibility that the shift to mimicking nature may also result in the enhancement of human capability, by replicating those from other biological systems (increasing visual capabilities beyond the visual spectrum). In the future it’s likely that technology will allow medical devices to be fully customisable to each individual (eg already being used today in the 3D printing of a rib-cage for a cancer patient). At the moment we’re just scratching the surface of what is possible. There is huge potential for the advancement in medicine through technological advancement, and this will without a doubt have an incredible impact on the quality of life and human longevity worldwide.

 

References:

TED 2015, Neri Oxman: Design at the intersection of technology and biology, viewed October 10 2015,

<https://www.ted.com/talks/neri_oxman_design_at_the_intersection_of_technology_and_biology?language=en>

 

Nicole Jedelsky

How far would you go with technology?

We all interact technology on a daily basis, at times unaware that we are doing so. We set alarms on our phones and constantly press snooze, allowing our first interaction of the day to be with technology. We cook breakfast on the stove or simply make some toast, showing our need for technology in the kitchen. We check bus or train timetables on the internet, ensuring we arrive at work or uni on time. We do all of this with the help of technology, and all before leaving the house in the morning.

Overtime, humans have changed the way they interact with technology. “Machines are getting better at understanding us, we are getting better at understanding them and both sides are getting smarter by working together,” [Cavan Group, 2013]. Computers, mobile phones, kitchen appliances, vehicles. We interact with these objects constantly and so often that they have become such a major part of our lives. We are at the point where we have become dependent on technology. “[B]oth develop in symbiosis with one another, without the human being realising how much in life is controlled by technology,” [Lindholm, 2009]. To have a dependence on something, whether it is a living being or not, allows one to eventually develop a relationship with it.

Brooker, C. 2013, Be Right Back, Youtube, viewed 1 October 2015 < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzSIQxc_KqE >

An example of a human technology relationship can be seen in ‘Be Right Back’, the first episode in season two of the ‘Black Mirror’ series. The main character Martha, lives with her partner Ash, who very early in the episode is killed in a car accident. Martha is left devastated, and at his funeral, a friend refers her to a new online service which allows her to speak to him. The service accesses all of Ash’s social media updates, private messages, emails – anything he’s ever posted online. It collects this data and creates an online profile of him, which replies to received messages instantly, mimicking his style of grammar and tone through typed messages.

Martha starts sending messages to the online version of her passed husband. She begins to forget that it’s not really him, and her feelings begin to grow for what is really a form of technology based off a human being. The next phase of the service allows her to send through videos and voice recordings, allowing the profile to create a voice which sounds just like Ash’s. She talks to him on the phone everyday, deepening the relationship with the profile. Martha continues on to the next phase. She orders a synthetic body, resembling an adult sized fetus, which she activates using all of the data the online profile has collected. Using photos of Ash as a reference, it morphs into an exact replica of him: a clone. The episode ends with Martha realising that she cannot replace her husband with technology. She begins to see how much its lacks emotion, and the ability to feel and think exactly as Ash would, and so she realises she will never be able to relate or connect fully with it.

Be Right Back, Movie Pilot, viewed 9 October 2015 < http://moviepilot.com/posts/2015/02/07/ranking-all-the-black-mirror-episodes-2668635 >

The service that Martha uses in this episode to contact her husband, shows just how much humans can interact, depend on, and develop a relationship with technology. For awhile we can use technology to distract us from our reality. But as time passes we realise that they cannot replace something that once existed in a different form, for example, human beings. What we need to question is whether technology is “making us more distracted and less able to concentrate?” And if it is “harming our ability to think and be creative, and therefore by extension harming society as a whole?” [Ingram, 2012].

It’s too late to turn back and erase the relationships we’ve already established with technology. But reevaluating just how much we rely and depend on technology in our daily lives may save us from the perhaps eventual destruction of humanity.

REFERENCES

Cavan Group. 2013, The Evolving Relationship Between Humans and Machines, The Cavan Group, viewed 9 October 2015 < http://www.cavangroup.com/the-evolving-relationship-between-humans-and-machines >

Lindhold, C. 2009, The Relationship Between Humans And Technology, Lund University, viewed 9 October 2015 < http://www.ch.lu.se/english/research/meet-our-researchers/the-relationship-between-humans-and-technology >

Brooker, C. 2013, Be Right Back, Youtube, viewed 1 October 2015 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzSIQxc_KqE >

Be Right Back, Movie Pilot, viewed 9 October 2015 <http://moviepilot.com/posts/2015/02/07/ranking-all-the-black-mirror-episodes-2668635 >

Ingram, M. 2012, Is Modern Technology Creating a Culture of Distraction?, Gigaom, viewed 9 October 2015 < http://gigaom/com/2012/06/23/is-modern-technology-creating-a-culture-of-distraction/ > 

Donna Dumas

Human Technological Revolution

Historically, technology has been about encouraging efficiency. Overtime, technology has evolved toward collaborating with, and enhancing human capabilities, ultimately aiding in health and survival as well as increasing productivity.

In Australia, approximately 1,600 people are on the organ waiting list at any time, with 1,193 organ transplants in 2014 alone (Australian Government 2014). Artificial organ transplants are one solution to the scarcity of transplantable organs and bio artificial organs have been developed that are able to keep patients alive for years until they are able to receive a natural organ. But in the future, patients may be able to live for extended periods with artificial hearts or kidneys (A Sifferlin 2013).

SynCardia Systems, Inc. full functioning artificial heart

Sifferlin, A., Time, 2013, 5 Discoveries That Will Change the Future of Organ Transplants – Artificial and Implantable Organs, viewed 6 October 2015, <http://healthland.time.com/2013/06/06/5-discoveries-that-will-change-the-future-of-organ-transplants/slide/artificial-organs/>

On December 21^st 2013, the first artificial heart transplant was performed at the Georges Pompido Hospital in Paris (P Allen 2013). This bio prosthetic device is powered by external, wearable lithium-ion batteries, replacing the heart. It mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the moves of the patient. Marcello Conviti, Head of the Carmat Biomedical Firm said, ‘the artificial heart would beat for at least 5 years’. (P Allen 2013) Surgeon Alain Carpentier said, ‘it’s about giving patients a normal social life with the least dependence on medication as possible’ (P Allen 2013). This kind of scientific and technological innovation is capable of bringing considerable hope to many suffering people.

 

What if it were possible to engineer a human soldier that had the ability endure starvation and sleep deprivation and resist physical and psychological torture. What if we were able to engineer generation of ‘super soldiers’? (P Lin 2012)

Currently the military is undertaking programs with biomedical scientists, aimed at engineering soldiers that are no longer susceptible to regular human weaknesses, such as, hunger, fatigue and sleep.

Humans have a natural vulnerability; unlike animals humans are not born with fangs, claws, venom, fur or with the ability to fly to aid us in times of attack. We rely on tools and technology to assist our survival.

In recent years scientists have developed innovative external devices. Of note has been the ‘exoskeleton’ that aids the wearer and gives them super strength (P Lin 2012). This collaboration with science and technology has helped ‘upgrade’ the human body, allowing it to become stronger, more aware, more durable and more manoeuvrable, therefore aiding survival.

 

The evolution of intelligent technologies and sophisticated interfaces, such as, wearable devices and smart machines, enable machines to collaborate with humans. Wearable devices utilised in the workforce enable staff to collect and share data quickly and efficiently, increasing productivity. Accenture Technology Vision 2015 report that with the machines precision and consistency, coupled with human creativity, contextual understanding and capacity for complex communication, enormous value is added to a business and encourages faster gains in returns on investments (P Daugherty 2015).

Smart technology including driverless cars and Natural Language Processing (NLP) and speech recognition technology creates ‘human like’ interaction with intelligent software. Cars Semi autonomous driving and navigational abilities are designed to enhance the drivers experience and perform safe and easy journeys. NLP software makes it a lot easier for humans to interact with technology in real time and is predicted that by 2018 the market for this technology will have grown from $3.7billion in 2013, to $10 billion (P Daugherty 2015).

We are rapidly heading into a new industrial revolution, strengthening the ties between human and technological potential. This stands to gain enormous long-term advantages in medicine, the military forces and business.

 

 

REFERENCES:

Australian Government Organ and Tissue Authority, 2014, Facts and Statistics, Australia, viewed 6 October 2015, <http://www.donatelife.gov.au/discover/facts-and-statistics>

 

Allen, P. for Mailonline, Daily Mail Australia, 2013, Man gets the world’s first artificial heart: French surgeons perform ground-breaking operation, Australia, viewed 6 October 2015,

<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2527492/Pioneering-French-surgeons-perform-worlds-artificial-heart-transplant.html>

 

Sifferlin, A., Time, 2013, 5 Discoveries That Will Change the Future of Organ Transplants – Artificial and Implantable Organs, viewed 6 October 2015, <http://healthland.time.com/2013/06/06/5-discoveries-that-will-change-the-future-of-organ-transplants/slide/artificial-organs/>

 

Lin, P. The Atlantic, 2012, More Than Human? The Ethics of Biologically Enhancing Soldiers, 6 October 2015, <http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/more-than-human-the-ethics-of-biologically-enhancing-soldiers/253217/>

 

Daugherty, P., Computer Weekly, 2015, Blending humans and technology in the workforce, viewed 6 October 2015, <http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Blending-humans-and-technology-in-the-workforce>

Satell, G., Forbes, 2014, Why The Future Of Technology Is All Too Human, USA, viewed 6 October 2015, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/02/23/why-the-future-of-technology-is-all-too-human/>

 

Nicole Jedelsky

BIG DATA: Surveillance

Data is all around us and we’re constantly looking for ways to join it together. The novel 1984 portrayed this dystopian vision of the future; a future characterised by double speak, thought crying and universal and constant surveillance. It warns about totalitarianism but in reality, does this have a real message for a contemporary audience? As the director Michael Futcher has made clear, when 1984 was played in theatres in 2012 the show sold out so this was an indication that there was an enormous desire from the audiences to understand the nature of this type of power and the way it related to our own society. It is now getting more and more difficult for people to escape surveillance.

Mark Pesce, a futurist and technology analyst and associate in USYD digital cultures program, explains that 1984 resonates with so many people as well as this idea of a surveillance society saying, “For 29 years after 1984 we really thought we’d dodged a bullet, that western democracies were safe, powerful and we were all living in freedom. Then last year when the Snowden revelations came out it started to become clearer and clearer that in fact 1984 wasn’t far off the mark: that the NSA and its associated organisations were all colluding in massive wide-scale surveillance of populations and specific targeted surveillance of world leaders” (Funnell 2014). The NSA (National Security Agency) has this capability and is using it to record everything. People are making this surveillance even easier by using smart phones that track their every move. Pesce believes that there are many benefits of connected culture; it is just up to people to discover how to control their own privacy and sharing. At present it is still difficult to do so in the market place but as this need to control privacy rises, cultural techniques will be established that allow better modulation of privacy.

Rob Hillard from Deloitte also sees our relationship with surveillance as extremely complex. “Yet at the heart of the surveillance society he says is data. Lots of Data. Big Data” (Funnell 2015). The debate around big data is nothing new, but as Hillard points out, trying to avoid being tracked online is now becoming suspicious. You are at risk of being responsible for a crime that happens while you are offline. He ultimately believes that living without leaving a trail is easy if you want to live as a hermit but even so, in The Bourne Supremacy protagonist Jason Bourne tries to escape the CIA by going off the grid in India, only to still miraculously be tracked there.

Being watched has become a part of life today. There are indeed safety benefits that come from constantly being watched e.g. by lifeguards. So even though people say they don’t like being watched, there are also times when they’d want to be watched. Funnily enough, people are comfortable being watched if they’ve given consent, but public surveillance cameras are recording us without our permission. In turn, surveillance has manifested into a one way mirror in which we are watched by cannot watch back.

REFERENCES

Brew, N. 2013, ‘Surveillance in society- global communications monitoring and data retention’, Parliament of Australia, viewed 23 August 2015, .

Brew, N. 2012, ‘Telecommunications data retention- an overview, Parliamentary Library, viewed 24 August 2015, .

Funnell, A. 2014, ‘1984 and our modern surveillance society’, Future Tense ABC, viewed 23 August 2015, .

Funnell, A. 2014, How far from 1984?, audio podcast, Future Tense, Radio National, ABC Radio, Sydney, 27 July, viewed 24 August 2015, .

Gans, J., Mann, S. 2015, ‘When the camera lies: our surveillance society needs a dose of integrity to be reliable’, The Conversation, viewed 20 August 2015, .

The Bourne Supremacy 2004, motion picture, Universal Studios, United States.

Yasmine Ghabbar

Big Data, Big Risk?

We live in an era where technology is advancing faster than ever before, with 2014 named as a landmark year for digital growth, the invasion of big data is only expected to grow (S Kemp 2015).

Big data allows technologies to challenge standard human behaviour and substitute it with new, innovative and exciting alternatives and possibilities (A Frank 2013). How ever, have you ever considered the potential dangers of big data, and the risks involved with giving people free access to the deepest, most personal and in some cases classified information? It is important to understand who has access to your data, how data can be shared and leaked and how it can be interpreted (R W Larsen 2014).

We Are Social’s new Digital, Social and Mobile in 2015 report shows that over 3 billion people out of a total of just over 7 billion people world wide are active internet users. That’s almost 50% of the world’s population! And just over 2 billion of those people have active social media accounts (S Kemp 2015).

(Simon Kemp 2015, Digital, Social & Mobile Worldwide in 2015, We are Social, London United Kingdom, viewed 26^th August 2015, <http://wearesocial.net/blog/2015/01/digital-social-mobile-worldwide-2015/>)

 

Facebook is responsible for more than half of those people connected to social media, with 1.23 billion users worldwide (M Ross 2014). It is important to understand that when we divulge our personal information including birthdays, photos, locations, emails, mobile numbers, friends etc. on social media sites like Facebook, that we are allowing said information to be shared, circulated and enter a field of communicative exchange (R Raley 2013). Internet scammers take advantage of the information and photographs you post online, send in texts and emails, to create a fake identity or target you with money stealing scams. In July 2015 there was 976 reports of identity thefts in Australia alone (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 2015).

(Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 2015, Identity theft, Scam Watch, Australia, viewed 27^th August 2015, <https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/attempts-to-gain-your-personal-information/identity-theft>)

 

Another risk associated with big data is the major lack of security in the data storage, as in the case of the 2010 WikiLeaks scandal (R W Larsen 2014). In this case disaffected US army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning allegedly copied a substantial amount of US government documents and sent them to WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organisation that publishes classified information (A Ezekiel, J Palfrey, J Zittrain 2012). This information included hundreds of thousands of classified military documents that were then shared with numerous newspapers and fell into public dispersal. This particular incident sparked an explosion of cyber attacks, online raids, conflicts and counter attacks surpassing the effects of prior high profile information leaks (A Ezekiel, J Palfrey, J Zittrain 2012).

The miss interpretation and poor use is another risk relating to big data with drastic consequences. Marissa Mayer, chief executive of Yahoo, is known to adopt the controversial system of stacked raking. This process aimed to promote diligence, separating the overachievers from the underachievers, although it quickly produced the complete opposite (K Kakaes 2015). Her method of Q.P.R.s (quarterly performance reviews), where managers were obligated to rank their meeting reports from 1 – 5, with at percentage of them forced to be placed at the bottom of the spectrum, regardless of whether that ranking was deserved. This inconsistent and unreliable use of data created increased competition, de-motivation and potentially cost people their employment based on arbitrary, biased data (M Nisen, 2015).

Big data creeps into every aspect of our lives, it is important to identify the different types of risks associated with it and how we can exercise safety protect ourselves from falling victim to its dark side.

 

REFERENCES:

Simon Kemp 2015, Digital, Social & Mobile Worldwide in 2015, We are Social, London United Kingdom, viewed 26^th August 2015, <http://wearesocial.net/blog/2015/01/digital-social-mobile-worldwide-2015/>

Adam Frank 2013, A Brave New World: Big Data’s Big Dangers, National Public Radio, viewed 27^th August 2015 <http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/06/10/190516689/a-brave-new-world-big-datas-big-dangers>

Rune Wreidt Larsen 2014, Researchers to reveal the dangers of ‘Big Data’, Science Nordic, Denmark, viewed 26^th August 2015, <http://sciencenordic.com/researchers-reveal-dangers-%E2%80%98big-data%E2%80%99>

Monique Ross 2014, Facebook turns 10: the world’s largest social network in numbers, ABC News, Australia, viewed 26^th August 2015, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-04/facebook-turns-10-the-social-network-in-numbers/5237128>

Raley, Rita. 2013, ‘Dataveillance and Countervailance,’ In Gitelman, L. (ed) “Raw Data” Is an Oxymoron, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, pp. 125

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission 2015, Identity theft, Scam Watch, Australia, viewed 27^th August 2015<https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/attempts-to-gain-your-personal-information/identity-theft>

Alan Ezekiel, John Palfrey, Jonathan Zittrain 2012, The WikiLeaks Incident: Background, Details, and Resources, Harvard Law School, United States of America, viewed August 27^th 2015,<http://casestudies.law.harvard.edu/the-wikileaks-incident-background-details-and-resources/>

Konstantin Kakaes 2015, The big dangers of ‘big data’, CNN, London United Kingdom, viewed 26^th August 2015, <http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/02/opinion/kakaes-big-data/>

Max Nisen, 2015, Marissa Mayer’s Yahoo is a case study in the toxic nature of stack ranking, Quartz, viewed 27^th August 2015,<http://qz.com/320532/marissa-mayers-yahoo-is-a-case-study-in-the-toxic-nature-of-stack-ranking/>

 

Nicole Jedelsky