IAM Weekend is the meeting for creative thinkers and leading organizations who care about the futures of the internet(s).
This year the focus of the conference has been "The Quantumness of Archipelagos". The fundamental idea of Quantumness is the fact that the particles can be in different places, simultaneously, and the concept of archipelago refers to a global mentality formed by many islands. These two concepts make us reconsider ourselves from a new perspective since the age of the Internet is redefining our relationship with the planet.
This new stage in which humanity is immersed, is creating a new interconnected world consciousness.
The Quantumness of Archipelagos
How can we decelerate, decolonize and debrief the coevolution of the internet(s), digital technologies and societies?
JAMES BEACHMAM,
Particle physicist at the Large Hadron Collider / CERN
"OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSE"
The universe is always expanding, the "grid" where everything coexists is stretching constantly. From this concept, we can extract the idea of infinity which makes us consider the need that if something happens, it will necessarily happen again. Thinking this way, things may be frightening.
In order to make it more tangible, we could take this reflection to the opposite direction and make it smaller, and not as big as the infinite universe. We know that electrons have the duality of being particles and waves simultaneously, and we are not more than temporary manifestations of the vibrations of these waves in the grid that is the factory of space of the universe. We can see ourselves, human beings, as the tool or the way for the universe to have consciousness of itself.
Thinking about the size of the universe, what we know about it, and the tiny role we play on it, it can be terrifying, but it would be much more scary if we were alone.
TALLER DE CASQUERÍA,
Art & Architecture Collective
"BLACK ISLANDS"
We had the chance to know about the interesting project "BLACK ISLANDS", by the new Collective of Art & Architecture.
In the old days, the maritime boarder of a country was defined by the distance which the war cannons were able to reach, today this paradigma has changed into what is called Virtual Colonialism.
Virtual Colonialism is defined as the idea of territory appropriation via the mapping system, such as Google Maps, and it can hack forms of topography, where policies of occupation and expropriation operates via image data.
This virtual occupation relies on the user inputs and needs interpretation, just like any other image. Errors in the software are creating black islands, or black spots, which are considered opportunities still to be conquered.
Dr. FRANCESCA FERRANDO,
Philosopher / co-founder of the NY Posthuman Research Group
"THE ENLIGHTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY"
How to live a happy life?
Thinking that everything is possible, but nothing is neutral, we should live life as building our own work of art.
Everything we do has a reaction, we are shaping the direction of our species with each action we take. Technology can bring enlightenment, and there are different ways to interact with, and every single one counts to create this correlation. Which websites do you visit? What kind of emails do you send? How does it make you feel?
But when technology became an addiction, it turns into a problem. Nowadays, if a child says iPad before learning how to say mom, it will be a clear sign that we have a problem.
IS ADDICTION SOMETHING WE WANT IN OUR FUTURE RELATIONSHIPS WITH TECHNOLOGY?
CARINA LOPES & RENATA AVILA,
Think Tank at Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation
"DIGITAL FUTURE SOCIETY"
The FUTURE is ours. Will YOU HELP shape it??
Empathy in social services should be implemented in A.I. to make it better and more inclusive.
INTERNET is a MIRROR. What happens on the internet is the same as it is happening in the planet, and we have to deal with monopolies treating us just as data generators. It is full of companies fighting for markets, but who is fighting for the rights? We should shift, we may be headed to the wrong direction, we should decolonize the internet to serve the public good.
DIGITAL APPLICATION THAT CAN BE USED FOR SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL WILL BE USED FOR SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL.
ALEJANDRO MAYORAL,
Indigenous Friends Association,
"TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE + TECHNOLOGY "
How can we integrate the traditional knowledge into the A.I. to make it safer?
To achieve this integration, we need to include the traditional knowledge in a way that can be protected and the ownership can be controlled, but at the same time it should be a public domain.
Making this understandable by the people who is currently in possession of this traditional knowledge is easier if we use a "tipi" as a model to design the digital platform, mainly because it is an element they already know and trust.
In order to decolonize, we have to use the colonialist tools. For example, there is already Indians in the Amazon using mobile phones fixed in the top of the trees to protect them from deforestation.
JESSICA BISHOP,
Filmmaker,
"LIKE ME"
Another interesting proposal that we could see this year at the IAM Weekend was the Jessica Bishop short film about being a teenager today in social media.
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT BEING A TEENAGER ON INSTAGRAM?
Social media can be devastating, not only because the problems of the teens are worse than before, but also because now this problems has migrated online. This is a huge CULTURAL SHIFT, despite the need of being accepted is still the same, the addiction to a reward is increasing exponentially since they are sharing all online.
ARE WE BECOMING MORE OR LESS REAL MAKING OUR LIFE PUBLIC?
LASZLITO KOVACS,
VP of Creative, WeTransfer,
"RELOADING THE FUTURES OF THE INTERNET(S) "
"THE PAST IS UNPREDICTABLE,
THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN"
Privacy is no longer what we used to think, we have to understand this new paradigma to avoid being overwhelmed by it.
The algorithms can predict the future through the data we gather, and as a result, we become the abandoned carcasa, not the product anymore. But there is still hope, we have to tell stories that make sense and get our teen spirit back.
"THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN, NO MORE"
ISABEL MARTÍNEZ,
@isabelitavirtual
"BECAME THE MOST FOLLOWED ON INSTAGRAM IN SPAIN"
Isabel Martínez shares with us her journey to become the most followed Instagramer in Spain, and how her relationship and feelings changed with this social network.
She was working in an advertising agency when the economic crisis took place. This particular moment made customers to slow down creativity and she decided to open an Instagram account to give freedom to her creations.
She had no model, she became her own model, but with no intention to show her face, she hid her face in all the photographs. She began to create a universe and gain followers until she received a call from Vogue Paris, who wanted to publish her work. She was requested to send the pictures in high definition, they considered her the photographer of the year, but all her photographs were done with her phone.
She became the most followed Instagramer in Spain, but she got to a point where her feelings towards Instagram or towards her community changed completely.
At that point, Isabel considered only two options: Leave it or reinvent its relationship with the network. She chose to change it into a multidisciplinary space, she listened to her body and now she is much happier with her relationship with Instagram.
She stopped ads, connected with yourself, and at midnight every night during the months of October, Isabel Martinez’s “Midnight Sunrise” brought the first colors of dawn upon the city that never sleeps. A MOMENT OF CALM IN A CRAZY TOWN
CYRUS CLARKE,
Designer, explorer, artist and researcher
"GROW YOUR OWN CLOUD"
What will it take for humans to truly value nature?
ORGANISM AS A STORAGE DEVICE
Data is not just information, it is the most valuable asset in the world. The problem is that our high demand of storage is causing a lot of contamination, as it grows exponentially.
DNA is the oldest data storage, and it offers more durability and space than the methods we are using at the moment.
SIMONE REBAUDENGO,
Product & interaction designer
"automato.farm"
Bridging and blurring physical and digital interfaces, digging deeper into algorithms and behaviors of products, translating complex black boxes into interfaces and using connectivity and intelligence as new materials to be shaped.
"SOMETIMES I DELIVER REAL PRODUCTS SOMETIMES I DON'T, THAT REALLY CONFUSES MY CLIENTS"
When it comes to discussion around the ethics of machines, the focus is often put on extreme examples where human life and death are involved. But what about more mundane and insignificant objects of our everyday lives? Soon, «smart» objects might also need to have moral capacities as “they know too much” about their surroundings to take a neutral stance. If a « smart » coffee machine knows about its user’s heart problems, should it accept giving him a coffee when he requests one?
Many car manufacturers are projecting that by 2025, most cars will operate on driverless systems. While it is valid to think that our roads will be safer as autonomous vehicles replace traditional cars, the unpredictability of real-life situations that involve the complexities of moral and ethical reasoning complicate this assumption.
JOANNA SKORUPSKA,
Radicalzz.studio
"SOLAR PUNK & CYBER ECOLOGY"
Radicalzz is a Poland-based studio technology enthusiasts with radical underlining in the human side.
They believe that technology should serve people’s needs, not the other way around. They use it as a tool that helps us to reshape the world around us and create a better future.
On stage and to be coherent with these values, their presentation was interactive and giving the public the possibility of voting through their Instagram account the topics to be discussed.
From their point of view, we are entering an era of re-enlightenment as technology shapes social interactions and relationships between machines and people.
Machines are what you feed them with, but are we taking care of the quality of this data, as data generators? Are we aware of the pollution that this data storage is causing to the environment? And who is going to take responsibility for it?
The votes of the audience led the presentation to talk about three projects that highlight Radicalzz's values:
Ecosia.org - Help planting trees while browsing in internet
- Watly - a purifying water computer using solar energy
- Solar Punk - a somewhat promiscuous adjective, used to describe a vision of the future that we actually want. That means a future where high technology is put in service of humans and the environment.
