Régine Debatty’s lecture on Ubicomp in general and RFID in particular
We were really lucky this morning to start with Régine’s lecture presenting very serious issues of Ubicomp illustrated by very cheerful projects. Of course, as answer on “is RFID dangerous for our society?”, we all have agreed that it’s not the technology that is dangerous but well the usage made by people of this technology.
She presented various projects as by artists as by companies or authorities showing that information, data concerning individuals are recorded everywhere, from sonogram of you as a fetus to cookies of your virtual life, passing by video records (CCTV) of your public behaviour. We give a lot of data without even beeing aware of it. “There is an electronic shadow following us and RFID is just one them”, to quote Régine.
Furthermore, borders between public/private life are getting blurred. Our own voyeurism leads us to watch closely each other espacially on the cover of terrorism fear and increase of criminality. Big Brother is back, managing our own behaviour (but was he really gone…?).
Little by little, technology is taking control of us (GPS direction, tagged luggages deciding for us our destination, octopus card bugs in Hong-Kong making metro free of access,…). People risk to become sheeps by following their Tom Tom…
The fact is that as all new technologies, RFID was frightening us, while now it’s no more shocking. For artists, it’s just a new tool that can be used for interaction. But by hacking existing RFID from our everyday life environment, we will question our society and push the topic further.
Régine has nicely gathered a lot of information she discussed about during this lecture on her blog we make money not art. You can read her post here! And here are the slides of her presentation.!
She also has sent me some links concerning the projects she discussed in her lecture and here they are:
Thanks Régine!!!
Microchip & Delhi cows:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi
Battelfield RFID rocks:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0
Mexico, rfid and attorney general de la concha:
http://www.informationweek.com
http://www.theregister.co.uk
rfid razor blades at Tesco
http://www.guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk
A week in the Life: http://dasautomat.com/?p=119
Asbo TV:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk
Jonas Dahlberg: http://hosting.zkm.de/ctrlspace
Tracking Transience: http://trackingtransience.net/
freezone: http://www.stanza.co.uk
floatable jellyfish: http://haque.co.uk/floatables
Recoil: http://trackingtransience.net/
wave bubble: http://www.ladyada.net/
eliza: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
my ggogle search history:
http://www.albertinemeunier
Book: Shaping things
http://mitpress.mit.edu
Bruce Sterling on spimes:
http://www.boingboing.net
these flocks: http://www.theseflocks.com/
peripheral needs:
http://interactionivrea.org/en
zapped!: http://www.zapped-it.net/
Amad Greenfield, Everyware, the downing age of ubiquitous computing:
http://www.studies-observations
