Mobile Computing (18)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
In this episode, Victoria wakes up with no memory of who she is in a post-apocalyptic scenario. She is chased and hunted by weapon-toting masked people, and gets no help from the bystanders who record her horrific struggle for survival on their smartphones. Eventually, it is revealed that this scenario is an engineered reality. While the digital technologies present here are limited, this narrative stands as an effective metaphor to study the phenomenon of “cancel culture” and other ways in which digital technologies alienate the humanity of others.
- Kinolab
- 2013
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
Fascination and Desensitization through Digital Technologies
In this episode, Victoria wakes up with no memory of who she is in a post-apocalyptic scenario. She is chased and hunted by weapon-toting masked people, and gets no help from the bystanders who record her horrific struggle for survival on their smartphones. Eventually, it is revealed that this scenario is an engineered reality. While the digital technologies present here are limited, this narrative stands as an effective metaphor to study the phenomenon of “cancel culture” and other ways in which digital technologies alienate the humanity of others.
Do smartphones and their recording capabilities make people less sensitive to events or phenomena which they capture? How do digital news channels or platforms sensationalize bad people, especially criminals or other wrong-doers, and inspire collective hatred? How can digital technologies be designed to be more empathetic? Why is it so easy to criticize others over digital channels?
Black Mirror: Victoria Wakes Up-
- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Nathan, the creator of the advanced humanoid robot Ava, explains to his employee Caleb that big data collected through smartphone cameras and microphones aided his attempts to make Ava’s features more human.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Big Data and its Reflection of Humanity
Nathan, the creator of the advanced humanoid robot Ava, explains to his employee Caleb that big data collected through smartphone cameras and microphones aided his attempts to make Ava’s features more human.
How can our digital consumer and search data be mined by tech companies for research? Does such a wide data net capture everything necessary about humanity? How does Google search mirror the human seeking of knowledge in digital form?
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- 7 min
- Vice
- 2019
Snapchat stores some user data for legitimate purposes but is vague about doing so, and abuses (such as spying) of this data have occurred within the company.
- Vice
- 2019
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- 7 min
- Vice
- 2019
Snapchat Employees Abused Data Access to Spy on Users
Snapchat stores some user data for legitimate purposes but is vague about doing so, and abuses (such as spying) of this data have occurred within the company.
How does this story contrast the view of Snapchat as a platform where all posts are ephemeral?
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- 10 min
- Field of Vision
- 2017
Video criticising the AT&T and NSA partnership, which allowed the NSA to spy on the UN, the World Bank, etc, by installing its surveillance equipment in AT&T hubs.
- Field of Vision
- 2017
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- 10 min
- Field of Vision
- 2017
Project X: Field of Vision
Video criticising the AT&T and NSA partnership, which allowed the NSA to spy on the UN, the World Bank, etc, by installing its surveillance equipment in AT&T hubs.
How do you know that your conversations are not being spied on at the moment? Would you like to have more reassurance?
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- 15 min
- n/a
- 2017
An exploration of Venmo transactions for five different randomly selected users. On Venmo, all transactions are public by default, and users can take certain steps to make this information private.
- n/a
- 2017
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- 15 min
- n/a
- 2017
Public by Default: The Tales of Venmo
An exploration of Venmo transactions for five different randomly selected users. On Venmo, all transactions are public by default, and users can take certain steps to make this information private.
If you have Venmo, do you have in on private or public mode? Have you ever thought about what having your transactions publicised could lead to? Who could use information like what you are hungry for or your relationships to other people, and how?
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- 7 min
- Wall Street Journal
- 2021
Google’s new Pixel 6 smartphone claims to have “the world’s most inclusive camera” based on its purported ability to more accurately reflect darker skin tones in photographs, a form of digital justice notably absent from previous iterations of computational photography across the phones of various tech monopolies.
- Wall Street Journal
- 2021
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- 7 min
- Wall Street Journal
- 2021
Google Built the Pixel 6 Camera to Better Portray People With Darker Skin Tones. Does It?
Google’s new Pixel 6 smartphone claims to have “the world’s most inclusive camera” based on its purported ability to more accurately reflect darker skin tones in photographs, a form of digital justice notably absent from previous iterations of computational photography across the phones of various tech monopolies.
How can “arms races” between different tech monopolies potentially lead to positive innovations, especially those that center equity? Why did it take so long to have a more inclusive camera? How can a camera be exclusive?