On September 4 I participated in Improving Reality, Lighthouse’s annual conference on contemporary culture. You can read more about the program, other participants etc here.
What follows is a brief description of my own reflections and some things that happened as a result of this experience.
My presentation & reactions to it
Some of the reactions on Twitter
https://twitter.com/mthvn/status/507500655813341184
https://twitter.com/limbicfish/status/507800343166873601
https://twitter.com/WLTM_ake/status/507900158013874176
https://twitter.com/interpl8/status/507608176230158336
https://twitter.com/UK_CE/status/507507413868896256
https://twitter.com/edwardhorsford/status/507506725688467456
https://twitter.com/JMateosGarcia/status/507505760486842368
https://twitter.com/thejaymo/status/507501902360477697
Personal reflections
I hadn’t realised just how bored I am of events focused on the limited parts of the human experience that can be reduced to transactions…or monetised. We really need to create more space for relevant and interesting work at the intersections of culture and technology. Because it helps us understand and process things for which we don’t yet have language, or are only beginning to sense.
Jannane Al Ani’s stunning aerial photos reveal how nothing is truly invisible, even the vanishing of people leaves traces. See for yourself.
They are very different but Jannane’s presentation and Holly Herndon’s video below brought to mind something I have sensed for some time now, but had not yet been able to articulate well. It’s related to where we look for clues in trying to understand something complex, and how we go about making sense of it - what activities this entails.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_3mCDJ_iWc
To me Holly’s video manages to communicate on a visceral level the consequences of living under surveillance in a way that no rational arguments ever will. Soon after the event I showed it to retired NSA Technical Director Bill Binney and the ensuing conversation was an interesting one to say the least… but I’m saving it for another post.
It’s something I will be exploring more actively in the new year- how we can encourage and support more of this in the Edgeryders space. Jeff’s post, Get Back in The Box, is one example that I have really enjoyed.
Perhaps others in the community might be interested in getting involved in this? If so the Making Space group could be a good place to start.
