Looking into the Future ...
* Videos/ A Day Made of Glass (Corning) / Productivity Future Vision (Microsoft / Sight / Charlie 13 / Plurality
>>Corning - Actually watched the "Unpacked" video as well. Interesting - a lot of things are already in the works. The classroom scenario was mundane for me - yes, enhanced media platforms and personal computing, but I'd think that in the future we'd actually move beyond the traditional-style segregated, room & row seating kinds of setups. I know that Sweden already has some innovative schools breaking out of the industrial-era model. As for Corning's advancement ideas - love the rooftop photovoltaic glass, and the all-glass tablets which can multitask as viewers, personal organizers, PCs and interactive camera/viewers. Having all that powerful computing on hand would be quite amazing - the iPad has revolutionized how I access and track my own personal information and learning, so having something even lighter and more multifunctional would open up larger realms of accessibility. The sharing idea of "flicking" something over to a nearby tablet looks plausible.
>>Microsoft - I don't know about the future of computing, but wow I do like that Greenwall project ;-) I also liked her translating glasses frames and the folding, wood "tablet" computer. Credit-card sized phones ? I think maybe too small. The display of the "Benefit Concert" with phone-powered payment for donation opens up a whole new realm of positive & negative. It looks like Microsoft is pushing smaller, thinner, lighter - and again, ubiquitous - computer displays. I do miss cozy, warm, indoor setting - books, objets. Both Corning and Microsoft seem to push for a future interior that is stark, white, pristing, and beyond-Zen-uncluttered. Not seeing this happening for most people ....
So - the questions:
how is education being visualised here? what is being learned and taught?
Both show very visual-based, interactive learning activities. These we have - but oftentimes teachers don't have the technological know-how, support or time to create & develop tailored activities for their students. A lot of what exists that is good is for-pay, which means a long process of getting budget approval (and often an all-or-nothing kind of adoption).
()what is the nature of communication in these future worlds?
Still mobile-phone based, but more visual. Also, a lot of drawn or handwritten images sent. Connection to community or family spaces (kitchen wall, eg)
()are these utopian or a dystopian visions to you? In what way(s)?
Utopian in the ease of access, interest factor for education spaces, and awareness of others/environment (benefit concert, green wall, wooden touches, personal bellhop prepped for specific guest).
Dystopian in that I imagine a lot of this will still be economically biased towards those with money. What does the other side of the coin look like in these images? In the Corning ad, is that a public or private school? Dystopian also - for me - in the school setup, and that people are far too accessible by work (I think there should be downtime, disconnected downtime, where you deal with your family and yourself without distractions from anything with a screen).
>>SightSystems - This was definitely dystopian and scary. Having half-completed a Coursera in gamification, I could see a lot of that at play. Plus, the idea of something permanently embedded in one's eye is just disturbing for me. Having something that could analyse the shelf life of your fridge food would be useful (Just had a clean out of my own, and would appreciate something which could take the guesswork out of "how long have I had this jam again?")
Questions:
()What is going on here, and how do you interpret the ending? Patrick is a master manipulator, and lives in his own augmented, near-virtual reality. He can't really carry on a conversation - it's very stilted, limited to bites of info - and needs cues in order to figure out how to interact with the girl. Is she an android (really desperate there, Patrick, and can't land an android) or is she real (then Patrick is a potential rapist with the ability to control people through their eyewear ... which was hinted at in the dialogue between the two at the restaurant).
()How does this vision align and contrast with the ones in the first two films? Definitely views the ubiquity as a negative - more of an escape from reality - and there aren't a lot of people in this film, so it feels stark and deserted in contrast to the Microsoft ad. The fact that there is ubiquity of computing/displays and a heavy reliance on it for daily life is aligned with Corning/Microsoft.
>>Charlie13 - I think the ending line resonates with me ("You won't have to be afraid ever again" ... "I'm not afraid of anything!") as the culture of fear in my "mother" country (USA) would push people towards this kind of ID-tagging option.
Question:
()To what extent does Charlie 13 represent a hopeful or a bleak future? A bit of both - hopeful, in that there seems to be some respite from an onslaught of technology bleeping everywhere. Bleak, in that we are taggable, trackable and therefore "on the grid" 24/7. In terms of crime, that might be a good thing - in terms of the ease for paying, etc, as well - but there seems to be some loss of identity/free will. If "everyone is watching" it gets a bit like Big Brother ... I could imagine some creativity being stifled, anyone stepping outside the box - what happens to them?
>>Plurality - Cool concept for a movie ... I'd like to see this as a full-length film. Having had a laptop with fingerprint recognition, I can see that DNA sampling and ID verification might become viable and prevalent in the future. This film again presents the ubiquity of data-based technology and the ease with which it will be integrated - for better or worse - into daily life.
Questions:
()To what extent do you think Plurality’s depictions of the impact of surveillance technologies are relevant to social and educational practices today? In terms of security and verification, the implications both pro and con are big. Like "Charlie 13" the constant awareness of being watched may deter crime and negative behaviors, but at what cost? I think the pressure of never having privacy, of always being potentially scrutinized would cause more neuroses in the long run. While having the convenience of DNA identity verification would be a bonus for security purposes, I am sure there would be ways to get around it through some kind of computer hacking (not just hacking off fingers, etc).
()Which society (Charlie’s or Alana’s) would you rather find yourself in, and why? If I had to choose, I suppose Alana's, only because I don't like the idea of an implant. Either scenario presents a loss of personal privacy and too many options for something to go wrong.
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