[-empyre-] Re: mobile cartography/territorializing media

[Ryan Griffis <ryan.griffis@gmail.com>]

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/realtime-rome.html
i like this comment from the web site:
"
Ratti believes these types of visualizations will help reduce the  
inefficiencies of present day urban systems and open the way to a  
more sustainable future: "Our hope is that projects like Real Time  
Rome will give city dwellers more control over their environment by  
allowing them to make more informed decisions about their  
surroundings. Imagine being able to avoid traffic congestion, or  
knowing where people are congregating on a Saturday afternoon. In a  
worst-case scenario, such real time systems could also make it easier  
to evacuate a city in case of emergency."
"
it's DIY Taylorism!
To quote Tim "Speed" Levitch, that's so "anti-cruise"!
One thing i wonder about, however, is, if everyone has access to this  
wonderful infrastructure of information that allows them to avoid  
traffic jams, who are the unlucky folks that are causing the  
congestion in the first place? In these scenarios, technology is  
always helping people avoid other people in situations that are not  
desirable, and allowing them to be in situations that are desirable.  
But they always maintain that there will be undesirable situations  
that need to be avoided. Doesn't this imply, not-so-subtly, that the  
very need for, or at least the functionality of, the technology  
springs from a situation of inequitable distribution?
In an equitable situation, where the benefits of the tech are evenly  
distributed, what purpose, honestly, would this technology serve  
other than more focused advertising and better control of populations?
Sure, medical needs, mass transit and all of that... yeah, because  
equitable health care and public transportation are driving forces of  
technology and commercial/gov interests.
Why not track sources of power, like, say the cops... lots of people  
could benefit from that. imagine always knowing where a cop was,  
whether you need one, or want to avoid one.
And we could see the inequitable distribution of resources in places  
like Los Angeles and Chicago... how many cops present in South  
Central/South Chicago versus Beverly Hills/The Loop. That would be  
useful.
Not likely to get the sponsorship of telcoms or biennales.
No, we better stick with finding ways for people to avoid traffic and  
meet up with friends.
</riffing on k's sarcasm>
i know my comments are very US centric in their concerns... and could  
very easily sound preachy/self-righteous. Maybe i am guilty of that a  
bit, my apologies if so.
best,
ryan

On Sep 22, 2006, at 9:00 PM, empyre-request@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au  
wrote:

> This project reminds me of the US government's failed TOTAL
> INFORMATION AWARENESS program.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness
>
> Very similar to imperial cartographic traditions (the assertion of
> omniscient presence, the all-seeing, celestial eye, etc), the logo
> for the program said it all:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness#The_IAO_logo
>
>
> But, in the end, I'm really glad that MIT is making the world safer,
> more understandable and more visible for all of us and not for the
> bad people. Even better, it seems to be art since it's at the Venice
> Biennale, so I'm sure there is nothing scary, imperial, colonizing or
> threatening about it.
>
> </end deep sarcasm>