Re: [-empyre-] Re: mobile cartography/territorializing media: forward from Burak Arikan

Christina McPhee <christina112@earthlink.net> · Wed, 27 Sep 2006 09:05:35 -0700

Hi all, this is forwarded in plain text.  The post bounced in rich  
text format..

all best
cm

From: Burak Arikan <arikan@media.mit.edu>
Date: September 27, 2006 4:26:22 AM PDT
To: empyre@gamera.cofa.unsw.edu.au
Subject: Re: [-empyre-] Re: mobile cartography/territorializing media

Hi everybody,
I am Burak Arikan. I created the six visual software that form the  
Real Time Rome project. Thank you for your comments Ryan, Kanarinka,  
and Simon. I'd like to contribute to the discussion.
On Sep 22, 2006, at 3:48 PM, kanarinka wrote:

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
I think with the wide spread adoption of information technologies,  
not only governments or corporations have the all-seeing, but also  
individuals are able to view massive amount of information. There are  
examples of these by artists and designers who work on the  
information visualization projects such as HapMap by Ben Fry,  
TheyRule by Josh On, tons of projects on social networking  
visualization and so on (a good place to find some: http:// 
www.visualcomplexity.com). However, the data used in these  
visualization projects are generally provided by some institution.  
And often the data is closed or semi-open to public. As you may guess  
the telecom and public transportation data used for the Real Time  
Rome project is closed to public. I agree that this is a serious  
problem as Ryan mentions in his comment:
On Sep 23, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Ryan Griffis wrote:

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?
I think Ryan's point on tracking "any" resource is very important.
On Sep 23, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Ryan Griffis wrote:

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.
But again the military and government data are all strictly closed.  
Moreover, under US laws, one who collects data owns the data. So  
corporations who operate on public infrastructures own what ever they  
have. Of course they close the data and use it to increase their  
capital (all telcom's, Google, AOL etc.).
But I think there is hope. There are projects created by artists that  
collect / generate data open to public access. For example:
A few years ago Ryan McKinley from MIT Media Lab developed the GIS  
(Government Information Awareness) system to track the US government.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2003/gia.html

http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,59495,00.html
Josh On's They Rule gathers data about deep relationships in  
corporations.

http://www.theyrule.net/

I think the Real Time Rome shows what is out there a little bit.  
During the Venice Biennale, many visitors realized that all their  
data can be tracked by telcom's and put into various contexts. In a  
way, we created a control room as an exhibition. They even complained  
"hey this is a great tool for terrorists!".
best,
Burak Arikan

On Sep 23, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Ryan Griffis wrote:

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>
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