Internet of things by Gemma Lord

THE INTERNET OF THINGS 3 FUTURE CONCEPTS GEMMA LORD

The idea of an ‘internet of things’ has existed since around the turn of the millennium, and originated at M.I.T. The ‘internet of things’ is used to describe the ways in which ‘things’ might be connected in both time and space, in a similar way to how the internet today connects and allows the manipulation of information represented on various screens. However when it first emerged, the concept of the ‘internet of things’ and its applications was orientated solely around pervasive computing, and failed to broaden the discussion towards humans. What might people want to do or make, which new ways of living and behaving might people aspire to, or seek to avoid? How will we live in a physical environment that is saturated with data created by us, as feedback from our behaviours? In particular, if this data is real-time personal information about you and me, about us, then a new territory emerges, in such a digital-physical environment then what are the artefacts, services, interactions and experiences that will be available? If we are, continuously, generating realtime data, all the time and everywhere, what happens to this information (commercially), how is it gathered and stored, who owns it, who has access to it, and what happens to it when we die? How will our personal information be put to use by us or by others for us?

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4

SPECULATIVE PROPOSALS 8

DESIGN 1/ SERVICE 1

DESIGN 2/ COMMERCIAL 3

DESIGN 3/ CRITICAL 4

PROCESS ANALYSIS 6

CONCLUSION 6

BIBLIOGRAPHY 6

This project came into being when I was asked to think about the theme ‘relationships.’ I am interested in the relationship between people and other people, especially in the broader societal sense. I am also interested in the relationships between objects and people, and how the use of the internet is blurring the distinction between what is artefact and what is human. For example when talking to someone online, you are actually talking and listening to a computer, yet we behave as if it is a person. The internet as a medium is becoming increasingly integrated into our everyday environments. Cities already rely heavily on the infrastructure of the internet for the daily running of systems, security and logistics. We are on the brink of being surrounded by ‘smart’ rather than ‘dumb’ objects. That is, objects that connect to the internet and are enabled by an array of ubiquitous sensors. Not only will they form large communicative networks which relay data and information, but this information may accumulate to become knowledge, about us. Knowledge that we have little or no control over as it is captured simply by us interacting with the environment around us. In order to call into question this future ‘internet of things,’ (IOT) I would like to create three designs which illustrate the implications of three potential future scenarios which may develop as a result of the way in which various communities emerge around the internet. These (let’s call them illustrations for now) illustrations are artefacts from the future which is just around the corner, 2020. Through research I have identified three stakeholders in this future which I believe will be highly influential in the development of the IOT. The first is the government, which will undoubtedly want to retain an element of control over the online world in their country. I have also chosen an internet provider, Google, which is becoming one of the greatest monopolies in the internet age. I think it is interesting as well to think about the hacking communities, which always seem to find a retort to the authorities of the internet. How might they respond to the IOT?

DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE INTERNET: ANONYMOUS QUOTES FROM CULTURAL PROBE

It is the complement of my memory (where I can retrieve things that I forgot) and a way to keep in contact with my different communities.

Connects me to the outside world, making me feel less alone when I am at home alone obviously but it's a bit of a hollow feeling. Also good for watching pornography!

The internet is my best friend and worst enemy. Always there to distract me when I really need to focus. Always missing when I need so badly to just send this one email.

My relationship with the internet is for life. I usually connect through wifi. I use it all the time, for everything ever. It is not a second brain. It is not my friend but it allows me to keep in touch with my real friends a lot easier.

The internet is an extension of the self, it serves as a conduit to discovery of knowledge and a [bookmarked] archive of found knowledge. When I am disconnected from the internet, it feels like I can not access a part of my brain. It is sad I know, but the truth. I use it for work and pleasure, mainly in the pursuit of knowledge rather than entertainment (but knowledge for me is interesting, so perhaps that counts as entertainment?).

I think that the internet is not just a second brain - but the web, Google, and devices and social media and all that, are in different ways - extensions of our human capabilities. Not really physical extensions, but they've become part of our evolution.

Embodied mind...

It is like sex. It counts 10% when it works and 90% when it doesn't.

I guess it's a bit like going on a walk (like being able to observe things and go outside) with a really smart friend (can answer pretty much anything).

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than a girlfriend, more than a mom, its like air but a heavy one and it is nice to be disconnected sometimes.

The internet seems to have multiple personality disorder. On one day it is my butler, bringing me exactly what I want, as fast as it can. On another it acts as an entertainer, or as a shop assistant. Now and then it attempts to become a space, impersonating a white walled art gallery

PEOPLE [WHITE] THINGS CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET [COLOURED]

2003

2010

2015

2020

There are already more internet connected devices on the planet than there are people. Yet only 31% of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population has access to the internet. Internet connected devices of all shapes and sizes are increasing at an exponential rate. I am setting this project in 2020, to try to project this pattern into the future and identify some behaviours, aspirations and politics that may arise.

“

It has replaced the need to spend hours in libraries. It has allowed phones, books, computers, televisions, newspapers, music and video players to merge into devices that are smaller and much more effective. I have instant access to people all around the world. It’s broken barriers between people. I no longer view the word “community” in the same way. It isn’t just a work tool--it is more of a life tool. Wireless networks even reach deeply into the rural area I live in, so I’m always connected. - Anonymous, from cultural probe.

”

THE RECEPTIONIST/ When the internet of things becomes the internet of everything, won’t we need some kind of ‘receptionist’ to coordinate our connected selves?

THE LISTENER-INNER/ Will we subscribe to our products rather than purchasing them? Will our products listen to our everyday conversations in order to better tailor the advertisements that flash across their surfaces?

THE NOISE BLOCKER/ With all of our objects and environments communicating with one another all the time, will the world become a noisier place?

THE TRACKING COOKIE/ Cookies track our online movements, when the internet becomes more physical, will cookies follow suit?

THE RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENT/ Sensors will become ubiquitous in our everyday environments, and even in our clothing. Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it be nice when our environments respond to us without command?

THE WEIGHT TWEETER/ When our products are interconnected, and they respond to us without command, will they make decisions and post about our activities online without our permission?

THE SLEEP MONITOR/ People are going to continue to try to live longer, healthier lives. Can a sensor rich environment help us to monitor our bodies cycles, thus allowing us to try to improve our lifestyles?

THE COMMON COLD/ Just as computers can catch bugs and viruses today, surely every connected object containing a form of chip or computing device will be susceptible to catching similar bugs and viruses in the future?

THE SMARTER LABEL/ E-ink and RFID technologies will enable us to better track and modify information about our products. More transparency about production and presale transportation could help us be more equal and more sustainable.

THE PUPPETEER/ When all of our possessions are connected, will life become one complicated mess of programming? Or will there be a simple system to manage them all?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

WHAT EXACTLY IS WIFI? A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication. Here's what happens: A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna. A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection. The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter. The radios used for WiFi communication are very similar to the radios used for walkie-talkies, cell phones and other devices. They can transmit and receive radio waves, and they can convert 1s and 0s into radio waves and convert the radio waves back into 1s and 0s. But WiFi radios have a few notable differences from other radios: They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions. The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data. WiFi radios can transmit on any of three frequency bands. Or, they can "frequency hop" rapidly between the different bands. Frequency hopping helps reduce interference and lets multiple devices use the same wireless connection simultaneously. As long as they all have wireless adapters, several devices can use one router to connect to the Internet. This connection is convenient, virtually invisible and fairly reliable; however, if the router fails or if too many people try to use high-bandwidth applications at the same time, users can experience interference or lose their connections. Source: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network1.htm

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IF DATA CONSUMPTION WERE TO BE TAXED, WOULD YOU TRY TO USE LESS? HOW WOULD YOU CUT DOWN? ANONYMOUS QUOTES FROM CULTURAL PROBE

Sure, if costs increase, consumption will fall. It's basic economics. I'm already paying some tax to for Internet usage. It's hidden in surcharges I pay on phone bills. Entities with the power to tax will have to really be careful on taxing Internet consumption. It will cause businesses to relocate, and more and more governments are closing brick-and-mortar locations and delivering services via the Internet. As a small business owner, I can't submit sales tax reports and payments by any other means. I have to log into the state department of revenue's website to report. I can't even send them an old-fashioned cheque. They draw the money out of my bank via the Internet. It even relies on the Internet to collect revenue from drivers who use the turnpike or to register voters. To tax the Internet might stop the less-affluent members of society from filing for welfare or voting. The power to tax is the power to destroy, it has been said. I would really frown on any government taxing the people's ability to communicate. It is a threat to freedom. Governments have in the past used taxes to shape behaviours as well as collecting revenue. It reminds me of the "Free Marketplace of Ideas" concept, a belief that the truth will emerge out of the competition of ideas in free, transparent public discourse I would first try to find alternate ways, if possible, to avoid to pay. Otherwise, I guess I would reduce my consumption. But I would also maybe join some community to fight against that. That must not happen.

KEY WORDS IDENTIFIED:

I think I would boycott it.

Consumption Evasion Authority

I will set up a company that offer better bandwidth. I won't use less. Impossible.

I would definitely switch my phone to less internet use in the background. For work I really need the net, so it would be hard to cut short. Then again for work I could probably deduct some of the taxes. Everything that is taxed automatically asks for moderation in use - therefore, I would probably cut down the usage. I just hope we don't get there - we are already taxed for the wifi company providing the connection, the purchases we make online and so on. I would use less. Think over if it's really needed before I use it or maybe write down all I want to do in the internet and then have a special time for it. Yes I'd use it less and I think that's the future. In the context of sustainability and energy saving we would have to be limited. Only messages and other important stuff. Yes. And I would send angry letters to David Cameron and tell him to quit being an idiot. Drop iPads, not bombs. I wouldn't cut down, I would probably search online for methods to evade it. With the millions of computer geeks online, they are guaranteed to have found a method to get around it. Failing that, I would continue with abusive letters to Cameron. I think I would take up arms against all ISPs if that dystopian vision of the future would ever materialise. I would also hope that a parallel internet would flourish under those conditions (c.f. Mexican gang's investment in telecommunications infrastructure - they don't communicate over commercial networks anymore, they have their own networks) - much like the way that you can never control internet piracy.

DATA TAX SERVICE DESIGN

With the flow of data around the world growing at an exponential rate and devices becoming ever more reliant on internet connectivity in order to function, it is quite possible that data allowance will soon become a form of currency. Those with a large data allowance will be able to lead completely different lives from those who are restricted due to perhaps a rural location or insufficient income to pay for a large internet allowance. I want to consider how this scenario may affect the parameters of society. Who will become rich and who will become poor? If data is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;consumedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at such a rate I believe governments will introduce taxes on data. This will generate a national income, as well as regulating each individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usage and allowances. After all, the internet does come at a price, the infrastructure that it relies upon is expensive to run, and with more internet connected devices in the world than people it would seem appropriate to try to control their growth and data consumption by the means of a centralised taxing system.

Inspiration images relating to forms, taxing and information communication.

PERSONA

Marion is a student and relies a lot on the internet for her studies. Since she turned eighteen she was automatically registered to pay tax on her data usage at home. Marion had her own wifi router in her studio apartment but since she has had to pay data tax she no longer uses this, and either tries to catch the wifi signal of one of her neighbours, or uses the internet only in the studio, where the data tax is paid for by the university. Being a ‘parasite’ on the neighbour’s wifi is risky as security has been upped since data tax was introduced, as obviously it becomes expensive to pay tax on your own and someone else’s internet usage. If she gets caught there is a €50 fixed fine. Marion is thankful for the free wifi at university but it is harder for her to freely browse, as the pages she accesses are monitored, and sites like facebook and so on are blocked by the university’s filtering system.

ABOVE: The number of internet devices is growing exponentially and in 2018 the government realised that this was an unexploited, taxable market. Taxes are calculated based upon the data flow of each wifi router, and the payment is the responsibilty of whoever the router is registered to. This has led to the golden age of internet cafés... Shared, open wifi areas are now hotspots for people to gather and surf free of charge!

She has just been advised by a friend that there is a special form she can fill in to exempt her from paying the data tax until she graduates as she is still in full time education. It is a nuisance to fill in the forms and gather the proof of her studies but it will be worthwhile when she can have a few more years of tax-free internet surfing!

BELOW: Marion goes to university to browse the internet, meanwhile she is applying for a tax exemption while she is still in full time education.

DATA TAX SERVICE BLUEPRINT

Rough sketches of how I imagine the layout of the data tax website to look. BOTTOM LEFT/ Meaning map of the inspiration images to identify key values

MY DATA TAX, PUT SIMPLY All internet connected objects will have their own data allowances, and contracts, with different internet providers. My Data Tax service groups all of these contracts and data statistics into one, easy to use website and app, allowing users to manage their data usage, tax payments and security at once, instead of each device separately.

£ € SEK

30MB per day

£ € SEK 9MB

30MB

per day

£ € SEK

250MB per day

£ € SEK

1100MB per day

£ € SEK

} me

News

My Data Tax

Cont

http://www.mydatatax.gov.uk/home

EXPLORE

Home

YOUR DEVICES

SECURITY

STAT

MY DATA TAX

News

Contact

HELP username

QUCIK LINKS Payments Forms

Individuals

Employers

Rates + Tables Exemption Regulations Jobs

250MB per day

1100M per day

Calculator Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy FAQs Charities

REGISTER YOUR NEW DEVICE TODAY! FIRST TIME? DON’T WORRY, THERE’S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING. TALK TO OUR ONLINE ADVISORS NOW...

Public

Education

MY DATA TAX HOME PAGE The main touch point of the Data Tax service is the web page, where people can manage their taxes and view their internet usage statistics. The site is designed to be democratic, covering all aspects of society within one site. Whether an individual, family, business, school or public place a user can monitor their data taxes. In my imagined future scenario any person using the internet once over the age of 18 must begin to pay taxes on the amount of data that they consume across all mediums of internet connected device. This has the dual purpose of allowing the government to make money and improve the infrastructure of the internet within a nation, and allowing people to monitor and manage each of their internet connected devices (which will likely be many) in one place rather than multiple sites. Like a national insurance number or personal number, a person would be assigned a data tax number once they reach 18. This is linked to their online profile from where they can manage their taxes.

Once logged in a person can perform many tasks on the My Data Tax site. They can view each of their internet connected devices, and how much data they currently consume. This can be condensed into statistics or viewed individually. A person can also set passwords, a data ‘cap’ to limit usage and security measures for their devices in case anyone tries to ‘piggy back’ on their internet, saving themselves some tax! The calculator lets a person calculate how much tax they will likely have to pay for each of their devices, preventing any surprises when an invoice arrives. Under invoices and payments previous statements can be seen and new invoices also paid, unless of course a direct debit has been set up, making life a little simpler. Different devices use up different amounts of data and are charged at different rates. For example the tax for data in a car is higher than that for a smart phone. This would help to moderate usage. The Data Tax organisation receives information from each internet provider for each device on their daily data consumption. The organisation then calculates one single bill which is sent to the person each month rather than them having to pay a separate tax bill to each provider.

FAR LEFT/ Example of a 30 day data tax invoice. Most payments would be made online but a paper copy of any month’s taxes can be requested. This example shows a break down of each device, and the percentage of data used out of the monthly allowance. This is then multiplies by the tax rate for that device to give a total sum. In red one can see that the monthly limit has been surpassed and My Data Tax recommends a security check, as it is likely that extra users are ‘piggy backing’ on that person’s wifi router causing the allowance to be used up more quickly.

LEFT/ Any person over the age of 18 but still in full time education can fill in this form to apply for a tax exemption. This would be approved by the government in order to encourage people to study without worrying about paying too much to research online along with other costs. This is the form that Marion, my persona, would fill in.

Evidencing for the Data Tax Service. I prototyped two web pages and two forms that a person in this future scenario would experience. The next step would be for me to use a working prototype to further improve the interaction between people and the website. This would go alongside further research into the services people might require in such a future scenario.

2 30

CANDLE, AN EMERGENCY WIFI GENERATOR COMMERCIAL DESIGN

MY INTERNET COLD TURKEY: 48 HOURS OFFLINE MY EXPERIENCE OF HAVING NO INTERNET OR PHONE FOR 48 HOURS... As an internet hooked 22 year old whose thumb subconsciously swipes over the screen of my iphone to check for new notifications every time there is even a slight pause in conversation, I can safely say I’m more than a little hooked on the internet. The challenge I gave myself was to spend 48 hours without internet, phone or computer. The main aim of this was to experience what it is to be without something that I have grown up with and taken majorly for granted over the years. What do we gain and lose from being connected 24/7? So up into the hills I travelled... To a farm in the peak district to be precise. As soon as I was in the rural countryside my phone signal started to waver, I checked my emails one last time, then the last little bar of signal disappeared from the top of my phone. Although at first a little panicky at the thought that now nobody, even in the utmost emergency could contact me, a sense of relief washed over me. A weight was gone from my shoulders. For once I was looking

out of the window at the green hills instead of staring at the glowing pixels on my screen. That day went really well and I really felt a sense of freedom away from the internet. I went on a walk, did some cooking, did some jobs on the farm and enjoyed my friends’ company. I managed to forget all about what my friends might be organising on Facebook, what important things may be lying in my inbox, and who might have mentioned me on Twitter. When I went to bed that night I realised I even rely on my phone as my sole means of waking up in the morning... What would I do without the alarm? So I set an alarm on my phone and figured I could at least leave it on the other side of the room instead of next to my pillow as usual. It seemed hollow with no reception, no 3G. The phone itself is actually fairly dumb with no connectivity. Just a lump of glowing plastic. The next day I went out horse riding and carried my phone with me in case of an accident. A little voice in the back of my head knew that I’d get a signal out on the hills, and sure enough as we climbed up I could hear the familiar ‘ping’ sound

coming from my coat pocket. But I resisted the temptation... Although I couldn’t take my mind off what might be there for me to read. The addicted mind was back like a nagging voice. ‘Read me, read me, read me.’ So I did. I cheated. A failure. And what a disappointment! A boring voice mail and a couple of junk emails. To retrieve the voice mail once I was back at the farm I had to run up this hill in the pouring rain, and was chased by this sheep (above) in the process. Definitely not worth it. Feeling bad for ruining my experiment I turned my phone off and that way it stayed for the next day and night. I’m not convinced that cold turkey is really the answer, but being aware of how much more time there is, and how much more you live in the moment when you’re not constantly connected, is an important thing I have come to realise. Yet I know that next time I am unable to get a phone or internet connection, the same panic will rise in my mind. It truly is an addiction; something that so many of us feel we just cannot live without anymore.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS OR BEHAVIOURS TO FIND AN INTERNET CONNECTION WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ONE? ANONYMOUS QUOTES FROM CULTURAL PROBE

If my connection goes out, especially where I'm sitting right now, I usually just move it slightly and then usually move it back.

I climb onto my roof or go to the bottom of the garden to improve the internet connection. Otherwise I steal the neighbour’s.

Piggy-backing onto unsecured networks. Ask people for their login details when at their houses.

I don't like fast food in particular, but McDonald's and its kindred sport free wifi. So if I'm driving and can't access mobile wireless, I'll look for a port in the storm. Sometimes I will look for a high spot. I'll scan and look for open, unencrypted wireless connections at times if I can't find anything else. In rural areas, connections can still be pretty iffy.

Usually turning the computer on and off again, or moving around a room.

I would resort to techniques if it's convenient and easy. I would go to school to use the school computers, try to steal wifi from others, etc. If it's too tedious then I would give up. I would sometimes borrow/ use other people's computers to use internet.

When the skype connection is bad, I will sit right next to the wifi box. If this does not work, I will switch the wifi box off and on again (some say there is 'build-up' static when the box is on, I don't really believe this, but in dire situations, yes I do.) I stand in front of a Telekom shop and use their hotspot.

I like the chasing wireless signals, holding it close to the door so you can load a bit of the video.

Go to someone’s house and say, “Do you want a cookie?” Give them cookies wait for 2 days. Then go back and say, “I have some problem with the internet and I really need to send this email. Are you using any wireless internet?” WIN or keep trying...

I try and hack into other peoples’.

I made an interactive map of my city with all the free wifi spots.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU HAVE NO INTERNET CONNECTION? ANONYMOUS QUOTES FROM CULTURAL PROBE

I hate it, I feel disconnected from the world.

I never disconnect as I really have problems finding something to do when I can't connect. I feel lost.

When I’m not connected to the internet and I need to connect because of school work or other things I feel anxious. If I’m not in the country I disconnect or when on holiday.

I disconnect sometimes, if I need time with myself. During holidays or in nature, where it is not of use. If I’m in the city and at home or at office and there is no connection, I hate it. It is as if something in the room is missing.

Irritation and all other addictive symptoms.

I never disconnect, ever. When I lose internet connection I feel like I'm stuck and can't do anything (esp. during the first moments). then slowly I would start to not think about it. But I need internet.

Checking emails and facebook have become a habit for me so I often feel a little anxious when I don't have internet connection.

KEY WORDS IDENTIFIED:

No internet when you need it is a real problem, but sometimes I unplug myself from the internet on purpose.

Anxious Liberated Disconnected / Lost

I feel like a person who's left a couple of very important tools behind when I don't have an internet connection. I can still function, but it takes some improvisation. It sure is more difficult to collaborate with others and to solve problems. My friends can't reach me, and I can't reach them. Not many of them sit right by an old-fashioned, static, land waiting for calls. No internet is like not having water because the water main's broken. I don't usually have Internet service when I hike in the mountains. I don't rough it in a tent like I once did, so I don't go without the Internet for days. All the places I stay have wifi.

Lost, anxious.

I feel good. Didn't have the internet at the start of this uni year and I felt really motivated and more free to work and socialise. It was liberating. I would never purposefully deprive myself however. Weird, that.

Disconnected. Lost. Unsure. But somehow free of a mental slavery, meditative, more in touch with myself?

Love // hate. When I need it and I can not connect, this is frustrating, but every now and then, it feels good to be completely great to disconnect and engage in practical activities. This will usually occur for me at least once a week.

Like something is missing...

CANDLE, BY CHROME

Cities are becoming ever more reliant on the internet to support systems, security and logistics. As demonstrated recently in New York when Hurricane Sandy left swathes of the city disconnected, thousands of simple everyday tasks could not function. As the rate of growth of internet connected devices is growing faster than the infrastructure which supports it, I predict that internet â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blackoutsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will become a common event. Of course such events will be incredibly damaging to businesses and stock markets, a nuisance to private users, and a risk for large security systems and transportation logistics. As the internet of things grows, so does our reliance upon it. I want to highlight the fragility of this infrastructure by proposing a commercial product to be released for sale by one of the main internet providers of the future. Google Chrome. As a candle provides an emergency light during an electricity blackout, the Chrome Candle is an emergency wifi generator for private use during an internet blackout.

RIGHT/ Inspiration images relating to form, box like electrical devices and ‘DIY’ products.

PERSONA

Marta lives in Paris and relies heavily upon the internet for her work, social life and entertainment. She feels lost without it. In recent months the city has been experiencing electricity cuts and internet ‘black-outs.’ Her internet provider claims that it is due to a faulty cable, triggered by an electricity shortage and that they are looking into the problem. Yet large districts of the city have been left internetless for days, and the media is starting to turn its attention towards the local authorities to improve the infrastructure of Paris’ internet system in order to make it less fragile. Because Marta feels she can’t live without the internet if it cuts out, she has just purchased the Candle from Google Chrome. Previously she would climb onto her roof, or sit outside the neighbour’s door to try and get a better wifi signal, but now she can use the Candle as her own personal wifi generator. It makes her feel less anxious about what may happen if there’s a blackout, so she can continue to work, socialise and stream online whatever happens.

ABOVE: Whole districts of Paris have been left with no internet signal as faults occur with the major internet providers. Suspicions are rising that the black-outs are due to a poor infrastructure which is being too heavily used. BELOW: Marta used to climb onto her roof to search for a better wifi signal, but now she owns a Candle, by Google Chrome, and so she can generate her own wifi signal for short periods of time.

KEY WORDS + INSPIRATION FOR DESIGNING ‘THE CANDLE’ This method helped me to identify several semiotics related to the key values I wanted to communicate in my commercial product.

Honest

BELOW/ meaning map of inspiration images.

Clean

Secure

Safe

Curved angles

Intuitive

Stable

Cheap 38

Communicative o function

Sturdy

Simple Analogue

Commercial

Friendly

Technological

Protective Trustworthy

Reliable

Authentic

Reassuring

Soft

RIGHT/ I gave my participants a series of 3D volumes of varying size and proportion, and asked them to organise the volumes in an order according to how â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;friendlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; they felt each form was. With the most friendly object being decided upon as the cylinder, and the least friendly the large flat cuboid. I later decided to use the middle volume, being neither friendly or unfriendly, as the basic block for my commercial product, but then round it slightly to become more friendly.

WORKSHOP I held a short workshop with four participants in order to gain deeper insights into what people associate with some of my key words, and the pre- existing relationships and gestures that people have with certain objects and activities.

LEFT/ When asked to draw images that were conjured up when considering the words in each picture, I was surprised to see that my participants drew so many rounded, soft and enclosed shapes. I would later incorporate this into the design of my commercial product, making it softer and more organic in shape.

RIGHT/ I then asked my participants to create an assemblage each which related to the words ‘trust’ and ‘friendly’. I find the results interesting as one can see here that the word ‘trust’ evoked neutral colours, square and sturdy forms that cannot be easily toppled. The wire might indicate a simple electrical connection rather than a wireless one as more trustworthy. The assembly for ‘friendly’ is also intriguing as it is bright and an unusual form. To me this suggests that to be friendly, an object has to perhaps initiate something, to engage the user, and not blend too much into the background.

RIGHT/ I played a game of charades with my participants to see what actions, behaviours and gestures they each associated with the given words. This was very revealing as I learnt that ‘wifi/ internet’ was associated with having a poor signal and required some kind of aerial. I also learned that ‘wind up radio’ involves quite small, fiddly gestures, and an aerial also. For my commercial product this was useful as it meant that for the language of my product to be easily understandable, I should incorporate some of these behaviours.

Sketches for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Candleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; emergency internet generator.

Evidencing for the Candle emergency wifi generator. I tried to keep the form clean and simple whilst appearing commercial and easy to use. During an electrical or internet blackout, a person would simply repeatedly squeeze the button on the side to generate a wifi signal for a short period of time. The Candle lights up on the side whilst a wifi signal is being generated. I would ideally like to spend longer refining this form and making it a branded product, however this prototype is sufficient to text how people might interact with it.

SPIDER, FOR INTERNET ANONYMITY CRITICAL DESIGN

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT INTERNET TRACKING COOKIES? ANONYMOUS QUOTES FROM CULTURAL PROBE

I pretend they aren't there and forget about them.

I don't like idea, but at the same time I like to have some things ready on a site, behaviour that cookies allow. I think MY things don't interest personally, only commercially, but I see a problem there.

I don't pay too much attention. Cookies are useful too (saves a lot of time for shopping online, for example). And we can be traced anyway, with or without cookies.

I believe the commodification of the internet in the form of selective advertising is wrong. The internet is a free and democratic space. This is even written into the coding language of the internet: an important message from Obama to Cameron has the same preference in speed when being sent over the network as a cute gif I made of a cat that I am sending to my little sister. How fantastic. However, you only need to look at youtube comments to see that the anonymity of people online is degrading to humanity.

KEY WORDS IDENTIFIED: Concerned Apathetic Angry

I don't feel necessarily bothered by that, just sometimes slightly bewildered, when an advertisement pops up connected to the content of my last email. Then I remember that I already am a glass person.

It angers me when companies sell data to other firms. Privacy concerns me. If sites stick to using the data they gather from me to improve my experience in using their site, I don't particularly mind.

Scary!

It's inevitable. I use Duckduckgo. com instead of Google though as I think tracking should be avoided where possible.

I find it terrible, it's Big Brother stuff.

SPIDER, ANONYMISER

As with any internet authority, software or security system, there is guaranteed to be a hacking community somewhere in the world, working on cracking and re-writing the rules. Internet hacking communities are relentless, and incredibly responsive to internet movements. Therefore it is without a doubt that in the future of the internet of things, there will be some kind of retaliation from the hacking community. Due to ubiquitous sensors being integrated into the fabric of our environments, knowledge about us will gather, and be used by third parties relatively quickly. There will be no simple relationship between a person and the internet anymore, rather a relationship between a person and the whole internet along with everything connected to it. This will lead to hyper- personalised advertising, lifestyle choices being made for us, and complete lack of privacy when it comes to our activities and online personas. Hacking communities will respond to this by creating a device which separates a single internet connected device from the network. A form of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;black holeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which allows the device to connect to the network invisibly, with the out-flow of personal data prevented.

RIGHT/ Inspiration images relating to hacking communities, anonymity and plug in devices.

PERSONA

Paul is an amateur DJ and often plays at secret, underground parties, that the authorities shouldn’t find out about. Due to cameras and sensors now built into many peoples’ clothing and phones, it is not safe to be connected to the public internet as the parties will fairly quickly be located and prevented as the ubiquitous cameras link people’s activities in with their locations online. On top of that not all of Paul’s music was legally obtained, and so he doesn’t want his mixes or playlists to be streamed online. To prevent any wifi signals from being transmitted away from the party Paul plugs a ‘Spider’ into his Macbook to create a ‘blind-spot’ around the party. This means that whilst people can access the internet, it prevents their activities from being viewed by external parties who may relay the information to advertising agencies and authorities.

ABOVE: Paul likes to keep his internet activities private for the future of his music career. He doesn’t want footage or information about his parties being leaked online and seen by the wrong people. BELOW: Paul plugs a ‘Spider’ into his Macbook to create a ‘blind-spot’ around the party, and keep things secret.

Ever since the internet became a much more open network, you can never be sure who may be seeing your activities and information. By using the ‘spider’ Paul is guaranteed a certain level of privacy.

During my workshop I asked two of my participants to write down in two minutes as many ways as they could think of to hide from somebody, whether that be physically or emotionally. This gave me some clues as to how to create a device that allows people to hide their internet activities. It does not necessarily have to hide the presence of someone, but it should allow them to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;camouflagedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or appear unresponsive in order to blend into the background.

During a game of charades I asked my participants to act out behaviours and gestures associated with the words ‘anonymous’ and ‘underground/ hidden’. This resulted in the ideas of hiding beneath something and remaining anonymous behind a mask. I find this interesting as the body is still clearly visible, yet the face hidden, as the face is considered the ‘giveaway’ part of our bodies. Can the same idea be applied to remaining anonymous online- just the ‘face’ of our activity remaining hidden.

As part of my workshop I asked my participants to create imaginary artefacts inspired by some given words. In response to ‘criminal’ one participant created a device for ‘reading’ closed doors to see whether or not they could be broken into and if there is anything worth stealing on the other side. This even included a small interface on the right. ‘Secret’ led to a device that causes an electric shock to its user, and ‘trustworthy’ resulted in a safe type piece that suggests a barrier between the programming and the outside world that someone can peek out from behind. These imaginative responses enabled me to think a little more creatively about my device to hide people’s internet activity.

Meaning map of inspiration images for the internet anonymity device relating to key words. With this design I want to enable users to trust that the device will work, yet be a little unfamiliar and perhaps unnerved by it.

Sketches for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Spiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; plug in for internet anonymity.

Evidencing for the Spider. This USB device can be plugged into any internet connected objectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s USB port to split up and re-encrypt the wifi signal emitted. The Spider would be produced in small numbers by a hacking community, with people recognising them for their reputation and successes rather than a brand. I wanted the Spider to look unfamiliar but trustworthy at the same time. Being a discursive design I am keen to see how people perceive this device to further my research and designs.

The Spider would work by transmitting the wifi signal to multiple different receivers, rather than just a singular one. In doing this any information and the transmitterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whereabouts would be re encrypted and almost untraceable. When plugged into any USB port it would act upon that particular wifi signal, allowing itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities to remain anonymous online, thus preventing a multitude of targeted adverts, authority regulations, taxes and linking to online personas.

Conversation, peer review.

PROCESS

Critical reflection on the development/ future of the internet. What social conversations have emerged around the topic?

Cultural probe/ online questionnaire Informal Interviews Experiences - No internet 48h

+ 3 illustrative product descriptions.

Gathering of information.

Speculative design ‘field’ proposals. Outlining of spectrum.

Identification of interesting behaviours. Identification of stakeholders. Who are the winners and losers in the scenario?

Familiarisation/ defamiliarisation Development of prototypes and narrative stories/ personas

– LEAVE the project for several days, to mull in the back of my mind. This allows the ideas to mature, and be ‘tested’ in my mind against other every day situations.

Evidencing of service

Meaning maps and mood boards Workshop on key word perception and form giving

Sketching of prototypes

– LEAVE the project for several days, to mull in the back of my mind. This allows the ideas to mature, and be ‘tested’ in my mind against other every day situations.

Sketch models

Finalisation of 3 concepts

Blueprinting of service

Evidencing of service

Meaning maps and mood boards Workshop on key word perception and form giving

Conversation, peer review.

Sketch models

+ Gathering of information. Critical reflection on the development/ future of the internet. What social conversations have emerged around the topic?

Speculative design ‘field’ proposals. Outlining of spectrum.

More research, reading and investigation + discussion with peers. More academic and narrower focus in research material.

Sketching of prototypes

Cultural probe/ online questionnaire Informal Interviews Experiences - No internet 48h

Identification of interesting behaviours.

Finalisation of 3 concepts

Identification of stakeholders. Who are the winners and losers in the scenario? Blueprinting of service

Evidencing of service

Meaning maps and mo Workshop on key word perception and form giving

Sketching of prototype Familiarisation/ defamiliarisation Development of prototypes and narrative stories/ personas

– LEAVE the project for several days, to mull in the back of my mind. This allows the ideas to mature, and be ‘tested’ in my mind against other every day situations.

More research, reading and investigation + discussion with peers. More academic and narrower focus in research material.

Development of prototypes and narrative stories/ personas

3 illustrative product descriptions.

Familiarisation/ defamiliarisation

Ideally I would now go to my stakeholders - Google, tax officials, internet providers and hacking communitie I would create real life scenarios to illustrate my products with the ‘persona’ characters.

Blueprinting of service

Ideally I would now go to my stakeholders - Google, tax offi internet providers and hacking communities. I would create real life scenarios to illustrate my products the ‘persona’ characters.

Finalisation of 3 concepts

Identification of stakeholders. Who are the winners and losers in the scenario?

More research, reading and investigation + discussion with peers. More academic and narrower focus in research material.

3 illustrative product descriptions.

Identification of interesting behaviours.

Sketch models

METHODS, BORROWED & BUILT UPON RAMIA MAZÉ - In the early stages of the project I made the decision to use a similar method to that outlined by Ramia during her presentation at Konstfack. This would be to trace three future scenarios, based upon three stories derived from a series of conversations and interviews around my topic. I would consider who the winners and losers in my future scenarios would be, before designing a series of artefacts to populate the future scenarios. I felt it important with this method that I continued to address the social conversations that arose around my theme and designs. This helped me to reflect critically upon the subject and the ecologies that people have in their lives. MY OWN ADDITIONS As I wanted to base my future scenarios upon peoples’ behaviours around the use of the internet it was important for me to gain primary evidence and insights into current activities in this area. I chose to do a cultural probe in the form of an online survey which I posed to a wide range of people, all of course internet users themselves. This was incredibly insightful for me and I gained a wealth of stories and habits that people have developed, yet probably wouldn’t normally describe to me in such detail if I were to ask them the questions outright. FORMAL vs INFORMAL Whilst conducting interviews with selected people I felt it was important to keep the interviews on a very informal level, to get deeper responses from people, often as they didn’t know I was even interviewing them! I would initiate the conversation about my project, in the interviewee’s home setting, and guide the conversation over a few topics that I was keen to gain insights into, yet not posing rigid questions and allowing the conversation to have a natural flow. I found that people gave me much more emotional and honest responses than when I have conducted formal interviews in the past. After each conversation I would record any useful knowledge in my notebook for future reference. BO WESTERLUND During the development phase of my three concepts I found Bo’s advice useful to make my ideas more concrete. I was encouraged to develop three narratives and personas in each of my future scenarios, and to base these upon my cultural probe. I think that this created the foundation for the whole project, and with my own practice of reading widely around the chosen subject, I was able to combine first hand insights with reference material from a series of stakeholders, futurists and sociologists. I hope that this has resulted in something that carries political weight that will evolve into a debate around the future of the internet of things. FREDRIK GOFFHÉ- When it came to designing the commercial product and critical design, I liked Fredrik’s method of familiarisation and defamiliarisation in order to make people respond to my designs differently. As a result I tried to make my commercial product and service as familiar feeling as I could, whilst still projecting into the future. When it came to the critical design I wanted to make it somewhat familiar in terms of it being a USB device, yet very unfamiliar in appearance thereafter creating a sense of unease. I also used methods in developing the commercial product such as meaning maps and mood boards around key words which I identified to try to determine the key values I wanted to communicate in my designs. CHERYL AKNER-KOLER - At the form giving stage of my project I appreciated Cheryl’s methods to consider the deeper emotional responses that various forms evoke in people. This led me to think more deeply about the expression of each form I would be creating. This also led me to hold a small workshop where I asked four participants to respond in different expressive ways to a series of words and games. This enabled me to better understand how people intuitively feel and act towards certain values on a deeper level than my assumptions. I think that this helped me enormously to give form to my designs, although I’d very much like to spend longer on improving this area of my project given more time.

As technology changes, we change with it: the range of possibilities offered to us as experience alters as our relationship to the phenomena that make up our environment alters. When our corporeal bodies acquire a non-corporeal dimension what are the possibilities for design and designers? How will we experience this new form of life, or “beyondlife”, which we can call a digital shadow created by an Internet of Us? What are the consequences for what we call our “identity” or “self”? Something as central to our phenomenal and societal well-being as our (digital) shadow inevitably frames our experiences and interactions with the world, and with other people

BIBLIOGRAPHY: WEBSITES:

BOOKS/PAPERS:

http://www.theinternetofthings.eu/internet-of-things-what-is-it%3F

http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/ default/files/78-BJS-2000-GB.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity

http://www.bruno-latour.fr/node/184

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_ontology http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/01/securing-the-internet-of-things/

Designing Design, Kenya Hara

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671312/on-sale-at-last-twine-your-gateway-tothe-internet-of-things#1

Cradle to Cradle

http://www.wordspy.com/words/spime.asp http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phone-shop/?WT.mc_id=ON_MEC_S_Google_4G_ Brand4GEE_Only&WT.srch=1 http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671137/a-clever-hack-turns-wi-fi-signals-intodigital-graffiti http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2s.htm

The language of things, Deyan Sudijc Social Constructionism, Vivien Burr Tony Dunne and Fiona Raby - What is Critical Design? http://www. dunneandraby.co.uk/content/ bydandr/13/0 http://www.idsa.org/discursive-design

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/#Fri http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19899469 http://www.airdeparis.com/holler.htm http://www.slideshare.net/gdolin/connected-personalobjects-planningness2012

VIDEOS:

http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/#/25/ http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/#/56/ http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/#/60/ http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/#/64/

https://vimeo.com/34152840

http://www.infed.org/biblio/friendship.htm

http://vimeo.com/10508111

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669485/glitchr-digital-graffiti-that-defacesfacebook-pages http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2011/aug/18/internet-ofthings-local-government http://www.fastcompany.com/3004614/inside-underweb-home-stolen-creditcards-pedophiles-hitmen-drug-dealers-and-free-speech http://inventorspot.com/articles/internet_things_exceeds_internet_people_infographic http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671397/20-tech-trends-that-will-define2013-selected-by-frog#1 http://www.slideshare.net/jwtintelligence/jwt-100-things-to-watch-in-2013 http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?828 http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?855 http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/objects/145461/ http://www.nest.com/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/the-jig-is-up-time-toget-past-facebook-and-invent-a-new-future/256046/ http://jessicacharlesworth.com/2012/memo-organization/ http://www.chromeweblab.com/basic/ http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/view.html?pg=4

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=nDBup8KLEtk 2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick