Perfect digibodies

Quietly, we are all accumulating 4D digital doppelgängers, representations of ourselves in the data we leave behind when we have our actions measured and tracked. What's at stake, and how can we think about these traces?

Summer break, year(ish)-to-date

Not so obvious will go on summer hiatus for four weeks. Before that, a quick recap of some highlights, full of fine links to click.

Winner & Marx & Engels

This is a follow up to my post earlier in the week, in which I break down Langdon Winner's classic article, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" Because it's an interesting side-track, but not quite as essential as other parts of the article, I skipped

Reading “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”

The second in a periodic series called "Reading," today's text covers a seminal academic article you might like, but find long and dense. I break down Langdon Winner's 1980 article, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" and explain why it matters.

Bookpile 12: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow.

Seeing

Computer vision is everywhere, but gets less public discussion than the other, louder forms of "AI" currently in vogue. Being aware of CV and its assumptions matters.

Bookpile 11: The Birth of Computer Vision

Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, The Birth of Computer Vision by James E. Dobson.

Heat day

It's something different this week: a very short essay about why there is no essay. In the context of the heat wave Europe has been baking through, I reflect very briefly and slightly personally on why things can't always be okay.

Participatory research methods

Research which centres the experiences of people who are under-represented is not new, but is increasingly important as power imbalances grow more stark. Participatory research is a good place to start.

Do 2: Imaginary interlocutor

“Do” is a new series on Fridays. Elsewhere in my Friday posts, I focus on ways of trying to stay creative and focused in a distracting world. “Do” is practical interventions for specific tasks. Today's “Do” is about my imaginary interlocutor, Jim.

The Box

This week, I’m distilling some things we can learn from Marc Levinson’s 2006 (or in the second edition, 2016) book, The Box. The Box tells the story of the intermodal shipping container, an object you may not even know you should care about.

Do 1: Reading aloud as editing

“Do” is a new series on Fridays. Elsewhere in my Friday posts, I focus on ways of trying to stay creative and focused in a distracting world. “Do” is practical interventions for specific tasks. The first “Do” is about reading aloud and recording as a part of editing my writing.