log files. stories from the internet of things

Oktober 2017 – Ausstellung für den ArtTrack zur IoT 17
(Konferenz Internet of Things, Linz, Ars Electronica Center)

Projektleitung:
Prof. Tina Frank, Ass.Prof. Marianne Pührerfellner, Barbara von Rechbach – Abteilung Visuelle Kommunikation (Grafikdesign und Fotografie) und David Lechner – Linzer Institut für qualitative Analysen (LIquA)

Das Internet der Dinge/ Internet of Things und die Digitalisierung aller Lebensbereiche bringt viele Chancen, aber auch neue Konflikte. Die möglichen Entwicklungen einer völlig vernetzten Welt wurden im Oktober 2017 in einem Design Fiction-Projekt mit dem Fokus auf log.files und Datenvisualisierung erforscht:
In einem zweiwöchigen Praxisworkshop haben Master-Studierende der Abteilung Visuelle Kommunikation (Grafikdesign und Fotografie) alltägliche Szenarien einer nahen Zukunft im Jahr 2030 untersucht, in der vernetzte Technologie selbsttätig handelt und ihren UserInnen unterschiedliche Möglichkeiten der Kontrolle über die eigenen Datenströme ermöglicht.

Mit Design Fiction- und Design Thinking-Methoden wurden Szenarien entwickelt, wie Menschen künftig besser mit intelligenten Objekten kommunizieren könnten. Ausgangspunkt aller Überlegungen war die Frage, wie die BenutzerInnen der vernetzten Dinge leichter Entscheidungen treffen und eigenständiger agieren könnten, indem Algorithmen sichtbar und für sie verständlich gemacht werden würden. In Laborsituationen untersuchten wir bestehende Paradigmen von Prozesskontrolle und Automatisierung und diskutierten mögliche Zukunftsvisionen von Partizipation und Transparenz.
Ziel war es, die geheimen Botschaften und Kommunikation dieser IoT “Black Boxes” zu dekodieren, und diese oft unverständlichen und geheimnisvollen Objekte im Netz in visuellen Geschichten begreifbar zu machen.

Besondere Aufmerksamkeit erhielten die Logfiles, die Log-Dateien und Protokolle von Aktionen und Prozessen der vernetzten “Things” in Computersystemen. Wie könnten diese Aktionen für ihre UserInnen verständlich mitgeschrieben und visualisiert werden?
Die Auswertung der kontinuierlichen Protokollierung wurde visuell mit ganz unterschiedlichen Ansätzen dargestellt, doch alle Projekte beschäftigen sich mit den sozialen, ethischen, aber auch ästhetischen und gestalterischen Folgen einer gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit und Verflechtung von Gesellschaft und Technologie.

Die einzelnen Projekte arbeiten mit einem von vier Szenarien aus der GDI- Studie Die Zukunft der vernetzten Gesellschaft, die sich mit Machtverschiebungen und zunehmenden Konflikten eines immer allgegenwärtigen und alle Lebensbereiche bestimmenden Internets auseinandersetzt. Die unterschiedlichen Netze mit ganz verschiedenen Graden von Freiheit und Transparenz, von Sicherheit und Kontrolle, wurden in vier Szenarien dargestellt:
Szenerien mit der Eigenkontrolle von Daten («Low Horizon»: Menschen stellen sich gegen neue Technologien und versuchen sich abzukoppeln vs. «Dynamic Freedom»: ein neues, dezentrales Internet ermöglicht eine offene, demokratische und flexible Kooperation zwischen Menschen und Maschinen) und Fremdkontrolle von Daten («Digital 99 Percent»: die Gesellschaft ist gespalten in eine Digitale Elite – 1% und die von ihr kontrollieren 99% der Bevölkerung vs. die «Holistic Service Communities»: Menschen vertrauen alle ihre Daten einer grossen Institution an, die dann als „Big Mother“ über sie wacht).

Alle Szenarien handeln von der Kontrolle über die eigenen Daten und die unterschiedlichen Grade von Freiheit und Transparenz sowie von Sicherheit und Kontrolle ihrer Nutzer. Sie erforschen die Konfliktfelder Sicherheit und vernetzte künstliche Intelligenz –
Wie schützen wir uns und unsere Netze vor Cyberwar und Cybercrime?- und Robotisierung – Wie organisieren wir das Zusammenspiel zwischen Roboter und Mensch? Wie weit lassen wir zu, dass Maschinenfür uns entscheiden? Wie stellen wir sicher, dass die Privatsphäre respektiert wird und der Datenschutz gewährt ist? Wem vertrauen wir welche Daten warum an?

Designobjekte und Artefakte sind immer auch Repräsentationen von inhärenten Bedürfnissen, Wünschen und Ängsten ihrer Designer und Nutzer. Im Projekt log.files prüfen wir diese versteckten inhärenten Werte in Artefakten und entwickeln diese in visuellen Geschichten von Datenprotokollen weiter. Design Thinking mit visuellem Storytelling ermöglicht so alternative Vorstellungen einer künftigen Nutzung von vernetzten Objekten im Internet of Things. Jedes Projekt zeigt eine visuelle Narration von möglichen, wünschenswerten, aber auch unerwünschten Vorstellungen von Zukunft anhand einer Datengeschichte.

Text: Barbara von Rechbach

HEALTH SCAN 8.0 Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Barbara Oppelt, Sophia Wäger We welcome anyone who is not a threat to us. In order to protect the values of our natural world, a body scan must be carried out before entering our country. HEALTH SCAN 8.0 analyzes the mental and physical health of the prospective visitor.
HEALTH SCAN 8.0
Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Barbara Oppelt, Sophia Wäger
We welcome anyone who is not a threat to us. In order to protect the values of our natural world, a body scan must be carried out before entering our country. HEALTH SCAN 8.0 analyzes the mental and physical health of the prospective visitor.
Safetylog Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Marco Langguth, Eva-Maria Schitter The installation Safetylog visualizes the epicentre of a safety dome scenario, where vast amounts of digital data are detected, collected and converted into analogue, action-orientated information messages. These data translations are written in analogue form easy to read and therefore made understandable for humans. The safety screen protects its environment from any intruding matter - any transgression will trigger an alarm and activate action.
Safetylog
Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Marco Langguth, Eva-Maria Schitter
The installation Safetylog visualizes the epicentre of a safety dome scenario, where vast amounts of digital data are detected, collected and converted into analogue, action-orientated information messages. These data translations are written in analogue form easy to read and therefore made understandable for humans. The safety screen protects its environment from any intruding matter – any transgression will trigger an alarm and activate action.
Monitoring Memories Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Valentina Recheis, Helena Kappelmüller, Vera Tolazzi Monitoring Memories translates digital memories into an analogue object in the form of a postcard.
Monitoring Memories
Scenario: Low Horizon // Students: Valentina Recheis, Helena Kappelmüller, Vera Tolazzi
Monitoring Memories translates digital memories into an analogue object in the form of a postcard.
The Bed Scenario: Dynamic Freedom // Students: Maria Fröhlich, Theresa Korherr, Teresa Schuh, Sonja Thoms In our world where technology is accessible in abundance for everyone, economy and politics are being driven by individual customer choices. Every object turns into an intelligent assistant for you daily needs and wishes. Even everyday things like your bed collects, processes and transmits your personal data for the best possible support. It communicates with other objects, organizes your bedtime routine and even makes decisions for you. It can measure and understand how you feel, what you need, and probably even what you think. According to your emotional and physical state it will adjust temperature, position, scent, air quality, light setting and many more parameters to make you feel good and find your much-needed rest.
The Bed
Scenario: Dynamic Freedom // Students: Maria Fröhlich, Theresa Korherr, Teresa Schuh, Sonja Thoms
In our world where technology is accessible in abundance for everyone, economy and politics are being driven by individual customer choices. Every object turns into an intelligent assistant for you daily needs and wishes. Even everyday things like your bed collects, processes and transmits your personal data for the best possible support. It communicates with other objects, organizes your bedtime routine and even makes decisions for you. It can measure and understand how you feel, what you need, and probably even what you think. According to your emotional and physical state it will adjust temperature, position, scent, air quality, light setting and many more parameters to make you feel good and find your much-needed rest.
Life of my Pet Scenario: Holistic Service Community // Students: Yoon Kyung Lee, Jung Ui Lee We provide full service for you and your dog. At the beginning of your pet's life, all its life, at the end, and even at the new life… our wide learning AI helps you communicate with your special friend. Your can play with your pet in real time, talk to it with our translator, analyze behavior patterns and find critical information about its life. Use iPet to monitor your darling 24 hours, live, and collect important data and information for all its actions, movement, emotions, heartbeat, blood sugar, blood pressure, and much more…. You can see all the data visualized on the Dogcloud, switching to the iPet especially designed for you. Smart! The outstanding hologram camera provides a new form of communication with your pooch that gives you an incredible image as it would be right next to you. Extremely fast, accurate, and sensitive! Unlimited memory. More storage. No more deleting photos and videos of pets - you can always expand your Dogcloud. Life of my pet offers a new type of genetic technology to make your dog immortal - create a new dog as same as your pet and upgrade its life for stage 2.0!
Life of my Pet
Scenario: Holistic Service Community // Students: Yoon Kyung Lee, Jung Ui Lee
We provide full service for you and your dog. At the beginning of your pet’s life, all its life, at the end, and even at the new life… our wide learning AI helps you communicate with your special friend. Your can play with your pet in real time, talk to it with our translator, analyze behavior patterns and find critical information about its life. Use iPet to monitor your darling 24 hours, live, and collect important data and information for all its actions, movement, emotions, heartbeat, blood sugar, blood pressure, and much more…. You can see all the data visualized on the Dogcloud, switching to the iPet especially designed for you. Smart! The outstanding hologram camera provides a new form of communication with your pooch that gives you an incredible image as it would be right next to you. Extremely fast, accurate, and sensitive! Unlimited memory. More storage. No more deleting photos and videos of pets – you can always expand your Dogcloud. Life of my pet offers a new type of genetic technology to make your dog immortal – create a new dog as same as your pet and upgrade its life for stage 2.0!
The Token Scenario: Digital 99% // Students: Marjan Moradhasel, Daniel Huber, Lisa-Marie Witting In a world where 1% of the population holds all the power we introduce a device which is apparently part of the consumer but allows total control of the people. The Token not only categorizes and ranks its human user, it is the only authorized method of payment and identification. Worn on the wrist by the help of an implanted magnet, it is connected to a contact lenses the user wears the whole day for communicating with his environment. Constantly collecting information, personal as well as from the outer world. The Token advises and guides us through our daily life. Rating and saving everything you encounter, it tells you what to buy, what to eat and where to go, making the process of deciding and researching completely obsolete.
The Token
Scenario: Digital 99% // Students: Marjan Moradhasel, Daniel Huber, Lisa-Marie Witting
In a world where 1% of the population holds all the power we introduce a device which is apparently part of the consumer but allows total control of the people. The Token not only categorizes and ranks its human user, it is the only authorized method of payment and identification. Worn on the wrist by the help of an implanted magnet, it is connected to a contact lenses the user wears the whole day for communicating with his environment. Constantly collecting information, personal as well as from the outer world. The Token advises and guides us through our daily life. Rating and saving everything you encounter, it tells you what to buy, what to eat and where to go, making the process of deciding and researching completely obsolete.
Care Ring Scenario: Holistic Service Community // Students: Ana Dumitrache, Anna Eickhoff, Martina Jäger, Hana Oprešnik, Annette Valcic Care Ring is a conceptual exploration of health care in the future: A ring, unique to its wearer, gathers not only information like blood pressure, body temperature and more, but also becomes the direct connection between the customer and their health care provider.
Care Ring
Scenario: Holistic Service Community // Students: Ana Dumitrache, Anna Eickhoff, Martina Jäger, Hana Oprešnik, Annette Valcic
Care Ring is a conceptual exploration of health care in the future: A ring, unique to its wearer, gathers not only information like blood pressure, body temperature and more, but also becomes the direct connection between the customer and their health care provider.