Posted on by Mediaatsydney

Digital Publics: Hidden and Untraceable Data

When: Monday 3 December, 2018 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Where: Philosophy Room S249, Philosophy Room S249, University of Sydney Camperdown, NSW 2006

Part of this year’s Digital Humanities Downunder Summer Institute, co-hosted with Western Sydney University, The Department of Media and Communications, The University of Sydney.

Register here

Human-machine communication is increasingly embedded in our everyday lives through the rise of social media, the Internet of Things (IoT), linked data, and so-called smart technologies such as connected homes, smart cars, and digital assistants. As our use of these technologies continues to grow and integrate with our personal lives, the early promise of machines increasing user communication and participation, seems to have faded towards a world where humans primarily only communicate with machines and must participate or risk being excluded. These integrated and connected processes of human-machine communication are increasingly less visible overtime as they become embedded in platforms, sensors and autonomous systems, while the obvious concern for citizens is an increase of user tracking and surveillance. What is of greater concern, and often underexplored, is our ability to, as James W. Carey (2005) notes, disentangle the consequences of entangled connected devices from the wider world of power and ambition. Understanding this critical ambition should be the role of citizens, who inform and are guided by leading public figures in these arenas.

This is precisely the role researchers from the Humanities, Social Sciences and Human-Computer Interaction disciplines should be engaging in. However, in a post-Cambridge Analytica world, gaining access to these sorts of environments for research and critical examination is increasingly difficult. This is a critical moment for expertise from a number of areas to collaboratively design and employ new approaches towards digital research methods, that can inform and work with publics, advise policy makers, and guide appropriate best practice for users of human-machine communication environments.

To explore this area, we have a panel of leading experts discussing the current and emerging themes of human-machine communication, who will apply their critical lens to this increasingly important area for citizens.

Professor Jean Burgess, Director of the Digital Media Research Centre
Professor Michele Willson, Dean of Research for Faculty of Humanities and Professor, Internet Studies, Curtin University
Dr Aim Sinpeng, Lecturer University of Sydney

Dr Jonathon Hutchinson, Lecturer University of Sydney, and Dr Justine Humphry, Lecturer University of Sydney, will be the discussants for the evening.

Register here