The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm speaks to the pervasive presence of internet-connected objects in the environment, supporting new forms of connectivity between data, objects and people. As the technology to network objects is developed, the IoT will come to impact more aspects of our social and cultural lives. As such, the arts and humanities must become part of the IoT conversation if it is to fulfil its considerable potential whilst remaining accountable to those who use it. What is the role of the Arts and Humanities in the IoT?
In 2016, the REACT Hub in Bristol ran the Objects Sandbox, a three-month programme supporting cross-sector project teams to prototype innovative new networked objects. New objects included, for example, ‘Reflector’ – a communal object for engaging with stories and historical artefacts related to the transatlantic slave trade. As part of that programme, I worked closely with the six project teams to explore how arts and humanities can influence our conception of the IoT. Four key routes to influence emerged: 1) through providing a comprehensive understanding of the aesthetic, cultural and social contexts in which networked objects operate; 2) through revealing the wider scope of possible networked devices that can be conceived, and the distinctive ways in which they network people, objects and data; 3) by expanding notions of what ‘user experience’ might be, so opening up new roles for networked objects in social and cultural interactions; 4) through exposing the diversity of valuing practices that underlie a responsible vision of the IoT. These are perspectives that the industry is poorly equipped to take onboard.
Outputs
Senior T. J., (2015). The Arts and Humanities in the Internet of Things. Presentation at the AHRC Creative Economy Conference, Lancaster (UK)
Senior, T. J., Moreton, S., and Dovey, J. (2015). The Arts and Humanities in the Internet of Things – REACT Working Paper. Bristol: REACT Hub. Available online at: http://www.react-hub.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/AH%20in%20IoT.pdf (Accessed February 12, 2019)