Networking with Ghosts in the Machine. Speaking to the Internet of Things

Abstract

Our increasingly technologically-mediated world continues to pose challenges for design. Considering these we suggest that the digital products and services that surround us are haunted by 'ghosts in the machine'. These spectres bridge the physical with the digital, they broker competing relationships, and live among streams of data which cohere as algorithmic oceans causing precipitation of physical agency. Cast in this light, the ghosts in the machines of modern networked technologies represent aspects of designers' challenging relationships with the products and services they create. An emerging body of Post Anthropocentric theory offers conceptual 'jumping-off' points to engage with these challenges. In this paper we describe experiments that reflect and build on these theories. Through these we explore the possible foundations of accessible heuristics to aid in purposeful designerly apprehension of the difficult socio-technical complexities that are common among 21 st century technological assemblages.

A Tarot of Things: a supernatural approach to designing for IoT

“…By using the act of philosophical carpentry in one's own practice, one may effectively create different formats of philosophers; philosopher-programmers, philosopherchefs, philosopher-designers, etc. In relation to the counter argument in the previous discussion, around anthropocentrism and the potential difficulties of seeing things through alternate perspectives, arguments exist for the use of "carpentry" as a way to work around the human-to-non-human hurdle (Bogost, 2012;Lindley et al, 2019).…”

“…Where this discussion of OOO leads to is, an imagining of the vicarious lives of equally animate and inanimate objects in our existence. Though such an imagining of the world, from a nonhuman perspective, presents its own difficulties (Harman, 2018;Lindley et al, 2019). The premise provides a starting point to discuss a potential alternate view for designing in IoT; a view of the object as opposed to the user.…”

“…OOO though, suggests going beyond anthropocentricism in the pursuit of understanding objects. Lindley et al (2019) discuss the potential for using a "post-anthropocentric" view as a way to view IoT networks as seen by IoT devices. They do this by suggesting the presence of metaphorical "ghosts in the machine", in hopes of having an alternative view of interactions.…”

“…The reasoning for the use of Tarot comes from its widespread cultural influence as a practice that invokes a spirituality. As we are coming from an anthropocentric view of IoT objects, this artefact attempts to raise the bar for agency within said objects by introducing an air of the supernatural akin to Lindley et al "ghosts in the machine" (Lindley et al, 2019).…”

The Divination of Things by Things

“…In fact, the definition of what an object is has also been expanded over time to incorporate various ideologies that themselves can be considered as objects such as, global warming through Morton's hyperobjects [15] or having cultural or social attributes through Latour's quasi-objects [10]. Recent studies in what it means to be an object connected to the Internet has become a pertinent question amongst scholars ([4], [2], [13]) trying to improve our understanding of IoT. Although the characterization of these so-called objects having agency is much more contentious ( [3], [8], [16]).…”