Introduction 24/2

In the first class of this new tech track, we began talking about our objectives of the cloud, big tech in terms of systems thinking, architecture, politics, programmed obsolescence, emergent research, and rapid prototyping of technological artifacts. The discussions reminded me of the previous term during tech beyond the myth, about awareness in tech and being aware of what technology wea re using and the big business behind them that guide us in certain directions. We discussed the concepts of protocols and not platforms in terms of web interaction. I feel that going back to using and developing protocols for web would be a much more open way to “control” interactions and speech on the internet. With the platforms we currently have and use, it is a few big enterprises that are controlling so much of the communication that occurs between people worldwide, providing a limited world of internet. With protocols, these platforms central to so much of our online activity would be challenged. For example, using gemini protocol would challenge this in the way that people would not be tracked, there wouldn’t be ads and pop-ups, and can exist with a certain type of simplicity. These discussions caused me to ask myself, am I ok with the way I use the internet today? Is it what I really want? Am I just so used to it and accepting it for the way it is (or seems available to me) that I allow for these companies to use me and my data for monetary incentive? Or would I prefer to experience it in a way that gemini protocol would offer? I honestly think that I have become so accustomed to the way I currently use the web that it might be hard to adjust to it otherwise. For example, when I see ads that are so specifically targeted towards me, I find it quite creepy that these algorithms can pinpoint me so exactly. However, I almost find it useful sometimes, which I hate to admit because I know that is me “losing” as an internet user. In terms of a computer’s accountability, a computer can never be held accountable. This is why they should not be making managerial decisions. Ideally, computers and AI systems could have accountability in terms of transparency between the people that designed the systems and the people that use them. Towards the end of the class, Guillem used a large piece of paper to physically draw out the infrastructure of the internet. Even though we have gone through it multiple times since the pre-cours, it was helpful to see it again physically drawn out in a diagram-like manner. The cloud that wasn’t – it’s easy to forget that the internet has a physical infrastructure when we walk around with our portable phones and laptops, being able to access the internet practically everywhere. It’s nice to be reminded how fast and at what distances our information travels without us physically moving a single inch.

Blockchain and web 3.0

To explore these new topics and a modern web, we had guest speaker Lorenzo Patuzzo. To start with, he wanted us to understand that blockchain, at its basis, is a way of thinking through a tool that envisions a different world. These “blocks” in the chain hold and store information that string the data-filled blocks in an irreversible linked chain. Blockchain in theory envisions a world with unified information in which everyone agrees and no one can hack. Using this system ensures openness and transparency wherein large, singular entities don’t hold all power and control. A concept we touch upon time and time again in MDEF is centralized vs. decentralized vs. distributed design. If design can be distributed, why can’t things such as exchange in currency happen in a decentralized way where everyone holds equal control? This is where cryptocurrencies come in, such as ethereum and bitcoin. While once upon a time they seemed far out, they are proving to become vital forms of trade in the economy. Lorenzo explained to us his involvement with ethereum while it was still in its infancy. It showed me that many of these movements in web 3.0 may not seem like a feasible or realistic part of the future while they are budding, but in fact hopefully will play a large part in the future. While Lorenzo was speaking about his experience, it gave me the sense that these types of movements are quietly happening all around me, even within my own sphere. Victor made an interesting point when Lorenzo showed us a picture of a physical bitcoin, that it does not need to seem far removed. We learned about the Akasha Foundation, which is” a non-profit born at the intersection of blockchain and collective intelligence”. Akasha includes their Barcelona Askasha hub, Akasha world, and Ethereum world. It is cool to know that people like Lorenzo are into supporting people with creative, innovative ideas, in a space such as the Akasha hub. I hadn’t really understood what web3 was until beginning this masters where we have discussed it. I think it is impossible in a way to understand what it really is, because it is developing and becoming what it is right now. Maybe, currently, it should even be called more of a concept. It will be interesting to see where web3 goes, and if the world we are living in of web 2.0 would ever be able to change or come to an end. Web 3 seems like it would offer an internet experience with less corruption, security, privacy, and ownership. While I do support this shift, I do think it would come with its own problems and growing pains on the way there. It makes me wonder how fast the internet CAN change, since it has so much in the relatively short span of my lifetime.