the future of Ambient Intelligence 22/02 Amsterdam

Ambient Intelligence
Ben Schouten & Rob van Kranenburg

Technologically framed issues of the coming decade will be on smart environments, The Internet of Things, pervasive computing, ubicomp, Things That Think, Disappearing Computer, Ambient Intelligence, calm technology, all terms for the trend of chips and circuits, switches and boards moving out of the computer as we know it, into clothing (wearables), homes (domotics), military operations (smart dust), healthcare (implants), security ( smart cameras), and through logistics and retail into the chain of things that we buy and sell every day. However, they will not move out without sending postcards home. They will keep in touch with the digital infrastructures and databases by calling in from time to time. Following Mark Weiserís vision in his seminal 1992 Computing for the 21th century text, this view on computing is the fastest spreading paradigm in the history of technology: from Intel (hardware), to Philips (Ambient Intelligence), from Nokia (Near Field Communication), to DARPA (distributed systems), from the EU vision of Digital Territory to the EPC Global dream of an Internet of Things (Object Name Servers).

As the World Wide Web has changed our ways to communicate, to collaborate and share information in previously unavailable ways, ambient technology will even further influence our lives, HOW we perceive and communicate and shape our identity. It will reshape our media in new content and environments, our daily live and work environment and our economical challenges Using new technologies and improved sensor capabilities it will facilitate more human communication and places the human in the centre of his adaptive environment. An important question will then be to find new ways of scripting new forms of solidarities with these digital technologies which will deepen the possibilities, which will inspire trust and confidence or that we will be confronted with more control and/or hiding the technological complexity behind ever more simple user friendly interfaces. In both cases there is no learning by citizens on how to function within such a system, thereby opening up a ll kinds of breakdown scenarios.

We will discuss how to negociate the vast economic and human resources in the Netherlands, its unique saturedness in terms of infrastructures and excellent planning strategies in relation to a practical living of everyday life, real human problems and challenges? This evening we hope to get the key players in the Dutch ambient intelligence field together in order to debate strategies towards collaboration and concrete implementation scenarios.

With Boris de Ruyter (Philips), Erik Geelhoed (Hewlett-Packard Laboratories), Berry Eggen (TU Eindhoven, Design Platform Eindhoven), Klaas Kuitenbrouwer (Mediamatic) & Maurits Kreijveld

Janine Antoni, touch

come on darling, please take my hand ( just listening to the Proclaimers, but still)

Everytime, E. Wedel ul. Zamoyskiego 28/30

Cookies and tree huggers

and good lines

and the man working

the feeling that something is right, for a change.

Still more crying, Powązkowski

But you dream of nothing but love instead ( Bettye LaVette)

All the way down to the ground, Powązkowski

Come une Pietra Scalciata, Powązkowski

Although I do like this messy business

on all kinds of architectures, as it fundamentally showes that we are dealing with air, waves- I don’t get the silence of architects. Why are there no complaints as these masts ruin their drawings? And what with this notion of seamlessness, is that not of the visual kind?

Speaking in Stalin’s gift to the Polish people,

we can now safely say that ours is the full loop of open content, open software & open hardware. I did not get into trouble, I do not risk anything in saying that.

The term mediawisdom was well received.

The 2005 Advisory Report: ‘Media Wisdom’

Council for Culture 2005 Advisory Report on Mediawijsheid .

Excerpts from the letter by the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur), accompanying the 2005Advisory Report on Mediawijsheid (literary: ‘media wisdom’). The letter and report were submitted to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science (Dutch: OCW) and the Chairs of the Houses of Parliament. The Advisory Report was entitled Media Wisdom: The Development of New Citizenship (Mediawijsheid: De ontwikkeling van nieuw burgerschap).

“In the 2005 Advisory Report, the Council for Culture proposes to broaden the term Media Education into to term Media Wisdom. This shift in perspective is prompted by social and cultural changes, acknowledging that we see an increasing ‘mediatisation’ of society and culture. Media are affecting almost every corner of society. The media are becoming context, content and intermediaries of information knowledge and experiences. Media affect how people communicate, what about, what they value and the extent they feel connected. Media, whether old media or new, analogue or digital, play a significant part in all of those ways. Media have become our environment, rather than being just elements in our surroundings .

The growing influence of media also has an impact on democratic institutions and the meaning of modern citizenship. Citizens are becoming more responsible for themselves and the role they play in society. This is partly an autonomous process, which they choose themselves, and partly a process instigated by measures taken by a receding government. This is possible thanks to the media, and in particular the possibilities opened up by the internet.

Media-wise

To allow citizens to participate fully in a media-saturated society, it’s crucial that they are media-wise. Citizens who are not media competent will find themselves excluded from parts of society.

The council prefers the term ‘media wisdom’ to ‘media education’ because the latter focuses on everyday practice, in addition to the government exclusively acting on school education, children and adolescents, supply and protection.

The most significant consequences of the Council’s proposed change of focus are:

• ‘media wisdom’ goes beyond school education: because citizens need wisdom in the fields of health care, politics and safety
• ‘media wisdom’ does not exclusively concern children and adolescents: in order to function as well as possible in modern society, everyone needs to be media-wise
• the aim and necessity of media wisdom is not a matter solely of dealing with the media, but of being able to participate in society
‘Media Wisdom’ puts more emphasis on creating and producing media content and attitude as an aspect of media wisdom, i.e. citizens should be aware of how they use media and the effects of using it, both for themselves and for others.

The shift in perspective argued by the Council for Culture implies that wherever media are being produced or used, media wisdom should be promoted. This means that making people and society media wise is relevant for a wide range of social and policy domains – from health care to housing to politics, as well as education […]. The public media should play an important role: they should behave as an immaculate examplars. Their products should be a benchmark of reliability, pluriformity, accessibility, quality and transparency. Media professionals should offer their knowledge and skills more often to the new social middle segment, and supply citizens with the tools to play a more active role in society.

In terms of school education, the Council does not propose a separate discipline teaching ‘media education’ or ‘media wisdom’, but rather the implementation of certain aspects of media wisdom as part of ‘citizenship education’. It also pleads for appointing ‘media coaches’ within schools. They will guide and inspire the media educators in schools, safeguard continuity and develop projects with extra-curricular partners.

Cultural institutes involved in media education should focus more on production and attitude and – together with all other institutions that use media – focus more on sharing knowledge, cooperation and working on demand. Public libraries will play an important role in the promotion of ‘media wisdom’, because of their accessibility and range. They will however have to reconsider, and possibly adjust, their role.”

Polonia Palace, the only surving hotel of warsaw ww ii, a beautiful and friendly place.

You could try our new benches in Ghent Zuidpark

I like America and America likes me

Hmm, yes, what can you say or do after this? Best to sit for a while, relax or why not walk about a bit and catch some sun.