fscons16
FSCONS X
2016-11-12
2016-11-13
2
00:15
http://frab.fscons.org
2016-11-12T09:45:00+01:00
09:45
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-296-formiddagsfika_saturday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/296
false
Förmiddagsfika Saturday
Coffee/te and a light bite
other
2016-11-12T10:00:00+01:00
10:00
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-290-opencare_the_future_of_welfare_in_the_hands_of_hackers
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/290
false
OpenCare: The Future of welfare in the hands of hackers
lecture
The migration issue dominates the European political debate. The influx of migrants, some people say, will break the European welfare system. Any new person coming in is reducing the amount of care that others can get. Care is a zero-sum game. Is that really the case?
It turns out that, when faced with care challenges, communities rise to meet them. By doing so, they step outside of our current paradigm, one of provision of care services by a combination of the state and private business. This changes the game completely to one of decentralization and reciprocity. These services often display an uncanny degree of efficiency. So no, care provision does not need to be zero-sum. There are unexploited resources in the system. But they cannot easily be added to our existing care system. They are too strange: ad hoc, blurry at the edges, often existing in legal gray areas. Unfundable.
In this talk, we explore some of the amazing care services that communities are providing - right now - to people that the state and private business have let down. We then ask how we, as the tech community, could support these initiatives to become more resilient and to scale where possible.
Nadia EL-Imam
2016-11-12T11:00:00+01:00
11:00
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-286-in_the_absence_of_progress
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/286
false
In the absence of progress
lecture
en
The future isn't what it used to be. Across the western countries, people have lost faith in the basic promise of economic progress, that each generation will grow up to lives of greater prosperity, security and opportunity than their parents' generation. This is feeding troubling political developments that disrupt the 'normal' functioning of democracy: the Brexit vote, the rise of parties like the Sweden Democrats, the prospect of President Trump.
Against this background, I want to share some thoughts about what it would mean to disentangle our thinking and our hopes from the cultural logic of progress - a set of interlocking assumptions which are embedded in many of the ways we currently try to make sense of the world, but which leave us badly placed to navigate the mess in which we now find ourselves.
This is not about just standing the logic of progress on its head and embracing a romantic longing for a golden age, nor am I arguing for the lazy relativism often associated with 'postmodernism'. But I think it is both possible and necessary, while avoiding these traps, to find a way of living, thinking and acting for change 'in the absence of progress'. And it seems particularly interesting to bring this conversation to FSCONS, since technology has been so tightly entangled with the logic that I'm bringing into question.
Dougald Hine
2016-11-12T12:00:00+01:00
12:00
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-287-power_politics_and_imaginations_of_artificial_intelligence
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/287
false
Power, politics and imaginations of artificial intelligence
The case of the driverless car
lecture
My research is an 'ethnography of ethics' that follows the mainstream visibility for and emergence of a new technology in society – artificial intelligence in the context of the driverless car. In this, ethics is being deployed as a proxy vocabulary for, variously, human-machine relations, as a software problem, a design challenge, and as an influence on the development of regulatory mechanisms. From perfect information games to science-fiction movies, this talk will weave together histories of intelligence in computing with questions of accountability and design in technology.
Maya Indira Ganesh
2016-11-12T13:00:00+01:00
13:00
01:00
Conference Room
fscons16-297-lunch_saturday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/297
false
Lunch Saturday
other
2016-11-12T14:15:00+01:00
14:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-282-devuan_gnu_linux
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/282
false
Devuan GNU+Linux
where we are, how we got here, where we are going
lecture
en
Devuan GNU+Linux is a fork of Debian without systemd. Its Beta release marks an important milestone towards the sustainability and the continuation of Devuan as a universal base distribution.
Devuan Jessie provides continuity as a safe upgrade path from Wheezy and a flawless switch from Jessie that ensures the right to Init Freedom and avoids entanglement.
Since the Exodus declaration in 2014, infrastructure has been put in place to support Devuan’s mission to offer users control over their system.
Today Devuan is available for a number or embedded and virtual machines architectures and runs as a reliable OS, arguably even more reliable than Debian itself since its switch to systemd.
Jaromil
2016-11-12T15:00:00+01:00
15:00
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-298-eftermiddagsfika_saturday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/298
false
Eftermiddagsfika Saturday
Coffee/te and a light bite
other
2016-11-12T15:15:00+01:00
15:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-283-privacy_you_keep_on_using_this_word
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/283
false
Privacy, you keep on using this word…
The politics behind notions of privacy on the internet
lecture
en
Privacy has become a buzz word in the tech industry and internet governance in recent years. Like many other buzz words, it has different meanings and uses in different times and places. But notions of privacy on the internet have been an ongoing debate and source of conflict between various interest groups. In this talk, we will explore historical and contemporary struggles to redraw the boundaries of what is considered to be private and public space in and through media. Importantly, we will see how this is, in fact, a power conflict to shape the way people understand and experience media technologies, space and their bodies.
Elinor Carmi
2016-11-12T16:15:00+01:00
16:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-284-body_and_property
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/284
false
Body and Property
A meditation on VR, blockchains, and how user interface shapes human identity
lecture
en
In cryptographic spaces, we are abstracts - a secret bitstring which creates digital signatures which transfer value or create secret channels over which private communication may occur. Knowing secrets, and penetrating other's secrets, are absolute entitlements to property and power.
In virtual realities, the semantics of the body are nonlinear and arbitrary: some systems give you only mock hands, others only a disembodied gaze and a button. But as the technology progresses, the question of body, mind and embodiment will become increasingly clear to our virtual experience.
So we must ask a question: "what does your computer think you are?" How are you experienced by your technology? How does it touch you, and what parts of your totality can it understand, express and respond to?
Vinay Gupta
2016-11-12T17:00:00+01:00
17:00
01:30
Conference Room
fscons16-300-sauna_and_such
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/300
false
Sauna and such
other
For all stayover guests, access to the hotel spa is included in the price. This includes pools, saunas and much more. See <a href="https://www.marstrands.se/en/spa/about-our-spa">https://www.marstrands.se/en/spa/about-our-spa</a>
2016-11-12T18:30:00+01:00
18:30
01:30
Conference Room
fscons16-299-dinner
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/299
false
Dinner
other
2016-11-13T09:45:00+01:00
09:45
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-301-formiddagsfika_sunday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/301
false
Förmiddagsfika Sunday
Coffee/te and a light bite
other
2016-11-13T10:00:00+01:00
10:00
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-289-the_magical_lives_of_corporate_software_developers
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/289
false
The Magical Lives of Corporate Software Developers
lecture
Since the invention of the personal computer in the 1970s, computers have become increasingly part of our daily practices, yet the majority of users of digital media still lack a basic understanding of who is shaping their reality and how they are doing so. Computer programming or coding involves subjective decisions – from when and how data is categorised, to how an interface is designed. Corporate software developers are a quiet, quite unknown mass of people who make decisions that shape the way in which society functions, in turn helping shape our social futures. This emerging social class – with the knowledge to design, manoeuvre, and hack computer systems – holds the key to the back-doors of society.
As an ethnographer of social media, I spent months in a large corporate software company in order to understands and uncover the sometimes magical and mystical life-worlds of programmers. Based on an ethnographic study of programmer’s cultures in Silicon Valley and a 2-month organizational ethnography at a large corporate technology company in Berlin, this presentation gives a voice to our everyday developers - how they innovate, the relationship to the machine, how they negotiate power.
Paula Bialski
2016-11-13T11:00:00+01:00
11:00
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-291-civic_tech_for_democratic_change_in_hungary
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/291
false
Civic Tech for Democratic Change in Hungary
lecture
Since the moment nationwide internet penetration has started to increase all over the globe, academics and practitioners working on the ground have seen the internet as the source of endless opportunities to use new technology in citizen empowerment and building democracies.
Although this may be true, current practice and citizen engagement theory has started questioning the real effect of online initiatives in building democratic societies and dealing with elite capture.
Accountability frameworks have an important role in citizen empowerment when it comes to strengthening democratic rights. Citizen engagement interactions are the source of civic mobilisation because they are aiming to change power relations by closing the accountability gap with the help of technology as a key element.
By presenting two case studies from Hungary, I aim to provide an overview of citizen participation and politics of power in the country. KiMitTud.org ("Who Knows What") is a Freedom of Information request generator instance launched by Atlatszo.hu, an investigative journalism charity. Jarokelo.hu ("Pedestrian") is a street-fixing platform I launched in Budapest, run today by a dozen of dedicated volunteers.
Interactions facilitated with the help of such citizen-state interfaces can help build trust between the state and its citizens, and can improve communication along the public service delivery cycle as well - but what can we do if not all stakeholders are open to this improvement?
Marietta Le
2016-11-13T12:00:00+01:00
12:00
01:00
Conference Room
fscons16-302-brunch_sunday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/302
false
Brunch Sunday
other
2016-11-13T13:15:00+01:00
13:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-292-empowerment_what_does_that_even_mean
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/292
false
Empowerment. What does that even mean?!
lecture
en
"MailChimp is designed to empower our users to send great email that helps grow their audiences and businesses."
"We, as a Salesforce Admins, are empowering the sales reps to use Salesforce more efficiently."
"We are excited to empower our users to maximize their Smartsheet usage and productivity with help from other users."
The term 'empowerment' is casually thrown around in all kinds of contexts: from technology via the beauty industry to the education sector. Whenever individuals are to make their own decisions - be it their choice of which video game to purchase - it apparently must have something to do with power, and it must be something positive.
However, let's look a bit closer... what kind of power does one gain when a company's aim is just for them to use a product more often, more intense, or be a better advocate?
This talk will have a look at the social and political movement(s) from which the term 'empowerment' actually emerged. By supplying theoretical and historical background, I will shed light on specific power structures and the people who have been working towards changing these. You'll learn how true empowerment can be brought to the technology sector and how each of us can start with the small things to fix the big issues.
Laura Laugwitz
2016-11-13T14:15:00+01:00
14:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-293-period_tracking
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/293
false
Period tracking
At the interface of technologies, female reproductive health and cultural norms of body & gender
lecture
en
For this talk we will have a closer look at the usage of period tracking and its implications on socio-cultural concepts of female reproductive health. By sharing some insights of qualitative research that I conducted with users of the period tracking app 'Clue', I will discuss two theses: Selftracking cultures inherit from neoliberal societal models, and period tracking apps break taboos around menstruation and fill the gap of poor sex and health education. Instead of presenting final results, I want to contribute to a critical discussion of a digital self & health care.
Marie-Luise Kochsiek
2016-11-13T15:00:00+01:00
15:00
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-303-eftermiddagsfika_sunday
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/303
false
Eftermiddagsfika Sunday
Coffee/te and a light bite
other
2016-11-13T15:15:00+01:00
15:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-294-collective_action_in_the_age_of_ubiquitous_computing
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/294
false
Collective Action in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing
lecture
This paper will explore the intersection between technological development and social fragmentation. Since it has been claimed that we have entered a phase of ‘everyware’ (Greenfield, 2006), wherein software is ubiquitous in everyday life, debate has since been sparked amongst empirical literature about the impact digital saturation has upon forms of human consciousness. Discourses of ‘automation anxiety’ are abundant, whereby the rise of the digital is positioned as the nexus of problems pertaining to mass unemployment, the development of fragmented modes of concentration in software users, and a subsequent dwindling in human agency. These arguments rely upon the discursive distinction between the human and non-human (both artificial and non-artificial), whereby the two are separated into two distinct ontological spheres.
However, automation and technological development are not new phenomena emerging concurrently with the rise of the digital. Rather, societal fears of automation inhibiting skill are discussed extensively amongst early media theory, whereby humans and non-humans are said to have always co-existed (Mumford, 1934; Ellul, 1954). In accordance with this, I argue that the distillation of humans and non-humans into two distinct ontological spheres - as discourses that blame a loss of human agency on digitalisation tend to do - can inadvertently limit our capacity to engage critically with technology. In so, a more sensitive account of the human and the non-human would better understand the objectives of computational capitalism as becoming indistinguishable from its digital products.
This talk forms part of my ongoing three-year doctoral research, and in such is work in progress.
Emma Harrison
2016-11-13T16:15:00+01:00
16:15
00:45
Conference Room
fscons16-295-bitcoin_blockchain_and_virtual_business
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/295
false
Bitcoin, Blockchain and Virtual Business
lecture
In 2008, Bitcoin, the world's first intrinsic internet protocol for money came about. Since then, there has been an
amazing development in the underlying blockchain technology, that now has a number of other use cases, including finance, media and business. In 2016, how can a blockchain company deal with the apparent gap between a global, virtual internet presence, and its localized, physical, human, cultural, and regulatory presence?
Ivar Duserud
2016-11-13T17:00:00+01:00
17:00
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-304-thank_you_and_goodbye
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/304
false
Thank you and goodbye!
lecture
Stian Rødven Eide
LJO
2016-11-13T18:15:00+01:00
18:15
00:15
Conference Room
fscons16-305-recommended_departure
http://frab.fscons.org/en/fscons16/public/events/305
false
Recommended departure
other