The Digital Cultures Research CentreProjects and Themes

Feb 2016Patrick Crogan

Associate Professor of Digital CulturesUniversity of the West of England, Bristol

www.dcrc.org.uk

• Image of dcrc space

2 DCRC projects:1.

A ‘Future Documentary’

sandbox projectto make a ‘Playable

documentary’

REACT Hub: AHRC project led by DCRC founder Jonathan Dovey

Sandbox = rapid prototyping lab meets research ideas

• Jtr blog site• Auroch logo

Research/development process

Historical archives

Experts

Ethical questionsTheoretical questions

Ripper tour, London

Game design research

Ripper boardgame

Other games as inspiration

Demos and prototype work

• http://gamethenews.net/index.php/gamifying-jack-the-ripper-a-new-gamethenews-title/

2.

• CT website• BGH building.

Rise of ‘Indie games’

Lucas Pope, Papers Please (2013)

Auroch Digital, Endgame Syria (2013)Minecraft,

Mojang (2009)

Angry Birds, Rovio (2009)

Collaboration and creativity

www.creativeterritories.dcrc.org.ukOUT NOW!

Key idea:

creation always

happens somewhe

re

Major Research Theme: The Automation of Everyday Life

Unfriendly robots

Friendly robots

• s‘Matilda’, Univ of Latrobe (2010)

‘K5’ Security guard robot, Knightscope (2014)

Tomotaka Takahashi’s Kirobowent into space with a Japanese astronaut

Siri

Automation and employment

• dUWE Bristol’s ‘Venturer’ project – Bristol Robotics Lab

Tom Davenport’s list of jobs replaceable by big data-based machine learning and analytics

• d‘3,000’ stories per month on AAP automatically written

http://www.slideshare.net/MassTLC/tom-davenport-slides-automation-augmentation

Unemployment Predictions

• Belgium 50%• England 43% • Italy and Poland 56%• Spain ?

GAFA etc.

• D

Social media:

• Duck or rabbit ?• Social life or

Database?

FB Open Graph

• Like button and login button

Working 24/7• Tiziana Terranova: ‘Immaterial

labour’• Maurizio Lazzarato: ‘Affective labour’• Jonathan Crary: 24/7

Notifications and alerts

• Automation of your ‘time’• Commerce hates ‘downtime’

Social media• Social life becoming media business.• Questions: how? – automation is crucial• Why? – commercial corporate model• What effect on social life? On individuals

and collectives?• What effect on the host? That is, our planet?

And….How can we organise digital social mediation better?

(and, for fun…. some robot fails)https://www.facebook.com/VirginRadioTurkiye/videos/10152989330580380/