NYC Media Lab 2019 | Melissa Orr
The day kicked off strongly with an innovation panel discussion between four great forces within the media/tech and social justice community led by Justin Hendrix, Executive Director of NYC’s Media Lab. Hendrix asked the group to address big topics such as, what is the most important tech trend that will affect us in the next ten years? Yael Eisenstat, Policy Advisor at the Center for Humane Technology, responded that it’s our over-reliance on social media where we get our news feeds which will diminish the overall quality of journalism and prevent people from critical thinking, “First, fast and free is not sustainable,” she says.
Though journalism is a business, there is a new level of confirmation bias that exists now more than ever. People are consuming news as if it’s another form of entertainment—along-side cat videos, and highlights from their favorite tv shows, and then sharing them without critical analysis. Instead, she says we’re putting our news in the hands of companies who hold no social responsibility, like Facebook and Twitter. Eisenstat says “forget teaching people coding, what if Mark Zuckerberg actually didn’t drop out of college? Maybe he would’ve taken a few courses on ethics and humanitarianism.”
Eisenstat also says the assumption that AI should always do the work for humans creates an apolitical, lack of moral compass when it comes to our newsfeeds. This is because no one is curating it, it’s simply being favored for likes and engagements. I found myself aligning with her views because her approach was to analyze the technology from a sociological perspective. I found myself thinking about whether AI is actually aiding our human progress or just replacing what makes us uniquely human?
The other speakers consisted of groups of tech innovators who were mostly in the developmental phases of AR projects. The most notable one for me was a group called “The Movers and Shakers” who’s AR experience re-visits historical monuments around NYC to tell stories about them through the lens of the oppressed. This project made me realize how valuable AR can be for education. Young people are already expecting technology to be integrated into their education, but to actually absorb history and information through “first-hand” visual and immersive experience will help them to understand and retain it much better in the long-run.
The final keynote speaker was Heidi Boisvert, CEO and Founder of futurePerfect Lab and Director of Emerging Media Technology at the New York City College of Technology. Ms. Boisvert presented her experiment called the Limbic Lab which is an AI system for being able to read real-time emotional responses to media based on biometric data and then adapting the media to create more effective content for NGOs and cultural education. Her system she says, is the first media genome ever to exist. She said that she felt the need to “reverse engineer the harmful effects of technology,” essentially by building personalized “bio-media.” Although Boisvert’s intentions are to create a tool for cultural good, I can understand how more data creation based on unique bio-reactions could be used in the commercial sphere and become useful for business, perhaps too useful. If brands were to be able to create content in real time based on your physical response, there would be ethical and privacy implications that we’re already grappling with.
Finally, we attended the demo-expo which was a big gymnasium filled with prototypes of of the experiments that the school groups had just presented to us. Most of these projects consisted of AR and VR prototypes that allowed activities such as dining in the future when foods have gone extinct and a VR online shopping mall that allows you to try on clothing.
The project that struck me most was called iBEGOO, created by Amir Baradaran, an ARtist at Columbia University who explained to us (a few times, actually, it’s difficult to understand some technology-speak!) His project was a way to democratize AI so that it’s accessible to artists. His work is meant to assist, filmmakers, etc in sharing their work via AR and AI so that creative storytelling evolves with cutting-edge technology that artists would otherwise never have access to. His work helps to consolidate inaccessible tech software and makes it digestible and applicable to creatives.
In sum, the Media Lab Summit was an exciting introduction into the world of AR and VR which offers endless potential for medical aid, education and entertainment. Overall, these innovators are seeking positive societal impact by the usage of the tools they create. It felt hopeful knowing that there is research and innovation by people who want more than to just sell products. The other take-away was that there is a community of innovators who are concerned about the social responsibility of technology companies controlling our media. They foresee the long-term cultural impact as generations are born into a world of AI curated content with a business agenda. If young people are never exposed to media that gives them room to genuinely discover, critique and reflect, it could stunt their ability to do so. Lastly, we must always question whether the technology that’s developing is bettering humanity, rather than talking away from what makes us uniquely human.
