Category: 01-Reading

neural-reading01

The Critical Engineer deconstructs and incites suspicion of rich user experiences.

The Critical Engineer doesn't assume that entertainment exists only for entertainment. There are complex historical, political, economic, cultural, personal, etc. factors involved, that are worth examining to determine underlying intentions or implications of its creations, experience, and existence.

An example that comes to mind: when you buy a ticket to see that new Star Wars movie, you're interacting in some way, however tangential, with the interests Hollywood higher-ups that funded that movie, and likely had a say in the casting and writing. Their motivations are tinged by the masses, the netizens ranting or raving about the casting or plot. And by engaging in the whole theater going "experience"(the popcorn, the booming sounds, and a meal because there's probably a mall nearby)which has been part of the popular consciousness for a very long time and continuously been shaped by capitalism and consumerism.

I find it interesting that analysis can lead you down this winding chain of buzzwords and that we end up in interesting places when we ask why this chain exists, and why those particular words are there.

Spoon-Reading01

From the Critical Engineering Manifesto by Oliver, Savičić, and Vasiliev, "The Critical Engineer raises awareness that with each technological advance our techno-political literacy is challenged."

A Critical Engineer needs to pay attention to how a technological advance changes the way politics and technology must be understood and examined. Every time there was a large technological shift, people's role in society changed greatly. The industrial revolution put people to work in factories, shifting society to being massively city-focused, rather than rurally focused. In another example, the influx of automated work coupled with globalization has proven to be a massive challenge to modern American society. While the society continues to have the techno-political literacy of an older America, it is incapable of facing the reality of the shrinking job market.

Sepho – Reading

9. The Critical Engineer notes that written code expands into social and psychological realms, regulating behavior between people and the machines they interact with. By understanding this, the Critical Engineer seeks to reconstruct user-constraints and social action through means of digital excavation.

As someone seeking to use code add interactivity as a medium for artwork it is crucial for me to learn how to push these systems constructed in computer science of pure, applied, logic and math.  To learn how to use code as a foundation to explore, express, and question the nature of ideas in much the same way paint or clay would be used. This is the main idea that stands out to me in the quote above when compared to the 10 other items in the manifesto, the idea that it is vital to understand the scope of your work and its effect on others both individually and within a system or institution. Some hypothetical examples of this need to consider scope maybe being some perfectly realistic simulation created solely to push the boundaries of what is possible technically. A simulation like this would be amazing in terms of technology but what must also be considered is what kind of effects something like a perfect, indistinguishable-from-life simulation, would have on the human psyche or society in general. What would we not need anymore? Would things like travel lose significance? It is always important to keep scope in mind.

paukparl-Reading01

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2. The Critical Engineer raises awareness that with each technological advance our techno-political literacy is challenged.
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Sometimes, when I'm on the subway, I would wonder if the net knowledge of all passengers on the train could amount to making a smart phone. When you think about it for a couple seconds, you will soon realize that there is nearly no way to make a smart phone with that many people on the same train. But at the same time, we're all constantly staring at our phones (especially on the trains). Often, we're so physically close to pieces of technology, yet have no clue of what goes into them and how they've been engineered or manufactured. I haven't had any political view on this, so I'm not perfectly sure what "techno-political" literacy would mean. But I think it would have some things to do with the privacy- and duopoly-related disputes surrounding the web.

But I do feel uneasy with the current pace that technology is evolving. I enjoy coding and learning more about computers, because it gives me composure, a sense that I'm incrementally gaining more control over my life. 

nannon-Reading-01

2. The Critical Engineer raises awareness that with each technological advance our techno-political literacy is challenged.

This document struck me immediately as extremely idealistic, though also extremely desirable and hopeful. Though the tone acknowledges the power of computing, it also implies that the original authors know how far technology can take us.

What stood out to me is that about half the tenets could explicitly applied to many other fields, but particularly design. These tenets, including 2,3,6 and 8 especially, are very close to the philosophy over in the School of Design. It's an emphasis on how our built (designed) world is converging more and more with the engineered (digital) world. A huge majority of college graduates in this decade will work in some kind of technological field, and this manifesto applies to anyone who will influence a new product or object.

I believe that engineers who are on the front line literally writing the code that powers almost all our products today should hold these tents close at hand, but others who will be involved with building products should be self-aware of their actions + consequences as well.

The second tenet rings so true in 2018, especially in light of GDPR and the Facebook testimonies. The tech-literacy gap is going to be a shattering crisis soon (if not already), and it's very clear in how government is interacting with private tech companies.

shuann-Reading01

"3. The Critical Engineer deconstructs and incites suspicion of rich user experiences."

I think what this tenet is talking about them importance of not simply accepting what is offered out there in the world. Instead, we need to always keep a critical eye on the new technologies and as well as the new experiences that they claim to bring. We need to understand why they are developed and how they are adapted before we take any actions. In addition, it is in fact almost always the case that a rich user experience mutually benefits not only the users themselves but also the company who provides the service/product. With the spreading of information technology today, information is traveling at a rate that is no longer limited by space and time. Thus this also enhances the effectiveness of "word of mouth". By providing good experience with existing users, this means they business has a better chance of reaching a larger group of potential users though the self-identified promotors.

The Critical Engineering Manifesto Response – dinkolas

The third point in "The Critical Engineering Manifesto" by Julian Oliver et al. (2011) particularly stood out to me:

"The Critical Engineer deconstructs and incites suspicion of rich user experiences."

A few years ago I learned that in every large social media platform the users, not the site, are the product. The consumers who pay for the users' attention are advertisers. Thus, a "rich user experience" can sometimes just be a means of attracting the most user attention, or gathering the most product to sell. This could be viewed as a win-win: the user gets to choose the best site, and the best site is rewarded with advertising money. However, when the site is designed for addiction (which is the case with most social media platforms), this interaction is soured, and the site which manages to squeeze the most time out of the most people comes out on top. That is why I find this principal of the manifesto to be particularly important; the best solution to avoid having your time exploited is to be suspicious when you are repeatedly attracted to a single user experience, and to become conscious of ulterior motives the designers of such a system may have.

yuvian-Reading

The Critical Engineer recognises that each work of engineering engineers its user, proportional to that user's dependency upon it.

A critical engineer's work is understood to have an effect on its user corresponding to degree in which the user relies on it. Thus, the more a user depends on the work, the more they will be influenced by its content.

This is an interesting thought regarding the relationship between a product and its user/audience. I can see this belief reflected in popular culture regarding the prevalence of smartphones in our current society. It is often joked that as our phones become "smarter" we become less so. Nowadays, it is easy to see the influence technology has on our lives. Recently, research has shown the detrimental effects of blue light on our Circadian clock, our postures suffer due to long hours in front of a computer screen, and average time spent outdoors is quickly decreasing. In the same way our technology is continuously engineered and altered throughout the years, so have our lifestyles. Because of this, the fifth tenet of the "Critical Engineering Manifesto" rings true.

sapeck-reading01

9. The Critical Engineer notes that written code expands into social and psychological realms, regulating behaviour between people and the machines they interact with. By understanding this, the Critical Engineer seeks to reconstruct user-constraints and social action through means of digital excavation.

This belief demonstrates that engineering is truly an art form. While engineering advances society technologically, the nature of the advancements can change the way that people think and act--intentionally or unintentionally. By understanding that spaces, machines, and computers influence how people act, Critical Engineers seek to design with social intention in mind. I'm fascinated by how the subtleties of engineering affect society. While artists often write stories about society, engineers write society itself. Engineers can control someone's mood by how long an elevator takes to get to their floor. Engineers make it possible to stay in touch without someone around the world in realtime. A credit or debit card and ATM prevents the need to carry around lots of cash, allowing consumers to carry their money virtually and spend more.

chaine-Reading01

The Critical Engineer considers any technology depended upon to be both a challenge and a threat. The greater the dependence on a technology the greater the need to study and expose its inner workings, regardless of ownership or legal provision.

Humanity's reliance on technology within recent years is undeniable. It has ingrained itself into almost every aspect of human life whether it be something as simple as flushing the toilet or something as complex as building a supercomputer. This tenet reverberates with the rapid pace our society's reliance on technology is growing at. The movie Ex Machina--(spoiler alert) in which a humanoid robot manipulates and kills its human creator and caretaker in order to assimilate with the outside human society--is becoming a very real possibility. As this possibility grows larger, we, as engineers, are obliged to study the field of technology thoroughly to prevent or adapt to the radical new changes it might bring.