Place a breathalyzer on every keychain of a push-to-start vehicle. This would make it so that the driver could breathe into the breathalyzer, and if their blood-alcohol content is too high, then the car won’t start.
Category Archives: Hacktivism
Inspectacles
We would make a pair of glasses that would project a computer screen. The user would use a controller and/or keyboard for interaction with the screen. The hard drive could be contained in the mouse and keyboard, and they would wirelessly transmit the image to the glasses.
Trek’n’Check
Trek’n’Check is an application for any mobile device which would allow users to periodically check in at designated points during hikes or nature walks. This app would use a point system similar to Foursquare, where the user would get points for reaching certain parts of the mountain or trail. There would also be an award system if the user reached significant points, such as the peak of a mountain.
Facebook Scraping
Italian hacktivism artists Paolo Cirio and Alessandro Ludovico have been taking information from Facebook and using it to create a Mock website called Lovely-faces.com. I think this project is really funny because the artists are taking public information that people assume will never be touched and using it to make a mock website that appears to be real because all the information is real, just the intent is a little off. Every day people post to Facebook very personal and intimate information and they don’t think anything about it, these artists are bring to attention the fact when it’s out there, its fair game and can be used for anything, including a mock dating website.
Anonymous
“Anonymous is a loosely organized group of young computer experts once focused on just Internet freedom, has turned to more menacing attacks, including not only paralyzing websites but breaking in to steal data.”
I like to think of this group as a double edged sword. While one half is positive and brings about good change in the world through a group of people using their technology skills to keep freedom alive. They fight things like the SOPA act which would give governments power over the Internet. On the other side there is some negative where the group uses their skills (power) for “evil.” They steal documents and information that could be used in a bad way against a government or company. While sometimes using information negatively against some governments and companies can be for the better, governments were designed to keep order and keep the country running, these groupe could use the information for personal gain and not for the good of the country. This group could also use information to ruin a company who doesn’t “deserve” it. They could cause the downfall of a company and put people out of work due to a personal vendetta.
I think in the end this group will do the right thing with their power and they won’t misuse their skills for personal gain or settle a personal score.
Yes Men!
The Yes Men are a group of activists who use their skills in technology and design, and their creativity to bring attention to issues with the world. I thought it was very awesome how they would make fun of the stupid things people do to their face. When they went on BBC News and said they were with DOW, it gave me hope for the world because they were finally calling out a major company on something they did wrong. They aren’t afraid to attack the “bug guys” and that’s why they are so controversial. I think its good someone isn’t afraid to do it because someone has to. Without people like the Yes Men the world could run out of control, companies would lose all respect for human life as long as they made money. All they would care about are the “Golden Skeletons in their closets.”
The Fantasy Beyond Control – Lynn Hershman
This article was very interesting to me. Before reading it I had never even heard of Lynn Hershman and the projects and ideas she brought into the world. I was very fascinated with her project Deep Contact: The Incomplete Sexual Fantasy Disc. I found this very intriguing because it seems like the first of it’s kind where an artist is combining sex and technology and making a project that is also artistic. In today’s day and age, sex is everywhere. Most advertisements, movies, and even songs have underlying sexual messages that are strategically placed there because the sellers know that sex sells. This project was something completely different, it was bringing in a technological element like never before. I think it is very cool how she was able to do it and to see the kinds of things this led to.
Edge of Art, Designing Politics
1. Describe the difference between Political Design and Hacktivist Art. Use an example of each and describe how that work fits the category of design or art.
Political Design is more about bringing attention to important political dilemmas so that something can be done about it. An example of this is a web site created to track the number of injured and tortured people in Sri Lanka and Guatemala. This is something that is done the “right and moral way.” They create a group or website with a set goal and don’t use any kind of dirty tactics. Hactivist art is similar in that it still wants to draw attention, they are “hackers with a cause.” An example of this is the Yes Men. They want to help bring attention to important things that often get overlooked, and they will do almost anything in order to achieve that. The yes men hide their true identities and goals from people in order to bring about change. This can be seen are wrong because they lying in the process but they are doing it for a good cause. Digital Robin Hoods if you will.
2. What does execution mean? How does it relate to computers (ie .exe files). What are some example of executable art? How is execution different from representation? In other words how does each relate to the media paradigms of one-to-many vs many-to-many?
Execution means that something is to be carried out or put into effect by others. An executable file on a computer has a specific action it is supposed to carry out, just like executable art. As stated in the text, the Barbie voice-box switch is an example of executable art because it was more than an idea, it was something that people were actually sent out to put in place to make a point about how we raise our children. This is different from representation because it is more integrated into our culture. Representation is something that is only seen by people who come across it or are looking for it. But when something is executed, it is sent out in the public to get reactions and start a wave of new thinking. Representation is one-to-many and execution is many-to-many.
3. Why do you think Hacktivist artists find themselves hacking capitalist and political structures that most other people revere? What problem or dangers do they see in these forms of power? Use sample projects to answer this question.
I think most hactivists attack political structures that others revere because they know something that the general public doesn’t. The hacktivists spend time researching “behind the scenes” facts about structures that others don’t think to question. Therefore, when something is brought to our attention by hacktivists, we view them as radicals. For instance, the Yes Men collect knowledge about companies that many other people not have time or resources to know about. They knew that Dow chemicals owed the people of Bhopal money for their losses. Therefore they felt it was their responsibility to bring it the attention of the general public. They attack the people no one else will touch or no one else would think to look twice at. They seen through the disguise and bring that knowledge out for everyone to see.
4.How do hacktivists confirm McLuhan’s prediction that the ‘nation-state’ would not survive the advent of electronic media? Do hackitvists challenge or question any critical policies of nation-states? Does their practice suggest any alternatives to the nation-state? Or why are they not really concerned about anarchy?
Hactivists confirm this fact about the advent of electronic media because they know that a large amount of people will not be able to live peacefully in a media-heavy environment under a nation-state. Hactivists challenge the fact that not everyone can share and identify with a certain culture. The United States especially has a lot of diversity and this is still evident in an online environment. They are not concerned about anarchy because they think they have the capacity to change the world before it gets to such a point.