The Sword of Damocles - Watched & Connected

Speakers: Olga & Lucy & Fiona

 

 

1: Statement/ Background Context​

In Interface Culture (1997), Steven Johnson argues that the interface is the most important cultural form of our time, comparing it to postmodern cultural and aesthetic forms. Johnson argues that we live in an interface culture, and that the shift from analogue to digital is "as much cultural and imaginative as it is technological and economic". 

To understand the essence of an interface, it serves the dual purpose of representing computer data to human senses and facilitating human input and interaction, translating it back into the machine. Interfaces, in their various manifestations, are dynamic representations of changing states in data, software, and user interaction. Despite not being a static, material object, the interface is materialised, visualised, and exerts the influence of a dynamic representational form.

 

A week ago (2nd Feb), Apple Vision pro was launched. Here are the words describe the cutting-edge product from Apple’s official site: 

‘Welcome to the era of spatial computing’.

It seamlessly blends digital content with your physical space.

You navigate simply by using your eyes, hands, and voice.

So you can do the things you love in ways never before possible.

Making the workspace of your dreams a reality — all while staying present in the world around you.

 

In short, the interface now reaches the three-dimensional Spatial level. It also becomes invisible, or we could say it becomes every surface in the ‘real’ world around us. The Vision Pro employs iris identification as a new biometric technology, capturing part of our biometric information for data input and interaction. Additionally, it leverages AR and VR technology to create an infinite canvas, akin to what is now almost a decade since the introduction of the first modern VR headset, Oculus Rift CV1, in the 2010s. This canvas is conceptualised as an ‘Apple Metaverse’, a 3D immersive virtual space based on Apple's operational scheme.

 

However, unlike the 2010s, where AR and VR were in its nascent stages, present-day interactive technology has matured and expanded its territory. Consequently, AR/VR-supported surveillance is poised to follow users into 'the metaverse,' potentially using our bodies as new data sources. This development raises concerns about increased monitoring of behaviour and even thoughts by employers. In this context, individuals may feel confined in a 'black box,' constantly watched by invisible cameras, akin to a prison with no escape, where every move is recorded. The recorded data profiles formulate one’s identity, which allows people to see someone without ever seeing an image of them. Dataveillance, invisible and omnipotent, capitalises on our fear of the unknown.

 

Reflecting on the historical context, the Sword of Damocles, an early VR head-mounted display and tracking system, is considered the first augmented reality HMD system. Presently, the inevitability of being watched through interfaces created by big tech companies prevails, and artificial intelligence further intensifies this surveillance. It feels as though our space is under threat of being cut by the metaphorical sword, shaping yet another new landscape.