AI Website GeneratorThis seminar taught us to apply the 1st person perspective (1PP) to our design enquiries. This means using our own selves for research experiments, by immersing ourselves in the opportunity space. 1PP allows us to experience the responsibility that we have as designers: we don't design for others, we design with others, for us as a whole.
We were asked to immerse ourself in a 1st person exploration of a design enquiry, using our body to experience this enquiry. Being interested in the topic of surveillance capitalism, I decided to broadcast myself on Instagram with a friend for 24h to experience what it feels like to be watched and listened to.
The issue of surveillance capitalism is crucial as the pervasive collection of personal data raises concerns about privacy erosion, loss of autonomy and freedom, social and psychological impacts, technological bias, and exploitation. Designers need to understand these implications to encourage a digital landscape that is more empathetic and respects individuals' rights and autonomy.
Surveillance with technology triggered my own self surveillance. As I felt watched by someone, I started to watch my own self. I became self-conscious of my movements and words, and started policing my own behaviour. This offers valuable insights into how state or technological surveillance are powerful tools for self-regulation.
The feeling of being observed was a source of anxiety. I felt like my own behaviours were judged by someone, which made me feel uncomfortable. I was also less able to focus on what I was doing, and to be in the moment. It can therefore trigger inabilities to focus.
The spill-over effects of sharing your own data. By agreeing to share your own personal data through surveillance technology, you unintentionally share data of people around you. I unintentionally collected a lot of data from people appearing in my videos, and shared that with my friend. This raises question about the individuality of data, and whether data privacy concerns should be addressed systemically rather than at the individual level.
By becoming both the researcher and the subject, I briefly experienced the psychological and emotional impact of being surveilled, providing valuable firsthand data on how constant monitoring affects an individual's behavior, emotions, and sense of privacy. Personal experimentation fosters empathy. Understanding your own reactions can help you empathize with others who are subjected to surveillance, enabling you to design more compassionate solutions for us all. Personal experimentation can also help you understand the real limitations of your design opportunity, allowing you to intervene with what's available in your opportunity space.
This experience showed me the value of embodied exploration as a useful methodology for more empathetic design. It encouraged me to apply such a methodology in future design interventions to ensure that I design with others for ourselves, instead of for others. The latter would impose what I think is right for others, without experiencing the embodied reality of design subjects. This can lead to design that perpetuates colonalism and patriarchy, for example.
Some of my classmates' 1st person research explorations were inspiring and relevant to my interest in surveillance capitalism, and more generally, in humans' interactions with technology and the associated behavioural implications. Marius interacted with an AI for a full day, which could offer valuable insights on the behavioural implications of our increased reliance on AI for daily tasks. Carmen stopped using her phone for a day, while Francisca kept track of why she was using her phone. Both experiences could offer interesting first-hand observations on our dependency of communication technologies, how our behaviours are influenced by their presence in our daily lives and if there could be ways for us to limit our interactions with such technologies, thereby limiting the reach of technological surveillance.
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