Advertisement

A Circular ‘Smart’ World

  • Delfina Fantini van DitmarEmail author
Chapter
First Online:
  • 174 Downloads
Part of the Design Research Foundations book series (DERF)

Abstract

In the fast-growing Internet of Things (IoT) industry, algorithmic technology promises ‘smart’ solutions to everyday problems. Drawing on a design research investigation, this chapter questions and critically examines the embedded epistemology of IoT, in the context of what I call the algorithmic paradigm. This examination reconsiders the prevailing epistemology and offers an alternative based on a second-order cybernetics perspective. This alternative recognises the importance of accounting for the role/agency of the observer/designer/user, the circular causality of user behaviour and technology, and the relationality of ‘smartness’. To explore the possibility of a shift in perspective from the current algorithmic paradigm to a second-order one, users are approached as experiential, non-linear subjects rather than as probabilistic and linear ones. Outcomes reveal the value of second-order cybernetics as an epistemological stance and a practical approach to research on the design of ‘smart’ interactions. The methodological framework demonstrates how design research and second-order considerations can work together, asking novel questions to inform disciplines with an interest in IoT interactions, from both a design perspective (the way designers approach their practice) and in terms of broader implications for society.

Keywords

‘Smart’ AI Home Determinism Reductionism Context 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. 1.
    Bilton, N. (2016). Nest thermostat glitch leaves users in the cold. In The New York Times, 14 Jan 2016. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/fashion/nest-thermostat-glitch-battery-dies-software-freeze.html. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  2. 2.
    Evans, D. (2011). The Internet of Things: How the next evolution of the Internet is changing everything. Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Apr 2011. Available at: https://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/innov/IoT_IBSG_0411FINAL.pdf. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  3. 3.
    Fadell, T., & Koolhaas, R. (2014). Elements of architecture, 5000 years of architecture…and now what? Architecture and technology? Interview at the Venice Biennale 2014 – Conversazioni/Talks (Architecture and Technology). Venice Biennale. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxqFqbAp2Fo. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  4. 4.
    François, C. (2004). International encyclopedia of systems and cybernetics. Munich: K. G. Saur Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Gartner. (2014). Gartner says 4.9 Billion connected things will be in use in 2015. Press release, 11 Nov 2014. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2014-11-11-gartner-says-nearly-5-billion-connected-things-will-be-in-use-in-2015. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  6. 6.
    Glanville, R. (1999). Researching design and designing research. Design Issues, 15(2), 80–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Glanville, R. (2006). Construction and design. Constructivist Foundations, 1(3), 103–110.Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    Glanville, R. (2009). The black boox vol. III. 39 steps. Vienna: edition echoraum.Google Scholar
  9. 9.
    Glanville, R. (2012). Second order cybernetics. The black boox – Vol. I. Cybernetic circles (pp. 175–207). Vienna: edition echoraum. Previously published In F. Parra-Luna (Ed.), Encyclopedia of life support systems, systems science and cybernetics – Vol. III. Oxford: EoLSS Publishers. Available at: http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c02/e6-46-03-03.pdf. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  10. 10.
    Glanville, R. (2014). Why design research? In The black boox, volume II: Living in cybernetic circles (pp. 111–120). Vienna: edition echoraum.Google Scholar
  11. 11.
    Goodman, M. (2015). Hacked dog, a car that snoops on you and a fridge full of adverts: The perils of the Internet of Things. The Guardian, 11 Mar 2015. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/11/internet-of-things-hacked-online-perils-future. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  12. 12.
    Greenough, J. (2014). The ‘Internet of Things’ will be the world’s most massive device market and save companies billions of dollars. Business Insider, 18 Nov 2104. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-the-internet-of-things-market-will-grow-2014-10. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  13. 13.
    Jonas, W. (2007). Research through design through research: A cybernetic model of designing design foundations. Kybernetes, 36(9/10), 1362–1380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Jonas, W. (2015). Research through design is more than just a new form of disseminating design outcomes. Constructivist Foundations, 11(1), 32–36.Google Scholar
  15. 15.
    Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  16. 16.
    Maturana, H. R. (1972). Biology of cognition. In H. R. Maturana & F. J. Varela (Eds.), 1980. Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing.Google Scholar
  17. 17.
    Maturana, H. R. (1997). Metadesign: Human beings versus machines, or machines as instruments of human designs? Santiago: Instituto Terapia Cognitiva (INTECO). Available at: http://www.digitalcultures.org/Library/Maturana_Metadesign.pdf. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.
  18. 18.
    Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1992). The tree of knowledge: The biological roots of human understanding (rev. ed.). Boston: Shambala.Google Scholar
  19. 19.
    McCarthy, J., Minsky, M. L., Rochester, N., & Shannon, C. E. (2006). A proposal for the Dartmouth summer research project on Artificial Intelligence, 31 Aug 1955. AI Magazine, 27(4), 12–14.Google Scholar
  20. 20.
    Morozov, E. (2013). To save everything press here: Technology, solutionism and the urge to solve problems that don’t exist. London: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
  21. 21.
    Neagle, C. (2015). Smart refrigerator hack exposes Gmail login credentials. Network World, 26 Aug 2015. Available at: https://www.networkworld.com/article/2976270/smart-refrigerator-hack-exposes-gmail-login-credentials.html. Accessed 23 May 2019.Google Scholar
  22. 22.
    Pangaro, P. (2013). “Getting started” guide to cybernetics. Available at: http://www.pangaro.com/definition-cybernetics.html. Accessed 19 Jan 2019.Google Scholar
  23. 23.
    Rouvroy, A. (2012). The end(s) of critique: Data-behaviourism vs. due-process. Pre-publication version of chapter published In M. Hildebrandt & K. de Vries (Eds.), Privacy, due process and the computational turn. The philosophy of law meets the philosophy of technology. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  24. 24.
    Suchman, L. (1987). Plans and situated actions: The problem of human-machine communication. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  25. 25.
    Sweeting, B. (2016). Design research as a variety of second-order cybernetic practice. Constructivist Foundations, 11(3), 572–579.Google Scholar
  26. 26.
    Varela, F. J. (1992). Whence perceptual meaning? A cartography of current ideas. In F. J. Varela & J.-P. Dupuy (Eds.), Understanding origins: Contemporary views on the origins of life, mind and society (pp. 235–263). Boston: Kluwer Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. 27.
    Von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding. Essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. 28.
    Wajcman, J. (2015). Pressed for time: The acceleration of life in digital capitalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Royal College of ArtKensington GoreUK

Personalised recommendations

Cite chapter

Buy options