record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00727
Thesis Title
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY: C0NTR0L_OR THE 1LLUS1ON OF
Author
Santiago Messier Restrepo
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
MFA Computer Arts
Year
2019
Number of Pages
16
University
School of Visual Arts
Thesis Supervisor
Anney Bonney
Supervisor e-mail
abonney AT sva.edu
Other Supervisor(s)
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Media Studies
Languages Familiar to Author
English, Spanish
URL where full thesis can be found
goo.gl/4reuQB
Keywords
Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Media History, New Media, Computer Studies, Film Studies
Abstract: 200-500 words
According to Tallerton Gillespie "technology is political; media industries distort politics; new technologies should support freedom, not restrict it."1 This affirmation could be the core of this research; but it really is the dual state of control in which creators shape audiences and machines shape users. The ever-changing role of technology in human everyday life points to visible signs of social unawareness that have come as the result of this distortion. There is a virus within our society; hyper-connected users receiving dopamine streams being unaware they can’t escape the bright glare of portable screens as the newest addiction, keeping human eyes held hostage. This paper may not offer a cure but it serves as a starting point for a alternative dissection of the present relationship between society and technology. In an ocean of apparent technological freedom users are constantly being restricted by algorithms and corporations. This text is written under the assumption that there are fewer people looking up to see real life than there are looking down staring at virtual content on the screen of a portable device. This assumption may sound futuristic, as roughly 15 years ago the idea of video calling was still a matter of science fiction, but there is a long history of media predicting and transgressing itself and this is at the heart of the investigation. This research aims to establish relationships between technology and humans under the premise of control.