Further developing the ideas from Virtual Vortex, Hybrid ID is another speculative project that explores the notion of a hybrid society that combines the two worlds of physical and virtual interaction. I've written a short essay that tries to explain the idea a little. The images below are four of the proposed experiments that would be done as part of the project.
Summary
Hybrid ID aims to promote new ways of visualising the often complex and disparate relationships between physical and online identities. Through a series of interactive experiments and installations, Hybrid ID will explore the question ‘is it possible to combine our physical and online worlds to create a new, more effective world to interact?’
Hybrid ID approaches the Interactivos? theme of ‘Low End High Tech’ from the perspective of harnessing everyday, low-cost technology and devices for the pursuit of new ideas and ways of thinking.
Initially four experiments have been identified, however it is hoped that through the collaborative process inherent in Interactivos? additional and alternative experiments might be developed. These experiments will aim to manifest in the physical world, social interactions that usually occur in private in the online world, by harnessing everyday devices for new uses.
By conducting these experiments, documenting the process, publishing and exhibiting the outcomes, it is hoped that this knowledge will empower other individuals to take control of developing their own hybrid worlds.
Description
Hybrid ID is an exploration of the ‘high tech’ notion of augmented reality, harnessing the potential of reconfigured ‘low end’ technology.
Our modern, everyday experiences can be considered as a series of physical and online interactions. The separation of these interactions from one another means we effectively live in two worlds; a physical world and an online world.
The physical world in which social interaction takes place face-to-face is highly developed and has evolved over millennia. Online interaction on the other hand is relatively new and has developed quite distinctly from the world of physical interactions.
While these interactions may often occur in tandem (in the case of handheld mobile devices), they are not yet intertwined and are often even quite separate or conflicting. For example, it may be argued that online communication allows individuals to have more divergent opinions as these opinions are developed in private and often put forward anonymously. In contrast, it might be considered that face-to-face communication encourages a compromise of opinions as a result of the physical presence of others and the direct consequences of communicating in real time.
Up until recently, the influence of the online world on our physical social behaviour has not manifested itself in a way that is inherently visible or evident in the mainstream. Despite the sci-fi promise of interactive 3D holograms (as in films like Star Wars and Back to the Future), to date technology and the application of this technology have maintained a relative separation between the physical and online worlds.
The current relationship between the physical and online world is an interesting one. Often the physical spaces where online interactions take place are physically private (e.g. the bedroom, study, or a hand held device in personal space), yet the kind of interaction that takes place is quite public. While some online actions are done consciously and with intention (such as voicing an opinion in a online forum) often very public actions are made online without full awareness. For example, the peculiarity of a person standing in a public space and holding a sign that announces their personal views on politics, religion or sexuality; analogous to a public facebook profile.
The irony of the digital age is that our behaviour can often be very private in public space and very public in private space.
It is evident therefore that we maintain to different extents, separate identities in the physical world and the online world. In the online world this can range from developing an avatar (as in Second Life) a fictitious online identity, impersonating another person or simply seeking to edit certain personal qualities to enhance the way we are perceived. The online identity can also be created and defined by others in the case of online media or the way interactions with others are made public.
While the physical and virtual worlds have until this point been separate, more recently there is evidence of possibilities to combine these worlds with the mainstream advent of augmented reality. Interestingly, augmented reality is in itself not a new form of technology but rather the synthesis of a series of other older technologies such as the digital camera and GPS tracking. This demonstrates that existing technology (low end) can be applied in a way that combines the physical and online worlds into a new world of social interaction (high tech).
This realisation suggests exciting possibilities for navigation, socialising and gaming when considered in light of the early applications of augmented reality (e.g. Google Maps, Around Me, Facebook location updates, Four Square etc.).
However, what is the result of this technology when applied to more complex relationships between the physical online worlds? Two stories have recently caught my attention that highlight the inherent problems within this hybrid world.
Firstly; the recent outbreak of the world’s first computer virus capable of destroying industrial infrastructure (i.e. physical objects). ‘Stuxnet’ has been identified across the world but appears to have been targeted toward the sabotage of nuclear infrastructure within Iran. While other viruses in the past have destroyed the virtual infrastructure (i.e. data files) of a computer, Stuxnet has the capacity to program destruction of physical infrastructure.1
Secondly; the story of a young student in New York who’s suicide was acted out over a series of complex transactions between his online and physical worlds. In this case the student’s private physical world was publicised (via webcam) to his public online world, which in turn manifest itself in the physical world in his suicide.2
As Eduardo de Jesus discusses in his essay on the topic for this Interactivos? ‘Low End High Tech’, technologies of control appear to now be out of control.3 Are we in control of our identity only within the separate worlds in which we operate? What are the long term implications of the physical world manifesting itself in the digital world and vice versa?
Is there cause to, as the recent online phenomenon ‘Seppukoo’ suggests commit virtual suicide?4 Or should we rather retreat from the physical world in favour of a more complete online identity?
My view and the proposed direction for Hybrid ID, is that the individual has the ability to self-create a more effective world that combines physical and online interaction. Rather than creating new technology, Hybrid ID encourages the individual to harness the possibilities of their existing devices for new hybrid uses.
References
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20018636-504083.html3 de Jesus, Eduardo “Low End High Tech”. Interactivos? ‘10 BH, 2010.
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