Sep 19 2008
Ambient Informatics
I am currently reading Architecture and Situated Technologies Pamphlet 1: Urban Computing and Its Discontents by Adam Greenfield and Mark Shepard. It is a thrilling read. This is a look beyond the sizzle of the “wired home” to thinking about the networked, meshed urban environment. The complexity and problems resulting from entire environments wired and “aware” are monumental and mind-numbing. Lots of food for thought and I am only about halfway through.
One of the other memes of the pamphlet is the idea of Ambient Informatics - something that I am keen to learn more about. I looked at an, as yet, unreleased book on the topic but $257 is way out of range for what I am willing to pay to learn more. I may be able to track it down later at one of the local universities but I doubt that I will. I have no shortage of unread books readily at hand, the thought of taking time and energy to actively pursue more reading material at this time is unappealing.
Anyway, Adam Greenfield states that there will require a move “towards transactional structures - each party to the interaction provides the other something of value. Give the environment something it can use, and you get something of equal or greater value in return.” This is essentially the core of ambient informatics. The trick is in creating equal or greater value for both parties involved in the interaction.