Technolife at Cesagen
-
About Work Package 4
One of the aims of Technolife is to explore popular and occupational imaginations, concerning the latest developments in three innovation domains: biometric technologies, geo-visual and geo- referenced applications, and body and mind enhancement. The main task of Work Package 4 is to analyse online forums that address each of these domains. The forums were facilitated by the Technolife consortium from mid-September to mid-December 2010, and the operational management was supported by KerTechno, a virtual facilitation tool for online discussion and voting (see Deliverable D3.1 - Documentation of deliberative tool Ker-DST).
Work Package 4 focusses on the interactions that took place, including the uses of audiovisual media to encourage discussion and debate, see Deliverable 4.0 - Introduction and Summary of Results.
Each forum was designed to hone in on discussion topics, introduced on the opening page, along with a brief introductory text and a suggestion to view an embedded short film first, i.e., before entering the discussion space for the first time.
-
Biometric technologies
Participants in the forum on biometric technologies were encouraged to consider the following topics:
1) Social justice - Can biometrics promote freedom of movement, security and justice? Could new mechanisms of exclusion and discrimination be built into these systems?
2) Surveillance and privacy - What does "privacy" mean for you? Could biometrics improve privacy and security at the same time?
3) Trust in technology and in government - Can governments and operators be entrusted with keeping our personal and biometric information?See Deliverable 4.1 - Social imaginaries and ethical issues in deliberative process on Biometrics.
-
Digital globes
Participants in the forum on digital globes were encouraged to consider the following topics:
1) Trust in maps and images - How can we know that images circulated on the web are realistic? And how can we know that maps of the future can be relied upon?
2) Surveillance and privacy - High-resolution imagery and increased capacity for seeing comes along with increased opportunities for surveillance.
3) Equality and power - Access to valuable resources and critical information could be limited to only those with influence and money.See Deliverable 4.2 - Social imaginaries and ethical issues in deliberative process on Digital Globes.
-
Body and mind enhancement
Participants in the forum on body and mind enhancement were encouraged to consider the following topics:
1) The final words of the movie are: "To me, normal is a state of perfection" - What do you think about this?
2) Freedom of choice and social difference: If some people can afford to choose their bodies and minds, how could that change society?
3) Forever young: Can new technologies make us live and stay beautiful longer, or even forever? Will humanity turn into super-humans or cyborgs? What do you think about this?
