Author Archives: Neal Donegani

M4: P5 – Spark: Democratizing Data

In this episode of Spark, Democratizing Data, Nora Young (2021) investigates how big tech steals our data, and uses it for their own good. In fact, as Young points out, we are almost paying twice for our data: first by giving them our data when we use their platforms, and then how the data will inform the market about our spending habits (Young, 2021, 15:25).

What drew my attention to this episode was not just the data grabs, but the influence big data has on Indigenous peoples; or might I say, the lack of reciprocity with what is taken (sound familiar?). One guest, author Jer Thorp speaks of the moral obligation of tech companies to talk to the Indigenous communities that they take data from, much like Ginsburg (2008) speak of the significance of the data staying within the community (Young, 2021, 22:45). Furthermore, Thorpe likens the data mining to the land grabs of colonialism (Young, 2021, 50:40). Finally, Branka Panic echos this idea of data collection and the new colonialism, and the importance of Indigenous communities gaining control over their data by saying, “…we see this very important trend in Canada and the U.S. with Indigenous communities, and making sure we have this data sovereignty being given back to people themselves” (Young, 2021, 50:49). I will be looking at data sovereignty in my final project.

Reference

Ginsburg, F. (2008). Rethinking the digital age. In Global Indigenous Media, P. Wilson & M Stewart, Eds., pp. 287-306. doi 10.2307/j.ctv11cw78p.19

Young, N. (Host). (2021, May 2). Democratizing data. [Audio podcast episode]. In Spark. CBC.

M4: P4 – Snap Inc.’s Spectacles

Here’s another non-Indigenous product that, in my opinion, would prove useful for connecting Indigenous knowledge to the land. This product is called Spectacles and was created by Snap Inc. According to Snap Inc.’s website, “Snap Inc. is a camera company.” However, they dabble in social media through its parent company, Snapchat. Regardless of the origin story, Snap offers a new version of Spectacles that claim to be a “pair of glasses that bring augmented reality to life”.

Photo: Snap

Spectacles take augmented reality (AR) that is normally experienced through a handheld device, to the user’s eyes in what could be considered immersive AR. Not only are they immersive, but the user can now experience AR hands-free because the device is worn as a set of eyeglasses with controls on the side. You have seen these sorts of glasses in movies such as Iron Man (2008), to Minority Report (2002), and if you want to stretch, Predator (1987). Many, if not all, of the FAAMG big tech companies are trying their hands at this technology, but have yet to do it right. It may be some years yet, but something to consider to augment AR.

Image: Snap

M4: P3 – Spark: The Disappearing Web

The idea of obsolescence and Indigenous knowledge on the web came to me through my last post: Keoni Mahelona and Peter-Lucas Jones on Indigenous Data Sovereignty. In that interview Jones and Mahelona explain that if the medium through which a language is stored is lost, then part of the culture is lost with it. In this episode of Spark, Young (2021) explores how previous forms of print material are available to historians, but digital data is pervasively disappearing from the web. This is, of course, a dire predicament when it comes to storing Indigenous knowledge through online platforms.

Reference

Young, N. (Host). (2021, June 10). Disappearing web. [Audio podcast episode]. In Spark. CBC.

M4: P2 – Keoni Mahelona and Peter-Lucas Jones on Indigenous Data Sovereignty

This event was part of McGill’s Feminist Publishing and Tech Speaker Series in 2021, and more befitting to this course was co-hosted by the Initiative for Indigenous Futures (IFF). I came across Peter-Lucas Jones in an Unreserved with Falen Johnson CBC podcast (Johnson, 2021). In that podcast Jones speaks about his machine learning software he created to revitalize Māori language, culture, and traditional knowledge.

In this speaker series event, Jones, along with his partner Keoni Mahelona, bring up several interesting and important points about storing Indigenous languages and knowledge online. The first idea that Jones touches on is how Indigenous peoples have always stored data in song and dance (FP&TSS, 2021, 8:01). However, moving into the 21st century Indigenous groups are looking for ways to store their language and culture digitally. In doing so, Jones and Mahelona discuss ways to overcome the plight of using online platforms. To me, the most poignant notion is that although there are services offered for “free” by Facebook and YouTube, these companies are making money off the data that they collect from individuals and groups (FP&TSS, 2021, 29:33). In fact, Jones and Mahelona liken the data mining of big tech today to the land grabs of colonizers (FP&TSS, 2021, 56:27). An important way that they avoid giving into big data grabs is by creating their own platforms so that they own the data themselves (FP&TSS, 2021, 41:51). Another interesting point that is brought up is that of digital obsolescence (FP&TSS, 2021, 69:56). Digital obsolescence is prominent online. If Indigenous groups are using online platforms to keep their knowledge safe, they must ensure its continuity by keeping their links available online to circumvent online obscurity.

This is a long (92:14) video, but brings to light many important aspects of Indigenous online spaces.

References

Feminist Publishing and Tech Speaker Series (FP&TSS). (2021, March 3). Keoni Mahelona and Peter-Lucas Jones on Indigenous Data Sovereignty. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/YgPfWUdtjig

Johnson, F. (Host). (2021, May 16). How Indigenous people are promoting and learning their languages. [Audio podcast episode]. In Unreserved with Falen Johnson. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-105-unreserved/clip/15843149-how-indigenous-people-promoting-learning-languages.

M4: P1 – Spark: Indigenous Futurisms: Changing the narrative in science fiction and fact

Spark is a CBC radio show hosted by Nora Young that investigates tech trends. In this episode, Young looks into Indigenous Futurisms, a term that one of the guests, Grace Dillon termed, and is based on how Indigenous ways of knowing and understanding intersects with technology (Young, 2021). There are a couple other notable guests. First, Jason Lewis, Concordia University’s Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary, believes that Indigenous groups should build their own technology to maintain their knowledge within the community (Young, 2021). Second is Dr. Lisa Richardson, a mixed Anishinaabe physician from Northern Ontario, talks about combining cultural futures to make things better for everyone (Young, 2021). One overall theme that is discussed by the guests is epistemic racism, and especially within technology (Young, 2021).

Reference

Young, N. (Host). (2021, January 18). Indigenous Futurisms: Changing the narrative in science fiction and fact. [Audio podcast episode]. In Spark. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/indigenous-futurisms-changing-the-narrative-in-science-fiction-and-fact-1.5866757

M3: P5 – We Are All Related:(Re) Storying With Augmented Reality to Build Indigenous-Settler Relations (Master’s thesis)

I realize that the last thing you want to do right now is to read a 129 page paper: Amanda Almond’s (2021) We Are All Related:(Re) Storying With Augmented Reality to Build Indigenous-Settler Relations (Master’s thesis). Rather, this paper is useful, and informative if you are researching ways Indigenous communities would share stories through augmented reality (AR). Therefore, if you’re still interested I’ll briefly let you know why I find this paper particularly valuable as a blog post.

First, the paper reaffirms how Indigenous peoples have used many forms of media in ways that acknowledge cultural protocols, including AR, and how Indigenous stories are evolving with the modern world, and are not stuck in the past (Almond, 2021). Almond (2021) also looks into how to protect the information that Indigenous groups share through AR platforms. In doing so, Almond (2021) pursues various AR platforms that offer different options for its user. Further, the paper discusses the loss of information due to obsolescence, a problem with online storage (Almond, 2021).

Although my interest is not necessarily in building Indigenous/Settler relations, the focus of this paper’s research, and instead I am curious about how Indigenous communities can create a digital space to preserve their language and culture, this paper offers much insight into how AR would work to accommodate Indigenous ways of place-based learning and understanding.

Reference

Almond, A. (2021). We Are All Related:(Re) Storying With Augmented Reality to Build Indigenous-Settler Relations (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/4a4675d1-cdb5-4b15-8a6f-c708b0c948c1/view/990435ed-0a71-43d1-908a-fd9f45af05bb/Almond_Amanda_202103_MA.pdf

M3: P4 – Augmented Reality Platforms

By no means is this an exhaustive list of AR platforms out there, but these are the ones that I gleaned from the Amanda Almond (2021) paper “We Are All Related: (Re)Storying With Augmented Reality to Build Indigenous-Settler Relations”. These AR platforms in the form of apps virtually augment user experiences IRL, and would offer Indigenous storytelling, hence learning experiences in various ways. I have provided slogans or offerings in quotations below from each website that help explain what they provide. However, one aspect of these apps that I would like to explore is the protection of the user’s data since Indigenous knowledge is kept with sacred keepers, and only extended to certain initiates.

Wikitude: “Create unparalleled AR experiences with state-of-the-art technology to enhance the world around you.”

Actionbound: “Take people on real-world treasure hunts and guided walks.”

Ruptersland: “Rupertsland AR is an augmented reality app that is contributing to breaking new ground in Métis education with innovative tools for engagement and community building.”

Beaconstac: “Your entire proximity marketing solution [is] seamlessly connected to deliver the best customer experience.” Proximity marketing is a wireless means of communicating advertising to devices with compatible equipment.

Roar: “Scalable Cloud based SaaS Augmented Reality Content Creation Platform for Your Brand.”

Zappar: “The world’s leading augmented reality platform and creative studio.”

awe: “Your awe web app makes it easy for you to deliver Mixed Reality experiences through standard web browsers. Create and design your Mixed Reality content on almost any device, using only your web browser and awe.media.”

izi.travel: “We believe that every site or work of art has a story waiting to be told. That stories bring art, streets and cities to life. And that stories connect people.”

Reference

M3: P3 – Niantic

When I first posted my intentions to look at augmented reality (AR) in helping preserve Indigenous knowledge and understanding in time and place I must admit that I immediately thought of the AR game “Pokémon GO”. As I researched Pokémon GO I realized it has an interesting backstory. Pokémon GO is the brainchild of Niantic. Niantic is an offshoot of Alphabet Inc. (Google and its subsidiaries), and as such uses a derivative of Google Maps to run its AR games. I digress, Niantic is known for its AR games such as Pokémon GO, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and Ingress. Most importantly, Niantic’s intention with these games is to get the user out into the environment to play, just as Indigenous ways of knowing and being (and really all learning) should be experienced.

Finally, and congruent to my interest in researching Niantic for my final project, the name “Niantic” has Indigenous origins. I’m not too sure whether the people at Niantic know this, because they cite a ship called the “Niantic” on their “About” page, but it’s also the name of a vanquished Algonquin group that lived around Connecticut and Rhode Island (Niantic People, 2021). Perhaps one day Niantic will create an AR story about the Niantic peoples.

Reference

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, June 30). Niantic people. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:14, July 10, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Niantic_people&oldid=1031154708

M3: P2 – Art Processors

Art Processors is an Australian creative technology company that focuses on enhancing visitor experiences in museums and galleries alike. Of the several projects that they showcase on their “Our Work” page on their website, three are Indigenous based: “WA Museum Boola Bardip”, “Josh Muir: What’s on Your Mind?”, and “Awaken”. In boasting that their “work strives to create a harmony between people, place, content and technology”, Art Processors incorporates the holistic approach of Indigenous knowledge and understanding, meanwhile building it with digital technology.

M3: P1 – Google Arts & Culture

This was a tough one for me to find, and in the end post. My first thought and search was for Google Expeditions, a Google app that offers virtual reality and augmented reality educational tours: well, I might say, “offered”. This app is going to be discontinued as of June 30, 2021 – next week! Turns out that much of what the app offered is moving over to Google Arts & Culture. Unfortunately, unlike Expeditions where students could use Google Cardboard and a mobile device to navigate through virtual worlds, Google Arts & Culture simply offers virtual tours. Regardless, some of the Google Arts & Culture tours offer an interesting means to teach and tell a story, and some are Indigenous. However, I do find it difficult to post this as these Indigenous stories and teachings are lumped together with arts & culture in an archival way, and not in a continuous, contemporary way that this knowledge should be displayed.