The Mix: Extending the Beat
Product Lifespan and Reducing E-waste
Planned obsolescence and the black boxing of technological devices has made it difficult for users to keep their devices and encourages the rapid increase of e-waste. What might we learn from cultures that have been silenced by capitalism about the relationship between humans and the environment? How might we extend the lifespan of computing products through principles of repair and care rooted in african and indigenous philosophies? Using remixing approaches and techniques, we provide various ideas that play on care, repair, and imperfection to extend the life cycles of devices -- “extending the beat” in response to the problems such as e-waste, unbalanced impact, and slow violence. We begin with african and indigenous philosophies and techniques as a strategy of decolonizing the anthropocene.
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chevron_rightUbuntu
Ubuntu is an African philosophy meaning "I am because we are," or "humanity towards others," or in Xhosa,"umntu ngumntu ngabantu". It is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity."
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chevron_rightMitakuye Oyasin
Mitakuye Oyasin (All Are Related) reflects the world view of interconnectedness held by the Lakota people of North America. It, as a concept and phrase, is often expressed in many Yankton Sioux prayers, as well as by ceremonial people in other Lakota communities. The phrase translates in English as "all my relatives," "we are all related," or "all my relations." It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys. It requires that prior to engaging in potentially harmful activities, we must consider the long-term effects on the land, the water, the air, the animals and other people. Can we shift the project of computing from that of conquering growth to ideals about dependent relations?
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chevron_rightTiaki
Tiaki is a Māori concept that means “to guard, keep,” “to look after, nurse, care, protect, conserve, save”. Visitors to New Zealand are asked to take the Tiaki Promise. Rooted in a strong connection with the land and a duty of care for it, the “Tiaki Promise is a commitment to care for New Zealand. For now, and for future generations.” Perhaps our technological objects can do more than just not cause harm, maybe they should actively engage care for people and place, as tiaki does.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with precious metals. The “broken-ness” of the objects is celebrated and their usability extended beyond that of its original use. How might we resist the temptations of planned obsolescence and the fragility of technological devices to instead embrace the damage and repair that occurs through the life of these objects? Kintsugi is often connected to the philosophy of Wabi-sabi which is centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. It is an aesthetic tradition that is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". Our technological devices have been designed based on ideals that are rooted in precision and perfection. What if they were instead driven by imperfection and assumed impermanence?
Gee’s Bend is a small, remote, African American community in Alabama that is surrounded by the Alabama River on three sides. Many of the residents can trace their ancestry to slaves of the Pettway plantation. The women of Gee’s Bend have quilted patchwork masterpieces dating back as far as the mid-nineteenth century. A collection of these masterpieces have been exhibited in museums across the country. Patchwork quilting and scrap quilting were important to African American communities as a practical means of using scraps and discarded material to make blankets and clothes, but it was also important as a way to share stories or even to transport coded messages between members of the community. The tradition “was born of scarcity and resourcefulness, arising in times and places where the shortages of cloth called for the inventive salvaging of fabric scraps and remnants.” How might we see new potential in the “scrap” and “discarded” materials from computing? How might computing scraps or pieces be “quilted” together in ways that open the black box and include the user as a co-creator?
The Mix: CS as DJ
Rethinking the Computer Scientist
The DJ is to music as the Computer Scientist is to programmable technology. The DJ is responsible for the creative work that bubbles to the fore in the nightclub, on the records we play, in the on-stage performances of our favorite artists, or in the solo groove that we blast through our headphones. These creations permeate our lives in quite meaningful ways, and a world without remixes and mashups quickly becomes a dull, monotonous one of little variety. The method is by no means simple, as many elements must be artfully and thoughtfully sampled, revamped, edited, and or omitted altogether. The message is just as complex as the method, where a DJ could take tunes from times long past and use them in the present to, say, make a statement about anything--to pull us into the past in fresh ways that suddenly have us jamming songs from our grandparents’ era. This is the beauty of the remix that the DJ masters. What we’re asking here is this: what would computing and the anthropocene look like if computer scientists embodied the methods and goals of a DJ through afrofuturistic, environmentally conscious lens?
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chevron_rightDJ as Digital Griot
DJs are models of rhetorical excellence; canon makers; time binders who link past, present, and future in the groove and mix; and intellectuals continuously interpreting the history and current realities of their communities in real time. When Banks pulled together these parallels, the methods ambodied by these griots represent the mix, remix, and mixtape as tropes for reimagining writing instruction and the study of rhetoric.
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chevron_rightAppropriating Technology
Ron Eglash studies the ways in which marginalized, racialized populations act not as passive consumers of technologies, but as active contribtors, creators, and remixers. Not only do these groups appropriate technologies to create alternative experiences and pleasures, they craft novel creations while critiquing and revolting against hegemonic norms. These methods of appropriation are evident in the practices of DJ and hip-hop culture, and could bring new insight into more general ruminations of the future of technology.
Live DJ performances include real time mixing, crowd interaction, and sometimes even live musicians, beat boxes, or singing. Live coding events share many of these qualities. Computer scientists are experimenting with coding as a performative act broadcasting oversized code for the audience to see and/or making visual or musical compositions using computation in real time. What can computer science learn from these live, real time approaches? How might we think about the development of software differently if users gave live feedback during the coding process? How might a “call and response” approach reduce waste?
Story telling is embedded at the heart of the remix, the rhyme, and the waves that we ride as we engage with both. The narratives weaved stick with us, encouraging us to ponder scenarios and possibilities. We explore moving away from several normative narratives and experiences with tech, software, and with those who produce both.