Smart futures meet northern realities: anthropological perspectives on the design and adoption of urban computing

Abstract This thesis explores the sociocultural processes shaping the design, adoption and use of new urban technology in the city of Oulu in northern Finland. The exploration is conducted at experiential level focusing on people’s personal perspectives which allows uncovering underlying cultural meanings, social structures and historically formed practices and discourses. The unique case for the thesis is provided by the recent technological development in Oulu that has been shaped by agendas such as ubiquitous computing and smart cities. The thesis first investigates in-depth the design process of the new urban technology, and also compares the visions of the designers and decision-makers with the practices and perspectives of the city inhabitants. Then, the adoption process of public urban technologies is studied in detail by constructing a conceptual appropriation model. Finally, the effects of the northern location of Oulu on the design and use of the urban technology are scrutinized. The research is based on empirical, qualitative research materials comparing the experiences of young adult and elderly city inhabitants; in addition, quantitative use data of urban technologies is utilized to provide an overview on the use trends. The key findings indicate that the design and decisions concerning novel technologies and the outcome are shaped by complex sociomaterial practices based on experiences from previous similar projects, and on certain preconceptions about the city inhabitants and technology’s role in the cityscape. Different people have differing power positions in relation to the development of the urban public places, and technology implementation can marginalize some segments of city inhabitants. Further, the adoption of novel urban technologies is found to depend heavily on the norms of public places and people’s long-term experiences of technology use. Finally, climate, ICT use and sociocultural context are shown to be profoundly interconnected, and thus, urban computing design must reconsider the situatedness of technology. These findings call for further sociocultural studies on future smart cities.Tiivistelmä Väitöskirja tarkastelee sosiokulttuurisia tekijöitä, jotka ovat vaikuttaneet uuden kaupunkiteknologian suunnitteluun, omaksumiseen ja käyttöön Pohjois-Suomessa Oulussa. Tutkimus keskittyy ihmisten kokemukselliseen tasoon, jonka kautta on mahdollista hahmottaa kulttuurisia merkityksiä, sosiaalisia rakenteita sekä historiallisesti muotoutuneita käytäntöjä ja diskursseja. Tutkimuksen taustalla on Oulun viime vuosien teknologinen kehitys, joka osaltaan perustuu visioihin älykaupungista ja kaupunkitilaan sulautetusta jokapaikan tietotekniikasta. Tutkimus tarkastelee aluksi uuden kaupunkiteknologian suunnitteluprosessia, ja peilaa lisäksi suunnittelijoiden ja päättäjien visioita kaupunkilaisten käytäntöihin ja näkökulmiin. Seuraavaksi julkisten kaupunkiteknologioiden käyttöönottoa jäljitetään rakentamalla malli, joka kuvaa omaksumisprosesseja. Lopuksi selvitetään Oulun pohjoisen sijainnin vaikutusta teknologian suunnitteluun ja käyttöön. Tutkimus perustuu empiirisiin, laadullisiin tutkimusaineistoihin, joiden avulla tutkitaan ja vertaillaan nuorten aikuisten ja ikääntyneiden kaupunkilaisten kokemuksia. Lisäksi käytetään määrällistä aineistoa kuvaamaan kaupunkiteknologioiden käytön kehityssuuntia. Väitöskirjan mukaan kaupunkiteknologioita koskevat päätökset ja lopputulos ovat monimutkaisten sosiaalis-materiaalisten käytäntöjen muovaavia. Käytäntöjen taustalla ovat kokemukset samankaltaisista projekteista sekä ennakkokäsitykset kaupunkilaisista ja teknologian roolista kaupunkitilassa. Tutkimus valottaa ihmisten erilaisia valta-asemia kaupunkien kehityksessä ja tuo esiin, miten teknologia voi marginalisoida joitakin ihmisryhmiä. Tutkimus osoittaa, miten julkisten paikkojen normit ja pitkän ajan kuluessa muovautuneet teknologiakokemukset vaikuttavat uusien kaupunkiteknologioiden omaksumiseen. Lisäksi todetaan ilmaston, tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käytön ja sosiokulttuurisen kontekstin vahva yhteys, jonka vuoksi alan tutkimuksen tulisi arvioida uudelleen teknologian paikkasidonnaisuutta. Tulokset osoittavat, että sosiokulttuurista tutkimusta älykaupungeista tarvitaan lisää

Smart cities with a Nordic twist? Public sector digitalization in Finnish data-rich cities

Abstract The article studies the urban digitalization and smart city development in the context of Nordic society. The exploration focuses on city officials’ views concerning the two largest cities in Finland, Helsinki and Espoo. Both cities are investing heavily on urban digitalization, and they are also building specific smart city districts. The central contexts for the study are the Nordic welfare state model and Finnish cities’ role in society as crucial service providers. The article follows especially conceptualizations connected to urban data which have been highlighted in recent critical smart city research and are also at the heart of the studied cities’ digitalization programmes

Urban AI:formulating an agenda for the interdisciplinary research of artificial intelligence in cities

Abstract This workshop forms a novel research community around the topic of “urban AI”. Within it, we will scrutinise the intersections of artificial intelligence(s) and cities — i.e. urban life, spaces, places, geographies, infrastructures, and practices — from a multidisciplinary, design-oriented perspective. There is a need to form this community, as AIs are being infused as parts of cities at an increasing pace. Thus far research on AIs have been somewhat split into two differing approaches; one that is focused on the grassroots, practice-based engineering of novel AI applications; and another that assumes a large-scale, future-oriented and philosophical approach. We suggest that a third perspective, informed by disciplines that build bridges between high level concepts and empirical realities, is necessary to straddle these two. Traditionally, this has been the realm of design; In this workshop, we ask what themes, questions and methods should be addressed by an emerging design-oriented urban AI research community

In search of the alternative future:developing participatory digital citizenship to address the crisis of democracy

Abstract In this workshop, we strive to formulate a working definition of a participatory digital citizenship, and to share issues, challenges, opportunities, methods and empirical examples pertaining to participatory digital citizenship as a goal. The rational for such a work lies in extensive digitalization of everyday life, which has turned data into valuable capital and a means of manipulation. Excessively datafied environments and more and more powerful algorithms and artificial intelligences used for processing data pose a threat to societies’ democratic arrangements and principles. Our goal is to explore the possibilities and limitations of expanding the concept of digital citizenship towards a direction that addresses the deep power asymmetry existing between the ones that use data and ones that are monitored

Nordic cities meet artificial intelligence:city officials’ views on artificial intelligence and citizen data in Finland

Abstract In this paper, we explore Finnish city officials’ attitudes, knowledge and relationship towards the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their cities through topical expert interviews. Our interviewees came from two metropolitan area cities, Helsinki and Espoo, which have taken an active role in attempting to utilize various novel technologies. Through these interviews, we identify and discuss key issues in the infusion of AI into cities. These interviewees were key players in their respective cities’ response to the challenge and opportunity of novel technologies, including AI. As such, while our sampling is small, these interviewees are a good representation of the relevant individuals who hold sway over the thoughts, visions, ideas and challenges that are recognized in their respective organizations. We ask, how do these individuals understand AI and gauged through their views, how are these cities prepared for the increasing and continuous infusion of artificial intelligence technologies in these cities’ agendas, practices and projects

Broadening horizons of design ethics?:importing concepts from applied anthropology

Abstract This paper is a thought experiment: we explore how certain ethical considerations of applied anthropology might contribute to the evolving body of work on design ethics. To begin to consider ethical analogies between these two fields, we first align them on a conceptual level by scrutinizing how they both change relationships. Further, we introduce three central concepts and related debates of applied anthropology that could supplement discussions on contemporary design ethics: beneficence, collaborative approach and advocacy. The authors are specialized in (design) anthropology, architecture and human-computer interaction (HCI); in this paper, we draw from our respective fields and backgrounds

Kulttuurintutkimus osana yhteiskuntaa

Kulttuurintutkijat tarkastelevat ihmisten arkea, heidän toimintaansa taustoittavia arvoja ja asenteita sekä niiden sosiaalisesti ja kulttuurisesti rakentuvia merkityksiä (esim. Kovala 2007, 177; myös Stark tässä teoksessa). Kulttuurintutkimusta tehdään Suomessa monilla eri humanistisilla ja yhteiskuntatieteellisillä aloilla, kuten kulttuuriantropologiassa, etnologiassa, perinteen- ja mediatutkimuksessa, kielitieteessä ja kirjallisuustieteessä1 . Sen kautta on mahdollista tunnistaa erilaisia elämäntapoja, ala- tai toimintakulttuureita, arvojärjestelmiä ja hierarkioita sekä ymmärtää, miten nämä vaikuttavat yhteisöjen ja yksilöiden toimintaan. Lisäksi ilmiöiden ajallisen monikerroksisuuden ymmärtäminen on kiinteä osa kulttuurintutkimuksen näkökulmaa. (Eriksen 2004; Pink 2009.) Kulttuurinen ulottuvuus jää kuitenkin helposti huomaamatta esimerkiksi yhteiskunnallisessa kehittämisessä ja suunnittelussa sen itsestään selvän ja vaikeasti havaittavan luonteen vuoksi.peerReviewe

Meso-level strategies for design participation and education:libraries as networked learning spaces

Abstract Design participation and education are important vehicles for building citizenship skills in democratic societies. However, there is a considerable gap between macro-level aims to include the civil society at large and Participatory Design (PD) methods to include citizens on the micro-level. Thus, we argue for meso-level approaches that would enable PD and education practitioners to build scalable methods of digital inclusion. We present the case of Virtual Library in Oulu City Library as a hands-on case study example in our workshop. In order to build scalable methods, we offer libraries as an example of a networked learning space to achieve this synergistically with an existing social and cultural service program, the public library system. We invite practitioners, educators and scholars from all backgrounds to explore, develop and critique meso-level approaches and networked learning spaces in their various cultural and national contexts of practice at this two-hour long workshop

Chasing digital shadows:exploring future hybrid cities through anthropological design fiction

Abstract This paper presents an anthropological design fiction envisioning a future hybrid city where 3D virtual city models and physical reality are intertwined seamlessly. The crafted fiction addresses three broad themes. Firstly, it explores how not only digital and physical but also past and present as well as near and distant places might become entangled in such a hybrid city. Secondly, we speculate what it means if the digital traces of a person — perhaps even his/her digitalized body — continue “living” in a hybrid city after s/he has passed away. Thirdly, we raise questions regarding power: who owns the digital city, and who has the right to change it? Lastly, we ponder some sociocultural questions and design ideas opened up by the fiction