[Air-L] AoIR 2019 reflections

[Paul Henman]

When will the papers be made available?

Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: Air-L <air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org> On Behalf Of Sacha Molitorisz
Sent: Friday, 11 October 2019 2:32 PM
To: Air-L at listserv.aoir.org
Subject: [Air-L] AoIR 2019 reflections

Hi all,

Following last week's tremendous AoIR 2019, I've cobbled together some reflections, which you'll find below. These may be of interest for those who couldn't make it, or perhaps even for those who could. (These reflections were included in the fortnightly newsletter sent out today by the Centre for Media Transition, where I work. You can see the full newsletter here<https://mailchi.mp/602e3f6a4d31/uts-cmt-newsletter_6_oct_2019>.)

Cheers
Sacha


Sacha Molitorisz, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Media Transition Faculty of Law University of Technology Sydney


Last week I flew to Brisbane for my very first Association of Internet Researchers Conference<https://aoir.org/aoir2019/>, where I learnt three things. One, people in Brisbane don't jaywalk. Two, internet researchers look cool, complete with piercings, tattoos and blue hair. And three, internet researchers are not very positive about the internet.

In her keynote address, Macquarie University's Professor Bronwyn Carlson<https://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_indigenous_studies/staff/prof_bronwyn_carlson> detailed the torrent of abuse and vilification that Indigenous Australians cop on social media. Of course, she said, there are benefits too, including for Indigenous sufferers of depression and anxiety, who can connect with others. But on balance, she said, social media is hugely destructive. If she could, she said, she'd pull the plug.

On Thursday, Dr Sal Humphreys<https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/sal.humphreys> from the University of Adelaide was glum too. Her research explored whether it's possible for companies to engage in ethical data practice while remaining commercially viable. This wasn't speculative. She was researching on behalf of a company building smartphone games offering in-app purchases, including to children. And her short answer? No. Why act ethically if competitors gain an advantage by acting unethically? Surveillance capitalism wins. "I just don't have any optimism in me about this," Humphreys said.

This year's AoIR conference was the 20th. Over those two decades, the internet has changed radically, and changed radically again. I can only guess the mood at AoIR has changed radically too. The people who have spent their lives studying the internet now have big concerns. As several participants noted, it's a question of power. Does the internet serve us, or do we serve it? And if it does serve us, which version of us does it serve? The best version of ourselves, or something more base?

On Saturday, Megan Lindsay Brown revealed research showing the connection between tech-based abuse (such as cyberstalking) and real world violence. Partners in an abusive relationship tend to find it hard to leave; tech can make that separation even more difficult. And scholars including Matt Beard, Terry Flew, Tarleton Gillespie and Stuart Cunningham addressed various emerging challenges in regulating digital speech and digital platforms. How do we classify platforms? What laws do we need?

But there were lighter moments too. Nancy Baym from Microsoft Research and Limor Shifman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem revealed their findings about Clippy memes, such as this one. It was a fun session, although, as they said, a joke is never just a joke. Clippy memes often reveal serious concerns about the creepiness of digital assistants. And Stefano Brilli delivered a paper about pornographic exchanges on Italian private group chats. On some of these sites, he said, you can be banned for blasphemy. Hardcore is fine; disrespecting the deity is not.

Out of it all, though, there was one bright ray of optimism. And that's the collaborative spirit of the researchers, who revealed a consistent commitment to sharing ideas, furthering knowledge and improving the net, and through it the world. In my case, this was particularly true of Charles Ess<https://uio.academia.edu/CharlesEss>. He's a giant of digital media ethics, so you might expect someone preoccupied, if not aloof. Instead, he turned out to be unfailingly helpful and personable.

In its early years, the internet was touted as the ultimate expression of people power. Sadly, it isn't always turning out that way. But at least the researchers who study it still embody that democratising spirit. And in that vein, a huge shout out to the wonderful efforts of Jonathan Hutchinson, Axel Bruns, Jean Burgess, Terry Flew and everyone else at QUT and AoIR who hosted and organised.

As Tama Leaver noted in a tweet, "Airport bound, thanks to everyone at #AoIR2019<https://twitter.com/hashtag/AoIR2019?src=hashtag_click> for confirming that it's never just a conference, it's a community". Indeed, and community is just what the net needs now.


Sacha Molitorisz, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Media Transition Faculty of Law University of Technology Sydney

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