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# System prepended metadata

title: Human-Computer Counter-Choreographies

---

# Human-Computer Counter-Choreographies

Workshop facilitator: *Joana Chicau's* [website;](https://joanachicau.com/)

**About this workshop**

<img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SkNMvUVZ6.png" alt="drawing" style="width: 300px;"/>


LINK: [tinyurl.com/chicau-10-23](https://tinyurl.com/chicau-10-23)


This workshop is part of my PhD at the Creative Computing Institute at the University of the Arts London, under the supervision of Prof. Rebecca Fiebrink and Dr. John Fass. 

The focus of this research is to investigate the algorithms that are commonly found in everyday web environments, such as online tracking, which are often hidden behind user interfaces. It aims to inform the design and analysis of web interfaces within academic, cultural, and industrial communities and create conditions that empower users. To accomplish this, embodied methods and choreography are used to guide interface design and tool-making processes. So far my research practice has been manifested in the form of live coding performances, workshops and a work-in-progress browser extension that integrates programming scripts interweaved with choreographic prompts. 

Ultimately, this research aims to challenge opaque algorithmic models within surveillance capitalism and promote algorithmic transparency and legibility. 



Objectives for today:

* discuss how the choreographic approach presented can inform new methods and tools for configuring resources and conditions for user awareness and empowerment; 
* reflect on how the methods and tools presented can inform and transform current algorithmic practices towards more equitable futures; 
* networking with a community of practitioners from academia, activism, cultural fields and industry; 

All workshop participants will be invited to **co-author a paper** to reflect on the activities and discussions. Potential conferences for submitting the paper include DIS, FaacT and CHI.




##  :00: agenda

* 11h10-11h20  
  * welcome and introductions round;
* 11h20-12h00 
  * warm-up exercises and WIP tool demo; 
* 12h00-12h30 
  * group exercise 01;
* 12h30-13h00 
  * lunch 🍎🥒
* 13h00-14h00 
  *  group exercise 02;
* 14h00-15h00 
  * collective discussion and feedback form; 



## :01: WIP tool demo 🎼  🖥️  🎭

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 20 min

**running thorugh 3 main concepts**
* what is [choreography?](https://hackmd.io/ilTr3a9pRIGHTDSZ3fcuhA?view#what-is-online-tracking) 
* what are [algorithms?](https://hackmd.io/ilTr3a9pRIGHTDSZ3fcuhA?view#what-are-algorithms) 
* what are [online tracking algorithms?](https://hackmd.io/ilTr3a9pRIGHTDSZ3fcuhA?view#what-is-online-tracking)


**making sense of online tracking**  🤸🏻‍♀️ 🐾 🔍 
* listening to tracking requests; 
* printing fingerprints;
* movement analytics;


![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1JUNvGTh.gif)



* [Git Repository of Joana's Browser Extension](https://gitlab.com/hc-cc/human-computer-counter-choregraphies)
* [Google Analytics dimensions and metrics of user behavior](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382?hl=en#zippy=%2Cdemographics%2Cecommerce%2Cevent%2Clink%2Cpage-screen%2Cuser-lifetime)


##  :02: warm-up: Mapping Everyday Tech 📍 📱 ✨ 

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 10 min

* List the online services you use day-to-day
* What data is being collected? What information is being asked from you? 



## :03: group exercise: user profile and behavior (analysing the choreography)  🎣 

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 20 min

In groups: 
* Choose one online service from the 'everyday tech' exercise above;
* fill in the sheet based on the user profile of the group (merge info from all group members).


## :04.1: group exercise: counter⚡choreographies 💦 🏄🏾‍♀️  

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 30 min


<img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Sy8nxBUa3.png" alt="drawing" style="width: 300px;"/>

* *caption: choreographic prompts (left); user metrics (right);*


<!---
*Setting the Stage:*
* The online service you chose, gathered each of your individual 'User Profiles' to create an audience.
* Predictive audience: 'how likely you are to purchase an item in the next 7 days.'
--->

*The User as Choreographer* 🎩 

Create a series of 'counter—' choreographies to online tracking in the online service selected. 


1. Start by pairing one metric with one choreographic prompt;
2. Describe how your 'counter —'choreography works;
3. Give your 'counter —'choreography a name; move to the next one.

## :04.2: counter⚡choreographies in context 🧩

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 15 min



Select your favorite two 'counter—' choreographies.

How do they sit in the broader context? What are their effects or impact in the broader context?

* you can wear the hat of a designer or developer working in industry or a policy maker 🎩 
* or how your'counter—' choreographies relate to sustainability or might inspire non-extractive economic models!

## :05: feedback & discussion 🗫 🦜

:hourglass_flowing_sand: 45 min 


<img src="https://hackmd.io/_uploads/ByDgLIVbp.png" alt="drawing" style="width: 300px;"/>


* Feedback, **please answer this [questionnaire](https://forms.office.com/e/V8hCv1qNUt) 🙏** forms.office.com/e/V8hCv1qNUt


## resources and Links  💫

#### what is choreography?
    
*Choreo* = movement
*Graphy* = writing
    
See examples of dance notations / [collection of scores](https://www.geometries.xyz/inventory.html).

> ...one of the crucial questions of our times: how to claim agency for our movements and actions within our highly (even if subtly) choreographed societies of control (...) Dance and choreography display and practice how bodies get to be mobilised as well as made passive. (Lepecki in Martin, 2015: 44;46)
 
> ... what William Forsythe has called an “art of command”. Such understanding of choreography obviously implies that, as with any system of command, choreography also implements, needs, produces, and reproduces whole systems of obedience.  (Lepecki, 2013:16 citing Franko 2007:17). 
    
> Choreography is not just another of the things we “do” to bodies, but a reflection on – and enactment of – how bodies “do” things... (on Social choreography, Hewitt, 2007: 4) 

<!--
Choreograph (v.): to arrange relations between bodies in time and space 
Choreography (v.): act of framing relations between bodies; “a way of seeing the world”
Choreography (n.): result of any of these actions 
Choreography (n.): a dynamic constellation of any kind, consciously created or not, self-organising or super-imposed 
Choreography (n.): order observed . . ., exchange of forces; a process that has an observable or observed embodied order 
Choreograph (v.): to recognize such an order 
Choreography (v.): act of interfering with or negotiating such an order
 (Klien et al., 2008, p. 9)

…one of the crucial questions of our times: how to claim agency for our movements and actions within our highly (even if subtly) choreographed societies of control (…) Dance and choreography display and practice how bodies get to be mobilised as well as made passive.
(Lepecki in Martin, 2015: 44;46)
-->
    
#### what are algorithms?

> "A set of instructions that organises a particular procedure (a formalised task) into steps that can be mechanically performed. Algorithms are used to control and stabilise actions in unstable environments." (Ethics of Coding: A Report on the Algorithmic Condition [EoC], 2018)


#### what is online tracking?

> *Have you ever read a newspaper and noticed a stranger reading it over your shoulder? Reading the news online is like having Google, Facebook, or Twitter doing the same thing. Known as "third party trackers", these companies collect data about who you are, what you’re reading and what you’re interested in, usually without you ever knowing it.* [Source Tactical Tech](https://ourdataourselves.tacticaltech.org/posts/trackography/)

> Algorithmic systems are often made opaque by design, with users being unaware of how much of their data is being gathered (Pold et al., 2019) and for what purposes. The impact of algorithmic systems in society has had various reported instances of causing harm and inequality (Klumbyte, 2020) which disproportionally affect vulnerable and marginalised communities.  One example of these are online tracking algorithms which are present in most web services we access today (Kretschmer et al., 2021) yet hidden behind user interfaces. 

**how does online tracking work?**

> There are various and ever evolving techniques that enable online tracking. A common one is browser cookies (aka cookies), small pieces of data in plain text format with no executable code, created by a web server when a user visits a website. 

> For eg.: While we might only intend on connecting to telegraph.co.uk, in reality we are also connecting to the servers of at least seven additional companies. 

> Most websites include embedded images and code which come from the domains and servers of third party companies. These companies are able to track us through the use of cookies and other technologies which collect different pieces of information about us. 


> Another example is fingerprinting, a tracking technique for collecting configuration of the user’s web browser which can be used to uniquely identify users. It is achieved by embedding JavaScript code into the website and is usually performed without users' knowledge. Both cookies and fingerprinting are ubiquitous in the web ecosystem. 

> Companies collect and accumulate information on user’s online behavior, which is commonly sold to ads network to then serve users back with personalized ads. Data about our device and online behaviour enables companies to link our likes and interests directly to us and to create profiles about us, which are then subsequently sold to advertisers.

> It is an endless feedback system which has fueled web technological development driven by corporate interest and surveillance capitalism.


**why are we being tracked?**
> Online tracking is part of a larger industry which makes a profit out of our data. (...) Advertising is the default business model of the internet. (...) Companies track users' access to websites because they engage in (one or more of) the following:
* Profiling
* Advertising
* Market research
* Web analytics
* Web crawling
>Many of these companies argue that they track individuals' access to websites so that they can improve the services that they provide. Companies in the advertising business aim to understand their audience as much as possible so that they can provide targeted advertisements.

[Source Tactical Tech | Continue Reading](https://ourdataourselves.tacticaltech.org/posts/trackography/)


**data tracking ► profiling**

> Individual profiling can raise various types of concerns. Imagine not being able to get a bank loan because your bank has bought data about you which shows that you are an "unreliable customer". Or imagine your insurance company classifying you as someone with "risky behaviour" due to the fact that your browsing activities show that you have an interest in extreme sports. Or even worse, imagine law enforcement agencies knocking on your door because you "read too much" anarchist material online.

> Group profiling can be equally problematic and can raise concerns for societies at large. Sociologist David Lyon argues that profiling is a powerful means of creating and reinforcing long-term social differences. Research has shown that clustering data about groups can lead to social stratification and discrimination, which is reinforced by an entire data brokerage industry that operates behind the scenes. 

[Source Tactical Tech | Continue Reading](https://ourdataourselves.tacticaltech.org/posts/trackography/)


#### bibliography
* Ethics of Coding: A Report on the Algorithmic Condition [EoC] (2018) H2020-EU.2.1.1. Brussels: European Commission. Available at: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/732407 (Accessed: 11 July 2022).
* Goda Klumbyte, Phillip Lücking, and Claude Draude (2020) 'Reframing AX with Critical Design: The Potentials and Limits of Algorithmic Experience as a Critical Design Concept'. In Proceedings of the 11th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Shaping Experiences, Shaping Society, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3419249.3420120
*  Hewitt, A. (2007) ‘Choreography is a way of thinking about the relationship of aesthetics to politics. Interview with Goran Sergej Pristaš.’
* Kretschmer, M., Pennekamp, J. and Wehrle, K. (2021) ‘Cookie Banners and Privacy Policies: Measuring the Impact of the GDPR on the Web’, ACM Transactions on the Web, 15(4), pp. 1–42. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/3466722.
* Lepecki, A. (2013) ‘Choreopolice and Choreopolitics: or, the task of the dancer’, TDR: The Drama Review, 57:4 (T220)(Winter 2013), pp. 13–27.
* Martin, R. (ed.) (2015) The Routledge companion to art and politics. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
* Michael Kretschmer, Jan Pennekamp, and Klaus Wehrle (2021) 'Cookie Banners and Privacy Policies: Measuring the Impact of the GDPR on the Web'. ACM Transactions on the Web 15, 4: 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1145/3466722
* Søren Bro Pold (2019) 'New ways of hiding: towards metainterface realism'. Artnodes, 2019, Num. 24: 72–82. https://doi.org/10.7238/a.v0i24.3283

#### further references

* [The Dangers of Tech that Tracks Everything We Do w/ Shoshana Wodinsky](https://techwontsave.us/episode/124_the_dangers_of_tech_that_tracks_everything_we_do_w_shoshana_wodinsky)
* [Tactical Tech Data and You](https://tacticaltech.org/projects/data-you/)
* [Together Net](https://togethernet.org/)
* [Limits to Digital Consent](https://simplysecure.org/blog/the-limits-to-digital-consent-understanding-the-risks-of-ethical-consent-and-data-collection-for-underrepresented-communities/)
* [Privacy Not Included](https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/)
* [Alternative To](https://alternativeto.net/)
* [Our Data Bodies Project 2016 Report](https://www.odbproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ODB-Community-Report-7-24.pdf)
* [Design Justice Network zine](http://designjusticenetwork.org/zine)
* [Crypto Dance](http://www.ooooo.be/etherhtml/e2h.php?_=cryptodance)
* [Types of custom dimensions and metrics](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10075209?sjid=12958028174765234647-EU)
* [Predefined user dimensions](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9268042?sjid=12958028174765234647-EU)
* [Automatically collected events](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9234069?sjid=17720764462377754775-EU#user_engagement)
* [Predictive Audiences](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9805833?hl=en)
* [Examples of audiences in Google Analytics and how to create them](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12799863?hl=en#zippy=%2Cin-this-article)



