<!-- prepare for CIA seminar in Aug 2020 --> ### Critical Technical-Art Practice <br>(Winnie+Pablo) <br> CTP (Agre 1997; Dourish, Finlay, Sengers, Wright 2004; Dieter 2014; Harwood 2019; Soon & Cox forthcoming) <br> > A critical technical practice will, at least for the foreseeable future, require a split identity — one foot planted in the craft work of design and the other foot planted in the reflexive work of critique (Agre, 1997) <!-- list of names + ref year 1) missing gaps / lack of methodologies that articulate technical objects and sociocultural aspects 2) looking at technical level --> --- <!-- slide here --> #### WIP - 2 courses (bachelor level) in Dept of Digital Design & Information Studies: - Aesthetic Programming - Data Studies - Continuous experimentation - (de)constructing <!-- 1) how we enact the challenge and address this gap in practice/classroom 2) responding to 'digitalization'/pervasiveness of technologies -> new curriculum/thinking, but beyond digital literacy (instrumental level) --> --- <!-- slide here --> #### APIs in Aesthetic Programming <img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_1.png" height="300"> <img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_2.gif" height="300"> - Introducing the art example: [net.art generator](https://nag.iap.de/) (1997) by Cornelia Sollfrank - Using Google image search API - query e.g the search keywords - other parameters and processes <!-- situate nag as a critical art practice that question authorship and technopolitics --> <!-- More details: https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/tree/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData --> --- <!-- slide here --> #### APIs in Aesthetic Programming (cont') <img src="https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/raw/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData/ch8_5.png" height="150"> ```javascript https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?key=APIKEY&cx=SEARCHID&imgSize=medium&searchType=image&q=warhol+flowers ``` To study: 1. Tinkering: to process inputs and to generate an image output (the collage of images) 2. Accessing: Understanding the logic of request and response + step-by-step processes 3. Que(e)ring: Questioning the openness, accessibility and manipulation of data <!-- challeges 1. dealing with different scales 2. assemblages of data - format of data, accessibilty and configuration, terms and conditions, coding aspect, algorithm in prioritization/configuratio 3. not a standardized practice, and requires time to look into different APIs and data structures. (how to apply to other API context) --> --- <!-- slide here --> #### Web & APIs in Data Studies Data collection: Same sources, different data? Same data, different sources? a) Instagrab (https://github.com/pwikstrom/instagrab) <!-- by Patrik Wikstrom --> * python script / web scraper * does not use an API ``` python print("\nLaunching browser") my_options = webdriver.ChromeOptions() the_drive = webdriver.Chrome(options=my_options) for the_tag in instagrab_config["tags"]: if isinstance(the_tag,str) and len(the_tag)>0: new_shortcodes += scrape_tag(the_drive, the_timeline, the_tag, instagrab_config) print("\nClosing browser\n") the_drive.quit() ``` b) VosonSML, TCAT, etc. (https://github.com/vosonlab/vosonSML) * API-based / R (but language agnostic) ``` r # twitter authentication creates an access token as part of the auth object twitterAuth <- Authenticate("twitter", appName = "My App", apiKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxx", apiSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx", accessToken = "xxxxxxxxxxxx", accessTokenSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx") ``` --- <!-- slide here --> #### Web & APIs in Data Studies (cont.) **Old and new regimes:** <!-- pre-app times --> * Platforms as markets + modular technological architectures (Gawer 2014; Rieder & Sire 2014) <!-- platforms as both market enablers and technological architectures--> * Platform-ready websites (Helmond 2015) * "Security" vs "Freedom" false dilemma (LeGuin 1982) <!-- gatekeeping / standarisation --> **Pedagogic challenges:** 1. Unstable/uneven surfaces <!-- this applies to coding --> 2. Circumventing legal frameworks <!-- ethics for whom? equity --> 3. CTP: *split identities* <!-- learning with and against structures --> --- #### Thoughts... 1) Interested in how-to's as an educator 2) AP + DS open up one of many ways to perform (among others) 3) What might be your own challenges, not only as researchers/artists, but as educators? 4) What's the role of practice? <!-- Not forming programmers (STEM approach, or even DH): how to make it culturally (and personally) relevant. Different approach in a critical humanistic setting. Thus, WIP.--> <!-- notes ## Notes - What from CTP? as of Agre + others - WIP: Work in progress + reflexive experimentation as part of CTP -> continuous questioning of the materials that they are using (regardless of the point of origin: social, performative, etc) - Pedagogical focus -> Why technical-art? - 2 courses: DS and AP - **The challenge** is how to find a balance, not only as researchers but as educators, unfolding aspects of both formality and functionality as well as questioning and understanding technology at a discursive and critical level. *slides:* - intro + situated in the pedagogical environment > "A critical technical practice will, at least for the foreseeable future, require a split identity — one foot planted in the craft work of design and the other foot planted in the reflexive work of critique." (Agre, "Toward a Critical Technical Practice") - WIP: continous experimentation - challenge 1 - around API (https://gitlab.com/siusoon/Aesthetic_Programming_Book/-/tree/master/source/8-Que(e)ryData) - challenge 2 - around API (data translation: API vs webscraping) - discussion: epistemological insights on how things work (technically), practically // also: different kinds of knowledge: technical and conceptual (logic): *in and beyond* data (a **critical** approach) --> --- ## notes for writing the CTP paper - 2000 words - what's criticality, how does this enact in both courses - the courses also as a methodology, approach - focus on datasets + web scraping (pablo) API + machine learning models (winnie) - start with APIs (winnie), datasets (pablo) - enable forms of questioning - how they do work in progress, and reflexive exploration - critical -> other forms of usefulness (normative usage) - can bring in students' work/ex Here is the call: https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/Convergence_Special%20Issue_CTP%20in%20Digital%20Research.pdf Our previous CTP presentation: https://hackmd.io/K0ZfGPpySSeAc3Iu4CF3gA Our abstract: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FtF0idZxfSOiB8aptdHJx8F_kO5hRCXfgc-tZ0DTzDg/edit Soon's article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P5ZPU8NnWOAKZ-UsQq5O8NvSB05Nkhfn95LRGZ9quYg/edit Submission guidelines: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/CON around 8000 words ref style - Harvard: https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/sage_harvard_reference_style_0.pdf?_gl=1*i0adtz*_ga*MTg4MzI5OTE4Ni4xNjA3NTIwMzc3*_ga_60R758KFDG*MTYxNzk2MjE5OS4xLjEuMTYxNzk2MjQ3MC4w Deadline for the full journal: 2 Aug 2021 <style> .reveal { font-size: 25px; font-family: Mono, monospace, sans-serif; } </style>