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Near Future Tech with Jason Griffey
Jason Griffey talks about the complexity and uncharted nature of “near future tech,” and the privacy implications as we enter a time where even our home appliances promise to be connected to the internet. As we move into a world in which the devices we depend on constantly listen in order to help us, what are the privacy concerns? How will we navigate the boundaries between efficiency and privacy, and are the two mutually exclusive? Will Skynet finally happen when AI and robots become part of our daily lives?
Jason Griffey is a librarian, technologist, consultant, writer, and speaker and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University where he studies decentralization, access to information, intellectual property, and more.
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Martin Bandyke Under Covers: Martin talks to author Tim Harford about his new book Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy
Named a best book of 2017 by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial times and Amazon, Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy paints an epic picture of change in an intimate way by telling the stories of the tools, people, and ideas that had far-reaching consequences for all of us. From the plough to artificial intelligence, from Gillette’s disposable razor to IKEA’s Billy bookcase, bestselling author and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford recounts each invention’s own curious, surprising, and memorable story.
Invention by invention, Harford reflects on how we got here and where we might go next. He lays bare often unexpected connections: how the bar code undermined family corner stores, and why the gramophone widened inequality. In the process, he introduces characters who developed some of these inventions, profited from them, and were ruined by them, as he traces the principles that helped explain their transformative effects. The result is a wise and witty book of history, economics, and biography.
Martin's interview with Tim Harford was originally recorded on September 6, 2017.
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Nerd Nite #49 - Living in a Cyberpunk World
Cyberpunk was everywhere in the 1980s. It started in science fiction, but it influenced fashion, movies, comics, games, advertising, and architecture. After a decade of high-tech, neon-colored, future-looking pop culture, cyberpunk just…went away. Or did it? Could cyberpunk stories still be with us, hiding in plain sight?
About Alex: Alex Kourvo loves books. She writes them, reviews them, edits them, and teaches other people how to write them. She is the author of numerous short stories and the forthcoming “Detroit Next” series of near-future thrillers. She edits books for Fifth Avenue Press and helped start the Emerging Writers Workshop at the Ann Arbor District Library, where she teaches monthly classes for new writers. You can find Alex online at AlexKourvo.com or follow her @AlexKourvo.
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Personal Digital Archiving: Creating a Legacy Plan for Your Digital Life
Many of us spend time creating, organizing, and preserving our files. We have tons of digital photos, all of our accounts online, and rarely get paper mail. But what happens to our digital stuff when we die, or in case of emergency? Do your family and friends know what you have and how to access it? Are there things you would rather they NOT access?
Creating a legacy plan for your digital materials is not as daunting as it sounds. By assessing your digital “stuff” and where it is located, participants in this workshop will learn how to create a plan that will guide them through these tough decisions. The first hour of this workshop will review email accounts, social media, multimedia, documents, and online storage and assess multiple data-management strategies for legacy planning. Participants will also have the opportunity to share areas of concern and brainstorm solutions for difficult legacy-planning problems. For participants who bring a laptop or other device, a second hour will be available to get started on creating a short legacy plan.
Participants will complete a values assessment to identify target areas to be included in a legacy plan. They will also learn about creating a legacy plan that will guide them in moving forward on this issue. Additional tools/concepts covered include:
o Multiple strategies for individual legacy planning
o Password-protected files and sharing options
o Google docs/gmail legacy settings
o Facebook & Twitter legacy settings
o Issues of security versus access for personal items
The U-M Library is gathering experts in the preservation of personal digital material from across the country and globe for the 2106 Personal Digital Archiving Conference. In connection with the conference, two free public sessions are also being held at the Ann Arbor District Library.
This session will be led by digital preservation expert Melody Condron from the University of Houston Libraries. Melody is the Resource Management Coordinator at the University of Houston Libraries. She is passionate about helping people manage their digital media and presents on topics including social media, file organization, and personal information management. She recently taught a month long course called Personal Digital Archiving for Librarians for the Library Information and Technology Association (LITA). Her book on PDA, The Digital You, if forthcoming from Rowman & Littlefield. She holds a Master of Library Science with a focus in Information Organization from the University of North Texas and a B.A. in Communications from Penn State.
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Personal Digital Archiving: Preserving and Sharing in a Digital World
In May, the University of Michigan Library hosted the Personal Digital Archiving 2016 conference, which gathered experts in the preservation of personal digital material from across the country and globe. While we had all of these experts in town, we thought it would be a great opportunity to have some of them participate in a session that is free and open to the public. Here are some details of the program:
Frances Harrell, Northeast Document Conservation Center
Digital Life Preservers
Frances will open the panel with a presentation on basic preservation approaches to digital content. Her discussion will cover the major risks to personal digital collections and the strategies for preventing permanent loss. The presentation will include methods for identifying, organizing, and storing digital photos, videos, documents, and other personal digital content.
Frances Harrell is a Preservation Specialist at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. She provides preservation assistance to small and medium-sized cultural heritage institutions through assessments, consulting, education, and outreach. She serves as Co-Chair of the Digital Preservation Interest Group for ALA ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section and is a member of the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Roundtable for New England Archivists. She also represents NEDCC on the COSTEP MA (Coordinated Statewide Emergency Preparedness in Massachusetts) Executive Committee. She received an MLIS from Simmons College GSLIS and a BA in English Literature from the University of Florida, and has worked in both development and collections management.
Brianna Marshall, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Modern Memorykeeping: From Digital to Tangible
Brianna will explore modern memorykeeping techniques for documenting individuals' and families' lives, connecting the hard work of managing digital photographs with the creation of albums that can be shared and enjoyed. She will frame this talk in the context of how she has created different types of physical albums from her digital collections, an increasingly overwhelming task as the amount of digital photographs we take grows.
Brianna Marshall is a librarian and technologist interested in developing library services to support research and scholarship. She currently works as the Digital Curation Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, where she leads the interdisciplinary group Research Data Services and manages UW's institutional repository. Brianna is also a scrapbooker, 2015 Project Life creative team member, and de facto archivist and digital stuff wrangler for her family.
Christiane Evaskis-Garrett, ProQuest
Sharing the Family Story: Omeka and Access Omeka and Access
In December 2014, Christiane's father presented her with a box of black and white family photographs ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s. Christiane will discuss how she made a website using the Omeka software. Her discussion will include an overview of scanning equipment, privacy issues with regards to living family members in the photos, filling in gaps in biographical knowledge, and feedback/pushback from family members.
Christiane Evaskis-Garrett considers herself an archival nomad; over the past six years, she's worked as a project archivist for the State of Michigan, an archival consultant for the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Tennessee and is currently an Electronic Content Analyst at ProQuest. She also volunteers on a monthly basis at the Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan as a cataloger/archivist. Christiane has served on the Michigan Archival Association Board since 2014 and also serves as co-editor for Open Entry, MAA’s biannual publication. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Sociology in 2008 from the University of Tennessee - Martin and graduated in 2010 from the University of Michigan with a Masters of Science in Information, where she specialized in Archives & Records Management and Preservation of Information.
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Nerd Nite #33 - Trolls, Trouble, and Telling the Difference
For as long as we’ve had the Internet, we’ve had online trolls. But what is a troll, really—and how do we tell the difference between trolling and more serious forms of abuse? To build a better and more empathetic web, researchers, designers, and users must work in tandem. In this talk, PhD student Lindsay Blackwell explores the ins and outs of misbehavior online, including efforts to regulate and prevent online harassment.
About Lindsay: Lindsay Blackwell is a PhD student at the University of Michigan School of Information’s Social Media Research Lab. Her research explores misbehavior in online communities, including trolling and online harassment. Prior to graduate school, Lindsay enjoyed a career in social media marketing, where she won several awards for her work with clients like I Love New York. You can follow Lindsay on Twitter (@linguangst) or by visiting www.lindsayblackwell.net.
Find her on Twitter as @linguangst.
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Nerd Nite #30 - How Nano-Electronics Might Allow You to Communicate with Your Refrigerator
Imagine having a refrigerator that can tell you when food has spoiled! The next technological revolution will be turning every appliance we use into a smart device. To create these devices, we need tiny sensors to allow the electronics to interact with the environment. Today these sensors are too large or too expensive, but luckily, engineers are working to reduce this sensor size and cost with the help of nano-electronics.
About Matt DeJarld: Matt is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan. For the past few years, he has worked heavily with semiconductor nanostructures in efforts to improve the future of solar and indoor lighting technologies. In his free time he enjoys hiking with his dog, music, and movies/television.
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Nerd Nite #29: Everyone Can Teach a Robot
Ever felt too busy to do the laundry or too tired to cook? What if a robot could help you with all of this someday in the future? Developments in robotics are bringing this dream closer to reality by making robots that can imitate people and learn new actions. One day, you may be teaching your own robot how to make your favorite cocktail!
About Zhen Zeng: Zhen is a PHD student at the University of Michigan in Electrical Engineering, with a focus on robot object manipulation. When she’s not teaching Baxter the Robot to see, move, and think, she enjoys volleyball and card games.
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Nerd Nite #29: Where's My Hoverboard?
Ready to assume vivid astro focus? Nick Tobier's talk follows the evolution of space-age design from the euphoria and optimism of the 1950s to the more cynical ‘70s, and shows how artists’ conceptions of the future have influenced history and in turn, our society.
About Nick: Nick is an Associate Professor at the Stamps School of Art and Design and the Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. With a background in sculpture and landscape architecture, Nick has long been interested in the social lives of public places and his work has been seen at the everywhere from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood.
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Nerd Nite #26: Calculating 10^18 Results per Second
The world of high performance computing is changing. Dave Strenski's talk will run through a short history of computing highlighting the different types of computations used in computing’s past, including vectorization, parallelization, accelerators, and reconfigurable computing. Starting from a historical perspective, this presentation builds to what is needed for the future to reach exa-scale (10^18 floating point operation per second) computing. It also covers the types of applications that need exa-scale computing and the merging of high performance computing and data analytics.