Paper from the Programmable City workshop data and the city. See more details on my blog at http://wp.me/p7DNf-sX for description of the workshop. The paper explores the link between citizen science and philosophy of technology

1. Beyond quantification:
a role for citizen science and community
science in a smart city
Muki Haklay @mhaklay
Extreme Citizen Science group @ucl_excites

2. Outline
• Ways of thinking through technology
• Albert Borgmann’s philosophy of technology
– The device paradigm
– Focal practices
– Natural, Cultural and Technological Information
• Citizen/Civic/DIY Science as focal practices

3. Thinking through technology
©Stock.XCHNG

4. ©Library of Congress, Computer history Museum

5. ©Stock.XCHNG

6. ©Stock.XCHNG

7. Borgmann’s philosophy of
technology

8. The Device Paradigm
(cc) CJ Sorg©Stock.XCHNG

9. (cc) Ed & Eddie

10. (cc) Ed & Eddie
(cc) 1950sUnlimited

11. Focal things and practices
©Stock.XCHNG

12. Focal things and practices
©Stock.XCHNG

13. Natural information: about reality
©Stock.XCHNG

14. Cultural information: for reality
©Stock.XCHNG

15. Technological information: as reality
(cc) Kanko*

16. Core concepts
• Device paradigm – the tendency of technology
to replace efficiency and automation for
meaningful human activities
• Focal things and practices – deeply meaningful
artefacts and practices
• Natural information: information about reality
• Cultural information: information for reality
• Technological information: replacing reality

18. NASA 24/12/1968

21. Source: Eric Fischer
Flickr – Locals (blue)
vs. Tourists (red)

22. Digiplace: filtered by software & people

24. 24
Limits of technological
information
• “A map that is rapidly assembled through a sequence
of points and clicks is far less deeply understood and
less thoughtfully crafted than one that is laboriously
drawn on a table” (p. 176)
• “If you imagine yourself in control of a perfect GIS,
nothing any longer presents itself with any authority.
Anything might as well be an impediment to inquiry”
(p. 177)
Source: Borgmann, A. (1999) Holding On to Reality, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

25. The story so far …
• GIS, digital mapping, sensors and algorithms
work towards creation of technological
information – information as reality
• They provide an example for the device
paradigm: prioritising efficiency and
reductionist functionality over wider social
practices, values and activities
• Is there an alternative to this force and
direction?

26. Crowdsourced geographic
information (VGI)
• The wide use of tools such as GPS,
smartphone and the Web by professional
and non-professional participants to
create and disseminate geographic
information (VGI – Goodchild 2007)

27. (cc) Development Seed

28. (cc) Urbanwide - flickr
(cc) Nick black

29. OpenStreetMap – Map Kibera

30. Citizen Science (OED 2014)
citizen science n. scientific work undertaken by
members of the general public, often in collaboration
with or under the direction of professional scientists
and scientific institutions.
citizen scientist n. (a) a scientist whose work is
characterized by a sense of responsibility to serve the
best interests of the wider community (now rare); (b)
a member of the general public who engages in
scientific work, often in collaboration with or under
the direction of professional scientists and scientific
institutions; an amateur scientist.

31. A new era of citizen science
• As a result of technical and societal trends
citizen science re-emerged in the past decade
as an important part of science
• Types:
– biodiversity/conservation observations recording;
– volunteer computing;
– volunteer thinking;
– Do It Yourself (DIY) science;
– community/civic science
Haklay, M., 2013, Citizen Science and Volunteered Geographic Information –
overview and typology of participation in Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge

32. Biological recording & conservation

33. Source: Kate Jones, UCL/ZSL see http://www.ibats.org.uk/

34. Citizen Science: iSpot

35. Volunteer computing
World Community Grid at http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/

38. Volunteer thinking
See Zooniverse projects at http://www.zooniverse.org/

39. More information at http://publiclaboratory.org
Community/Civic Science

40. More information at http://publiclaboratory.org

43. Noise mapping
Mapping for Change
LCY noise mapping study at http://bit.ly/LCYNoise

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Sound Readings - No Flights
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Sound Readings - Normal Flights
Source: Wikimedia
Eyjafjallajökull – April 2010

46. Mapping for Change

48. June 2012
June 2012

49. October 2012
October2012

53. Summary
• The Device Paradigm, together with
technological information can be helpful in
unpacking the ‘Smart Cities’ Paradigm
• Values are well embedded in technology and
many times operate against focal practices
and things
• However, alternatives can be developed but
they require special attention and action

54. Credits
Support for the research kindly provided by:
UCL Graduate School Research Fund
ESRC ‘Conserving Biodiversity That Matters: The Value of Brownfield Sites’ project
RGS/IBG Small Research Grant
UrbanBuzz: Building Sustainable Communities (HEFCE)
London Sustainability Exchange (LSx)
London 21 Sustainability Network
EPSRC Challenging Engineering Award ‘Extreme Citizen Science’
EPSRC Adaptable Suburbs project
EU FP7 EveryAware project
Google Research Awards
Amazon Web Services Education Grants
Our special thanks to the participants and the communities that work with us
And to our partners: Royal Geographical Society, ESRI, Helveta and U-Blox

55. • Follow us:
– http://www.ucl.ac.uk/excites
– Twitter: @UCL_ExCiteS
– Blog: http://uclexcites.wordpress.com