To browse Academia. I attend to two areas of increasing significance in relation to Web 2. The first is a focus on the non-human in digital media research, and the second is the normalisation of dating apps in society. Borrowing from speculative design and speculative method, I introduce the idea of speculative devices, those things that are set in place based on a conjecture of an outcome.
Drawing upon a case study of Ashley Madison I demonstrate how the speculative devices of profiles and bots can operate, and why. I argue we need to give careful thought to how our research and practice is understood, and conducted where speculative devices are concerned. Contemporary Approaches in Social Science Researches, The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, Log in with Facebook Log in with Google.
Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Need an account? Click here to sign up. Light, B. The rise of speculative devices: Hooking up with the bots of Ashley Madison. First Monday, 21 6. Building upon ideas from speculative design and speculative method, I introduce the idea of speculative devices, those things that are set in place based on a conjecture of an outcome.
Drawing upon a case study of Ashley Madison, generated using a walkthrough method, I demonstrate how the speculative devices of bots and profiles can operate, and why. Introduction During July and August of the media, particularly the online tech press, were populated with stories about Ashley Madison. Ashley Madison, provides a dating and hook up space for people to engage in discreet encounters, they had been hacked and in the region of 37 million account records along with company documentation was made public.
Much of the attention was given to the lack of morality shown by Ashley Madison and its users. Less attention was given to the hackers themselves, although an excellent analysis including this group can be found on the Dailynous. Journalists scrambled to find lurid stories about anyone, particularly those in the public eye. The site was linked with e-mail accounts of supposed USA Homeland Security staff, and other pubic workers, members of several churches and conservative religious bloggers.
