The Centre for Internet and Society
http://editors.cis-india.org
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We Are All Cyborgs
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/we-are-cyborgs
<b>The cyborg reminds us that who we are as human beings is very closely linked with the technologies we use.</b>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/we-are-all-cyborgs/942874/0">Nishant Shah's article was published in the Indian Express on April 29, 2012</a></p>
<p>If you look at any illustrated
history of human civilisation, you will quickly realise that it is also a
history of technology. From the discovery of fire by Homo sapiens to
the contemporary homo digitalis, there is no escaping that technologies
of different kinds have not only changed the way we live but also helped
us realise what it means to be human. Often, we treat these
technologies as external to us, thinking of them as tools that we deploy
to perform a particular task. However, as our technologies become more
transparent, intimate and customised, we realise that we are developing
relationships with the technological devices that surround us. So, if
your laptop crashes, you feel crippled. There are people who proclaim
that they feel amputated without their cellphone. It is quite reasonable
to feel lost without the information compass of the internet.</p>
<p>This
relationship between human beings and technologies has been very
concisely defined in the idea of a cyborg. A cyborg is a
human-technology synthesis which enhances our capacities to live as
human beings. While it might seem like a slightly new idea, once you
realise that we constantly live with technologies and often internalise
them in our bodies, it is not difficult to wrap our head around it.
Think of people with pacemakers or prosthetic limbs or different
implants in their bodies, who experience technologies as an integral
part of their everyday life. Similarly, think of the wide range of
technology apparatus that you depend on to live a “regular” human life.
We have also seen iconic cyborg representations in popular movies — from
the absolutely unforgettable Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 to
our very own dimpled Shah Rukh Khan as Ra.One — there has been a
persistent imagining of the human being as we know it, evolving to
become some sort of a super man, enhanced by advancements in digital
technologies of virtual reality.</p>
<p>There
has been a growing anxiety, almost a moral panic, about how
technologies are alienating us, replacing face-time with inter-face time
so that we are all growing “alone together”. There is also, across
generations and users, a growing separation of those who work with
technologies and those who don’t. There is much concern about the human
becoming corrupt because of the ubiquitous presence of the pervasive and
invasive technologies around us. In the face of these anxieties, the
cyborg stands as a culturally significant and timely reminder that we,
as human beings, are very closely linked with the technologies that we
use. And that we need to stop thinking of technologies as merely gadgets
and tools that surround us. The different objects that remind us of the
presence of technology are not the same thing as technology itself.
Technology is a way of thinking about things, a way of relating to the
world around us. The most intrinsic forms of technologies are the ones
that we don’t even recognise as a part of our innate mental make up.</p>
<p>Do
this simple experiment. Right now, while you are reading this, do not
look at any clock or time-measuring device and guess what time it is.
Chances are that you will be, give or take a few minutes, more or less
accurate. Even if you are temporally challenged, you will at least know
what part of the day it is, morning, afternoon, evening or night. The
point is that we are absolutely and completely creatures of time. We
cannot think of ourselves outside of it and even when we might be
dramatically wrong about it, there is no escaping the fact that we are
always thinking of ourselves and the world around us through time.</p>
<p>We
experience our lives and our relationships in cyclical notions of the
clock’s face, thinking of our actions as borrowed from the future, lived
in the present, and relegated to the archives of the past. It then,
must come as a bit of a shock (it certainly did to me, the first time I
was made to realise it) that time is not natural. Time is a human way of
measuring a passage of actions. Time is a technology which has now
become such a potent metaphor of life that we have forgotten to make the
separation of the human and the technological.</p>
<p>And
thus, whether you might be a tech-savvy digital native or a
byte-fearing luddite, there is no denying the idea that when it comes to
technologies of time, you are already a natural born cyborg. This
ability of technologies to become transparent and an inalienable part of
who we are forms cyborgs. The process through which they become
transparent is not easily accessible, but it does begin by an
internalisation of the technology’s processes in our everyday
vocabulary. So the next time you think of yourself as a system that
needs to be upgraded, or unable to pay attention because you don’t have
enough bandwidth, remember that you are engaging in a flirtatious
relationship with the digital. And slowly, but surely, we are all
turning into cyborgs, as the new technologies rearrange patterns of our
life and living.</p>
<p><em>digitalnative@expressindia.com</em></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/we-are-cyborgs'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/we-are-cyborgs</a>
</p>
No publishernishantCyborgsResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-24T12:00:54ZBlog EntryWatson knows the Question
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows
<b>Now that an algorithm has given humans a run for their money on a quiz show, it’s time to rethink the idea of a machine. A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. This article was published on March 6, 2011.</b>
<p>Quantum theory suggests that multiple universes exist where every possible alternative can come true. If this were the case, somewhere there must be a world filled with machines that are looking at human evolution and figuring out new and advanced human machine relationships. Or for those who are not very quantum minded, imagine a world where machines are the evolved species and they depend upon human technology — emotional connections, semantic learning, etc. — for their daily transactions and survival. I am not suggesting a futuristic dystopia, like the kind that science fiction specialises in. However, it would be interesting to imagine a world where technology is not only at the periphery of human civilisation but at the centre of it.</p>
<p>I am proposing this world view to revisit the idea of a digital native. We have, so far, in scholarship and practice, education and policy, only looked at digital natives as young human beings who interact in new and innovative ways with evolving technologies, to form human-machine networks and assemblages. However, as Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation develop to produce thinking technologies, it is time to start looking at being sapient as not necessarily a human condition.</p>
<p>Early last month, an artificially created super computing system called Watson (elementary, surely?) took the world by a storm as it competed against two human contestants on a popular American quiz show called Jeopardy! The trivia-based show provides answers clustered around a particular theme, and contestants have to ask the correct question to the answer, to win prize money. It is not a straightforward question-answer show because it relies on more than human memory and recollection. It gives cryptic clues (like the ones we are used to in a crossword), offers semantic relationships which need more than just a database memory, and relies on the contestants’ abilities to make creative connections between the clues in order to guess the right questions.</p>
<p>Watson, a product of seven years of research by IBM Research, works on an algorithm which simulates human language and cognitive patterns to make intelligent connections and deductions to understand the context of the clues and then provide answers. Powered by 2,800 super powered computers on a high-speed network, Watson competed against Jeopardy!’s biggest champions and made history as it showed extraordinary human learning and predictive powers. It has been one of the biggest achievements in advanced computing to develop an algorithm that mimics human learning and has changed the way in which we look at the human-machine relationship.</p>
<p>While much commentary on Watson revolves around what it means to be human, and subsequently, what it is to be a digital native, I have a different proposition to make. Perhaps, Watson’s debut on American television is not only about thinking what is human, but also about what it means to be a machine.</p>
<p>First, the Watson that appeared on TV was a sleek display screen that stood behind a lectern in the studio along with the human contestants. The original Watson was next door, being cooled by refrigeration units, but it appeared to the human audience (in and outside the studio) in its avatar. This was a radically new idea because we have always thought of the avatar as a technology based representation of human users. We find avatars on Facebook and in online role-playing games. To think of a machine appearing in a human form was radically new.</p>
<p>Second, Watson was not able to just make predictions by mining information. It was also able to display levels of confidence. If Watson was not confident about an answer, it did not push the buzzer to answer. In fact, once the information was harvested, it displayed its top three guesses to show that, like human contestants, it calculated risks of wrong answers.</p>
<p>Third, Watson was able to display or at least simulate human emotions. It took guesses even when in doubt. It showed a spirit of adventure and played big. It was disappointed when it lost or was happy when it got the answers. It was able to display its “emotions” through various displays in its form and could get the audience’s attention, applause and support.</p>
<p>What this experiment suggests to me is that Watson is perhaps a digital native. All our concentration has always been on human subjects, but synthetic life forms and technology-based intelligence, are blurring this distinction between humans and technologies. We should start thinking of a digital native as neither machine nor human being, but a combination of the two, residing simultaneously in both the realms of the physical and the digital. Watson is perhaps a new digital native, a technology that is growing and slowly learning from its interactions with the human world around it. One of these days, we might be living in the midst of computational devices, which, when we are flummoxed, might turn to us and say, “Elementary, my dear Sherlock!”</p>
<p>Contact: digitalnative@expressindia.com</p>
<p>Read the original in the Indian Express <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/watson-knows-the-question/757315/1">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaCyberculturesResearchers at Work2015-05-14T12:24:38ZBlog EntryVote for the Everyday Digital Native Video Contest!
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/vote-for-digital-natives
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society and Hivos are super excited to present the final videos in the Everyday Digital Native Video Contest. We invite readers to vote for the TOP 5 Videos. The finalists will each win EUR500! Voting closes March 31, 2012</b>
<h2>Who’s the Everyday Digital Native? This global video contest has the answer</h2>
<p><em>They effect social change through social media, place their
communities on the global map, and share a spiritual connection with the
digital world - Meet the Everyday Digital Native</em></p>
<p>The Everyday Digital Native video contest has got its pulse on what
makes youths from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds connect with one
another in the global community – it’s an affinity for digital
technologies and Web 2.0-mediated platforms coupled with a drive to
spearhead social change. The contest invited people from around the
world to make a video that would answer the question, ‘Who is the
Everyday Digital Native?’. Following a jury-based selection process, the
final videos are now online and open for public voting.</p>
<p>Run by the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet & Society (CIS)
with the support of Dutch NGO HIVOS, the contest will see the top five
videos with the most votes declared winners on April 1, 2012. The 12
finalists in the video, who come from different parts of the globe, are
each vying for the top prize of USD 500 and a chance to have their
shorts screened in a film screening and panel discussion hosted by CIS. <br /><br />Referring
to the theme of the contest, Dr Nishant Shah, Director of Research and
Co-founder of the Centre, says that the contest aims at highlighting the
alternative users of digital technologies. These are people who are
often not accounted for either in mainstream discourses of changemakers
or in academic biopics on digital natives. “The 12 video proposals show
that the everyday digital native does not wake up in the morning and
think, ‘hmmm today I will change the world’. And yet, in their everyday
lives, when they see the possibility of producing a change in their
immediate environments, they turn to the digital to find networks that
can start a change”, says Shah. <br /><br />Apart from the top five public
selections, the jury members will be instrumental in picking their two
favorites among the finalists. Talking about the range of ideas that
participants sent in jury member Leon Tan, a media-art historian,
cultural theorist and psychoanalyst based in Gothenburg, Sweden, says,
“The contest is an exciting project as it has the potential to portray
the lives of digital natives from different corners of the world. The
generosity of the contestants in creating video proposals is commendable
as is the range of ideas suggested. The ideas address both the
opportunities and risks of what we might call digital life.” <br /><br />Adds
Shashwati Talukdar, a filmmaker and jury member from India, “It was
really interesting to see how different all the proposals were. Some of
them were taking the notion of digital native as a personal one and some
were very clearly political and sought an intervention in the real
world. Dutch digital media artist and jury member Jeroen van Loon refers
to a proposal from the USA where the participant wanted to explore the
possibility of unplugging from his digital life. “It’s very interesting
how digital natives question their own world. The proposals are good
examples of how technology and culture constantly change each other. We
can learn a lot from the global digital natives.” </p>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/video-contest" class="external-link">Profiles of the finalists and their videos can be viewed here</a>.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/vote-for-digital-natives'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/vote-for-digital-natives</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaVideoFeaturedResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-05-08T12:32:00ZBlog EntryUsers and the Internet
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/blog_users-and-the-internet
<b>This post by Purbasha Auddy is part of the 'Studying Internets in India' series. Purbasha is a SYLFF PhD fellow at the School of Cultural Texts and Records (SCTR), Jadavpur University, with more than eight years of work experience in digital archiving. She has also been teaching for the last two years in the newly-started post-graduate diploma course in Digital Humanities and Cultural Informatics offered by the SCTR. In this essay, Purbasha explores the constructions of the ideas of the Indian Internet users through the advertisements that talk about data packages, mobile phones or apps.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rg37kafMsWk?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe></p>
<p>A baby [1] is refusing to be born as (as we learn later, ‘his’) parents cannot afford high-speed internet for smartphones but wi-fi plans offered by an internet service provider satisfy the baby as if the baby is being born for the internet.</p>
<p>The baby [2] comes out of the womb, searches the net on a smartphone, cuts his own umbilical cord, takes a selfie with the nurse, opens every possible social media- account, takes his blue baby boy balloons and finds his own way out of the building leaving behind dumbstruck parents.</p>
<p>The two unreal situations that are described above are the two storylines of two advertisements of the same company trying to sell an internet connection. No, this article will not talk about the aesthetic appeal of these ads, but will look into such creative ways to locate the explanation of the internet and its users instead; to be precise internet and its Indian users.</p>
<p>The two ads described at the beginning do not show any Indian-ness but makes the viewer wonder about how far this ‘born for the internet’ baby can travel with an internet-enabled smartphone. Are these two ads trying to define the internet as a smart product or are they trying to classify the users of the internet rather as smart? Moreover how does one define the internet? It means more than a conglomeration of networks. At this point as I am trying to coin a definition of the internet on my own, my thought-process is occupied with the activities I do on the net but I fail to define it.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>A personal note…</h2>
<p>In 1995, when VSNL launched the internet in India, I was 10, and engrossed in story books and comics. As I was growing up, I was discovering the world around through books, television, radio and newspapers. I was totally unaware of the practicality of the internet and it remained a fact of general knowledge. Not only me! Not a single friend of mine happened to use the internet or discussed keenly about it. My school did not offer a computer course either. After my +10 board exam, I requested (read demanded) my parents to enroll me in a computer training center which was near my house and had a government affiliation. I learnt basics of computer applications, the programming language Foxpro and basics of the internet. I even got to know how to create a basic webpage. Only when I was required to write a dissertation for my graduation, did I start going to a cyber café to type my dissertation and surf the internet. My parents were really apprehensive about what I was doing in a cyber café which was costing 30 rupees per hour!</p>
<p>Though my parents are still uneasy with the fact that ‘my generation’ remains glued to the internet most of the time, they are amazed on the other hand; how we do net banking, shop online, study, Facebook, exchange email, call a cab or order pizza etc. from the internet. They are happy to remain on the other side of the digital divide.</p>
<p>It has been twenty years that the Indian society has seen the ‘wrong side’ of the internet like hacking, phishing and other grave matters related to social networks. India is a complex society and so is the internet. But India, being the one of the largest potential markets, various services related to the internet are encouraging the probable consumers. Through the advertisements and publicity measures, they are trying to cleanse away the negative notions. They are capturing stories and characters that one can relate herself or himself to, very promptly. Even the ideas of Indian-ness, national integrity and the dreams of aspiring Indians are getting linked with the internet as mobile internet is penetrating very fast to balance the digital divide. Various events of online forgery, hacking and getting access to dicey websites (read pornography) and those matters which came as some sort of a cultural shock, made people less confident to use the internet.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Overcoming the fear…</h2>
<p>Recently, these notions have been countered by commercials by an antivirus company. The commercial shows a mother [3] who is no longer anxious to let her son surf the internet because now the antivirus allows her to enable parental control. It is helping the mother as she no longer has to keep constant vigil on the internet-related activities of her son. Other commercial shows a retired old man [4] is not sceptical anymore that his son sends money using online banking. His son and the man use the antivirus which offers safe online banking.</p>
<p>There are two more advertisements I want to describe; the first one features a young man [5] shopping online and updating the viewers that an antivirus protection means safe online transactions. In the second ad, a fashion designer [6] is not bothered to use pendrives as the antivirus scan will protect her computer. These four commercials attempt to confront the fear that pesters the minds of the potential consumers. No beautiful models, male or female, no beyond the world creativity, but simple and set with regular characters discussing vital issues were chosen to reach out to these potential customers.</p>
<p>The next commercial I would like to refer to is about an antivirus for smart phones. The ad creates a euphoria that portrays a bunch of college goers [7] who have the power to protect themselves from spyware and malware and can download various applications seamlessly. Thus the point of overcoming the ‘fear’ of the unknown and the uncontrollable is very important. Maybe the two ads featuring the ‘born for the internet’ baby I begun with, find relevance here. And the question should be asked here again: that how far can one travel along the path of life by means of a smartphone with an internet connection? The adverts suggest a very intelligent and exciting life for those who can access to internet. Everything is sorted if you can stay online. A lonely individual [8] can be a Twitter celebrity. Someone can showcase her or his talent [9] through social media; like one ad shows a girl becoming an online singing sensation by garnering lots of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’.</p>
<p>As mobile phones remains with us most of the time, accessing the internet from it is easier (compared to a computer) and a mobile phone is thus able to furnish prompt services. There are quite a few service providers that woo us with different approaches. Compared to selling internet connections, it is perhaps far less complicated to produce campaigns for fast moving consumer goods. At least in the case of FMCG it is easier to explain the product which is within range of our four senses. But it is quiet a troublesome project to explain the internet given the social back drop in a country like India. This article will not take names of any of the service providers. Instead it will point out the strategies they are adopting to touch an emotional chord for the probable consumers keeping the existing ones. Furthermore, it would like to find out the nature and meaning of the internet and outlook of its users in the Indian scenario.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Power redefined…</h2>
<p>The internet providers proclaim through the advertisements that an internet connection on one’s mobile is a ‘power’ for her or him. The power that has the ability to bring all the nuances that is available around. Only the burning questions are:</p>
<ul>
<li>How to use the power? Whether to play online games, immerse oneself in social networking, and use a search engine to search for the unknown or perhaps read an academic article from Jstor? There are immense possibilities to the power.</li>
<li>How long can the power be used (read limited or unlimited connection)?</li>
<li>How much time does it take to get the result of the power (read the speed of the connection)? </li>
<li>And lastly and very importantly how much does this power cost?</li></ul>
<p>These uncertainties are answered by adverts with creativity and almost 20% of the Indian population tries to grab this power. But of course a large segment is still to be included (inclusion may be harder due to various socio-economic conditions that are deep-rooted within the Indian scenario) in the benefit-circle of this power called the internet. The following storyline of another television commercial shows the power called the internet which can allow pictures or videos to be exchanged instantaneously. An ad shows that the internet is a great help for a mother as she sends a picture of her wailing son after a hair-cut, to her husband. As soon as the mother reaches home with her sad boy, the father having got the same hair-cut also returns and is ready to soothe the boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Confidence building apparatus…</h2>
<p>Thus, through creative commercials, internet service providers are trying to tell that one should keep an internet connection handy to be confident so that Indians cannot be fooled by anybody anywhere. Several adverts are showcasing the following events that will not occur if one has a mobile internet connection. Such events are quite common and thus one can easily associate oneself with them.</p>
<ul>
<li>Not a single person on earth can fool you [10].</li>
<li>A corrupt political leader cannot go way without fulfilling the promises s/he made [11].</li>
<li>Baseless prediction of religious leaders can be countered [12].</li>
<li>And one of the ads went even further ahead to suggest that the population of India can be controlled if married couples spend time doing various activities that the internet has to offer [13]!</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2>Self-learning tool…</h2>
<p>The ads promote that one of the activities could be self-learning. There is an enormous package of everything available and it is a flexible way to learn. A slow learner [14] in school may not be given special attention in order to overcome learning difficulties but the internet is very patient and it will not complain. Learn how to write poems [15], how to cook, how to make a drone [16], learn French [17]. Furthermore these ads suggest that an internet user is a self-sufficient human being who can find her or his own way using a Google map! Just like two friends learning culinary skills from internet and opening up a restaurant.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>An institution…</h2>
<p>At this point, the creative pursuit of the commercials take a leap and declare the internet (or the internet connection the particular company is providing) as an institution which is very much inclusive in nature. Those who are barred from getting admission in schools, colleges or universities, are welcome to learn through the institution called the internet and can establish themselves in mainstream society or can learn for the sake of learning. In this case, these ads have pointed out girls are not allowed [18] to go to school, a eunuch [19] is refused everywhere. But they are learning from the internet and compete with the more privileged in mainstream society. Other cases show a mother could not complete [20] her study in law, and her daughter is encouraging her to complete it through the internet. Lastly, these ads try to convince that the institution of the internet is cheaper than regular institutions.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Utility…</h2>
<p>Besides the ambitions of the internet stated above, the internet influences human minds in several other aspects. For example, generation gap can be healed if the society takes the bridge of the internet. About two years ago a commercial was produced with the one-liner: ‘Made for the young’ [21]. This ad shows an old man who parties with young boys, has a social network account, plays online games late at night, does video chat. These activities of the elderly character, who has a very optimistic approach towards life, are set in a mundane surrounding. Here it seems, the internet is bridging the generation gap by bringing into its fold and into the mainstream those people who might not have thought of using the internet in real life.</p>
<p>The notion of a huge expense that is incurred in maintaining an internet connection was busted when some service providers brought out ads which said that it was letting people watch a video for only one rupee. Very precisely, this one rupee campaign enacted the frequent quarrels [22] between a taxi-driver and his passenger over loose change and the taxi driver somehow not returning one rupee but instead showing a popular video to the passenger from his phone in lieu of that one rupee. The basic point of all the campaigns is to intensify the market and push the consumers to pay for it anyhow as an internet connection can bring magic to the consumers’ lives as the service providers claim. But who will pay for the internet connection? So they bring out campaign such as a family plan campaign [23] in which the earning member of the family is being encouraged to pay the cost for the internet packs of the other mobile connections in the family which are also provided by the same mobile service operator. These adverts show a family consisting of a super-lazy boy, an ever-angry father, a protective mother and a sweet, little sister needing the internet more than any other services like roaming, calls, or SMS [24].</p>
<p>Service provides are also trying to entice the consumers by providing some utilitarian services which are needed in day to day life. The following are examples of the storylines of a few other advertisements that help its service-takers to transfer money without even going to the banks. The service provider keeps the notion of flexibility of the internet, which can be used according to the need of the people of every segment of the society: a taxi driver [25] from the city sends money to his father in the village; a husband sends money to his pregnant wife [26], a college-going boy [27] requesting his elder brother to send money for mending his scooter. These characters are common and can be found in our everyday surroundings but such characters may be afraid to use such an online service for transferring money. The soothing and caring tone of theses adverts try to assure people to use the service.</p>
<p>As some of the adverts aim to clear the dilemma among prospective consumers, another set of ads celebrate friendship and urge consumers to go back to their roots. In this regard, a storyline of another commercial can be taken into consideration. It tells a story about some school friends [28] who become successful in their own vocations and who remain connected with the help of smartphones and internet connections. One of them locates an old ice-cream vendor in front of the school they used to study in. They came together to meet that vendor from whom they used to buy ice-cream to help him in his business. Here the online activities result in something meaningful.</p>
<p>This article tried to weave one narrative out of many narratives created by several internet service providers. The main intention of the article was to find out how the internet has been defined in the Indian context and how the users are being defined in the commercials. It is found that the internet may seem super-real (if we are not aware of the technical aspects, it is a real wonder!) at first glance but the commercials through the dramatizing efforts are trying to prove its usefulness in many ways. Just like when a young woman [29] finds out someone is retiring from her office, she starts sending photos of the man to their colleagues and instantly it creates a chain of forwarded messages and then everybody gathers to arrange a surprise farewell party. A happy picture indeed!</p>
<p>However something not bright and prosperous also needs to be mentioned. The internet service providers have been offering high speed internet and portray a happy smart life of Indians irrespective of social background and vocation but almost 80% of India remains untouched and are yet to receive the benefits of an internet connection.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Endnotes</h2>
<p>[1] MTS India. 2014. "MTS Internet Baby Full Version." YouTube. February 24. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg37kafMsWk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg37kafMsWk</a>.</p>
<p>[2] Premium Adverts. 2015. "Baby - MTS TV Commercial Ad." YouTube. February 18. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3krdHUji8A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3krdHUji8A</a>.</p>
<p>[3] Mukherjee, Pamela. 2014. "Quick Heal - TVC (Hin) Mother’s VO." YouTube. November 4. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-bjUuErBQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-bjUuErBQ</a>.</p>
<p>[4] Thoughtshop Advertising & Film Productions Pvt. Ltd. 2014. "QUICK HEAL 'OLD MAN.'" YouTube. July 16. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1kOcz_1Ra8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1kOcz_1Ra8</a>.</p>
<p>[5] Thoughtshop Advertising & Film Productions Pvt. Ltd. 2014. "QUICK HEAL 'COOL DUDE.'" YouTube. July 16. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ot0J4ps4A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ot0J4ps4A</a>.</p>
<p>[6] Subarna Enterprise. 2014. "Stay protected from virus infected pendrives with Quick Heal Total Security." YouTube. April 10. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rLh0ng70Lc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rLh0ng70Lc</a>.</p>
<p>[7] Quick Heal. 2013. "Quick Heal Mobile Security TVC (Hindi)." YouTube. March 3. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWiomVUHVHk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWiomVUHVHk</a>.</p>
<p>[8] MTS India. 2012. "MTS MBLAZE ‘Always On’ LATEST TVC - Anupam Mukerji." YouTube. July 24. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfyHMbKtsg"">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfyHMbKtsg</a>.</p>
<p>[9] afaqs. 2012. "MTS MBLAZE TVC - Shraddha Sharma." YouTube. July 17. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsaJtPYTUF8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsaJtPYTUF8</a>.</p>
<p>[10] Idea. 2014. "Idea ‘No Ullu Banaoing’ Anthem TVC." YouTube. August 8. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZhXSnJ8sXY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZhXSnJ8sXY</a>.</p>
<p>[11] Idea. 2014. "Idea ‘No Ullu Banaoing’ Politician TVC." YouTube. March 13. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OahDrQDU24k">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OahDrQDU24k</a>.</p>
<p>[12] Idea. 2014. "Idea ‘No Ullu Banaoing’ Baba TVC." YouTube. May 11. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf2hYaHtBF4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf2hYaHtBF4</a>.</p>
<p>[13] Celeburbia Entertainment Media. 2011. "Idea 3G Funny Ad Campaign - India Over Population - Abhishek Bachchan Sir Ji Ad Series." YouTube. July 23. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqtB-IaeEo8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqtB-IaeEo8</a>.</p>
<p>[14] Idea. 2015. "Idea Internet Network (IIN) Slow Learner 25 sec TVC." YouTube. May 4. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXFk4VL9rWM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXFk4VL9rWM</a>.</p>
<p>[15] Idea. 2015. "Idea Internet Network (IIN) Military 25 sec TVC." YouTube. May 4. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwAP6PmGzRs">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwAP6PmGzRs</a>.</p>
<p>[16] Neela, Pradeep. 2015. "Idea Internet Network IIN TV Ad - Drone wala." YouTube. January 11. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPTC945gsDo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPTC945gsDo</a>.</p>
<p>[17] Idea. 2015. "Idea Internet Network IIN Guide 20 sec TVC." YouTube. May 5. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQma9Tyt8E">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQma9Tyt8E</a>.</p>
<p>[18] Falguni, Vineet. 2015. "Idea Internet Network IIN Haryanvi 25 sec TVC." YouTube. January 20. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdVRGxw4ROI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdVRGxw4ROI</a>.</p>
<p>[19] iDiotube. 2015. "Idea Internet Network IIN Eunuch 25 second TVC HD." YouTube. April 26. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZS_-Qm5Ro">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZS_-Qm5Ro</a>.</p>
<p>[20] Idea. 2015. "Idea Internet Network IIN Mother Daughter 20 sec TVC." YouTube. May 5. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBHtLU7QGbE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBHtLU7QGbE</a>.</p>
<p>[21] Indian Tv Commercials. 2013. "Vodafone Commercial(Sep 2013)-Network(Latest Indian TV Ad)." YouTube. September 28. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ULTFCWBQw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ULTFCWBQw</a>.</p>
<p>[22] Airtel India. 2013. "airtel Re 1 Mobile Video - Taxi Ad (TVC)." YouTube. May 22. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpi2sOOfeIw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpi2sOOfeIw</a>.</p>
<p>[23] Airtel India. 2015. "Airtel my plan Coffee TVC." YouTube. February 5. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ElCIhsobXc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ElCIhsobXc</a>.</p>
<p>[24] Airtel India. 2014. "airtel money TVC - Pay Electricity Bills." YouTube. January 19. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFHurfXS9uI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFHurfXS9uI</a>.</p>
<p>[25] Vodafone India. 2015. "Vodafone m-pesa™– Babuji – HD." YouTube. March 16. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktgDPTlFxsU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktgDPTlFxsU</a>.</p>
<p>[26] Vodafone India. 2014. "Vodafone m-pesa™ - Cable TV – HD." YouTube. June 12. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIMYZDzyHeM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIMYZDzyHeM</a>.</p>
<p>[27] Vodafone India. 2014. "Vodafone m-pesa™ - Scooter – HD." YouTube. June 2. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQAtnQktHLI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQAtnQktHLI</a>.</p>
<p>[28] Advartisement. 2015. "Uncle’s Ice Cream Airtel Network In India." YouTube. March 27. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFsG1G7Ombo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFsG1G7Ombo</a>.</p>
<p>[29] Nirvana Films. 2015. "VODAFONE – Farewell." YouTube. March 19. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqZVO815MiM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqZVO815MiM</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>The post is published under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International</a> license, and copyright is retained by the author.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/blog_users-and-the-internet'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/blog_users-and-the-internet</a>
</p>
No publisherPurbasha AuddyResearchers at WorkInternet StudiesRAW Blog2015-07-10T04:20:54ZBlog EntryUser Experiences of Digital Financial Risks and Harms
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms
<b>The reach and use of digital financial services has risen in recent years without a commensurate increase in digital literacy and access. Through this project, supported by a grant from Google(.)org, we will examine the landscape of potential risks and harms posed by digital financial services, and the disproportionate risk that information asymmetry and barriers to access pose for users, especially certain marginalised communities. </b>
<h3>Project Background</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>There is a big evidence gap in the understanding of the financial risks and harms experienced by users of digital financial services. Consequently, adequate consumer protection frameworks and processes to address these harms have been lagging. A survey of 32,000 Indian consumers found <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/42-indians-experienced-financial-fraud-in-last-3-years-report/articleshow/93341725.cms">only 17%</a> who lost money through banking frauds were able to recoup their funds. Filling this gap is crucial to inform responsive policy making, platform design and data governance.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">While a lot more attention is paid to financial frauds and scams, through this study, we aim to situate these alongside experiences of harms that are understudied and sometimes overlooked. Users may also experience financial harm, when negatively impacted by:</p>
<ol>
<li>Financial misinformation</li>
<li>Loss of control over their assets</li>
<li>Loss of potential income</li>
<li>Difficulty accessing social protection</li>
<li>Financial abuse perpetrated alongside other forms of domestic and family abuse </li>
<li>Unsustainable levels of debt, i.e. over-indebtedness, and </li>
<li>Exclusion from financial services</li></ol>
<ol dir="ltr"></ol>
<p dir="ltr">The Centre for Internet and Society is undertaking a mixed methods study to better understand user awareness, perceptions and experiences of digital financial risks and harms.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">For this study, we will survey nearly 4000 users, with differing levels of access to digital devices, digital services and the internet, and undertake semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with specific target groups and stakeholders. We aim to highlight the experiences of persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, the elderly, women, and regional language first users; to better understand how discrimination and exclusion may increase their burden of risk when using digital financial services.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"><strong>Key research questions guiding our project are:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">How are digital financial risks understood and experienced by users of digital financial services? Which socioeconomic factors amplify risks for different user groups?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What concerns have emerged relating to data privacy, misinformation, identity theft and other forms of social engineering and mobile app based fraud?</li>
<li>How accessible are providers’ and government’s platform based reporting and grievance redressal systems?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">What role can fintech platforms, social media platforms, banking institutions, and regulatory bodies play in reducing digital financial risks across the ecosystem?</li></ol>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Project Aims</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Through this study, we aim to:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Assess the financial risks and harms users are exposed to when using social media, digital banking, and fintech platforms. While looking at general users, we will also specifically explore this experience for the elderly, gender and sexual minorities, regional language users and persons with visual disabilities.</li>
<li>Develop a framework to categorise the nature of vulnerabilities, risks and harms faced by the concerned user groups</li>
<li>Create a credible evidence base for key stakeholders with regards to experiences of digital financial risks and harm.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Provide recommendations for better policy and platform design to address harms, specifically those arising from lack of accessibility and information asymmetry.</li>
<li>Identify best practices to respond to digital risks and foster safety and equity in digital financial services</li></ol>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Come Talk to Us:</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">If you have experiences or insights to share, or if you're interested in learning more about our study, please reach out.<br /><br />We also invite researchers, financial service providers, developers and designers of fintech platforms, and civil society organisations working on digital safety, to speak to us and help inform the study. You may contact <a class="mail-link" href="mailto:garima@cis-india.org">garima@cis-india.org</a></p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Research Team</strong>: Amrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Yesha Tshering Paul</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/user-experiences-of-digital-financial-risks-and-harms</a>
</p>
No publisherAmrita Sengupta, Chiara Furtado, Garima Agrawal, Nishkala Sekhar, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Yesha Tshering PaulFinancial TechnologyFinancial PlatformsDigital Financial HarmsResearchers at WorkFeaturedRAW BlogAccessibilityDigital LendingRAW ResearchResearchHomepage2023-12-22T16:05:26ZBlog EntryUnpacking video-based surveillance in New Delhi
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-video-based-surveillance-in-new-delhi-urban-data-justice
<b>Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon presented at an international workshop on 'Urban Data, Inequality and Justice in the Global South', on 14 June 2019, at the University of Manchester. The agenda for the workshop and the slides from the presentation by Aayush and Ambika are available below.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Agenda of the workshop: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/website/raw/master/docs/UDJWorkshop2019_Timetable.docx">Download</a> (DOCX)</h4>
<h4>Slides from the presentation: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/website/raw/master/docs/CIS_AayushAmbika_UDJWorkshop2019_Slides.pdf">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<hr />
<p>The aim of the workshop was to present findings from case studies on urban data justice commissioned by the Sustainable Consumption Institute and Centre for Development Informatics at the University of Manchester, on aspects of justice in data systems in cities across the world. Aayush and Ambika presented their study on video-based surveillance in New Delhi, which was conducted across a period of 3 months earlier this year. The study aimed to assess the extent to which CCTV surveillance systems in Delhi support the needs of women in the city, including lower class women and those from informal settlements. The study will be published as a working paper by the University of Manchester in the coming months.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-video-based-surveillance-in-new-delhi-urban-data-justice'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-video-based-surveillance-in-new-delhi-urban-data-justice</a>
</p>
No publisherAayush Rathi and Ambika TandonBig DataData JusticeSurveillanceFeaturedUrban Data JusticeResearchResearchers at Work2019-06-20T05:13:25ZBlog EntryUnpacking Algorithmic Infrastructures: Mapping the Data Supply Chain in the Healthcare Industry in India
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-algorithmic-infrastructures
<b>The Unpacking Algorithmic Infrastructures project, supported by a grant from the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab, aims to study the Al data supply chain infrastructure in healthcare in India, and aims to critically analyse auditing frameworks that are utilised to develop and deploy AI systems in healthcare. It will map the prevalence of Al auditing practices within the sector to arrive at an understanding of frameworks that may be developed to check for ethical considerations - such as algorithmic bias and harm within healthcare systems, especially against marginalised and vulnerable populations. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">There has been an increased interest in health data in India over the recent years, where health data policies encourage sharing of data with different entities, at the same time, there has been a growing interest in deployment of Al in healthcare from startups, hospitals, as well as multinational technology companies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Given the invisibility of algorithmic infrastructures that underlie the digital economy and the important decisions these technologies can make about patients' health, it's important to look at how these systems are developed, how data flows within them, how these systems are tested and verified and what ethical considerations inform their deployment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/ResearchersWork.png/@@images/00a848c7-b7f7-41b4-8bd9-45f2928fd44e.png" alt="Researchers at Work" class="image-inline" title="Researchers at Work" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>The </strong><strong>Unpacking Algorithmic Infrastructures</strong> project, supported by a grant from the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab, aims to study the Al data supply chain infrastructure in healthcare in India, and aims to critically analyse auditing frameworks that are utilised to develop and deploy AI systems in healthcare. It will map the prevalence of Al auditing practices within the sector to arrive at an understanding of frameworks that may be developed to check for ethical considerations - such as algorithmic bias and harm within healthcare systems, especially against marginalised and vulnerable populations.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Research Questions</h3>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">To what extent organisations take ethical principles into account when developing AI , managing the training and testing dataset, and while deploying the AI in the healthcare sector.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">What best practices for auditing can be put in place based on our critical understanding of AI data supply chains and auditing frameworks being employed in the healthcare sector.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">What is a possible auditing framework that is best suited to organisations in the majority world.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Research Design and Methods</h3>
<p>For this study, we will use a comprehensive mixed methods approach. We will survey professionals working towards designing, developing and deploying AI systems for healthcare in India, across technology and healthcare organizations. We will also undertake in-depth interviews with experts who are part of key stakeholder groups.</p>
<p>We hereby invite researchers, technologists, healthcare professionals, and others working at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare to speak to us and help us inform the study. You may contact Shweta Monhandas at <a href="mailto:shweta@cis-india.org">shweta@cis-india.org</a></p>
<ol> </ol>
<hr />
<p>Research Team: Amrita Sengupta, Chetna V. M., Pallavi Bedi, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Shweta Mohandas and Yatharth.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-algorithmic-infrastructures'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/unpacking-algorithmic-infrastructures</a>
</p>
No publisherAmrita Sengupta, Chetna V. M., Pallavi Bedi, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Shweta Mohandas and YatharthHealth TechRAW BlogResearchData ProtectionHealthcareResearchers at WorkArtificial Intelligence2024-01-05T02:38:22ZBlog EntryUnderstanding Feminist Infrastructures: An Exploratory Study of Online Feminist Content Creation Spaces in India
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/understanding-feminist-structures
<b>This report explores the growth of feminist infrastructures (including the various interpretations of the term), through research on feminist publishing, content creation and curation spaces and how they have informed the contemporary discourse on feminism, gender, and sexuality in India. The rise of online feminist publications, and related digital media content creation and curation spaces, has engendered new forums for debate, networking, and community-building. This report looks at some of the challenges of developing such publications and platforms, and the role of digital infrastructures in mediating contemporary feminist work and politics.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/Feminist_Infrastructures_Report" class="external-link">Click here</a> to download the full report.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;">The internet and digital media technologies have played an important role in contemporary feminist practice – in addition to social media activism, their growing prevalence in academia, advocacy, and creative expression illustrate how digital media contributes to efforts to question asymmetries of power and knowledge. In the last few years, the concept of a feminist internet and forms of feminist infrastructures have emerged as crucial entry points to understand the affordances of the digital and its many challenges, especially for women and other structurally disadvantaged communities.Feminist content creation has been integral to contemporary feminist work in India, and is an entry-point into discussions on what could be a feminist internet. The growth of online feminist publications, and related digital media content creation and curation spaces, has engendered new forums for debate, networking, and community-building. This study looks at the development of feminist infrastructures (including various interpretations of the term) through an exploration of online feminist publishing, content creation and curation spaces, and their impact on the contemporary discourse on feminism, gender, and sexuality in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Through conversations with select online feminist publishing, content creation, and curation spaces, this study outlines motivations for choosing certain media, nature of content, languages and design, and how such choices inform practice and politics. In addition to the above, we also conducted two workshops on feminist infrastructure wishlists, and feminist principles of design and infrastructure. These conversations have offered several insights on the landscape of feminist content creation in India, and the affordances and challenges of digital technologies in facilitating contemporary feminist work. An overarching aim of the project is to unpack the term ‘feminist infrastructure’ and its interpretations in the context of the transition to digital content creation and publication. We aim to continue these conversations with a focus on the larger, often invisible role of digital infrastructures in the development of discourse on human rights, free speech and safety, to understand what are challenges to, and efforts being undertaken to create an inclusive, accessible and feminist internet.</p>
<hr />
<h3>Contributors</h3>
<div><strong>Research and Writing </strong>Puthiya Purayil Sneha and Saumyaa Naidu
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div><strong>Review </strong>Dr. Padmini Ray Murray, Design Beku</div>
<div><strong>Design </strong>Saumyaa Naidu and Yatharth</div>
<div><strong>Copy</strong> <strong>Editing </strong>The Clean Copy</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/understanding-feminist-structures'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/understanding-feminist-structures</a>
</p>
No publisherPuthiya Purayil Sneha and Saumyaa NaiduResearchers at WorkRAW BlogResearch2024-03-25T13:02:28ZBlog EntryTo be Counted When They Count You: Words of Caution for the Gender Data Revolution
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/to-be-counted-when-they-count-you-words-of-caution-for-the-gender-data-revolution
<b>In 2015, after the announcement of the SDGs or Sustainable Development Goals, a new global developmental framework through the year 2030, the United Nations described data as the “lifeblood of decision-making and the raw material for accountability” for the purpose of realizing these developmental goals. This curious yet key link between these new developmental goals and the use of quantitative data for agenda setting invited a flurry of big data-led initiatives such as but not limited to Data2X, that sought to further strengthen and solidify the relationship between ‘Big Development’ and ‘Big Data.’</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">One of those SDG goals (Goal 5) prioritizes gender equality and empowerment of women and girls not only as a standalone goal but also as a crucial factor to realizing the other goals. In response, several academic and non-profit initiatives have begun to interpret and conduct data-led gendered development or the “gender data revolution”. As with other data discourses, the gender-data discourse is also one of ‘speed’, charging ahead using a variety of quantitative and visualization approaches to reveal and eventually solve gendered problems of development.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">These interventions also invite some classical critical questions: who is setting the agenda for the gender data revolution and who are its imagined subjects? How are questions of participation and asymmetries of power in developmental research being addressed? How does the gender data revolution address the situatedness as well as incompleteness of data records in the Global South (where most sites of intervention are)? Speaking specifically to the theme of this special issue (‘cross-cultural feminist technologies’), this paper demonstrates how the welfarist discourse of data-led gender development is, in fact, assembled through the overwhelming enumeration of female-identifying bodies in the Global South.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The paper offers critical historical insights from the fields of international development, anthropology, and postcolonial history to caution against both, the possible harms of gender disaggregated datafication as well as the consequences of non-participatory datafication of women, the subjects of the gender data revolution.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read the full paper <strong><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/to-be-counted-when-they-count-you.pdf" class="internal-link">here</a></strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This study was undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development network supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada, and is shared under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span class="discreet">The views and opinions expressed on this page are those of their individual authors. Unless the opposite is explicitly stated, or unless the opposite may be reasonably inferred, CIS does not subscribe to these views and opinions which belong to their individual authors. CIS does not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for the views and opinions of these individual authors. For an official statement from CIS on a particular issue, please contact us directly.</span></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/to-be-counted-when-they-count-you-words-of-caution-for-the-gender-data-revolution'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/to-be-counted-when-they-count-you-words-of-caution-for-the-gender-data-revolution</a>
</p>
No publishernoopurRAW PublicationsBig DataResearchers at WorkBD4DRAW ResearchBig Data for Development2022-02-01T01:06:08ZBlog EntryThird Maps for Making Change Workshop: Using Geographical Mapping Techniques to Support Struggles for Social Justice in India
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop
<b>The third and final workshop in the Maps for Making Change project will take place at Visthar, in Bangalore, from 26 until 28 April. During this workshop, participants will fine-tune and polish their maps; explore ways to connect with broader movements and disseminate their maps among target audiences; and reflect on their own experiences so as to distill learnings that can help us decide where to go from here. While participation in the workshop is closed, the workshop will end with a public event at the CIS office on 28 April, from 4 pm onwards, open to everybody (more information to follow soon). If you, too, share our interest in mapping for social change, then do join us there.</b>
<p><strong>The
aims of the workshop are to: </strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>give
participants an opportunity to fine-tune and polish their maps, with
the assistance of others where needed, so that they can be shared
with a wider audience;</p>
</li><li>
<p>explore
campaigning tools and strategies for disseminating the maps produced
among target audiences, including other movements and activists;</p>
</li><li>
<p>distill
the learnings participants have made from this project, both
individually and as a group, and prepare a plan to build upon these
in the future.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>By
the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>make
informed decisions about every step of the design and implementation
process of a mapping project.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>Also,
participants and organisers will be able to:</strong></p>
<ul><li>
<p>identify
the political and ethical challenges of mapping, in particular as
they apply for social justice in India;</p>
</li><li>
<p>understand
better the particularities of online activism and ways in which it
can connect better with activism on the ground in the country;</p>
</li><li>
<p>apply
their knowledge of mapping to other campaigns and movements in India
and function as a point of contact for other activists for a network
of activists using maps for making change.</p>
</li></ul>
<p><strong>The preliminary schedule of the workshop is as follows:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Monday 26 April</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>9.00-10.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Registration at
Visthar</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>10.00-11.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Welcome and
introductions (icebreaker)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00-1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>90 Seconds: Where are
we with our projects (and what do we need to achieve during this
workshop)?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>1.00-2.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.00-3.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Building partnerships
between techies and activists: what is required? (debate and
discussion)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>3.30-3.45</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>3.45-5.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Project time as per
participants' needs (which can relate to technical issues, design,
hosting, ...)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>5.00-6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Afternoon
'Lab' Sessions (CHOOSE ONE):</p>
<p>Elective
1. Hosting and creating websites and embedding maps</p>
<p>Elective 2. Technology
and Security Concerns for Activists</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evening Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.30-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Time</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-8.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>8.30-10.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Screening
of Swagat Sen's film on the second workshop and social gathering</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuesday 27 April <br /></strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>8.00-9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Breakfast </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Morning Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-11.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Maps as agents of
change – uses and challenges (including in terms of how to
connect with movements on the ground)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>11.00-11.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.30-1.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Communication and
campaigning strategies to take mapping outcomes forward to broader
audience, both online and offline (poss. Incl. Use of creative
media)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>1.00-2.15</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.15-4.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Project time as per
participants needs</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>4.00-4.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee break</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>4.30-5.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evaluating Maps for
Making Change</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>5.15-6.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What next?</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.15-6.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Evening Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6.30-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Free Time</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-8.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>8.30-...</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Social
evening</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Wednesday 28 April</strong></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p><strong>Time</strong></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><strong>Session</strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>8.00 – 9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Breakfast</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00 – 9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Morning Circle</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-12.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Finalise preparations for
public event (project work or other, eg slides on loop etc)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>10.30-11.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Tea/coffee Break </em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11.00-12.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Finalise preparations for
public event (cont.)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>12.30-1.30</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Lunch</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>1.30-2.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Travel to CIS</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>2.00-4.00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Set
up the public event</p>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>4.00-7.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Public event (with a
discussion from 5.30 onwards)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><em>7.30-9.00</em></p>
</td>
<td>
<p><em>Dinner (venue to be
decided) + workshop evaluation</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.00-9.30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Return to Visthar</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>9.30-...</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Great-working-with-you-guys Party
at Visthar</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/third-maps-for-making-change-workshop</a>
</p>
No publisheranjaRAW EventsPracticeWorkshopResearchers at WorkEventMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:10:23ZEventTheir India has No Borders
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/their-india-has-no-borders
<b>Bangalore felt far for them, they would mark it outside the country. India, for migrant labourers, is different from the India we know</b>
<p>To 30-year-old Shankar, a
migrant worker in Bangalore who came from Jharkhand, Mumbai is near
West Bengal and Bangalore is in the North-East. If someone were to
travel to Mumbai by Shankar’s map of India, he would land up in Kolkata.</p>
<p>Shankar’s map was part of an
installation art show that concluded in the city on Wednesday, showing
the maps of India as seen by migrant workers in Bangalore. The
installation was a 14ft-by-18ft space enclosed with asbestos sheets.
Wires crisscrossed the tiny room, and from the wires hung maps of
India, drawn according to the perceptions of the migrant workers.</p>
<p>Shankar
is only one among thousands of migrant workers in Bangalore who have a
very different perception of where the cities where they work are
located. Their India is a world away from the maps of India that
educated Indians know of. It has none of the directions, orientation or location of places as we know it.</p>
<p><strong>Start Thinking</strong></p>
<p>“We want Bangaloreans to stop
and think about migrant workers, who live amongst us,” says Ekta. Along
with Yashaswini and Paromita, she spoke to 70 migrant workers on Old
Madras Road before tracking their journeys on the maps. While Ekta has
founded Maraa, a collective that looks at art and culture in the public
domain, Yashaswini and Paromita are independent film makers.</p>
<p> “Our
perception of location is meaningless to migrant workers,” says Ekta.
For them, locations, distances and directions are all very different
from the true picture. Their ideas of places are all drawn from their
lives, as they travel from city to city to earn their livelihoods, she
adds.</p>
<p>For instance, if Assam was westwards from his home, a
migrant worker would mark it in West India. And if Bangalore felt far
for him, he would mark it outside the country. Borders hardly came in
the way and distances are measured by the time spent in a journey,
including train delays and stopovers at transit points, they say.</p>
<p>When
the workers say long distances or far way, they mean places such as
Jharkhand, Bihar, Nepal, Punjab, Andhra, and North Karnataka.</p>
<strong>India in a Room</strong>
<p> </p>
<p>While
they work here, their families are in villages back home, even as far
away as Nepal. Many workers live in asbestos shanties that are as small
as 10ft by 10ft. They live huddled within the small space, creating a
mini India right here in Bangalore, says Ekta. Spluttering rai (mustard
seeds) mingle with the smell of Andhra chutneys in a room adorned with
photos of Amritsar’s Golden Temple in the same tiny space.</p>
<p>As
the group spoke to the workers, the latter also shared their stories of
the weather, people, smells, cultures, personal, nostalgic and
fantastical, of places — by their memories of what they saw, felt and
remembered. They go beyond the geo-political maps of India and present
a new, spatial experience of places.</p>
<p>The project is part of a
workshop called Maps for Making Change, which was started by Centre for
Internet and Society, to examine ways of using maps to help social
causes.</p>
<p>Read the original in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=10&contentid=201004292010042904535369081298296">Bangalore Mirror</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/their-india-has-no-borders'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/their-india-has-no-borders</a>
</p>
No publisheranjaPracticeResearchers at WorkMaps for Making Change2015-10-05T15:08:36ZNews ItemThe Zen of Pad.ma: 10 Lessons Learned from Running Open Access Online Video Archives in India and beyond
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/the-zen-of-padma
<b>Sebastian Lütgert and Jan Gerber, the co-initiators of, and the artists/programmers behind the pad.ma (Public Access Digital Media Archive) project will deliver a lecture at CIS on Wednesday, February 03, 6 pm, on their experiences of learnings from running open access online video archives in Germany, India, and Turkey. Please join us for coffee and vada at 5:30 pm.</b>
<p> </p>
<img src="http://cis-india.org/raw/the-zen-of-pad-ma-10-lessons-learned-from-running-open-access-online-video-archives-in-india-and-beyond/leadImage" alt="The Zen of Pad.ma - Lecture by Sebastian Lütgert and Jan Gerber, Feb 03, 6 pm" />
<p> </p>
<h2>The Zen of Pad.ma</h2>
<p>Eight years after the launch of Pad.ma and three years since the inception of Indiancine.ma, Sebastian Lütgert will take a closer look at some of the strategies -- decisions and decision making processes, foundational principles and accidental discoveries -- that may have helped make these projects sustainable. While most of the lessons begin with concrete questions related to software and technology, most of them will end up pointing beyond that: towards a general theory of collaboration, towards strategies against premature separation of labor, and towards a few practical proposals for successful self-organization on the Internet.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Biographies</h2>
<p><strong>Sebastian Lütgert</strong>, media artist, programmer, filmmaker and writer, lives and works in Berlin. Co-founder of Bootlab, textz.com, Pirate Cinema Berlin, Pad.ma and Indiancine.ma. Lecturer at the Academy of the Sciences in Berlin, various publications on cinema, copyright, radical subcultures and the politics of technology.</p>
<p><strong>Jan Gerber</strong>, video artist and softwate developer, lives and works in Berlin. Co-initiator of Pirate Cinema Berlin, Pad.ma and Indiancine.ma, author of numerous Open Source software projects, most recently Open Media Library. Involved in a variety of open-access archive projects around the world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/the-zen-of-padma'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/the-zen-of-padma</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppPracticeDigital HumanitiesDigital MediaOpen AccessResearchers at WorkEventArchives2016-01-28T08:25:18ZEventThe worrying survival of moon landing conspiracy theorists
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/nishant-shah-indian-express-july-31-2019-the-worrying-survival-of-moon-landing-conspiracy-theorists
<b>The moon landing deniers were the original fake news propagandists. Only, they didn’t have the internet.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Nishant Shah was <a class="external-link" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/it-all-began-with-the-giant-leap-that-wasnt-5826919/">published by the Indian Express</a> on July 22, 2019.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Last week, I was pretending to have a rational conversation on Reddit about vaccination. When I say “rational conversation”, I, of course, mean that this person was ranting at me for being a “stooge of science” and an “agent of insurance companies” because I was pointing out to them that vaccination is a collective ethical good and has proven efficacy at eradicating lethal and chronic diseases. After about an hour of back-and-forth, the user taught me a whole new string of profanities and ended with two particularly strange comments. He said he is done talking to “Nazis like me who are so stupid that we would even believe in the moon landing”.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While anti-vaxxers are all the rage right now, it is easy to see why, as conspiracy theorists, they are closely aligned with the moon landing conspiracy theorists and the flat-earthers, more recently. It is the 50th anniversary of human landing on the moon (“kinda-allegedly-look-there-are-grey-areas-I-don’t-know-I-wasn’t-born-then”). Even in the world of fake news, alt-right, algorithmic trolling, and a collective suspension of disbelief on the internet, it looks like the moon landing is still the reference point that all fake-news peddlers go back to.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Moon landing conspiracy theorisation used to be serious business. They conducted painstaking research, met in secret circles, and tried to convince the world that the government was out to fool us. They were thwarted by the lack of a global platform that would amplify their voice and connect the conspirators of the world together. So, they remained in hiding, and away from common sense, caught in their own bubbles.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the social web has done much for democratising information, there is no denying that it is also the platform that was made for the moon-landing hoax investigators. Not only is the current social media amenable to the easy distribution of dubious controversies, but it has also made these conspiracy theories a vehicle for entertainment. With multiple social media celebrities relying on attention economies of click-bait headlines and controversial statements, conspiracy theories are now produced not as facts but as opinions, and as entertainment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The moon-landing deniers were zealots. They worked passionately at producing what they thought was counter-evidence to support their claims. The current fake news peddler does not need anything more than a streaming platform, an entertaining hook, a unique aesthetic, and a personal opinion with all the gravitas of an emoji, to put forward theories that no longer depend upon fact. In the mix and stream universe of social media, they can refurbish old conspiracies, and instead of championing a cause, merely present an ambivalent “anything is possible” attitude and presto, they are influencers.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The moon landing conspiracy theorists were quite strident in their belief but they were largely harmless — the equivalent of a man on a public transport shouting that the end is near. However, the new conspiracy theorists have very real, material consequences. We have already seen how they have been able to move elections and influence public behaviour. We have been witnessing how they have normalised fake news so that when we are faced with information that is apparently dubious, we still circulate it or shrug it off without denying it, thus reinforcing its aura.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">They are dangerous not just because of what they talk about — let’s face it, people who actually believe flat earth theories are not really a great loss to civilisation, and if they want to live in Discworld, we can smile at them with benign frustration. What makes these conspiracy theorists alarming is that they are gateway drugs leading to something more frightening: the world of radicalised, alt-right, internet armies that translate the militant zeal of their digital disbelief into acts of violence in real life. It is not a surprise that social media platforms have become the default spaces where real-time shooters and persons with terrorist intent publish their live videos and radical manifestos. There is a reason why the alt-right populist movements target the anti-vaxxers as their key ambassadors for the distribution of messages. It is not a coincidence that neo-Nazi groups ally with flat-earthers and encourage them into real-life violence.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Fifty years after the moon landing, if we are still dabbling in moon-landing conspiracy theories, it is not because we are fascinated with the moon — surely, Mars is our new moon — but because the internet is the platform that the moon-landing deniers had dreamed of. With the social web, without any mechanisms for verification and an infinite possibility of producing counter-narratives, we have a telling story of what happened when information became really free and the protocols for filtering and parsing information transitioned from human understanding to artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/nishant-shah-indian-express-july-31-2019-the-worrying-survival-of-moon-landing-conspiracy-theorists'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/nishant-shah-indian-express-july-31-2019-the-worrying-survival-of-moon-landing-conspiracy-theorists</a>
</p>
No publishernishantResearchers at Work2019-07-31T02:33:26ZBlog EntryThe Stranger with Candy
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-june-16-2013-nishant-shah-the-stranger-with-candy
<b>Beware of online threats, as the distinction between friends and foes is false on the internet. </b>
<hr />
<div id="parent-fieldname-text" class="kssattr-macro-text-field-view kssattr-templateId-blogentry_view.pt kssattr-atfieldname-text plain">
<p style="text-align: justify;">Nishant Shah's column was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-stranger-with-candy/1129446/0">published in the Indian Express</a> on June 16, 2013.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;">My parents and I were in Oslo, when after a long day in the city, we returned to an intriguing situation. My father, who is quite a digital migrant and uses the internet for daily exchanges, found an email from an uncle waiting in his inbox. The email begins with the uncle travelling to Madrid, Spain, to help an ailing cousin who needs a surgery and requested that my father help the writer, his cousin, with €2,500. The email ended with a note of urgency, "I will check my email every 30 minutes for your reply".</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">My father, who was by now rather agitated, asked my brother and me what could be done. People asking for money over email is the modern day equivalent of strangers bearing candy in a car. We were both immediately wary and when we saw the mail, we knew that it was a scam. Somebody had cracked into somebody's account and was now sending out emails to everybody in their contact list, hoping to make a quick buck. The only action we took was to inform the relative that his account seemed to have been compromised and that he needed to protect it.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This incident, in the context of disallowing children below 13 years on Facebook in India, got me thinking. How do we trust somebody, or something online? There is a presumption that digital natives instinctively know how to deal with dubious situations online. True, one seldom hears of a digital native falling for scams of Nigerian princes offering their inheritance or widows of bank managers in Saudi Arabia wanting to transfer millions to their bank accounts. But that might be because digital natives live more in gift and attention economies and have always been suspicious of anybody waving a wad of notes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, we do know that the young are often susceptible to other predators on the Web. While it might occasionally seem that the West's paranoia around paedophiles online, preying on young children as sexual victims might have reached the limits of logical absurdity, it remains indisputable that young adults haven't yet developed the codes to trust somebody online. We encounter countless stories of the young who endanger their futures by documenting their follies and foibles in the unforgiving and unforgetting space of the internet. Let us not forget the names of Adnan Patrawala and Koushambi Layek, who fell prey to strangers pretending to be friends and lovers on the social networking site Orkut.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I am not suggesting that the World Wide Web is any more dangerous than the brick and mortar world that we live in. Our flesh- and-bone bodies are under equal danger in our everyday lives. But over time, we have learned and have been taught how to decode conditions that might harm us. We have learned to distance ourselves from strangers with grins, and people who look hostile. The authorities have created visible signposts of danger all around us — from red traffic lights to surveillance cameras — that constantly remind us that safety is not the default mode of our existence but something that we need to incessantly create for ourselves.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The digital world has no such guidelines. The mammoth corporations, which now govern a large part of the cyberspace, individually try to create structures that would save us from falling victim to such attacks. So the filter on your Gmail account is an intelligent system that scans every byte of information that goes in and out of your inbox, learning both your behaviour patterns and your interaction modes, to filter out not only the obvious hoax emails but also things that you might deem as clutter. Smart browsers like Firefox identify IP addresses that are regularly abusive and warn us about installing any software that might originate there. On Facebook, certain pictures and posts with offensive content are censored even before they get into your data stream. The friendship algorithm, further ensures that you increasingly see content from your 'close friends' rather than strangers. In all these mechanisms, which use big data mining tools to recognise harmful patterns as well as encourage you to devise your own vouchsafes, there is an implicit understanding that the people we know will do us less harm. They are designed to keep out unwanted or potentially harmful people because it might lead to danger or conflict.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, as we saw in the case of the email to my father, the distinctions between strangers and friends on the internet, is a forced one. When all digital avatars are a performance of a kind, it becomes easy for an imposter to take on that identity. The only credentials we have of somebody's authenticity are often their user accounts and email — data which can be stolen and manipulated effortlessly. And increasingly, we have learned that when it comes to the online world, the people who infect us with viruses, rob us of our money and crash our digital worlds are people who are our 'friends'.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While we shall learn through experience and through stories, there remains a need to develop a larger social discussion around trust online. This debate cannot be whether content needs to be censored online or whether certain groups should be allowed to get on to social network systems. Instead, it has to be a debate that realises the notions of friendship and trust, of networks and connections, are not merely extensions of the physical into the digital. On the infobahn, these are new modes of operation and being and it is not going to be easy to create a handbook of online safety. What we will need is an involved and inter-generational debate about the social, political and economic safety online and create signposts that remind us of the dangers of being online.</p>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-june-16-2013-nishant-shah-the-stranger-with-candy'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/indian-express-june-16-2013-nishant-shah-the-stranger-with-candy</a>
</p>
No publishernishantResearchers at WorkDigital Natives2015-04-17T11:00:04ZBlog EntryThe State of the Internet's Languages Report
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/state-of-the-internet-languages-report-2022
<b>The first-ever State of the Internet’s Languages Report was launched by Whose Knowledge? on February 23, 2022 (just after the International Mother Language day), along with research partners Oxford Internet Institute and the Centre for Internet and Society. This extraordinarily community-sourced effort, with over 100 people involved is now available online, with translations in multiple languages. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There are over 7000 (spoken and signed) languages in the world, but only a few can be fully experienced online. Challenges in accessing the internet and digital technologies in our preferred languages also means that a vast body of knowledge, especially from and by marginalised communities, is not represented and remains inaccessible to the world, thereby reiterating existing social inequalities. The State of the Internet's Languages report explores these and many other aspects related to ongoing efforts in creating a multilingual and multi-modal internet. Comprising both numbers and stories, the report features contributions in 13 languages, representing 22 language communities from 12 countries, and explores how communities across the world experience the internet.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">Read the full report <strong><a class="external-link" href="https://internetlanguages.org/en/">here</a>. </strong>See more details of the project<strong> <a class="external-link" href="https://whoseknowledge.org/initiatives/state-of-the-internets-languages/">here</a></strong></p>
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For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/state-of-the-internet-languages-report-2022'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/state-of-the-internet-languages-report-2022</a>
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No publisherPuthiya Purayil SnehaRAW ResearchFeaturedResearchers at WorkRAW Blog2022-03-07T15:01:11ZBlog Entry