Digital semiotics: making sense of the world | Oscar Bastiaens | TEDxDordrecht
Summary
TLDRThe speaker argues against the overemphasis on big data, advocating for a deeper understanding of semiotics to interpret data meaningfully. They discuss creating immersive virtual experiences, like the 'Kinetic' film, to explore the human response to virtual touch. The talk delves into the importance of recognizing the meta-narrative in digital media and the need for a digital semiotic system to fully comprehend the complex data landscape, suggesting we should focus on understanding how data communicates with us rather than just learning to code.
Takeaways
- 📊 Big data is seen as a quick win rather than a meaningful resource by many digital media producers.
- 🔍 The speaker is on a mission to enlighten people about using data in more meaningful ways, emphasizing the importance of semiotics in understanding data.
- 🌐 The participatory online world and our physical reality are becoming increasingly intertwined, raising questions about the nature of reality and our perception of it.
- 🎓 The speaker works with students and researchers to create virtual worlds that can transport consciousness and provide realistic experiences.
- 🎬 The Ulus Rift film 'This Kinetic' allows users to determine their perspective, offering a 360-degree range of choices, showcasing the potential of virtual reality.
- 🤔 The speaker explores the dilemma of decision-making in a virtual coma experience, where users feel they are in a coma and react to virtual stimuli.
- 🧠 Semiotics, the study of signs and meaning-making, is crucial for understanding the super system of science that is expanding with digital and virtual data.
- 🌐 The concept of a parallel virtual world has been explored since the 1950s, leading to questions about the nature of reality and our ability to discern it.
- 🤝 The speaker advocates for the creation of a digital semiotic system to understand the meta narrative of data and improve digital services.
- 📚 Teaching digital semiotics is proposed as a way to help people understand how the digital system communicates with us and make sense of the data around us.
Q & A
What is the speaker's main contention about big data?
-The speaker contends that big data is currently seen as everything, but they argue it is actually nothing because it is often used for quick wins rather than creating meaningful digital experiences.
What is the speaker's crusade in the digital industry?
-The speaker's crusade is to enlighten people about using data in a more meaningful way and to understand the value of online data as part of a 'super system of signs'.
Why does the speaker believe we should study semiotics?
-The speaker believes we should study semiotics to understand how the digital and virtual environment communicates with us in a meaningful way, similar to how Google finishes our search queries.
What is the significance of the 'Ulus Rift film' mentioned in the script?
-The 'Ulus Rift film' is significant because it demonstrates the speaker's work in creating immersive virtual experiences where users determine their perspective and view within a 360-degree range of choices.
What was the narrative purpose of the coma experience in the film 'this kinetic'?
-The narrative purpose of the coma experience in the film 'this kinetic' was to immerse the audience into the perspective of a coma patient, allowing them to hear and see their surroundings as part of the story.
What is semiotics and why is it important according to the speaker?
-Semiotics is the study of meaning-making, stemming from linguistics and expanding into symbols, gestures, and expressions of man and animal behavior. It is important because it helps us understand the meta narrative of data and the digital and virtual environment.
What are the three possibilities Nick Bostrom presents in his simulation argument?
-Nick Bostrom presents three possibilities: 1) We will never reach the stage where technology can simulate a world that looks and feels as real as ours, 2) We will reach that advanced technology but never use it due to potential dangers, or 3) If the first two options are proven false, then we are most likely already living in a virtual world.
What is the concept of 'simulakra' as described by Jean Baudrillard?
-According to Jean Baudrillard, 'simulakra' are copies of something that never existed, where the truth is concealed by the fact that there is none. It suggests that we have begun to replace meaning with signs and symbols, leading to a simulation of reality.
Why are many online services failing to cater to our needs of interpretation with the digital system?
-Many online services are failing to cater to our needs of interpretation because they have ceased to understand the meta narrative of data and the connections that can be made within the digital system.
What is the speaker's proposed solution to improve digital systems' understanding of user needs?
-The speaker proposes that we need a digital semiotic system that can understand the full meta narrative of data, including the ability to read text, visuals, and user preferences to create a valuable discourse with users.
Outlines
📊 The Misuse of Big Data and the Need for Semiotics
The speaker challenges the notion that big data is everything, arguing that it's often used for quick wins rather than meaningful experiences. They express a commitment to enlightening people about the potential for data to be used more meaningfully, suggesting that the digital and physical worlds are becoming increasingly intertwined. The speaker emphasizes the importance of semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, as a way to understand and communicate with the complex system of data we are creating online. They share their work with students and researchers to create virtual worlds that can transport consciousness and provide realistic experiences, using the example of a film called 'This Kinetic' to illustrate how virtual reality can offer a 360-degree range of choices and perspectives. The speaker concludes by advocating for the study of semiotics to better understand the meaning and value of our digital interactions.
🌐 Exploring the Concept of Parallel Worlds and Reality in Virtual Reality
The speaker delves into the philosophical implications of virtual reality, questioning what constitutes 'real' and whether we need a physical reality to experience something that feels real. They introduce two theories related to virtual reality: Nick Bostrom's simulation argument, which posits that we might already be living in a simulated world, and Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra, which suggests that our experiences are becoming simulations of reality, replacing meaning with signs and symbols. The speaker uses the example of a theater performance and its promotion on Facebook to illustrate how digital systems fail to understand the meta-narrative of user experiences and interactions, advocating for a digital semiotic system that can comprehend and respond to the dynamic nature of user data and preferences.
💡 The Importance of Digital Semiotics in Understanding User Data
The speaker argues for the necessity of a digital semiotic system to fully understand the meta-narrative of data and user interactions. They emphasize the dynamic nature of online data and text, which can change based on user desires, and the limitations of systems that only respond to specific input characteristics. The speaker calls for a shift in focus from teaching people how to code to teaching them how to understand the super system of science that is data, and how it communicates with us. They conclude by urging the study and understanding of digital semiotics to grasp the larger narrative of data and to create more meaningful and valuable digital interactions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Big Data
💡Semiotics
💡Digital Experiences
💡Virtual Reality (VR)
💡Meta Narrative
💡Simulacrum
💡Data Interpretation
💡Oculus Rift
💡Digital Semiotic System
💡User-Generated Content
💡Quick Win
Highlights
The speaker argues that big data is not everything and that its current use is often for quick wins rather than meaningful experiences.
The speaker's crusade is to enlighten people on using data in a more meaningful way.
The importance of understanding the participatory world and its intertwining with the online world is emphasized.
The speaker advocates for studying semiotics to understand how data can communicate with us meaningfully.
The speaker works with students and researchers to create virtual worlds that can transport consciousness.
The 'Kinetic' film project is mentioned, where users determine perspective in a 360-degree range.
The 'Ulus Rift' film premiered at the Go Short International Short Film Festival, immersing the audience in a coma narrative.
The dilemma of decision-making in a virtual coma experience is explored.
The speaker is fascinated by how people create meaning from virtual experiences.
Semiotics is introduced as the study of signs and meaning-making, essential for understanding digital and virtual signification.
The speaker discusses the 'super system of science' as a vast database of signs expanding with user contributions.
The concern of distinguishing real from virtual experiences is raised, with references to theories by Nick Bostrum.
Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra is introduced, where signs and symbols replace meaning.
The meta narrative of media products and digital media is explained, highlighting the need for understanding shared ethical values.
A real-life example of Facebook's algorithm failing to understand user dissatisfaction with a theater performance is given.
The necessity for a digital semiotic system to understand the full meta narrative of data is argued.
The speaker calls for teaching digital semiotics to understand the meta narrative of data, rather than just teaching coding.
Transcripts
many people think big data is everything
well I contend it is actually
nothing many digital media producers
nowadays are trying to create enhanced
and meaningful digital
experiences and all the data gathered
online and produced online is now just
used for the quick win
very few people in the industry actually
question the value of what we're doing
with data and in the past few months it
has become my crusade to Enlighten
people about how we can use data in a
more meaningful
way how we can use this online data this
super system of signs in a more
meaningful way is my
goal I'd like to give you a peek into my
everyday thoughts because I believe that
this fast moving participatory world we
are currently living in and the one we
are creating online are getting
intertwined even more so I believe that
if we do not stop worrying about data
and start studying and understanding
semiotics we could be pinching ourselves
until our arms turn blue and even then
we'd have no clue of whether what we
experience is real or
not I'd like all of us to understand the
bigger picture of data and not by
learning how to code but learning how to
understand how this system this super
system of science can communicate with
us in a more meaningful way just like
Google already does finishing our search
questions daily I work together with
students and fellow researchers in
creating and understanding Virtual
Worlds that are able to transport our
Consciousness into a different
world creating an experience that feels
so
real that even a virtual touch feels
like a real
one and in that respect I'd like to tell
you something about the Ulus Rift film
that we made last year called this
kinetic a film in which the user
determines what perspective and what
view is going to be looked at offering
them a 360 Dee range of choices of
options this is a picture from go short
International short film festival in NAA
and we had our premiere for our short
film right here we immersed our audience
into experiencing a
coma for narrative purposes of course we
made sure that you as the coma patient
were able to hear and see your
surroundings all interwoven with the
story when people stepped into our
ambulance and wore the Oculus under
heads together with a headphone they
stepped into this dark world a world in
which your family is standing around
your bedside wondering what to do with
you in an eternal
coma the Dilemma of decision- making is
being played out and you are playing the
lead
role at a certain point in the film your
sister touches your leg now I've
observed our so-called patients and
found that many of them move their leg
at the moment of virtual touch just
quickly ensuring for themselves that all
of this is not
real I still am fascinated by how we
make such understanding and create
meaning from these Virtual Worlds and I
came to the conclusion that for myself
to understand all of this I needed to
study semiotics and people often ask me
what is
semiotics what are you actually
researching and the answer to be honest
I don't know
yet but luckily there's one large
General agreement on what semiotics is
it is the signs of signs the study of
meaning making stemming from Linguistics
it has now grown into the fields of
symbols gestures an expression of man
and animal
behavior and now it has found its way
into the field of digital and virtual
signification and it are these two new
fields that have a vast majority of
unknown signs and symbols yet to Define
and
identify the title of my talk refers to
the super system of science the
humongous datab base of letters words
images shapes objects that is expanding
with every new entry made by you and me
users of the digital and virtual
environment and in order not to leave
you all too confused at the end of my
talk we'll take one leading example in
our journey to understand why we need
semiotics for that we'll use Virtual
Reality as a means to understanding this
complexity because I believe that
virtual reality is something we all have
some sort of an idea with from films
like Tron and Matrix we've already
played with the idea of a possible
second virtual world existing besides
our own already since the 50s mankind
has played around with the idea of a
parallel
world now the interesting thing here is
that this thinking of a parallel world
brings us to the concern many people
have we do not need a reality to
experience something that feels
real but then what is real can I still
trust myself in identifying the real
world from a virtual one that might look
and feel exactly the
same and there are two very interesting
theories that have been developed over
time when it comes to virtual reality
that I'd like to share and the first
scholar I'd like to mention here is Nick
bustr he claimed in this simulation
argument that there is one truth when it
comes to virtual reality that time will
have to show out in totally he says
there are three
possibilities either we will never reach
the stage age in which technology can
simulate a world that looks and feels
just as real as this
one or second he says we will reach that
advanced technology but we will never
use it because of the dangers it might
hold or third when the two former
options are both proven false in time
then we are most definitely most
definitely already in a virtual world
right
now the second scholar I'd like to
mention here is Jean
he's the founder of the notion simulakra
and similation describing the simulakra
as never that which conceals the truth
it is the truth which conceals that
there is none the simulacra therefore is
true so I'll explain this a little bit
according to bodar we've already started
to replace meaning with signs and
symbols resulting in The Human
Experience being a similation of
reality let me give you an example we
can all imagine how it would be like to
sit inside a crashing plane even though
we all never had the actual
experience this simulation in symbols
and signs has made us believe that this
is
truth what has happened is that we've
ceased to understand the larger picture
of this all the larger picture of
data but what went wrong in this fight
for data why are so many online services
failing to cater to our needs of
interpretation with the digital system
and that is because we've ceased to
understand the meta Narrative of it all
and The Meta narrative looks a bit like
this and let me explain the meta
narrative and this model behind me and
maybe best for that is if I use media
products and ethics something we're all
familiar with so imagine all these small
blogs being a media product a television
series series a book a game a film
because there are many media producers
out there and all of them create
different stories on different
platforms but all of them have an
understanding of the general agreement
on specific shared ethical values a meta
narrative without them understanding
this meta
narrative they're unable to create
satisfying media products for us the
audience
another example is digital media because
the same goes for digital media imagine
those blocks not being media products
but imagine them being applications you
use on your phone or your
tablet many of them are using the data
now just for a quick win unable to
understand our communication with the
system unable to understand the meta
narrative and the connections that can
be
made an example of this last week I went
to see a a theater performance with a
friend of mine and we did not really
know what to expect but we had some ey
hopes and my friend took a picture of
the performances poster posted it on
Facebook and said looking
forward now immediately the Facebook
algorithm went to search for similar
performances that they could advertise
to
him however when after the First Act we
found that we did not like the
performance at all and left actually he
commented on his Facebook that he did
not like it now what should the
algorithm read at this point and I think
there are two very important steps that
can be taken in
between first is that we have to make
sure that we create a system that is
able to not only read the text on the
POR but also the
visuals and therefore it is able to
dissect genre
style place of performance and Link that
to the other
data second is that we have to create a
system which can understand that this
person didn't not like the performance
at all and realizing as a system that it
might be smart not to advertise similar
performances
anymore you see these are a few of the
reasons why I think that we are in need
of a digital semiotic system to really
get a hold and an understanding of this
meta narrative to its full extent
something we still have a journey to
walk to
because all the data and text we are
creating online is
dynamic and that means that it can
change any time into anything the user
desires if I perform a Google search I
can get text to become image all of a
sudden or even audio visual
content and the problem will be if that
I create an system that is only
responding to specific input
characteristics if it can only respond
to text
it doesn't know what to do with my image
it will never completely understand me
as a user let alone being able to create
something far more important than just
that which is a valuable discourse with
me the
user see the problem is and that is also
my crusade is that we're now teaching
people just to use data we're teaching
them how to code and instead I believe
that we should teach them an
understanding of how this super system
of science is able to talk to us make
sense for us the
users I think it is time that we teach
and understand and study semiotics
digital semiotics and understand the
meta Narrative of data thank
you
関連動画をさらに表示
Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction
Why everyone should be data literate | Jordan Morrow | TEDxBoise
Principles For Human-Centered AI | Michael I Jordan (UC Berkeley)
Tips and tricks for reading unfamiliar code
Ethics, social media research, and users views
ADDIO EXCEL? Analizzare i dati è più semplice con ChatGPT! 📊✅ [Code Interpreter]
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)