Caught in the Undercurrent of Progress
Written for the Curate Labs & Magazine Annual Digest 2018
Today we are creating, inventing and challenging systems at a rapid rate. We have the freedom to develop philosophies, products and services with potential to stir things up. Susan Crawford, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School once said “the reason the internet is the most important development in my life is that you don’t have to ask anybody for permission to start something new”. This, amongst other evolutions, led to a wave in technological furtherance.
Our ability to enhance what came before led to glorious advancements. Yet some developments seem to create dams rather than help progress flow. When motivations centre around power, financial gain and fear of the unknown, we are set back.
Progress means jumping into unexplored waters. Unfortunately some will be swept away in the undercurrent. Aaron Swartz believed in making digital academic literature available for everyone, rather than a privileged few. Edward Snowden leaked thousands of NSA documents to reveal widespread surveillance within the US government. After receiving severe reprimands, Swartz ended his life and Snowden currently lives in exile on Russian soil. Their actions enlightened the public about power abuse. Raising the question, are we happy with the systems that play a role in our daily lives?
Not all forms of collective progress require self sacrifice. Elon Musk is exploring the future of sustainable energy, transportation and even living on Mars. Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown creator of Bitcoin, opened the floodgates to alternative decentralised systems by creating the first Blockchain. A growing list of records, linked and secured using cryptography. Although implementation will be slow, Blockchain has immense potential. “Individuals, organisations, machines, and algorithms would freely transact and interact with one another with little friction. Intermediaries like lawyers, brokers, and bankers might no longer be necessary.” wrote Marco Iansiti for Harvard Business review. Amongst the innovators there are a host of activists and journalists. Such as Yes Men or Brian Knappenberger, raising awareness around problematic social and political issues. The reality is there will always be backlash to progressive advances driven by self interest and personal gain, it’s our job to create democratically and call out injustice.
Know your drone zones
In the spring of 2017 my boyfriend and I were arrested for flying a drone in the city of Copenhagen. Our misdemeanour began when we swapped our airy Brighton apartment with our Danish friends, for a spacious Frederiksberg apartment in the heart of Copenhagen. Our time consisted of traveling around by bicycle, wandering the streets, sampling crafted coffee and creative food spots. Each day shaped into wonderful experiences. We were there to soak up the cities vibe and share the trip through our Wandering Through online guides.
We wanted to capture aerial shots for a short video. Knowing that flying a drone over the city centre was a no go we took a trip out to Langelinie promenade. A waterfront location where Edvard Eriksen’s statue of the Little Mermaid perches. Situated next to a cruise ship stopover bay, the statue is impossible to glimpse due to a sea of tourists. Armed with oversized floral hats and iPads for cameras, these tourists longed for that perfect mermaid selfie.
In the area is Kastellet, a 17th Century star shaped fortress. A tranquil grass island peppered with the odd runner doing circuits, and a handful of quaint Georgian cottages in the centre. We were eager to capture this waterfront location on the drone. After five minutes of flight time we were approached by two youthful Queens Guards with large riffles slung over their shoulders. They informed us that the police had been called and we had to go with them. It turned out this picturesque star shaped island was in fact ‘in use’ — we were filming on a base for the Queens guard.
The guards were actually rather pleasant. This year they had an influx of drone visitors. Somewhat reassuring to hear as we hoped the police would likely give us a slap on the wrist and send us on our way. When the police arrived nobody knew what to do. They weren’t versed in the correct protocol or punishments as we were their first drone related incident. At one point they radioed their boss who also wasn’t sure. Luckily they have the internet. After an entire day of detention we moped out of the station. The officers apologised for how things played out. They could only follow procedure with the advice of head office. Regardless, the entire series of events had an air of injustice and we all felt it. The following day we were elated to be free but €600 lighter from the fine. Not to mention the price of the drone itself, now seized indefinitely with zero footage retained.
We were lucky to have only suffered financial loss, but this didn’t eliminate our sense of injustice. Drone licensing laws are constantly being revised and drawn up. For many places it seems to be a one law fits all scenario. Whether you’re capturing footage with the objective of inspiring and educating, or if your gathering content for harmful and negative purposes, both acts are seen as threatening.
There are many perspectives to take into account, for law makers and regulators it’s a tough line to write. We have to respect that things take time. Through trial and error, iterations will define progressive laws and regulations that work well.
Right now there are a sea of questions surrounding who can operate drones. Christmas 2017 saw 1.5 million drones given as Christmas presents. With familiarity comes trust. As more and more pilots appear drones will become more acceptable. Public perception of who and why people use drones will evolve our laws and regulations. With so many new and eager pilots we’ll see many more innocent offenders around the globe. At the same time we can look forward to seeing many new perspectives of places we’ve been and wish to experience.
Try me, not why me?
“Without the ability to think outside the box you’re destined to live inside of it”
Paulina Stachnik, International Development postgraduate at University of Edinburgh.
We are becoming aware of our ageing governments, the corrupt and convoluted systems. We’ve seen the incapability of governments to keep up with technological and social needs. The challenge of empowering and enlightening others lays in each of our hands, leading to richer communities with advanced tools. Challenging long standing beliefs and practices should be encouraged, blending new and old thinking to benefit the people of today.
We need to allow growing space and even respect failures in our quest for development. If we are able to challenge governance and laws without persecution, collective progress could become nimble and logic driven. Maybe impartial laws and fair governance will emerge through technological advances?
The rate of technological, human and democratic advancement is the best it’s ever been. Everyday people and businesses are breaking down barriers that have been reinforced for decades. We can’t all be martyr or global influencers but we can partake in a community that challenge the status quo and develops positive ideas and opportunities.
Written for the Curate Labs & Magazine Annual Digest 2018
An annual report that focuses not on statistics and performance, but rather experience, lessons and perspective.
