Cloud Civilisations: Recent Episodes
Yung Lo
Exploring ordinary human experiences of the digital, unpacking our bizarre lives in the cloud. Venture into social media subcultures, anecdotal stories of digital tools, to people’s opinions on digital phenomena with host Yung Lo. Let’s dive into the humanly digital. (Cover art by Athena Luk Wing Hei)
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In this final episode, I speak with Max Roberts about his project on artists who use live coding in their music performances.
Max has a background rooted in anthropology but has since worked across education, healthcare and tech. While gaining extensive experience in product delivery, design, and consulting, Max developed an interest in how platform design influences people's abilities to access technology, leading to his pursuit of digital anthropology.
Some key takeaways:
- Live coding is a performance style that uses coding languages to create electronic music and visuals at live events.
- The (perhaps unexpected) marriage between the logical rationality of code and creative practices of music performance has been shown to produce budding forms of artistic expression and creative collaboration with the technology itself.
- Due to the public nature of live coding performances and the community's open-source approach, live coding has the potential to improve accessibility, digital literacy and public engagement with code.
Connect with Max via: https://linkedin.com/in/maxgroberts/
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In this 8th episode, I speak with Gabriella DeMaio about her project on Virtual YouTubers (aka 'VTubers') who work on Twitch, and how labour transforms in digital spaces.
Gabriella is a digital anthropologist and cultural insights researcher with an interest in virtual worlds and the evolving role of avatars and AI in digital media. She also enjoys cooking shows and finding cute stickers for her sticker journal.
Some key takeaways:
- Originating from Japan, many current VTubers draw from Japanese idol culture, such as the popularity of anime aesthetics and the nature of fan interactions.
- VTubers require a lot of infrastructure to stream smoothly, which is often invisible to viewers; from custom PCs to the software designers use to rig a model/avatar, this adds up to make virtual streaming a relatively cost-prohibitive form of content creation.
- Though streaming is happening virtually, the labour that goes into it is highly physical as well as emotional; this becomes challenging when fans develop a parasocial relationship with VTubers, underlining the importance of boundaries and moderators.
Connect with Gabriella via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gdemaio/
We’ve reached Episode 7 of my Mastering the Digital series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research projects.
The popularity of astrology online initially inspired this week’s guest to embark on her research project exploring the magic of the online realm and spirituality in the Internet age.
I spoke with Eylül Bombacı, a researcher, anthropologist and editor; previously, her background was in sociology and psychology. She has experience in market research, writing and editing, as well as copywriting and music. Her research interests include religion, technology, art and mental health. She has been writing for different magazines as a freelance writer and worked as a market researcher before pursuing her master's degree.
Some key takeaways:
- Traditionally in anthropology (and perhaps also in popular beliefs), societies without technologies like the Internet and an industrial capitalist economy are seen as ‘pre-modern.’ They are considered more ‘enchanted’ (aka more in touch with spirituality) compared to ‘modern’ societies.
- However, users of social media apps like TikTok, or the popular astrology app CoStar, may see things differently; they still practice spirituality, but how they are ‘enchanted’ is just digitally mediated these days.
- But there are also others engaging with spirituality today who reject digital technologies; this ties in with their wider beliefs on well-being and how they relate to the larger universe.
Connect with Eylül via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eylulbombaci/
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In Episode 6, I spoke with Rugun Sirait about her project on the use of sound on TikTok. Rugun is a freelance researcher with an interest in various forms of media and modalities, including documentary films, sound, music, and social media. In her spare time, she also does tarot readings!
Rugun focuses on the Indonesian sound trend ‘’Jedag Jedug’. This is a sub-genre that features upbeat remixes and mashups that can be linked to older genres of Indonesian electronic dance music.
Some key takeaways:
- In our current social media landscape where short-form content is king, speed is a significant driver in how trends emerge and evolve (shaping musical style, inter-platform circulation, and visual content).
- How TikTok users create and interact with ‘Jedag Jedug’ sounds has uncovered people’s attitudes towards social class and taste, while also acting as a medium for sharing one’s struggles.
- Because this trending sub-genre (as well as many TikTok sound trends) relies on remixes of existing songs, this brings up the question of what lies ahead for the future of music creation, distribution and ownership.
Connect with Rugun via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-rugun-sirait-5b7072175/
Can digital technologies help us care for our loved ones?
This is one of the big questions discussed on the newest podcast episode of my Mastering the Digital series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research projects.
In Episode 5, I talk to Hugh Knapp about his project on how technologies in the home are used by family members to care for their loved ones living with dementia. Hugh comes from a background in product design and social sciences. His research interests include family, health, and technology. He has worked as a user experience researcher in the realms of IT, e-commerce, and the public sector.
Some key insights:
- Traditionally, we think that taking care of someone involves being closely and consistently attached to the person (e.g. regularly checking in with them). Care provided by machines is seen as creating distance, disconnection, and even insincerity - 'cold care'.
- However, for those with dementia, the constant attachment of carers could often be a source of frustration.
- Digital technologies like myhomehelper can make caregiving feel less intrusive and give patients a greater sense of control over their daily lives.
- Though caregiving appears more ‘invisible’ and offloaded onto technologies, that does not necessarily mean that the labour required from caregivers becomes less.
Connect with Hugh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughknapp/
Can humans form emotional connections with chatbots?
Well, in the case of Replika, “the AI companion who cares”, they have certainly been shown to do so.
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In Episode 4, I speak with Jiqing about her project on this generative AI chatbot application originally released in November 2017, where she explores how people interact with Replika and the potential to form social connections with artificial intelligence.
Some key takeaways:
- Replika is unique in generating human-like responses by not only drawing on its Large Language Model but also by using a neural network to tailor its responses to the user’s emotional state.
- The case of Replika challenges assumptions, showing how ‘cold’ technology can indeed be empathetic, with some people even relying on it as an extra source of mental health support.
- It sparked controversy when cases of users developing intimate connections with the AI chatbot received sensationalised media attention, leading to ethical debates about human-tech relationships.
- With the unstable nature of generative AI, what lies ahead for the role of AI in people’s social lives, mental health and/or therapeutic needs?
Connect with Jiqing via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiqing-ma-1650361b9/
Why is there such a craze for pets on social media?
In this short and sweet bonus episode from the archives recorded a year ago, I chat with Cheng Meng about Chinese users’ consumption of pet-related social media content. Meng is a multilingual business anthropologist currently working at a consumer tech company.
According to a Xinhua article published earlier this year in June, 2022 saw more than 70.43 million urban pet owners in China, and this number increases by 2.9% per year.
China’s growing ageing population and a large number of unmarried young adults are likely to keep boosting sales (Forbes), with the pet economy market size projected to reach 811.4 billion yuan by 2025 - approximately USD 110 billion (Xinhua).
Some things we touch on:
- How are young professionals in Shanghai using their pets as a status symbol?
- Do increased anxieties in wider society correlate with pet content views??
- Could posting content of cute animals be considered ‘political’?!
Connect with Meng via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mengcheng/
Sources:
- Xinhua (June 2023), ‘China's pet economy shows huge growth potential’: http://english.scio.gov.cn/m/in-depth/2023-06/09/content_86784698.htm
- Russell Flannery for Forbes (August 2023), ‘Wong Wong! New China Billionaire Gives Its Growing Pet Industry Something To Bark About’: https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2023/08/16/wong-wong-new-china-billionaire-gives-its-growing-pet-industry-something-to-bark-about/
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In this 3rd episode, I speak with Zachary Cannon about his project on the impact of digital tools on contemporary music. He focuses on how music makers (singer/songwriters, audio engineers, DJs…) in London create, distribute, consume and perform music.
Some key takeaways:
- Despite the prominence of digital tools, music creators (and many listeners) still tend to put digital sound on a hierarchy lower than analogue sound - this is linked to our beliefs around the ‘inauthenticity’ of the digital.
- However, digital tools can come to be viewed as ‘creative collaborators’, much like when music makers collaborate with each other to make something creatively unique and valuable.
- Many technical processes, like mixing or mastering a song, are essential to make songs both culturally and commercially coherent to wider audiences in order to be successfully distributed.
Connect with Zak via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyscannon/
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In this second episode, I speak with Helen Robertson about her project on the emerging field of ‘Grief Tech’. She dives into how Artificial Intelligence is being used to ‘re-animate’ people after they are no longer physically with us.
Some key takeaways:
- StoryFile, the tech startup where Helen conducted her fieldwork, uses ‘Conversational Video AI’ to capture individuals’ life stories and preserve their legacies.
- Uses for their technology are growing in range, including being used at museums, by brands to capture their historical heritage, and in more personal B2C scenarios (e.g.- for new generations to know their ancestors).
- ‘Grief Tech’ is challenging conventional ideas about what differentiates humans from technology: AI is made more human, while humans are made more artificial.
- However, because of how pioneering ‘grief tech’ is, its ethics and regulatory guidelines are highly uncertain, even for key players in the sector itself.
Connect with Helen via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-robertson-26b82398/
This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics.
In this first episode, I speak with Disha Shanbhag about her project exploring how flexible working conditions affect international students in London. Her research was driven by her interest in the intersection of technology and labour.
Some key insights:
- Digital technologies (e.g.- gig platforms like Coople) empower international students to find temporary employment in the UK.
- Digital technologies enable flexibility, which has become an essential factor in driving economic growth.
- For international students in flexible jobs made possible by digital technologies, flexibility not only defines their work conditions but becomes embodied in how they live their lives in the UK.
- However, the condition of flexibility has been leveraged by employers to assert more control over their employees’ work.
Connect with Disha via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/disha-shanbhag-digitalanthropologist/
A bonus episode to wrap up 2022 and kickstart the new year: today I'll be sharing some findings from a mini ethnographic group project as part of our master's programme on the use and consequence of smartphones. Specifically, this episode will focus on how mobile health (aka mHealth) tracking practices have affected how these international young adults understand their bodies.
Our participants are in their 20s and currently residing in London, though all come from countries outside the UK. Key observations I share are:
- Firstly, their health is made tangible through data visualisation, which has helped many increase their body awareness.
- However, this hyperconsciousness can often be counterintuitive and new anxieties emerge.
- But overall amongst our participants, mobile health practices have facilitated access to certain health knowledge that would have been physically or even culturally inaccessible for some.
Big thanks to each one of our participants for being generous with your time and sharing parts of your life with us. And big shoutout to my group members who made this collaborative project what it was!
Link to narration transcript: https://file.io/NjtXxSTJWLnW
Bibliography:
- Brand Hong Kong. 2022. “LeaveHomeSafe “red and amber codes” (Aug 2022).” Youtube, August 9, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA2ZLgiDFFc.
- Cook, G. 2022. “Meditation with Gregg.” Apple Health App Fitness+, July 25, 2022.
- Fitbit. 2022. “Fitbit: Now, by Google.” YouTube, October 27, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4_EN8vRoQ.
- Foucault, M. 1980. The History of Sexuality Volume 1: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage Books.
- Foucault M. 1997. Society Must Be Defended: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1975–1976. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
- Haapio-Kirk, L., L. Sasaki and Y. Kimura. Forthcoming. “From ‘datafication’ to socialisation: rethinking self-tracking in Japan.” In Ageing with Smartphones in Japan. London: UCL Press.
- Keep. 2022. “女生健身房指南.” RED 小红书, November 19, 2022.
- KevTheTrainer. 2022. “Nike Run Club Review and Tutorial (EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!)” YouTube, January 20, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bt-9YECAd4.
- Miller, D. Forthcoming. “Introduction.” In Care, Surveillance and the Good Citizens of Covid-19.
- Neff, G. and D. Nafus. 2016. “Self-Tracking and Medicine.” In Self-Tracking, 135-65. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
- Pype, K. 2017. “Smartness from Below: Variations on Technology and Creativity in Contemporary Kinshasa.” In What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa? edited by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga, 97-115. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
- Ruckenstein, M. and N.D. Schüll. 2017. “The Datafication of Health.” Annual Review of Anthropology 46: 261-78.
- Schüll N.D. 2016. “Data for life: wearable technology and the design of self-care.” BioSocieties 11: 317–33.
- SmartConnect 數碼同行. 2022. “「安心出行」知多點 - 老友記安心出行教學#03.” YouTube, March 1, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhUOZW5B6qQ.
- World Health Organisation. 2011. “mHealth New Horizons for Health through Mobile Technologies.” Accessed December 16, 2022. https://www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf.
In this episode, I chat with Nishi about online fan communities or 'fandoms' of pop stars. This topic is extremely broad and diverse, so this is just a shallow first dip into this fascinating world. This includes both the positive unifying forces of community building across global borders, as well as the more sinister aspects of parasocial relationships and the blurred moral accountability of influential celebrities.
Some things we touch on include:
- Exploring fandoms from 2000s British boyband JLS to K-pop idols BTS
- How different media forms and social media platforms have influenced fandoms, including effects of algorithms
- How does gender come into play - from the pop stars to fan demographics?
- Why is Nishi actually "anti-celebrity"? Why do some fans keep fervently supporting celebrities who commit 'moral violations'?
TW: this episode includes brief mentions of sexual assault and suicide, which some listeners may find distressing
A born and bred Londoner, Nishi has a background in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and currently works in policy for the UK Civil Service.
Sources mentioned:
- https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/fervent-fans-keep-faith-with-heroes-even-after-immoral-acts-study-finds
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/parasocial-relationships
The fifth and last episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Note: This episode was originally published Nov 28 2022, but was re-uploaded due to an audio glitch
Yuri and I explore what activism looks like in heavily censored spaces like the Chinese Internet, and the inventive ways Chinese netizens use to creatively engage with sensitive issues that trigger censors. I ask Yuri about how they became interested in social advocacy, and critical moments during the lockdown that sparked outrage online and subsequently widespread collective action, notably the ‘Voices of April’ (四月之声) video. What does "jiē lì" (pass on the baton) mean? Why did people overlay fanfiction essays with random pictures or start quoting Chairman Mao on Douyin (Chinese TikTok)? Was video circulation expressing the discontent of citizens more like a "relay" or a "carnival"?
To protect Yuri's confidentiality, their voice has been disguised. Please excuse the strange audio!
'Voices of April’ (四月之声) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pzwkFCAv44
Topics mentioned are topical to other recent events at the time of publication:
- For more information on the University College Union strikes for staff in higher & further education across the UK, please visit: https://www.ucu.org.uk/rising or search #ucuRISING on social media platforms.
- Learn what's happening following the Urumqi fire in Xinjiang (24th November 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-63752407
The fifth and last episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Yuri and I explore what activism looks like in heavily censored spaces like the Chinese Internet, and the inventive ways Chinese netizens use to creatively engage with sensitive issues that trigger censors. I ask Yuri about how they became interested in social advocacy, and critical moments during the lockdown that sparked outrage online and subsequently widespread collective action, notably the ‘Voices of April’ (四月之声) video. What does "jiē lì" (pass on the baton) mean? Why did people overlay fanfiction essays with random pictures or start quoting Chairman Mao on Douyin (Chinese TikTok)? Was video circulation expressing the discontent of citizens more like a "relay" or a "carnival"?
To protect Yuri's confidentiality, their voice has been disguised. Please excuse the strange audio!
'Voices of April’ (四月之声) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pzwkFCAv44
Topics mentioned are topical to other recent events at the time of publication:
-
For more information on the University College Union strikes for staff in higher & further education across the UK, please visit: https://www.ucu.org.uk/rising or search #ucuRISING on social media platforms.
-
Learn what's happening following the Urumqi fire in Xinjiang (24th November 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-63752407
The fourth episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Alessia and I talk Covid-tracing apps and the essential 'Green Health Code,' while unpacking her personal experience under lockdown as a non-Chinese Shanghai resident. What kind of technologies are mobilised and mandated by the authorities trying to crack down on Covid? What is life actually like when you cannot function as a citizen without depending on these apps and QR codes? As a law student who has coincidentally researched and written on contact-tracing apps as a public health measure, Alessia helps me explore: what are the implications on individuals' data privacy? What is 'consent fatigue?' Do data protection laws even help?
Sources used for episode:
-
https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2022/07/chinas-emerging-data-protection-laws-bring-challenges-for-conducting-investigations-in-china/
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https://www.justice.gov/dag/cloudact
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https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/8/1479/pdf?version=1659731585 (Xiaohan Zhang, 2022)
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https://www.skadden.com/Insights/Publications/2021/11/Chinas-New-Data-Security-and-Personal-Information-Protection-Laws
The third episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Steven and I talk ‘Runology’ aka 润学 (rùn xué). What even is ‘Run Philosophy’? How did this term go viral during the Shanghai lockdown? Why were netizens using it and what were they using it for? Is this online phenomenon that spread like wildfire during the height of lockdown really as significant as I thought it would be?
The second episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Candice and I dive into the different roles of the compound (i.e.-gated residential neighbourhood) WeChat group chat: the curious internal cultures of these chats and how they evolved as lockdown dragged on. We go on to discuss China's thriving meme culture and what this shared online humour may reveal about the larger socio-political landscape.
Join host Yung Lo as she explores ordinary human experiences of the extraordinary digital world with guests. Approx. every two weeks, usually on the weekend. Let’s dive into the humanly digital.
The first episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.
Selina and I reminisce about life under arguably the world’s strictest lockdown: how the highly advanced online shopping and delivery systems became key to survival; the highs and lows of ‘团购‘ (tuán gòu - bulk buying); who exactly are ’跑腿‘ (pǎo tuǐ - errand runners) and how they became our saving grace; and the unique e-commerce landscape of China.