Thinking Space (ÖAW Doc-Team)

Head: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Norbert Bachleitner
Project team members: Mag. Julia Grillmayr, Mag. Louise Horvath, Mag. Tanja Traxler
Duration: 10/2012–09/2015
Funding: ÖAW (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Granted sum: EUR 270.000,–

The integrated objective of this project is to approach the spatial dimension of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) as the embedding of human daily life in a smart landscape. In this new context of persuasive technologies a new understanding of space will be developed by assessing the symmetry of interactions of humans and objects. This demands an interdisciplinary approach.

A philosophical approach to quantum physics will shed new light on the spatial dimension of the still unresolved question of the unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity. By the translational efforts put onto space concepts of physics, an important contribution will be made to the interdisciplinary field of spatial studies. Also, this raises the question about the existence of autonomously interacting things. These considerations lead to the following issues of a dissolved dichotomy between humans and objects. A philosophy of technology approach will establish new bridges between post phenomenology and the tangible phenomena of AmI by the means of technology assessment. In these ‘information-intensive’ landscapes agency is more and more delegated to objects – to ‘non-human actors’. These technological environments are increasingly ‘open’ – virtuality is inscribed into materiality; software wins over hardware. Thus, not only mere information, but morality and responsibility are inscribed into things. Literature and text theories have a long tradition in dealing with the difficult couple material-virtual and can therefore contribute to this discussion with fundamental considerations on this dichotomy which becomes more and more blurry in the Internet of Things. Not least, the sociological approach will open the debate on AmI within space studies on a practical and empirical level.

This variety of approaches to the research questions will allow for new scientific perspectives on these ambient technologies empowered to assume human decisions and competences. This project wants to open up this discourse for a critical discussion in the social sciences and humanities, since it comes from industry and is still dominated by economy driven research

Homepage: http://www.thinkingspace.eu/