Suchergebnisse

In this short commentary, I respond to the provocation that digitalisation has altered our world. I do so from primarily a geographical perspective – one of the many disciplines that Dialogues on Digital Society represents as an interdisciplinary journal. Geographical thought and practice are frequently focused on the way we make and experience worlds, both things which digital technologies have promised to alter. But have digital technologies fundamentally altered our understanding of and engagement with space? Or have they simply digitally reproduced existing spatial relationships? In my reflections below, I find that the answer is not as simple as it might first look.

Some of the largest tech companies in the world, not to mention a stream of smaller startups, are now our roommates. Homes have become the target for smart devices and digital platforms that aim to upgrade old appliances, like refrigerators, and provide new capabilities, like virtual assistants. While smart devices have been variously championed and demonized in both academic literature and popular media, this article moves critical analysis beyond the common—but still important—concerns with privacy and security. By directing our attention to the wider political economy of datafication, it reveals the increasingly influential, yet shadowy, role of industries outside the tech sector in designing and deploying surveillance systems in domestic spaces. Namely, the FIRE sector of finance, insurance, and real estate. When Amazon and Google moved into our homes, they also let in a suite of uninvited third parties.