Design by Play Playfulness and Object-Oriented Philosophy for the Design of Iot
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Design by Play Playfulness and Object-Oriented Philosophy for the design of IoT This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Haider Ali Akmal August 2021 Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts For you Ma, you are never forgotten DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis titled “Design by Play: Playfulness and Object-Oriented Philosophy for the design of IoT” represents my research and work done during my PhD in Design at Lancaster University. The concepts and ideas resulting in my work are stated here on in my own words, and where I include the ideas of others I have cited and referenced the original sources accordingly. This body of work has not been submitted in support of an application for another degree at this or any other institution. Many of the ideas in this thesis were the product of discussions with my supervisor Professor Paul Coulton. I hereby grant complete permission for this work to be accessible online in a digital format through the institutional repository. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented, fabricated, or falsified any ideas/data/fact/source in this submission or the course of research. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the University or other related sources. ________________________________________ Haider Ali Akmal i Excerpts of this thesis have been published in the following manuscripts: Akmal, H. (2019) Heterotopias. In: Coulton, C. (ed.) The Little Book of Philosophy for the Internet of Things. Lancaster University. Akmal, H.A. & Coulton, P. (2018) Using Heterotopias to Characterise Interactions in Physical/Digital Spaces. In: Design Research Society 2018 Catalyst. Limerick, 2018. Limerick. 10.21606/dma.2017.348 Akmal, H. & Coulton, P. (2019a) Research Through Board Game Design. In: RtD 2019: Method & Critique. Delft, Netherlands, 2019. Delft, Netherlands. 10.6084/m9.figshare.7855808.v1 Akmal, H. & Coulton, P. (2019b) The Internet of Things Game: Illuminating data interactions within the Internet of Things. In: Institution of Engineering and Technology, Living in the Internet of Things (IoT 2019). London, UK, 2019. London, UK: Institution of Engineering and Technology. 10.1049/cp.2019.0156 Akmal, H. & Coulton, P. (2020a) The Divination of Things by Things. In: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 2020. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. 10.1145/3334480.3381823 Akmal, H. & Coulton, P. (2020b) The Internet of Things Game: Revealing the Complexity of the IoT. In: DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere, DiGRA 2020: Play Everywhere. Tampere, June 2020. Tampere: DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere. Available at: http://www.digra.org/digital-library/publications/the-internet-of-things-game- revealing-the-complexity-of-the-iot/ Akmal, H. & Coulton, P. (2021) More-Than-Human Game Design: Playing In the Internet of Things. Acta Ludologica, 4(1). Available at: https://actaludologica.com/more-than-human-game-design-playing-in-the- internet-of-things/ Akmal, H.A. & Coulton, P. (2020c) A Tarot of Things: a supernatural approach to designing for IoT. In: Design Research Society 2020 Synergy. Brisbane, 2020. Brisbane. 10.21606/drs.2020.188 Akmal, H., Lindley, J., Coulton, P., Hay, D., Van Kleek, M., Binns, R. & Cannizzaro, S. (2019) The Little Book of Philosophy for the Internet of Things Coulton, C. (ed.). Lancaster University. Lindley, J., Akmal, H.A. & Coulton, P. (2020a) Design Research and Object- Oriented Ontology. Open Philosophy, 3(1), 11–41. 10.1515/opphil-2020-0002 ii As a researcher, I have also contributed to the following manuscripts as part of different research endeavours with different colleagues and scholars. The knowledge of some of these discussions supplement the research presented in this thesis as prior and future provocations: Akmal, H.A. (2015) Empathy Engine: Researching Through Design Fiction. Masters Dissertation. Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University. Coulton, P., Lindley, J. & Akmal, H.A. (2016) Design Fiction: Does the search for plausibility lead to deception? In: Design Research Society 2016 Future-Focused Thinking. Brighton, 2016. Brighton. Lindley, J., Akmal, H.A., Pilling, F. & Coulton, P. (2020b) Researching AI Legibility Through Design. In: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 2020. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. 10.1145/3313831.3376792 Lindley, J., Akmal, H.A., Pilling, F. & Coulton, P. (2020c) Signs of the Time: Making AI Legible. In: Design Research Society 2020 Synergy. Brisbane, 2020. Brisbane. 10.21606/drs.2020.237 Lindley, J.G., Coulton, P. & Akmal, H. (2018) Turning Philosophy with a Speculative Lathe: Object Oriented Ontology, Carpentry, and Design Fiction. In: Design Research Society 2018 Catalyst. Limerick, 2018. Limerick. 10.21606/dma.2018.327 Lindley, J.G., Coulton, P., Akmal, H. & Knowles, B.H. (2017) Anticipating GDPR in Smart Homes Through Fictional Conversational Objects. Pilling, F., Akmal, H., Coulton, P. & Lindley, J. (2020) The Process of Gaining an AI Legibility Mark. In: Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 2020. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. 10.1145/3334480.3381820 Pilling, F., Akmal, H. & Gradinar, A. (2021a) Using Game Engines to Design Digital Workshops for Design Research. In: EAD 2021. 2021. Pilling, F., Akmal, H.A., Gradinar, A., Lindley, J. & Coulton, P. (2021b) Legible AI by Design: Design Research to Frame, Design, Empirically Test and Evaluate AI Iconography. In: Swiss Design Network, Design as Common Good. 2021. Swiss Design Network. 10.21606/drs.2020.237 Pilling, F., Akmal, H.A., Lindley, J. & Coulton, P. (2020) Making a Smart City Legible. [Submitted for publication] Pilling, F., Lindley, J., Akmal, H.A. & Coulton, P. (2021c) Design (Non) Fiction: Deconstructing/Reconstructing the Definitional. International Journal of Film and Media Arts, 6(1). 10.24140/ijfma.v6.n1.01 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral thesis is a labour of love and would not have been possible without the continued kindness and support from loving people around me. My dear Khala Shobeen and her children Muni Baji, Iffi Bhai, and Hubi Baji, without you I could not have come this far. The constant reminder that I need to do this for the memory of my Mother, the many boxes of home-cooked meals I’d take back from you, and the love and support you all offered is unparalleled. Muni Baji for all the support you gave in this time, prior, and future, thank you. Among you, your siblings, and children, I always know I am with family. A special thank you to my niece Safa for reminding me of the playful side of life every day, and believing I go to Monsters University! This doctorate was a dream my mother had for me and sadly could not see in her life. It has been her memory and the endless fountains of love she had for us children that kept me going throughout. I would like to thank my brother Fahd for his continual reminder that if our parents were alive today, they would be brighter than the sun knowing I’m fulfilling their dreams. A thank you to my brother Mohammad for instilling in me a thirst for knowledge and the truth at an early age; someday in the future, we will meet again. To my parents, I dedicate this work and all (if any) success that may be in store for me. Among the many whom I would like to thank for their support is my supervisor Professor Paul Coulton. His enthusiasm and playfulness with the many ideas that came about during my time at Lancaster perhaps affected me the most in accepting my playful design side. If it weren’t for my close friend and batch fellow Dr David Perez, I might never have approached Paul with the intentions of doing a PhD, and without Dr Joseph Lindley pushing me further in each speculative endeavour I discussed with him many of the ideas in this thesis would have felt half-baked. I feel lucky to have been part of Lancaster with a team as diverse and welcoming as with you all. Particularly for having been under your supervision Paul, it was memorable and enlightening! Thank you all for allowing me this opportunity of fulfilling my mother’s dream. Lancaster will forever hold a place in my heart. I’d like to thank my friends from Pakistan for their constant support during this time away and before. I won’t be naming you all for there are too many to name, but you know who you are! Lastly, I would like to thank my lovely wife Risham and her family for bearing with me during this time and others. Her presence has brought new meaning to my life. With you Risham not only do I have a loving companion, but I forever have a board game partner as well. By the way, no matter what you say Risham I know you cheat at Harbour, no one can be that good! iv ABSTRACT The Internet of Things (IoT) has garnered heightened interest and momentum in recent years. These connected devices have extended the concurrent rise of data collection and processing within the everyday objects that cohabit our human lives. Though technology has always changed the way we live our lives these ‘smart’ devices are adding new challenges—particularly concerning privacy and security—not previously experienced when using their older ‘dumb’ predecessors. These challenges are not always apparent to their human cohabitors and often only come to the fore when something untoward happens as a consequence of the data being collected. These objects are not to blame, they exist in their worlds governed by their own rules established by their creators rather than their users.