Words in Freedom: A Manifesto Machine as Critical Design

Simone Ashby; Julian  Hanna; Sonia Matos; Rodrigues Ricardo

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-76270-8_38

Words in Freedom: A Manifesto Machine as Critical Design

Simone Ashby, Julian Hanna, Sonia Matos, Rodrigues Ricardo

Edinburgh College of Art

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

Words in Freedom is a design project aimed at artists, activists, and others that draws from research on the manifesto to create a studio environment or ‘Manifesto Machine’. Drawing primarily on the sub-disciplines of Design for Good and Critical Design, this project seeks to enhance conscious self-expression and empowerment while questioning "design's inbuilt optimism" [16] and the effects of automation on human agency. When we automate for improved performance, what do we lose in the process? Do the benefits
outweigh the loss of agency? How can technology aid expression without
over determining it? Ultimately, Words in Freedom seeks to create a collaborative writing environment that strikes the right balance between freedom and constraint, agency and inspiration. We trace the manifesto’s return to prominence in digital form, arguing for its usefulness as a potent discursive artifact. We then describe the Manifesto Machine as a set of tools to help write and disseminate persuasive manifestos, introducing our initial prototype (or probe, as in Reflective Design [20]) as a means of conducting our primary
research, engaging with groups and understanding social practices around declaring principles and beliefs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology
Publisher	Springer
Pages	557-566
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Print)	9783319762692
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76270-8_38
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 21 Feb 2018
Event	14th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology - The Shard, London, United Kingdom Duration: 14 Dec 2017 → 16 Dec 2017 http://ace2017.info

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743

Conference

Conference	14th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology
Abbreviated title	ACE 2017
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	London
Period	14/12/17 → 16/12/17
Internet address	http://ace2017.info

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

manifestos
activism
critical design
reflective design
collaborative virtual environments

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-76270-8_38

AshbyEtalSpringerWordsinFreedom.pdfAccepted author manuscript, 9.04 MB

http://ace2017.info/

4 Conference contribution
1 Other

Fourth-wave HCI meets the 21st century manifesto: Creative subversion in the 'CHI-verse'
Ashby, S., Hanna, J., Matos, S., Nash, C. & Faria, A., 19 Nov 2019, Proceedings of the Halfway to the Future Symposium 2019. ACM
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Open Access
File
Dissent by Design: A Manifesto for CHI Manifestos
Hanna, J., Ashby, S., Matos, S., Faria, A. & Ricardo, R., May 2019, Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Youth, Politics & Civic Participation: the ‘Manifesto Machine’
Matos, S., Ashby, S., Hanna, J. & Ricardo, R., 2019, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Communities & Technologies - Transforming Communities. ACM
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Open Access
File

Cite this

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title = "Words in Freedom: A Manifesto Machine as Critical Design",

abstract = "Words in Freedom is a design project aimed at artists, activists, and others that draws from research on the manifesto to create a studio environment or {\textquoteleft}Manifesto Machine{\textquoteright}. Drawing primarily on the sub-disciplines of Design for Good and Critical Design, this project seeks to enhance conscious self-expression and empowerment while questioning {"}design's inbuilt optimism{"} [16] and the effects of automation on human agency. When we automate for improved performance, what do we lose in the process? Do the benefits outweigh the loss of agency? How can technology aid expression without over determining it? Ultimately, Words in Freedom seeks to create a collaborative writing environment that strikes the right balance between freedom and constraint, agency and inspiration. We trace the manifesto{\textquoteright}s return to prominence in digital form, arguing for its usefulness as a potent discursive artifact. We then describe the Manifesto Machine as a set of tools to help write and disseminate persuasive manifestos, introducing our initial prototype (or probe, as in Reflective Design [20]) as a means of conducting our primary research, engaging with groups and understanding social practices around declaring principles and beliefs.",

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author = "Simone Ashby and Julian Hanna and Sonia Matos and Rodrigues Ricardo",

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language = "English",

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Ashby, S, Hanna, J, Matos, S & Ricardo, R 2018, Words in Freedom: A Manifesto Machine as Critical Design. in Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology. Lecture Notes in Computer Science , Springer, pp. 557-566, 14th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, London, United Kingdom, 14/12/17. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76270-8_38

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AB - Words in Freedom is a design project aimed at artists, activists, and others that draws from research on the manifesto to create a studio environment or ‘Manifesto Machine’. Drawing primarily on the sub-disciplines of Design for Good and Critical Design, this project seeks to enhance conscious self-expression and empowerment while questioning "design's inbuilt optimism" [16] and the effects of automation on human agency. When we automate for improved performance, what do we lose in the process? Do the benefits outweigh the loss of agency? How can technology aid expression without over determining it? Ultimately, Words in Freedom seeks to create a collaborative writing environment that strikes the right balance between freedom and constraint, agency and inspiration. We trace the manifesto’s return to prominence in digital form, arguing for its usefulness as a potent discursive artifact. We then describe the Manifesto Machine as a set of tools to help write and disseminate persuasive manifestos, introducing our initial prototype (or probe, as in Reflective Design [20]) as a means of conducting our primary research, engaging with groups and understanding social practices around declaring principles and beliefs.

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Words in Freedom: A Manifesto Machine as Critical Design

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

Fourth-wave HCI meets the 21st century manifesto: Creative subversion in the 'CHI-verse'

Dissent by Design: A Manifesto for CHI Manifestos

Youth, Politics & Civic Participation: the ‘Manifesto Machine’

Cite this