User:Laurier Rochon/notes/proposalv0.3: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:39, 9 November 2011

TL;DR;

I propose to conceptualize, design and build a physical artifact imbued with technological properties and human-like agency. This artifact's form should reference the concept of the technological "black box", would comprise of no inputs, and a few simple outputs.

Purpose : to capture internet packets and store them for later use. To this end, my device will try to connect to open wireless networks in its vicinity or illegally infiltrate WEP and WPA networks and record their traffic. Whatever it captures will be stored on a USB key for potential later use. To give a clear indication of what the device is currently doing, a small 16x2 LED screen would teletype the current course of action (ex : "Scraping packets from SSID Blalala")

Outputs : I would like my device's outputs to display a salient sense of human sensitivity, in many ways similar to Hal the computer featured in the movie 2001: A Space Oddyssey. One way of doing this would involve the voice of a computer, layered atop of a light and upbeat jazz ballad, describing step by step its current actions and emotional state (ex: "I'm stealing packets now. I'm not sure this is a good idea, what do you think?"). This would be audible only by putting earphones on, creating a personal, one-to-one relationship between the user and a seemingly inert black box.

Previous Work

In the past year, I have made 3 projects. The first was a grumpy chat program that interfered with the normal flow of a conversation, the second one a subscription-based soap opera newsletter inspired by daily news reports, and the last one, an encryption/decryption algorithm that protected your message from scrutiny, but revelaed your intentions of communicating under the radar.

My main concern while making these works was to highlight the mediation power held by technologies. Some works did this more literally than others, but my goal was often to try and make visible certain characteristics of technology that make us believe that it could be apolitical, agnostic to influence or simply objective. If there is anything inherent at all to Internet technology, I believe it to be its immunity to complete objectivity from social, political, economical and legislative pressures. In addition to this subjectivity I attempted to reveal, the works I've produced cast cyberspace in a particular light in terms of its constitution - I believe it to be a highly narrative, open-ended space with different norms, rules and affordances.

Another important element to mention while discussing past "work" is the fact that I've spent many years working in commercial settings, building internet architecture and software for private interests. Therefore, I'm in a good position to understand the logic behind their decisions, and type of behavior can possibly be expected from such an industry. I understand rather well how the Internet startup scene is built, why and how large software companies became very successful, etc. I expect this to be asset while conceiving and contextualizing my work.

Project Outline, Methods & Approach

Outline

To recap, the system I intend on designing has 2 main characteristics : the first one is that its only function is to execute a morally questionable action and "knows" it very well. The architecture of this system allows for a single, unambiguous use of it. This use, would repeat itself over and over and over regardless of the "damage" it inflicts.

The second characteristic of this system would be its capability of showing signs of human sensitivity. Remorse, or guilt, for example. After performing this morally questionable action, it would give the impression of perhaps feeling remorse, communicate to the user that it is sorry for the damage caused (perhaps even promise to never do it again), and then carry on repeating itself immediately.

In brief, a system that was designed purposefully to cause harm, to purposefully express remorse/demand to be excused for its actions, and deliberately repeats these actions in an infinite loop.

[File:flow1.jpg]

Methods

To create the sense of technological alienation ("the black box"), I will need to build a physical object in a very precise manner. By using materials that reference "modern technology" (ex: glass, acrylic plastic, etc.), this effect should be possible.

To have my device actually connecting and listening on networks, I plan to flash the firmware of a router (I am already working on one, and have ordered a second one) to install a custom distribution of Linux (openWRT or dd-WRT). This will enable me to install custom software to sniff and record packets from various wireless networks. As these routers have only volatile memory (RAM), I will be using either A) a router with a USB port to stock the data from the network interface to a USB stick B) a combination of an Arduino board + Ethernet shield augmented with a microSD card, wired in with an RJ-45 cable directly in the router to stock my data. These steps this will involve, at least, the following technologies : bash, linux, openwrt/dd-wrt.

To generate the audio, I'm hoping to use the space from the microSD card to stock different samples which can be played back from the Arduino board, with the help of a wave shield. This means that I will have a waveshield mounted on top of an ethernet shield, mounted on an arduino shield. Doable? Let's hope so.

Objectives

Of course I'm hoping to attain all the goals mentioned in the previous sections, but I believe it important to note that I have myself this challenge in part due to my desire to learn more about low-level electronics, software and hardware. I also feel like I lack some of the foundational knowledge that drives the deeper layers of the internet protocols, and this type of project would certainly force me to understand them very well.

Theoretical research

When I started on this endeavor, I wanted to make a project about regulation, government and industry. As things evolved, my project has naturally taken a much more philosophical, ethic and artistic turn - I think for the best. Although I still have the desire to somewhat mirror some of the bad decisions taken by governments in my project, perhaps I will be doing it in a slightly more metaphorical manner. I am more concerned about creating a compelling narrative growing out of this black box for the viewer to appreciate at the moment.

Conversely, I believe the machine I am trying to construct can be a vibrant comparison to self-referential systems, whether governmental or not. By putting forth a political reasoning that references itself, a loop akin to simulation is created - as there is no originality involved and such a system simply gets deeper into "itself". This self-reflection creates self-validation and it is at this particular level of consciousness that I wish to bring my "device".

MORE TO COME HERE

Referenced Work

Bibliography

Works

Vincent Mosco ("The Digital sublime")
Brian Arthur ("The Nature of Technology")
Charles Dickens ("Tale of two cities")
Howard Rheingold ("Smart mobs")
Lawrence Lessig ("code v2")
Tim Wu ("Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination")
Goldsmith ("Who controls the net")
Benkler ("The wealth of networks")
Zittrain ("The generative internet")
John Perry
Neal Stephenson ("Anathem", "In the beginning was the command line")
David Lyon
William Gibson
John Perry Barlow
David Shenk
Michael Geist
Nudge (Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein) (Steve's rec.)
The Net Delusion (Evgeny Morozov) (Steve's rec.)

Tech

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''what'''
+__NOTOC__
+== TL;DR; ==
-I would like to design a "system" (see "how") that has 2 main characteristics : the first one is that it is only capable of doing something  bad/illegal/reprehensible/dodgy/unorthodox/strange/incomprehensible/senseless/disgusting/etc., and "knows" it very well. The architecture of this "system" would basically allow for a single, unambiguous use of it. And this use, which would assume one of the adjectives mentioned earlier, would repeat itself over and over and over regardless of the "damage" it inflicts. Given the nature of my past work and taking into account my interests, this action could be one of two things for the moment - although in reality, many many more would be possible - (why is discussed further down) For the time being...1) the collection of data packets, following a wireless network attack 2)the collection of personal data (a picture), triggered by an unsuspecting user himself.
+''I propose to conceptualize, design and build a physical artifact imbued with technological properties and human-like agency. This artifact's form should reference the concept of the technological "black box", would comprise of no inputs, and a few simple outputs.''
+* '''Purpose''' : to capture internet packets and store them for later use. To this end, my device will try to connect to open wireless networks in its vicinity or illegally infiltrate WEP and WPA networks and record their traffic. Whatever it captures will be stored on a USB key for potential later use. To give a clear indication of what the device is currently doing, a small 16x2 LED screen would teletype the current course of action (ex : "Scraping packets from SSID Blalala")
-So, one single use which reflects the clear intention to cause damage.
+* '''Outputs''' : I would like my device's outputs to display a salient sense of human sensitivity, in many ways similar to Hal the computer featured in the movie 2001: A Space Oddyssey. One way of doing this would involve the voice of a computer, layered atop of a light and upbeat jazz ballad, describing step by step its current actions and emotional state (ex: "I'm stealing packets now. I'm not sure this is a good idea, what do you think?"). This would be audible only by putting earphones on, creating a personal, one-to-one relationship between the user and a seemingly inert black box.
-The second characteristic of this "system" would be that it gives the appearance of remorse, repent or guilt (if it does really, who knows?). After performing its "bad" action, it would give the impression of perhaps feeling remorse, communicate to the offended party that it is sorry for the damage (perhaps even promise to never do it again), and then carry on repeating itself immediately.
+== Previous Work ==
-In brief, a system that was designed purposefully to cause harm, to purposefully express remorse/demand to be excused for its actions, and deliberately repeats them in an infinite loop.
+In the past year, I have made 3 projects. The first was a [[User:Laurier_Rochon/work/listener|grumpy chat program]] that interfered with the normal flow of a conversation, the second one [[User:Laurier_Rochon/work/tragicnine|a subscription-based soap opera newsletter]] inspired by daily news reports, and the last one, [[User:Laurier_Rochon/work/kimjong-ilcipher|an encryption/decryption algorithm]] that protected your message from scrutiny, but revelaed your intentions of communicating under the radar.
+My main concern while making these works was to highlight the mediation power held by  technologies. Some works did this more literally than others, but my goal was often to try and make visible certain characteristics of technology that make us believe that it could be apolitical, agnostic to influence or simply objective. If there is anything inherent at all to Internet technology, I believe it to be its immunity to complete objectivity from social, political, economical and legislative pressures. In addition to this subjectivity I attempted to reveal, the works I've produced cast cyberspace in a particular light in terms of its constitution - I believe it to be a highly narrative, open-ended space with different norms, rules and affordances.
+Another important element to mention while discussing past "work" is the fact that I've spent many years working in commercial settings, building internet architecture and software for private interests. Therefore, I'm in a good position to understand the logic behind their decisions, and type of behavior can possibly be expected from such an industry. I understand rather well how the Internet startup scene is built, why and how large software companies became very successful, etc. I expect this to be asset while conceiving and contextualizing my work.
-'''how'''
-Since I have evoked the possibility of two discrete functions that my "system" could assume, we could hypothetically imagine two different forms, practically speaking. In both cases, it should be made clear what the system does. Either by revealing in the most transparent way possible the internal mechanics or the system, in such a way that renders the it self-explanatory at a simple glance. If not possible (and this might very well happen), visual cues should be provided that clearly detail the current actions under way. In the example of the picture taken, an observer could simply push a button, triggering the contraption, and without warning have this file uploaded to a public digital space, without asking any permission. This process should be clear and just as unambiguous as the machine itself. In the case of wireless attacks, there should be a clear outline of what my system is currently busy doing - if it's trying to crack a password, running a 4-way handshake against a dictionary or something else.
+== Project Outline, Methods & Approach ==
+'''Outline'''
-The second part of the system should also be communicated clearly. I can envision small speakers talking to the person targeted (which doesn't need to be present, there only needs to be somewhere there to witness the act, this ties into the "why"), asking for redemption. Since this sort of process to feel guilt and remorse is typically "human", I could imagine a somewhat "analog" metaphor to translate effectively these intentions. I believe this is where salient storytelling and well-constructed narrative come together in forming a convincing case.
+To recap, the system I intend on designing has 2 main characteristics : the first one is that its only function is to execute a morally questionable action and "knows" it very well. The architecture of this system allows for a single, unambiguous use of it. This use, would repeat itself over and over and over regardless of the "damage" it inflicts.
+The second characteristic of this system would be its capability of showing signs of human sensitivity. Remorse, or guilt, for example. After performing this morally questionable action, it would give the impression of perhaps feeling remorse, communicate to the user that it is sorry for the damage caused (perhaps even promise to never do it again), and then carry on repeating itself immediately.
+In brief, a system that was designed purposefully to cause harm, to purposefully express remorse/demand to be excused for its actions, and deliberately repeats these actions in an infinite loop.
-'''why'''
+[File:flow1.jpg]
-Now let's imagine for a moment that this "system" already exists - let's call it "government". I certainly believe that government isn't foul in its entirety, of course I'm only addressing one facet of its policies. In many countries, government has made considerable efforts to keep the Internet as open as possible, to democratize it, to ensure the protection of its users, etc. Inversely, many countries also uses its power and reach to take advantage of technology built by industry to monitor citizens unreasonably. To increase surveillance, to single out dissidents. It does so very knowingly of the implications such actions have, yet carry on with these actions, and this is where most of the problem lies for me.
+'''Methods'''
-My beef is primarily with the fact that governments do this, try to pretend they aren't doing it and expect nobody to find out. Things always come around, governments then act like children, and simply start all over again.
+* To create the sense of technological alienation ("the black box"), I will need to build a physical object in a very precise manner. By using materials that reference "modern technology" (ex: glass, acrylic plastic, etc.), this effect should be possible.
+* To have my device actually connecting and listening on networks, I plan to flash the firmware of a router (I am already working on one, and have ordered a second one) to install a custom distribution of Linux (openWRT or dd-WRT). This will enable me to install custom software to sniff and record packets from various wireless networks. As these routers have only volatile memory (RAM), I will be using either A) a router with a USB port to stock the data from the network interface to a USB stick B) a combination of an Arduino board + Ethernet shield augmented with a microSD card, wired in with an RJ-45 cable directly in the router to stock my data. These steps this will involve, at least, the following technologies : bash, linux, openwrt/dd-wrt.
-Why recreate such a scenario in this fashion then?
+* To generate the audio, I'm hoping to use the space from the microSD card to stock different samples which can be played back from the Arduino board, with the help of a [http://www.ladyada.net/make/waveshield/ wave shield]. This means that I will have a waveshield mounted on top of an ethernet shield, mounted on an arduino shield. Doable? Let's hope so.
-* these "stories" about government regulation and surveillance generally occur very slowly and take months or years to unfold (there are generally court orders involved, public hearings, investigations, etc.). By compressing them into an accelerated form could reveal the contradictions in them more easily. It also emphasizes the recurrent nature of this type of attitude.
-* from a personal point of view, I'm very much interested in the idea of "code as architecture" (Lessig), and digging into the possibilities of reverse-engineering the systems that we rely on. This includes working with the TCP/IP protocol on a low level, hacking the access points of which we take security for granted and expanding the possibilities of hardware which enables the two previous points.
+'''Objectives'''
-* lastly, my work usually involves the construction of a narrative, and I would like to continue in this path. I think that as humans, we connect in very singular ways with stories and my interest lies more in these looping narratives than the actual substance they are made of.
+Of course I'm hoping to attain all the goals mentioned in the previous sections, but I believe it important to note that I have myself this challenge in part due to my desire to learn more about low-level electronics, software and hardware. I also feel like I lack some of the foundational knowledge that drives the deeper layers of the internet protocols, and this type of project would certainly force me to understand them very well.
+'''Theoretical research'''
+When I started on this endeavor, I wanted to make a project about regulation, government and industry. As things evolved, my project has naturally taken a much more philosophical, ethic and artistic turn - I think for the best. Although I still have the desire to somewhat mirror some of the bad decisions taken by governments in my project, perhaps I will be doing it in a slightly more metaphorical manner. I am more concerned about creating a compelling narrative growing out of this black box for the viewer to appreciate at the moment.
+Conversely, I believe the machine I am trying to construct can be a vibrant comparison to self-referential systems, whether governmental or not. By putting forth a political reasoning that references itself, a loop akin to simulation is created - as there is no originality involved and such a system simply gets deeper into "itself". This self-reflection creates self-validation and it is at this particular level of consciousness that I wish to bring my "device".
+MORE TO COME HERE
+== Referenced Work ==
+*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxaWvJ-ziXA&
+*http://www.caleblarsen.com/projects/a-tool-to-deceive-and-slaughter
+*http://www.drunkmenworkhere.org/170
+*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPPNKMV2CA
+*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBEvFtJ8BeA
+*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukeHdiszZmE
+*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPPNKMV2CA
+== Bibliography ==
+'''Works'''
+*Vincent Mosco ("The Digital sublime")
+*Brian Arthur ("The Nature of Technology")
+*Charles Dickens ("Tale of two cities")
+*Howard Rheingold ("Smart mobs")
+*Lawrence Lessig ("code v2")
+*Tim Wu ("Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination")
+*Goldsmith ("Who controls the net")
+*Benkler ("The wealth of networks")
+*Zittrain ("The generative internet")
+*John Perry
+*Neal Stephenson ("Anathem", "In the beginning was the command line")
+*David Lyon
+*William Gibson
+*John Perry Barlow
+*David Shenk
+*Michael Geist
+*Nudge (Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein) (Steve's rec.)
+*The Net Delusion (Evgeny Morozov) (Steve's rec.)
+'''Tech'''
+*[http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10061 small camera > arduino ]
+*[http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/hardy/man1/arp-scan.1.html arp-scan]
+*[http://wiki.wireshark.org/SampleCaptures wireshark captures]
+*[http://www.alexonlinux.com/tcpdump-for-dummies tcpdump love]
+*[http://www.hczim.de/software/nstat.1.html nstat]
+*[http://www.digipedia.pl/man/doc/view/nast.8/ nast]
+*[http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=airmon-ng airmon-ng]
+*[http://wiki.fon.com/wiki/Fonera_2.0g_Specifications fonera 2.0g (discontinued)]
+*[http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index dd-wrt]
+*[https://openwrt.org/ open-wrt]
+*[http://batbox.org/wrt54g-linux.html WRT54G + linux]
+*[https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=26116 piranha firmware by Orange]
+*[http://nmap.org/book/man.html nmap]
+*[http://linux.die.net/man/8/packit packit]