In the heat of the day

The series “In the heat of the day” explores algorithmic structuring of the world by exploring and rearranging location data from Fitness trackers made available through the internet of things.

Algorithms are more and more structuring our world and they are at the forefront of shaping our current and future bodies. We are increasingly intertwined with algorithmic calculative devices as we consume information, inhabit space and relate to the world around us. Calculative devices transform the nature of human subjectivity, pushing at the limits of what can be read, analyzed and thought about, and with new forms of data aggregation come also more advanced forms of profiling human behaviour. While a lot of the developments around algorithms are meant to be beneficial for our wellbeing, AI may lead to new forms of manipulation and surveillance, not necessarily in the form of authoritarian politics but in a more hidden and highly effective way: by changing the economy in a way that turns us all into smartphone cattle milked for our data.