Augmented Humanity: Does the Human Enhance the Machine or the Machine Enhance the Human?

Lead Research Organisation: University of Manchester
Department Name: Arts Languages and Cultures

Abstract

The project will support fellowships that aim to support:
To support the career development of talented early career researchers and nurture future leaders

To support the broader skills development of high-calibre recent doctoral graduates or early career post-doctoral researchers in the art and humanities, particularly in relation to working with creative economy partners to support the wider impact of research.

To support projects which will contribute to the Creative Economy
To support research which is cross-disciplinary, collaborative and innovation-orientated.

Planned Impact

See case for support
 
Description The award funded 5 CEEF Fellows, who led collaborative projects on the changing relationship between humanity and technology, with a view to exploiting the propensities of these technologies to enhance, mimic, extend and disrupt human endeavour and behaviour. These projects used multi- and interdisciplinary approaches combining arts and humanities research with R&D and proof of concept testing , to respond to the challenges and potentials of human-technology relationships and their application to media, sound design, archival, museological, curatorial and performance practices. They were related to the following themes of the Industrial Strategy:
Transformative digital technologies (plus robotics and artificial intelligence); technologies for the Creative Industries; Leading edge healthcare ageing friendly cities; Manufacturing processes and materials of the future; Design strategy, design futures & design-driven innovation.
The objectives of the award were to achieve:
Research engagement & industry impact
Professional development
Proof of concept testing
Research publications

Each Fellow took different approach to their short projects, embeddeding their research design and approach with their industrial partners. The individual projects were:

Dr Joe Lindley - ImaginationLab, University of Lancaster/BBC
The Living Room of the Future explores new forms of immersive experience which utilise Object Based Media to provision media that is personalised, adaptable, dynamic, and responsive. It builds upon previous research on Perceptive Media, Internet of Things Storytelling, and Experiential Futures which, in contrast to approaches that simply conflate immersion with increased visual fidelity, proposes subtle and nuanced ways to immerse audiences in a situated context.

Dr Raymond Drainville - Manchester Metropolitan University/Pulsar
This project explored the context that pictures and text provide one another.This work is typically done in the social sciences and humanities through methods like content analysisand iconography and others, and adapting methods from these. AI offers significant potential for delving more deeply into large datasets of images than is otherwise possible. Practically, using an existing image dataset (1.2 million tweets with images) to start it will develop a typology of the contextual connections people make when they share imagery on social media.

Dr Robert Smail - Lancaster UniversityRuskin Library & Archival Collection/Pulsar
Augmenting and automating the exploration of historical plant life in the Lake District through the collections of the Ruskin Library, including the identification and digitisation of
material from the Ruskin Library collections to create a digital dataset of Ruskin's observations on the vegetation and environment of the Lake District; the integration of this material with Smail's corpus of published historical scientific writing; the application of machine learning and automated computational approaches to analyse and visualise this combined material; iv. the presentation of the combined material as an interactive map to the NT and RL&RC

Dr. David Firth - University of Manchester/FACT, Liverpool
This project involved research and public engagement activities on the theme of 'virtual reality as a form of postcolonial storytelling'. The research explores how immersive virtual experiences and virtual world-making may encourage forms of 'postcolonial empathy' and foster new perspectives on difficult heritage and colonial pasts.

Dr Ioanna Filippidi - Royal Northern College of Music/Manchester Museum of Science and Industry and Bridgewater concert Hall
The project investigated involuntary musical imagery (INMI) after attending live concerts, and its difference with private music listening. The project involved a collaboration with the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, where data were collected from members of the audience. A public engagement and data collection event also took place at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. This project aimed to investigate whether going to concerts can potentially trigger more involuntary musical imagery, as concerts can be immersive and intense experiences
Exploitation Route The research outcomes involved proof of concept testing, methodological development and engagement product development. These were researched and tested collaboratively with project industry partners in a range of settings, including public engagement events and conference presentations (e.g. Lindley, Gogglebox of the Future, Filippidi with MSI, Firth, with FACT). These outcomes are being taken forward in various ways - Bridgewater Hall will build the findings into programming practice; FACT benefited from the input of the Fellow, Firth in supporting an international showcase on VR and postcolonialism, which developed their capacity for public engagement and critical reflection. The John Ruskin Library is specifically using this opportunity with Smail to test and develop search and archival organisation mechanisms.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
 
Description A variety of non-academic impacts are expected from this work. To date, directly from the fellows' collaborative research the following are noted: Firth: audience development for VR and story-telling; new audiences to FACT through the engagement with a VR showcase 'The Other Dakar'. Lindley: informing BBC practice through investigation of immersive viewing experiences, with Living Room of the Future Filipidi: findings are informing Bridgewater Hall programming practice
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural,Societal
 
Description UKRI Future Leadership - Design Research Works - Joseph Lindley
Amount £1,200,000 (GBP)
Organisation United Kingdom Research and Innovation 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Panel of research public engagement presentations as part of Microdot, trailer for Bluedot Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This panel presentation was commissioned by Bluedot festival for their trailer event at Hatch, Manchester. The panel was part of a day event which was free to attend but ticketed attracting a wide range of families and individuals interested in the festival programme of science, research, technology, music and other arts and entertainment. The panel "Creative Vision - Seeing through digital eyes" featured speakers from University of Manchester (Gilmore, Symons) Lancaster University (Lindley) and Manchester Metropolitan University (Drainville/Vis; Courneya), the Creative Visions panel poses the questions: Can we see more clearly through AI, computational augmentation and VR? What happens when we ask machines to look on our behalf? How can digital technologies help us understand what humans sometimes cannot see? The panel discusses these, and other questions & outline their creative visions for the future.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.discoverthebluedot.com/video/panel:-creative-visions-%E2%80%93-seeing-through-digital-ey...