As cameras continue to become cheaper and embedded in mobile technologies, our interaction with images will be impacted dramatically. Already, we can see changes in the fluidity of image-authorship [when 100 images are taken of the same event, how do we codify a single author — the author of the event? of each individual photo?], increased re-appropriation of images [pinterest, empowerment of image editing software] and a flurry of questions regarding ownership of our own image when it is taken with or without our knowledge.
Looking 5 years into the future, I would like to estimate the following regarding the presence of cameras everywhere [mobile or networked]–
— Cameras everywhere increase the ability of the populous to hold governments and authority figures accountable for their actions. We have seen over the past year the ability for protest to be galvanized by the images of authoritative abuse caught on camera… 5 years into the future, I can see this working both negatively and positively for the populous. Government and authoritative agencies will obviously become more intelligent in the way that they practice questionable behaviors hiding their behaviors in various ways– much like the way that they now “embed” journalists with the armed forces, at least one motivate of which is to more closely control the journalists’ access to information. I can imagine that obfuscation techniques will become much more sophisticated. On the other side, I can see a path where citizen propaganda becomes an important part of news cycles and elections… as citizens become more sophisticated in their capturing and editing techniques, the product they produce will become much more polished and will no longer resemble something “raw” but a very crafted piece of work that can be passed off as “raw.” I can imagine this type of document becoming much more important in daily consumption of knowledge.
— I think that cameras everywhere will eventually force us to surrender the idea of our “image” being our own. When everyone is able to capture a personal image at any time and place — on a phone or otherwise — I think that our personal image will become less and less a piece of property and more a piece of public information. While this is negative in a sense of potential privacy concerns and for those who make a living off of their image, I think that there is also a positive in the idea that … no. Actually, I’m not sure I really do see a positive.
— As cameras in mobile technology become more sophisticated, I can imagine that interaction with those cameras will also become more routine in our every day lives. For instance — interaction with a tablet or a phone without speech — gestural or even via eye tracking, will be fascinating. The ability to use our images as keys is an interesting thought. I.e. if a person’s face needs to be visible in order to unlock their computer or camera — that could be really cool. I am also curious as to whether this will quiet the world — decrease the need for speech that is not directed toward another individual.
— I think that the ability for people to capture moving images of their entire lives will significantly decrease the consumption of moving images as entertainment. The ubiquitous camera decreases the sense of moving images being abstracted from the normal… significantly decreasing their effectiveness as pieces of entertainment. I think that the rise in animation and highly manipulated images [3D] are evidence of the increasing boredom with standard moving images as pieces of rich cultural currency — as opposed to artifacts of daily existence. This will continue over the next five years, and I think we’ll see a rise in live – spectacle entertainment — mirroring that of the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries.
— Lastly, I’m interesting in the idea of the ubiquitous camera changing the idea of the familiar. Is Obama, for instance, more familiar of a public figure to us because he attempts to interface across video channels that appear to be un manipulated by the news media [the idea of him appearing on google plus and other social channels in the form of a moving image]? My nephew barely knows me, but does know my image because I’ve spoken with him through FaceTime on my mother’s iPad. How do we then codify the familiar? I think, in 5 years, for young peoples, the idea will change. Knowing a person will be equally valid in the form of knowing them in person and knowing their moving image.