Human Ecosystems: From Conflict to Co-Existence in Contemporary Cities

Abstract

"Social networks and ubiquitous technologies have transformed the ways in which we communicate, learn, work, consume, express emotions, relate to each other, create and share information and knowledge. Major operators create digitally mediated public and private spaces using hardware and software user interfaces, iconic and symbol ic archi tectures, communication strategies and patterns. This scenario creates private/public spheres in which users leave digital traces which are used to commoditize human behaviour and expression: for marketing, surveillance, social experiments and more, al l without expl icit participant consent: current modalities are not sufficient in enabling users to control the ways in which their data is used. Algorithmic production of information is yet another space in which confusion and opacity are created in people's perception of how their information will be used: they are not transparent and accountable, and laws, regulations and habits are not structurally able to confront with their continuous, fluid evolution. This results in the systematic transgression of multiple human rights and expectations. This scenario describes a critical situation which must be confronted with. In this article we propose a two-phase methodology whose objective is to find resolutive solutions for the presented context, starting from a focus on major social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)."