Empathic Media: Theory-Building and Knowledge-Exchange with Industry, Regulators and NGOs

这个提议的项目建立在一个看似奇怪的观察之上：媒体越来越多地显示出移情的迹象。这不仅反映了媒体技术的一个小众领域，而且，如果对可穿戴技术的兴趣是可以衡量的，那么我们正在走向一个生活真正被媒介化的社会。共情媒体是指新媒体技术能够感知、解读和作用于人的情绪状态，并利用人的意图和表达产生文本化和个性化的媒体体验。我所说的“共情媒介”感知到的线索包括生理变化（如瞳孔扩张、脉搏、心率、血压、体温或呼吸）、皮肤电反应、信息素、皮肤电反应（如出汗）、面部/身体表情、声音变化和声音（可能超出人类的范围）。在每种情况下，共情媒体都涉及通过身体运动和输出来监控我们行为的系统，以个性化的能力与人们互动，并通过量身定制的文本体验来实现这一点。移情媒体是行为媒体的下一个发展方向，也就是那些与b谷歌和Facebook等全球最大的在线媒体公司相关的跟踪实践，这些公司的商业模式依赖于跟踪和理解我们的媒介活动。移情媒体包括，例如，微软的Xbox通过Kinect（一种视觉检测运动的插件设备）扫描房间的内容，并监测广告的生物识别反应。不止索尼和威瑞森开发了非常相似的电视反馈系统。其他即将推出的移情媒体包括谷歌Glass（增强现实眼镜）；带有跟踪和生物传感器的联网手表；联网服装和手袋（具有全球定位应用）；能安抚婴儿的婴儿服；还有能够监测身体数据的服装，目的包括健康意识和自我调节，以及与他人比较运动表现。无论是用于更精确的目标广告，还是个人更好地照顾自己的健康，每一种形式的移情媒体都涉及到感知对人们重要的东西的能力，并利用他们的表达和意图，从而影响他们的情绪状态。为了更深入地研究移情媒体，我通过与美国和英国的20多家初创企业和成熟企业进行半结构化访谈（有目的的对话）来寻求知识交流。这包括制作移情媒体的公司；广告公司寻求利用移情媒体产生的新的创造性、互动性和数据导向的机会；负责管理这些技术的欧洲和英国监管机构；以及关注隐私的非政府组织。重要的是，通过对一系列移情媒体的详细案例研究分析，我将评估：(a)技术本身的“能力”（即它们拥有什么属性以及它们使用户和公司能够做什么）；(b)这些媒体技术引发的政治经济、社会和法律问题。产出将包括一本关于移情媒体的专著，该专著将它们与现有行为实践的关系理论化，探讨它们是否能够“真正”了解我们的哲学含义，并评估现有隐私法律和规范的充分性。后来的产出包括：在世界领先的期刊上发表两篇实证期刊论文，根据所进行的访谈推进理论和理解；在主要国际媒体会议上发表三篇会议论文；按部门（工业、监管和非政府组织）发布三份报告，并与最终用户举行会议以提供这些报告；网上公布的主要调查结果；公开演讲和社交媒体参与；已经同意在BBC电台的大众媒体上露面；并为英国广播公司/卫报新闻项目“对话”撰写了一篇新闻文章。

This proposed project is founded on one seemingly strange observation: media are increasingly showing signs of being empathic. This reflects not just a niche area of media technology - but, if interest in wearable technology is anything to go by, we are heading towards a society where life is truly mediated. Empathic media refers to the capacity for new media technologies to sense, interpret and act on the emotional states of people, and to make use of people's intentions and expressions in generating textual and personalised media experiences. Cues perceived by what I term 'empathic media' include physiological change (eg pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature or respiration), electrodermal responses, pheromones, galvanic skin response (eg sweat), facial/body expressions, voice inflection and sound (potentially beyond human range). In each case, empathic media involve systems that monitor our behaviour by means of bodily movement and outputs, engaging with people in a personalised capacity, and doing this by means of tailored textual experiences.Empathic media are the next step in behavioural media, or those tracking practices associated with some of the world's largest online media companies, such as Google and Facebook, whose business models depend on tracking and making sense of our mediated activities. Empathic media include, for instance, Microsoft's Xbox via Kinect (a plug-in device that visually detects motion) that scans the content of rooms in which they are placed and monitors biometric responses to advertising. Not alone, Sony and Verizon have developed very similar televisual feedback systems. Other empathic media on the horizon include Google Glass (augmented reality glasses); networked wrist watches with tracking and bio-sensors; networked clothing and handbags (with global positioning applications); baby clothes able to soothe babies; and garments able to monitor bodily data for purposes ranging from health awareness and self-regulation to comparing sporting performance with others. Whether used for more precisely targeted advertising, or by individuals to better look after their own health, each form of empathic media involves the ability to sense what is significant for people, and make use of both their expressions and intentions, so acting on their emotional states. To study empathic media in greater depth, I seek knowledge exchange by means of semi-structured interviews (conversations with a purpose) with 20+ start-up and established organisations in the US and UK. This comprises companies involved in producing empathic media; advertising agencies seeking to make use of new creative, interactive and data-oriented opportunities generated from empathic media; regulators in Europe and the UK tasked with managing these technologies; and NGOs concerned about privacy. Importantly, through detailed case study analysis of a range of empathic media, I will assess: (a) the 'affordances' of the technologies themselves (ie what properties they possess and what they enable users, and companies, to do); and (b) the political-economic, social and legal issues that these media technologies raise.Outputs will include one monograph on empathic media that theorises them in relation to existing behavioural practices, explores philosophical implications in regard to whether they can "really" know us, and assesses the adequacy of existing privacy laws and norms. Later outputs entail: two empirical journal papers in world-leading journals that advance theory and understanding in light of interviews conducted; three conference papers at major international Media conferences; three reports targeted by sector (industry, regulation and NGOs) and meetings with end-users to deliver these; key findings placed online; public talks and social media engagement; already agreed mass media appearances on BBC radio; and a journalistic article for The Conversation, an RC-UK/Guardian journalism project.