Internet's Emergy
Internet's Emergy (embedded energy) is a speculative design project which tries to comment on our current behavior with internet usage and tries to make people aware of the environmental impact of using the internet extensively.
The project was selected and highlighted at National Institute of Design's annual design show - lines of sight
Gaea Exhibition New York
The project was exhibited at a physical exhibition in New York and chosen for panel discussions
Research
Research involved understanding the current conceptual model of the internet. Dark interaction patterns are present in our day to day interactions with smart devices. Ways that ethical user interactions are designed. How is the current gap between data and energy filled.
Various aspects related to Data, Energy, Internet Usage and CO2 emissions were mapped out. Interesting insights such as the philosophical model of energy with potentiality and flux were investigated. Alternate ways of measuring CO2 emissions were looked at such as the global hectare and earth overshoot day.
Based on these insights, a new proposed conceptual framework for a unit was established which helps in looking at data and energy in a new light. This framework accounts for data usage in terms of energy cost and is called the Data-Energy Unit or DEU. It is proposed that it can be used in the form of an alternative currency system for our daily interactions with internet and electronic appliances.
World Building
WILDFIRES AND RISING SEA-LEVELS MAKE MIGRATION A NORM. VAST AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES. INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IS UBIQUITOUSLY AVAILABLE THROUGH SATELLITE. THESE NEW “DIGITAL NOMADS” ARE SEEN CARRYING PHONES, LAPTOPS AND TABLETS ALONG WITH THEIR ESSENTIALS AND VALUABLES AS THEY COVER VAST DISTANCES.
A world building exercise was carried out using methodologies from the Extrapolation Factory. A new world was envisioned where the use of DEU could be highlighted and critical issues would be brought to the viewers attention.