Hacking Reality

What happens when you mix the Terminator, with Rear Window and the plot to several Phillip K. Dick novels? You get the 1990 film Hardware a cyberpunk thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future (aren’t they all?) where the government conspires to create genocidal robots in order to murder the population of the ghetto. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly weren't available, so the film stars Dylan McDermott (The Practice) and Stacey Travis (Dr. Hackenstein) as star crossed lovers up against a relentless, violent cyborg. Murder! Sex! Iggy Pop!

Join us at the Academy of the Impossible on Thursday, April 18 for the latest in our series examining the Internet and online culture.

Confrontation is inevitable (and arguably necessary) in any engaged community. Conflict is often a catalyst for deepening perspective, but disagreements about values and lived experiences can get messy, especially in the coliseums of social media. The Internet also provides a perpetually and rapidly cycling landscape of events, statements and issues that illuminate (or even stoke) conflict. Can discussion groups with shared/overlapping interests navigate these tensions while preserving solidarity and respect, or are occasional and permanent fissures a fact of community life?

The salon will be moderated by writer, editor and ever-reasonable human Leah Bobet, and is the brainchild of internet feminist Steph Guthrie and comedian and podcaster Dan Speerin. Discussion will touch on the many ways we approach conflict on the Internet, and how these confrontations both express and shape their online communities.

The free event begins promptly at 7pm.

In the interest of honest and constructive conversation, active listening and respect for fellow participants is a must. No sharing of comments on social media will be permitted, and no personal attacks, mocking, or insults will be tolerated.

February 14th is a day for chocolates, roses and RANTS. Come join Academy Knowledge Professional Orla Hegarty for a discussion on how to remain single and sane on what some singles believe to be the most culturally damaging 'holiday' ever created. Let's share our experiences and help debunk the myths of being 'single and miserable' or 'single and desperate'. Cinnamon hearts and other treats will be available to chew on while we ruminate on the perils and pitfalls of being happily single in our coupled world.

This interview is a great example of the knowledge we generate at the Thursday night Hacking Reality salons:

Did Prime Minister Stephen Harper really choke on a hash brown? On June 7, 2011, his Members of Parliament appeared convinced as they posted the news item to the social media platform Twitter. Or at least they did until their party admitted that a hack of its website circulated the fake news item. More than embarrass the party, the hackers revealed the circuits of its automated communications; a system that exemplifies how campaign management software controls their communications.

Harper’s ‘breakfast related’ incident opens a window into algorithms now possessing our media. Algorithms subtlety shape the way we are approached and interpreted as consumers -- of both products and information -- as democratic citizens, and even as friends. The search results we get from Google, the content we find in our social media feeds, the forms of political engagement we encounter, and even the ebbs and flows of the economy are all influenced by various software algorithms.

Fenwick McKelvey, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Washington, explores our dependence on algorithms through two related case studies. The first examines the issue of ‘network neutrality’ through the lens of Internet routing software. Transmission rates now depend on algorithms that detect and manage certain traffic patterns. They allow Internet Service Providers to tier Internet speeds and require customers pay to access these speeds. McKelvey sheds light on how some of this software works, how it has been employed by Canadian ISPs and how it could alter our very experience of the Internet.

The Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) is currently engaged in a study on Privacy and Social Media. While the Parliament of Canada may be on summer recess, the members of the Hacking Reality program at the Academy of the Impossible continue to meet each Thursday night.

Join us on August 9th to talk about the contentious relationship between social media and privacy. What sort of balance must be struck between the desire for attention and the need for privacy. When does one outweigh the other? Are solutions to be found in either technology, policy, or culture?

When parliament resumes so too will the committee and their study into social media and privacy. Now is a good opportunity for concerned members of the Canadian public to provide submissions to the committee for further input on their study. We'll talk about how to do this and why we should (or should not).

The Ghost in the Shell is both a concept, and series of stories from Japan, that have influenced many Academy members thoughts on where our society is going, and what cyberspace is becoming.

Join us to watch and discuss the themes that are found in the world surrounding the Ghost in the Shell series, and one of the last installments in the Stand Alone Complex: the Solid State Society.

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The year is 2034, and the face of terrorism has changed. No longer restricted to the limits of the physical world, the war on terror has exploded onto the net. In an attempt to confront this new threat, an elite counter-terrorism and anti-crime unit was formed: Public Security Section 9.

Two years have passed since the team's commander, Major Motoko Kusanagi, resigned from her post. After a rash of mysterious suicides, Section 9 is forced to confront the Puppeteer, a dangerous hacker with unsurpassed skills.

As their investigation of this terrorist threat takes them deeper into the bowels of a potential government conspiracy, Section 9 once again crosses paths with the Major, but is her sudden reappearance more than a coincidence, or is she somehow connected to the Puppeteer?

No one is above suspicion in this action-packed continuation of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex saga!

Note: we're starting at 8pm rather than our usual 7pm.

Campaign School is concluding its first season after welcoming nine political celebrities to the Academy of the Impossible — and facilitating many more online and offline discussions about how to empower participation in the process.

For a final Thursday night session before a bit of a summer break, new and returning students are invited to take part in an advanced session dedicated to looking back at the semester while setting a course for the next one.

We will also talk about plans for a special event to kick off the second season.

Participation in this session is encouraged for anyone who has attended Campaign School in the past or been enthused by the related content posted online.

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PLEASE NOTE: This event will start promptly at 7 p.m. and last for about 90 minutes.

For more information write to academy@impossible.ws

Barry Wellman, head of the NetLab research network at the University of Toronto, will visit the Academy of the Impossible to discuss the inspiration behind and concepts covered in Networked: The New Social Operating System, his new book co-written with Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

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Daily life is connected life, its rhythms driven by endless email pings and responses, the chimes and beeps of continually arriving text messages, tweets and retweets, Facebook updates, pictures and videos to post and discuss. Our perpetual connectedness gives us endless opportunities to be part of the give-and-take of networking.

Some worry that this new environment makes us isolated and lonely. But in Networked, Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman show how the large, loosely knit social circles of networked individuals expand opportunities for learning, problem solving, decision making, and personal interaction. The new social operating system of "networked individualism" liberates us from the restrictions of tightly knit groups; it also requires us to develop networking skills and strategies, work on maintaining ties, and balance multiple overlapping networks.

Rainie and Wellman outline the "triple revolution" that has brought on this transformation: the rise of social networking, the capacity of the Internet to empower individuals, and the always-on connectivity of mobile devices. Drawing on extensive evidence, they examine how the move to networked individualism has expanded personal relationships beyond households and neighborhoods; transformed work into less hierarchical, more team-driven enterprises; encouraged individuals to create and share content; and changed the way people obtain information.