E3: Edge of Reality (ER)

Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) data generation processes are often considered to be harmless due to their imperceptibility. However, the continuous creation of IoT-AI data and its transmission between the Edge and the Cloud is contributing to ICT’s global carbon footprint which is now estimated to account for around 3.9% of worldwide CO2 emissions. Through the Edge of Reality (ER) project, Lancaster University Design researchers will collaborate with BBC R&D to co-create an innovative and provocative Human-Data Interaction (HDI) experience aimed at helping BBC audiences and wider publics to better consider how the lack of user legibility, negotiability, and agency of IoT and AI data is contributing to climate change as well as creating cybersecurity concerns. The experience will be deployed in a variety of locations and enable different publics to experience for themselves how a more sustainable and cyber-secure data-driven future might look, feel, and potentially offer benefits for the planet and peoples’ everyday lives.