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On 24th January, 2011, at 630pm @UWScreative will be hosting an 'inspired by London 2012' event at the CCA in Glasgow, host city for ICSEMIS 2012.
TOO BOOK YOUR PLACE, CLICK HERE
The event is FREE to attend and open to all. It will bring together a scientist, an artist and a philosopher (me) in conversation about the way in which athletes bodies and minds are being transformed by technology.
Today, elite sports find themselves in increasingly unchartered waters. More than ever before, athletes are using technology to optimize their biology for performance and many of their methods are not even tested for by the authorities. From genetic tests for sport performance to the use of superhuman prosthetic enhancements, this subject reaches parts that present-day anti-doping rules cannot reach. These technologies have changed elite sports, as we know them, but the next decade promises even more of an overhaul to what we think being good at sport means. As we approach the London 2012 Games, this debate will consider the ethical implications of new technology in sport, asking what distinguishes the cheat from the innovator. We will ask whether the debate about the ethics of athletic performance is all but over, as the winners' podium makes space for the transhuman athlete.
Going beyond the familiar debate about doping and anti-doping, this debate will consider how far biology has been pushed by technical systems and what Jacques Ellul called the technological society. It will include Dr Yannis Pitsiladis, who works with the World Anti-Doping Agency on genetic technologies and live artist Francesca Steele (pictured here in an image by Simon Keitch www.simonkeitch.com), who became a body builder as part of her most recent performance work. Along with me, we will consider how we ought to regard the future of sport and how it will function in an era of transhuman enhancements.
The event is presented by the University of the West of Scotland as part of 'Knowing Sport: The science behind the medals', a public engagement initiative of ICSEMIS 2012 (Glasgow) supported by PODIUM and Research Councils UK, Inspired by London 2012'.
Speaker Biographies
Dr Yannis Pitsiladis is a Reader in Exercise Physiology at the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences in the College of Medicine, Veterinary & Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow and founding member of the “International Centre for East African Running Science” (ICEARS) set up to investigate the determinants of the phenomenal success of east African distance runners in international athletics. Recent projects also include the study of elite sprinters from Jamaica and the USA and the study of world class swimmers (e.g., why are there very few black swimmers?). He is a Visiting Professor in Medical Physiology at Moi University (Eldoret, Kenya) and Addis Ababa University (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). He is a member of the Scientific Commission of the International Sports Medicine Federation (FIMS, and a member of the List Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He is also a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Francesca Steele has performed and exhibited work nationally and internationally since graduating with a BA in Fine Art from Northumbria University. She was awarded the Belsay Hall Fellowship in 2006, and has spent time as an artist in residence in various sensitive research, medical and rehabilitation settings including The Centre for Life and PEALS, in Newcastle and Horticultural Healing (a rehabilitation project for clients with acquired brain injury) in Plymouth. Francesca has performed at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead and Arnolfini, Bristol amongst other UK and international venues. Her work has been featured in a range of publications, most recently Marina Abramovic and the Future of Performance Art (Prestel 2010). Currently Francesca bodybuilds specifically as part of her arts practice. The preparation for her current work began in October of 2008, since that time Francesca has trained as a bodybuilder. She won the title of Miss Plymouth in September 2009 and Miss West Britain (Trained Figure) at the National Amateur Body Building Association (NABBA) competition in April 2010, in May of that year she placed in the top six at the British Finals. From these experiences she has continued to develop her arts practice, through video and live performance work. Notably Routine, which was performed at The Pigs of Today are the Hams of Tomorrow (January 2010) and then the National Review of Live Art in Glasgow (March 2010).
and here's my sport biography :)
Professor Andy Miah, PhD, is Chair of Ethics and Emerging Technologies in the Faculty of Business & Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland, Global Director for the Centre for Policy and Emerging Technologies, Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, USA and Fellow at FACT, the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, UK. He is co-editor of Sport Technology: History, Philosophy and Policy (2002), currently on sale in the IOC Museum. He is author of over 50 papers on technology and sport and is author of ‘Genetically Modified Athletes’ (2004 Routledge), the first book to address this new science of human enhancement. He often gives pro-enhancement arguments, the most enjoyable of which was giving one such address to the IOC President Jacques Rogge and the Queen of Sweden at the Nobel institute in Sweden.
Taking place from 10-11 February, 2011 at University of Plymouth. I will be speaking on 'Neuroethics and the Posthuman Mind'
16 December 2010 at Microsoft UK, 100 Victoria St, London. Looks like I'll be the only academic speaker on the programme; should be fun
Building an ethical future for education in a Digital Britain
On 9th November, I'll deliver a keynote at the annual London 2012 Olympic conference of the Higher Education Academy conference for Leisure Tourism, Sport and Hospitality.
On Tuesday 26th, I gave an opening address to the Seeking Perfection event hosted by #msf2010 and co-funded by Wellcome and Nowgen. The evening was spent hearing from speakers about ways of altering humanity, along with a performance piece from young people, dramatizing the possible future where human enhancement is part of our culture in a more significant way. Here are some photographs from the event, along with my slides.
[slideshare id=5609909&doc=miah2010manscifest-101029104522-phpapp01 600 400]
Presentations I've given on the Design Interactions Master Degree at the Royal College of Art
Director of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Ruth Mackenzie with Cornerhouse Manchester CEO Dave Moutrey and Andy Miah at #media2012 launch
From 1-7 October, I'll be working on the #ANDfest programme in Manchester, chairing a series of Salons, the #media2012. Take a peek at the AND festival programme here
Here's where you can definitely find me during the festival....
Oct 2 -The Science of Ambiguity Sat 02 Oct 12:00 – 14:00 (International Anthony Burgess Foundation) In recent years, trust in science has come under scrutiny through controversies surrounding climate change, stem cell research and environmental disasters. Is the loss of public trust in science symptomatic of a broader collapse in belief across society? As the long term implications of new technology become harder to fathom, trust becomes increasingly necessary. This Salon focuses on systems of ambiguous truths and strategies of resistance, where scepticism and cynicism become normal expectations and 24-hour news and political spin shape public opinion.
Oct 4 - #media2012 Cornerhouse, Mon 04 Oct 10:00 – 17:00 and screening This is first public presentation of the Media Blueprint for London 2012, an independent proposal, written by Professor Andy Miah, to create a UK wide Underground Media Zone during the London 2012 Games. Drawing citizen journalists and official Olympic media from the Olympic Games of Beijing, Vancouver, London, Sochi and Rio. Together with expertise in new and social media from around the UK, discussions will focus on opportunities, strategy and vision, to create a new media legacy for the Games and engage UK networks to discuss prospects within the context of an increasingly Digital Britain. This network will not focus on sport, instead, it will tell the cultural legacy of citizens engaged by London 2012, from the regions and the nations. Speakers will include London 2012 Creative Programmers, Debbi Lander and Richard Crowe, social media experts Kris Krug, Alexander Zolotarev, and Josi Paz, and London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Director Ruth Mackenzie. The event will focus attention on strategy and collaboration, building a mainline media network from North to South in the UK. This full day will include an unconference style presentation format for interested parties to present. To register, email hello@andfestival.org.uk
Oct 5 - Identity Shopping Tue 05 Oct 12:00 – 14:00 (International Anthony Burgess Foundation) Identity transplants and biometric chips are extending our identities beyond traditional forms of data surveillance. As they are gradually being woven into our biology how does this affect our behaviour in the real world? Has our obsession with human identity become more important, as we define our uniqueness via biological modifications and digital avatars? World leading bioethicist Professor John Harris debates how identity is mutating on an evolutionary scale and artist Heath Bunting introduces his ambitious project to create a new identity, lawfully creating ‘off-the-shelf’ persons for sale, building a bridge between the biological and the digital.
Oct 6 - It's Sapiens to Be Homo International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester, M1 5 B12:00 - 14:00 How are gender and sexuality inscribed by social and cultural norms? How has taboo changed for the booming net-porn generation and what role does digital fantasy now have in subcultures of role reversal and experimentation? From heady bloggers to drag queens, the fetishisation of code - be that digital or fashion - has entered the mainstream, or has it? Join us for a debate about how gender queerness has become a commercial device and how this may lead to its standardization and banalization. In this salon we will be joined by Trixxie Carr, San Francisco's finest female faux-queen and outspoken voice for free speech, avant-art, drag theatre and human rights.
Oct 6 - Tactical Biodesign: Design for Debate Design For Debate CUBE, Wed 06 Oct 14:30 – 17:00 / FREE The devices and propositions in Designed Disorder aspire to create debate around scientific developments in nano and biotechnology. This debate will highlight speculative design processes whilst also challenging its role in an information society. Do art and design perform different functions in an economy of new ideas and does this line blur in the context of biological artifacts? With Professor Anthony Dunne, Head of Design Interactions Department at the RCA and designers James Gilpin, Nelly Ben Hayoun.
Oct 7 - Ideology Redux Thu 07 Oct 12:00 – 14:00 (International Anthony Burgess Foundation) From Slavoj Zizek to Michael Hardt, contemporary philosophers are calling for a renewed interest in the relevance of communism. We ask what it means to revisit socialism for a new generation who live in environmentally and economically unpredictable times. Have strong convictions been cast out of modern, democratic and political life? What are the new systems of thought for the digital generation? And how do we re-imagine art and politics against the fashionable communism of capital?
At long last, the footage from my inaugural lecture is online. Take a peek at the last 10 years of biology and computing to see whether 'the future has arrived'
Thanks to Cat Kramer, Zoe Papadopolous and Dr Anthony Mark Cutter for their participation in the Nanoscaled Salon at #ANDfest last month. fun times gassing about nano icecream (pictured above).
In September 2005, UWS held the 'Celebrity Culture' conference, which brought around 100 speakers to Ayr, Scotland's Riviera (according to Trip Adviser). This March, Dr Philip Drake and I have co-edited a section of Cultural Politics (BERG), publishing a handful of those papers. You can find more here, but below is the running order. Thanks to all authors for hanging in there with us.
The Cultural Politics of Celebrity
Philip Drake and Andy Miah consider celebrity as a ubiquitous aspect of contemporary culture, mass media, and the Internet that is inextricably linked to developments in media systems that operate within capitalist systems of commodity exchange.
News, Celebrity and Vortextuality: A Study of the Media Coverage of the Michael Jackson Verdict
Gary Whannel examines the transformation of news as a cultural commodity and a social process by the expansion in the range, volume, and circulation speed of media production or what Whannel conceptualizes as 'Vortextuality' with reference to the coverage of the verdict announcement in the trial of Michael Jackson.
Unsolicited Submission
American artist David Levines project about unsolicited wannabe celebrity submissions to talent and other cultural agencies is a multidisciplinary and multiyear project of gathering, analysing, and archiving such unsolicited submissions in every field of cultural endeavour.
The 'Public Inquisitor' as Media Celebrity
Michael Higgins looks at the development and utility of celebrity among high-profile political interviewers, offering the revised description of 'public inquisitor' to describe the rise of the political interviewer as a celebrity form.
'As Seen on TV': The Celebrity Expert: How Taste is shaped by Lifestyle Media
Helen Powell and Sylvie Prasad examine how television, print, and advertising contribute to the construction of media stars such as Jamie Oliver whose function is to transfer knowledge of particular lifestyles to the lived experience of ordinary people.
My talk at the British Library's launch of their Olympic archive discusses aspects of the Games that remain obscured from the awareness of most audiences. [slideshare id=3900823&doc=miah2010untoldolympicbl-100429063351-phpapp02]
Tuesday 20 April 2010, 2.00 – 5.00pm, followed by a reception till 18.30 Meeting Room 4, British Library Conference centre.
Speakers Professor Andy Miah University of the West of Scotland Cathy Smith The National Archives Dr Kevin Hylton Leeds Metropolitan University
Join us to celebrate the launch of the British Library’s new website, which showcases the Library’s sports-related collections, and looks at the phenomenon of the Olympic Games – and London 2012 in particular –through the lens of social science. The website has been created by a team led by Gill Ridgley in Social Science Collections and Research.
Our speakers will talk about aspects of their Olympic Games-related research. We will also discuss the issues surrounding the capture and archiving of London 2012 publications and documents for current and future generations of social scientists. A panel discussion will round off the event, followed by a drinks reception, where you can meet fellow academics and London 2012 stakeholders.
RSVP social-science-events@bl.uk www.bl.uk
Directions
Tube and Rail King’s Cross/St Pancras International Buses 10, 30, 59, 73, 91, 205, 390, 476
How to find us The British Library 96 Euston road London NW1 2DB
Thanks so much to everyone who came to my inaugural lecture last night, especially those who travelled far and wide. It was great to see you and spend time with you. Here's the prezi file for those who couldn't make it (please be patient, it's a big file!).
[prezi width="600" height="400"]http://prezi.com/wdwqljdsb0sy/view/[/prezi]
This is the title of a talk I'll give for: ‘Pervasive or Invasive?’ hosted by the UWE Digital Cultures Research Centre at the Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol on Friday, March 5th 2010.
The day is designed to bring cutting edge research to the Pervasive Media design community under the auspices of an AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship project.
Pervasive Media may afford an intensification of surveillance, data mining, and loss of privacy, and this is certainly the perception amongst many potential designers and users. 'Pervasive or Invasive?' is designed as a day of presentations and discussions with people from different disciplines, to generate shared understandings of the issues, and then start to define what Ethical Design in Pervasive Media might be. The day will have workshop discussion opportunities - working with developers and designers to generate the beginnings of a set of ethical design principles for Pervasive Media applications.
- What data is being collected/collated and commercially exploited by the applications we use?
- When does anonymity matter?
- Is it possible to design an application so that people are able to choose which information they share?
- What levels of user consent are needed?
- Which design decisions can be left to the end user?
[slideshare id=3344129&doc=miah2010ethicaldesign-100305082822-phpapp01]
Speaking today at the Fresh Media Olympics Conference in Vancouver. Starting at 1pm at W2 Media + Culture House.
SCHEDULE Monday, Feb 22 W2 Culture + Media House • 112 W Hastings
12:00pm - Registration and hot soup lunch 1:00pm - Keynote by Andy Miah followed by plenary dialogue 3:00pm - Salt Spring Coffee Co and desserts 3:15pm - Break-out workshops: Workshop 1: Harnessing the Media to Activate Citizens Workshop 2: Bejing to London 5:00pm - Wine & hors d'ouevres reception
Join Fresh Media and W2 at the W2 Culture + Media House on Monday for this afternoon of intellectual dialogue on the impact social media has had on the stories surrounding the Olympic games. The Winter Olympics and Paralympics are expected to draw 3 billion television and 70 million website viewers worldwide and will generate more wireless and social media-based content than any previous Olympics.
With this explosion of citizen-generated media tools in the hands of Olympic fans and foes, as well as pervasive reporting by new media journalists and bloggers, will social media have its journalistic coming-out party this February?
The conference features a keynote from Andy Miah, author of ‘Genetically Modified Athletes’ (2004) and ‘A Digital Olympics: Digital Games, Ethics & Cultures’ (The MIT Press, 2010), and panels with senior journalists and industry watchers from the USA, UK, Canada, and elsewhere. An afternoon unconference program provides open space for participant led-workshops with an added emphasis on practice and a summary of the first Olympic week. The conference also brings people face-to-face for networking and sharing tips on theory, practice, legal and operations. W2 will webstream to reach viewers outside Vancouver. The day wraps with a Cinq à Sept reception and open for everyone!
This event is produced by W2 with assistance from the Fresh Media Crew - more at: http://freshmedia.me
Presentation for the Globalizing European Bioethics Education (GLEUBE) meeting, which is part of a European consortium of universities. this talk focused on the number of uncertainties facing bioethics in the future.
Tomorrow's presentation for the British Academy visit to my uni has inspired me to re-articulate my Olympic research on media activism. I'll cover a range of the salient points of the last 10 years of research, from Olympic disruption to full blown 'ambush media'. Everything I've discovered convince me that the more powerful dimensions of media change are all about the opening up of traditional media to citizen reporting, but the trick is to ensure that a) the core professional dimensions of journalism are not lost and b) that the economic foundation of investigative journalism can be maintained. At present, we're not thinking enough about either and, while I'm fully behind the rise of online journalism - see recent on Huffington Post online surpassing Washington post online - we do need people to dedicate their whole careers to this work. Either we need to find a way to accelerate that process or better support the really great journalist we have among us: and there are many. So, this title 'We are the media', is one I've used before, but the 'we' here takes further account of the fact that our professional journalists are also part of our collective. So, here are the slides from the talk tomorrow. Enjoy. Comments appreciated! What can we do better in London for 2012?
[slideshare id=2644724&doc=miah2009wearethemedia-091203154944-phpapp01]
I'll be speaking here next week on: Mashing-Up Computing & Biology: From Digital Bodies to Enhanced Humans
"This presentation discusses the emerging era of human enhancement as an interface between cultures of computing and biology. It argues how the future of humanity will depend largely on its ability to accumulate biocultural capital, while faced with the environmental imperative to ensure sustainable adaptation."