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Paper Short Abstract:

Examining artist viewpoints on future (smart) homes, this paper contrasts accelerationist and techno-skeptics stances. Through mixed methods, including interviews with creators, it studies technology's impact on living and privacy, focusing on power imbalances in home digitalization.

Paper Abstract:

The paper explores diverse technological stances embraced by artists engaged in both the material and imaginative construction for the future of (smart) domestic living. Building upon the ongoing debate between effective accelerationists (e/acc) and techno-skeptics, our study investigates how artists’ visions and personal narratives align with these dichotomous viewpoints, oscillating between the pursuit of unfettered technological progress and a more reserved perspective that seeks to expose the power imbalances and privacy risks afforded by smart technologies.

Through a mixed-methods approach, the research delves into an interpretative analysis of the creative outputs from the array of international artists, architects, and curators, including Lauren Lee McCarthy, Kuba Jekiel, Sarah Douglas, Jeff Wilson, Aideen Barry, Rowan Elselmy, Nnedi Okorafor, and Liam Young. Complementing this, our examination integrates qualitative online interviews with chosen creators and a secondary analysis of their interviews published in various media outlets, offering a comprehensive understanding of their perspectives on technology and its perceived influence on digitally-mediated living.

In discussing the transformation of power dynamics via the digitization of domestic spaces, we also consider the gendered dimension of this discourse. Our analysis dissects the intricate links between technological visions, societal dynamics, and domestic environments, as evidenced in chosen artworks. We posit that both existing and future smart homes are becoming arenas of ideological struggles, instrumental in sculpting the architecture of contemporary technosociety.