The Problem:
The project was an exploration on advocacy based on empowerment. Can we empower the voiceless in fighting for their own rights, instead of them depending on others for help?
Course:
Digital Media, 2nd Semester Professor: Zach Pino
My Role:
This was an Individual project however the progression of the project included lot of discussion within the class and getting their perspective on how they perceive the concept. This was my first experience with raspberry pi hardware and python coding for hardware control.
Skills:
Python coding, Midi Music composition, Raspberry pi based electronic prototyping
"2 billion hectares of forest land on Earth is degraded affecting about 3.2 billion people, driving species to extinction and intensifying Climate Change."
United Nations
.png)
Forest land is being occupied mainly to make more space for Agriculture. For these 10 million hectares are destroyed every year (2015-20).
Over 31,000 species are threatened with extinction out of 116,000 species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.
Wildlife trafficking and close proximity to humans are bringing infectious diseases close to us. Like pangolins carrying coronavirus.
The situation of forests is similar to Marginalized groups. "They frequently face exclusion from decision making bodies. In the deliberation of societal issues, members of the dominant culture tend to initiate communication, and their ideas are more influential. In this light, digital technologies can promote the development of positions that would otherwise “be invisible, silenced, or squelched in general debate”
The Law of Group Polarization, Sunstein, 2002.
Forest (Marginalized)
Had been on the same geographic location historically. Has symbiotic relationships with other species. Is self- sustaining and never requires external help if left on their own.
Humans (Dominant)
Needs resources and space to survive within the new expectations of the society. Has the ability to interact making their requirements crucial to think about vs other living beings.
What makes it hard to empathize with the Marginalized?
Frans de Waal
Richard Lopez, 2010
Simulation Theory, “proposes that empathy is possible because when we see another person experiencing an emotion, we ‘simulate’ or represent that same emotion in ourselves so we can know firsthand what it feels like”. In its absence it becomes difficult to relate.
Frans de Waal
Berkeley, 2005
Our evolutionary background makes it hard to identify with outsiders. We’ve evolved to hate our enemies, to ignore people we barely know, and to distrust anybody who doesn’t look like us. Even if we are largely cooperative within our communities, we become almost a different animal in our treatment of strangers.
Conversations within my peers on Empathy.
"I strongly believe, people assume the worst of others if media and political narratives are the sole drivers of their opinion. Once you meet them yourself and talk with them you will actually understand them. This grad school experience is a great example."
"Sometimes I can relate to someone unknown on social media who's experience and life I can familiarize with while I can have an acquaintance I am only connected with professionally."
"Going through my education here I have realized that my empathy is a product of knowing enough context to imagine myself living in that situation. "
The eyes may be the window to the soul, but science is showing the ears may be the route to our hearts
Michael W. Kraus, Yale University
Empathic accuracy scores, with lower numbers indicating higher empathic accuracy as per the Research
1.75/2.0
Voice Only test with participants
1.91/2.0
Voice with Visual lighted room
1.9/2.0
Voice with Visual darkned room
Exploratory Primary Research (Provotype Based):
Feedback from People:
If we can sense communication within tress and give them voices and language, will it generate empathy for you?
"Giving an artificial human like voice to Trees doesn't feel natural."
"As you are explaining how they communicate, I feel they will have their own language."
"I feel voice and language is the biggest factor in human connection. In my neighborhood I see many people but the ones I have connected with are the people with whom I have had a conversation."
"What would seem more relatable to humans, is abstract, has the potential of empathy and not adulterate the idea of language within trees?"
How About Music!
Anecdotally, orchestras such as Daniel Barenboim’s West Eastern Divan Orchestra (Cheah, 2009) have shown that people can use music to overcome cultural boundaries, and increased empathy may be a facilitating factor in these social psychological processes.
D. Greenberg et. al. Interpreting Musical Experience Through The Empathizing–Systemizing (E-S) Theory: Implications For Autism
Technology Exploration:
Data Data Data!
The way plants can play music!
Plants intercommunicate, can scream when cut or stressed grow better when they sense more plants near them doing well, we are just disabled in perceiving them. They have continuous electrical activity within them to sustain their biological processes every day. The Idea was to sense these electrical activities and one of the environmental factors like soil moisture to serve as variable data points that can turn into music.
How does it Work?
.jpg)
Python Code (running inside the hardware)
import busio
import random
import digitalio
import board
import adafruit_mcp3xxx.mcp3008 as MCP
import time
from adafruit_mcp3xxx.analog_in import AnalogIn
import math
from EasyMIDI import EasyMIDI,Track,Note,Chord,RomanChord
spi = busio.SPI(clock=board.SCK, MISO=board.MISO, MOSI=board.MOSI)
cs = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D5)
mcp = MCP.MCP3008(spi, cs)
channel0 = AnalogIn(mcp, MCP.P0)
channel1 = AnalogIn(mcp, MCP.P1)
soilsens = AnalogIn(mcp, MCP.P2)
easyMIDI = EasyMIDI()
track1 = Track("acoustic grand piano")
def remap(val,sMin,sMax,tMin,tMax):
return (val - sMin) * (tMax - tMin) / (sMax - sMin) + tMin
def clamp(val,minimum,maximum):
if val < minimum:
return minimum
elif val > maximum:
return maximum
scale = ["A","B","C","D","E","F","G"]
bassScale = ["C","E","G"]
playtm = ["1/4","1/2","1"]
for i in range(20):
#while True:
#print('Raw ADC Value: ', channel.value)
#print('ADC Voltage: ' + str(channel.voltage) + 'V')
note0Index = math.floor(remap(channel0.value,0,65536,0,len(scale)))
note1Index = math.floor(remap(channel1.value,0,65536,0,len(scale)))
bassIndex = math.floor(remap(soilsens.value,0,65536,0,len(bassScale)))
octa1 = math.floor(remap(channel1.value,0,65536,1,7))
octa2 = math.floor(remap(channel0.value,0,65536,1,7))
octabass= math.floor(remap(soilsens.value,0,65536,5,7))
dur= remap(soilsens.value,0,65536,1/8,len(playtm))
note0 = Note(scale[note0Index], octave = octa1, duration = dur, volume = 100)
note1 = Note(scale[note1Index], octave = octa2, duration = dur, volume = 100)
bass = Note(scale[bassIndex], octave = octabass, duration = dur, volume=100)
note0TwoStep = Note(scale[ (note1Index + 2) % 7 ], duration = dur)
note0FourStep = Note(scale[ (note1Index + 4) % 7 ], duration = dur)
chord = Chord([note0,note1]) # a chord of notes C, E and G
track1.addNotes([note0TwoStep, note0FourStep, bass, chord])
time.sleep(.5)
easyMIDI.addTrack(track1)
easyMIDI.writeMIDI("output.mid")
Prototype Development
Prototype in Action!
Strategy for effective Advocacy (Empowering Voiceless)
At the micro level the prototype is responsible for translating plants data to music. But the question is how can be scale the prototype can span across the meso and macro level of Advocacy & Impact.
.jpg)
Takeaways
-
People want to find patterns within the incomprehensible to make it easier to understand. A student told me she could associate the plant creating music with signals within the teachings of her religion.
-
Ridicule is an effective way to inspire thinking and education because it draws parallels within the current society.
-
I presented the project to students in the current batch of digital media class in which I am a teaching assistant. We had an extended period of discussion on the idea of the empowerment as a mode of advocacy as well as rethinking the role of tech in design. I would like to setup a design sprint with the plant music device as an artifact and see if students can associate it with advocacy and design their own strategy in using the technology.