Kevin Murray on Sun, 21 Oct 2001 23:33:16 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> The Human Phenome Project |
<< Below is an excerpt from an unpublished book 'Shock of the Old', that explores the atavistic narrative which is nascent in the digital revolution. It is probably more adolescent than most other contributions, but it may be useful as a vehicle for considering the 'other side' in all this. One of the curious phenomena in the early days of the Internet were virtual cemeteries. This speculation extends the idea to its logical conclusion, to consider how the information grid might be mapped onto deep human concerns. >> HUMAN PHENOME PROJECT The Human Genome Project concerns the genetic structure that defines humanity as a whole. While it has much to say about the shared plight of people on earth, it does not relate to the qualities that make each person separate and individual. With the aid of a global computer network, it becomes possible for the first time to conceive of a register which includes all the individuals that are alive on the planet. Since most records of births, deaths and marriages are being stored on computer already, it is simply a matter of linking those databases together. What's required is a common platform for information sharing-and the good will to achieve it. Although difficult to achieve universally, there is a wide enough catchment of information to establish a working system. It would then be up to international agencies to assist third world countries in setting up computer systems so that their population might be counted on this global database. To start dressing up this speculation, let's say that there is a congress in Milan which defines an international code for phenome registration, PEP (Phenome Exchange Protocol). Once established, a demand arises to have this information ornamented with more individual details. Just as the Hypertext Markup Language developed from plain integration of text and image to the highly-featured code that we have today, so users start demanding an ability to extend the plain details of birth and death with biomemes-biography, epitaph, home video, last words, etc. Besides the obvious issue of data storage, the granting of this individuation requires an additional code. Luxor is an 'add-on' to the Human Phenome Project which allows for the extension of basic data with more individualised categories, memory engines and linkages to related web sites. The purpose of this accessory is to inflect raw data with an expression of human concern-in most cases the loss felt by those left behind as well as a demonstration of pride in their achievements. The MPEP (Mnemonic Phenome Exchange Protocol) system enables the legacy of individual lives to be shared globally according to mutually agreed conventions. MPEP DEFINES A COMMON PLATFORM FOR THE GLOBAL REGISTRY OF DEATHS MPEP kills two birds with one stone. The problem of data storage and privacy is solved by transferring responsibility of the memorial material to visitors. Each record evolves through four stages: private, public, trash and oblivion. The life of a record begins with information restricted by password to family and friends. With the passage of time, this information becomes public and therefore accessible to anyone until it decays from lack of attention. The code which regulates this development attempts to humanise a potentially sterile medium. ACCESS MAINTAINS LIMITS, NEGLECT ERODES THEM A record is divided into two domains. The inner domain is accessible to those with a password, usually family and close friends. As long as the material conforms to MPEP 2.0 standards, the record can be ornamented with whatever is deemed appropriate. This can include school photographs, video of birth, answering machine messages and even the customised algorithm used by the Newton to recognise its owner's handwriting. The main constraint is the hire of disk capacity from a registered service provider. The outer domain itself consists of two layers. The base consists of the phoneme data (sex, gender, place, etc). Upon this skin is placed a unique string of ideomemes that distinguish the case from all others hitherto recorded. The ethic at work is termed abnormalisation-each individual should be represented by a unique set of categories, e.g., female, Hindu, New York, clarinet-player, favourite colours maroon and green, barracks for Yankees… New idiomemes are developed whenever sometime attempts to register the same identity string that has been recorded for someone else. UNIQUENESS IS AN UNIVERSAL RIGHT The allocation of new idiomemes within MPEP is often politicised. While there are always amateur sporting groups seeking to register their activity as a legitimate idiomeme, the more contentious issues relate to those on the margins of society, such as religious cults, criminals, sexual deviants, terrorist organisations-sometimes hostages are taken to press demands for MPEP recognition. Many choose to register their own identity strings during their lifetime-alternatively the executor of a person's will is given this task in consultation with family. Registration is usually marked by a special celebration which involves a handwoven bracelet featuring the unique identity string. A profession of testamentary designers evolves to assist in the mark-up of records with biographical material and interactive features. The life of a record echoes that of its subject. While the outer record is accessible as soon as the individual's death is registered, the certain inner components could be restricted to a circle of individuals, family and friends, who possess the required password. However, to guarantee that this knowledge is not lost once it ceases to be relevant, the contents of the inner cache are 'delivered' when a certain period had elapsed without it being accessed with the password (countries differ on the time set for 'gestation', from 15 years in England to 6 months in USA). MEMORY IS A HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY Once published, the record's innermost secrets are brought to the surface. To maintain the active participation of the memorial community and prevent the overstock of data, each phoneme contain a sub-program called Lethe. If the file is not accessed for a period of time, this virus begins devouring bytes. For a period, it is possible to restore a file. When you access a file in decline, you are granted the choice whether to grant reprieve to the contents with a dialogue 'Refresh?' Those who say 'yes' must leave their name with the file in a relay chain of donors. After a number of generations, records acquire a string of 'relays', testimony to the concern of the living. If this system had been in place in ancient Egypt, how many individual records would be 'alive' today? Perhaps more impressive would be the six hundred or so names responsible for carrying the torch of memory. THE FIELD IS PREPARED FOR INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT With this structure in place, it is possible then for anyone online to thread a memorial journey through the maze of records. Anna in Norway looks up people whose ancestors come from her village. Finds Dieter in Vancouver who belonged to the class of 1955 in Wilsmere College. She notices a familiar face in the school photograph which, in response to her cursor, takes her to Sigismund whose inner material has just been exposed, revealing him as the 'lost uncle' of her neighbour, who in reality fell in love with Dieter, following him to Canada, but then marrying a pastry cook, whose recipe for strawberry shortcake Anna downloads for later reference before following the its attribution to the mother, whose record has recently been infected, so she decided to refresh it and add her name as the third donor, after the daughter. Journeys through Luxor are charged with archaeological adventure. There are three professionalised groups officially charged with maintaining the network. Testimonial Designers accredit records as networthy. 'Angels' deal with any minor irregularities or disputes about storage, accessibility and transitions. And 'Sextons' perform the more routine spade work of backing up files. This professional core is complimented by a network of confraternities devoted to maintaining lost memories, often for one particular biomeme. These digital confraternities hunt out neglected records which they refresh in time before they are abandoned. The more aggressive go into third world countries with undeveloped registration programs and attempt to save souls for uploading. THERE'S STILL A PLACE TO GO Luxor does have its roots in the material world. On every new moon, a ceremony is conducted where the online files are backed up and stored in a special cemetery structure known as a Cine-Rom. If a major catastrophe occurs then there is at least a tape backup kept offline. Backups are stored for at least a year before being overwritten. Cine-Rom is a glass and steel structure located in the middle of the Victorian cemetery. A modern open plan office adjoins it; it is only here that alterations are permitted to the record status. Visitors arrive at the front office where they take a number from an automatic dispenser. A LCD noticeboard announces the next free desk. The visitors then go to a semi-private workstation where they can enter or delete material with a special password. At this point they can also change the restrictions on their site materials. They can work on either their own site or, if they are accompanied by all other password holders, they can alter the status of another's. __________________________________________________ Forecast for Melbourne Issued at 1050 on Sunday the 21st of October 2001 Fine and sunny with light northerly wind and an afternoon seabreeze. Max 23 # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net