Rethinking the Role of Technology at Expo 2020 Dubai
By Aminah Koshul
Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai is in full-swing as a major world event that invites visitors to witness collaboration between 192 countries and join in “the making of a new world.” The Expo site boasts a striking magnetism with architectural marvels and futurist aesthetics. It’s an apt place for reflections on the fast-paced, ever-evolving nature of society since the inception of the digital age.
The Agents of Change exhibit at the US pavilion is a fitting location for such reflections, as visitors encounter the first model of the iPhone next to a large portrait of its inventor, Steve Jobs. The encompassing presence of technology seems palatable in that moment, as visitors use more current models of the modest-looking, pocket-sized device that changed the world to photograph the pavilion around them. Mirrored walls, rotating screens and light installations are captured on the tens of thousands of smartphones that have made their way through the pavilion since Expo began.
Observations of visitor engagement with this Instagram-worthy exhibit inspire more cerebral musings about the role technology plays in day-to-day affairs. The field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was completely transformed by Apple, a trillion-dollar tech behemoth which continues to test the limits of corporate influence on public interest. With smartphones occupying a position of central importance, a closer investigation of their use is pertinent to this discussion.
It becomes evident from surveying visitor engagement at the pavilion and the expo site in general that technology, such as smartphones, allows vital functions of human connection to occur. From sharing experiences to creating memories, the role of technology can be reimagined as an extension of human cognitive activity. For instance, many visitors go through the 20-30-minute pavilion experience while video calling family members in foreign countries. This is noteworthy in a cosmopolitan city like Dubai which hosts numerous expat and immigrant communities. Pakistani immigrants, in particular, make up a sizable portion of the population and are seen employing technology to help mitigate some of the most isolating aspects of the immigrant experience. Video calling friends and family in their country of origin and showing them the sights and sounds of Expo contributes to an increased sense of pride, ownership and belonging to the UAE as their country of residence.
A post-humanist overtone permeates these interactions as technology can be seen modifying age-old fundamentals of the human experience. Living and working abroad is no longer marked by stark separation as people are able to communicate in real-time and share experiences across cyberspace. The lunar sample at the US pavilion, a stone from the moon which one can touch, elicits awed reactions from visitors through the smartphone screen. While virtual attendance may be viewed as detracting from the physical event, it’s undeniable that it has opened doors of access for many people across the world. Ultimately, the bounds between humans and technology are becoming increasingly intertwined; rather than viewing the latest technologies as impersonal, detached exploits of science and industry, society must critically engage how technology has become a permanent fixture of modern life.
The “memories'' feature of social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram delves deeper into the idea of technology and its infusion with human cognition. This feature generally shows users the posts and photos they uploaded online in previous years. It has modified the meaning of memory from an organically occurring remembrance of the past to digital preservation of previous moments. Essentially, it is possible to vocalize, visualize and amplify experiences through smartphone technology, ranging from small-scale personal interactions to broad-scale international affairs.
Such observation-based, anecdotal evidence is the first step in framing inventions in the fields of science and technology as more than gadgetry or machinery and recognizing them for the far-reaching and intimate impact they continue to have on daily life. It is clear that technology will not pose an existential threat in the way that has been imagined by Hollywood blockbusters in their oft-repeated trope of man vs machine. As smartphones are continually tasked with helping perform cognitive processes, it becomes apparent that the human relationship with technology will be characterized by convergence rather than conflict.
However, this convergence does not connote a peaceable or even conciliatory process. It merely signals that the coherence of the human condition will be challenged as advancing forms of technology contribute to the upheaval of long-held traditions of communication and socialization. T he social fabric of society redesigns itself as human interactions are consistently informed by technology use in public and private spheres. With themes at Expo 2020 Dubai focusing heavily on the ongoing creation of the future, the question of humans’ transformative relationship with technology finds itself at the forefront of public consciousness
(Aminah Koshul is currently serving as a Youth Ambassador at the US Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai)
