Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Fiona Enright

Caught Between the Scylla and Charybdis

"“The Information Age,” and “digital revolution,” are two terms commonly used to describe the sophisticated technology that dominates our current epoch. Within a relatively short period of time, tools like cellular phones, tablets, and laptops have become both household and on-the-go items which provide us with unprecedented access to information. The average person is most likely familiar with what “social media” or “apps” are, but digital literacy has not yet extended to the information systems, algorithms, and organizations that drive contemporary life. The influence of individuals and social structures – whose ideas and desires dictate the form and use of technology – often remains elusive. Many have the tendency to blame technology itself for inefficiency or wrongdoing rather than examine why an algorithm and its corresponding machine(s) are made the way that it is. The structure and use of information systems, algorithms, and technologies are dictated by overt and covert human cognition, desires, and societal values." Fiona Enright ‘Introduction’ The Human Element: Information, Knowledge and Art in the Digital Episteme, 2021