Billions of Sheep

Many people think that our generation is becoming too consumed by technology; that we struggle as a species to now cope with life without the innovations we’ve been subjected to and raised around nearly our entire lives. As we become more and more dependent on these advancements, it’s arguable that we are becoming less and less defined as humans; becoming just a small piece of one giant mass of digital data: one indistinguishable sheep in a flock of billions. Or is it? What if, instead of masking our individuality, technology could come to be our very definition; a media with which to share each of our own, individual natures with the world?

In a recent TED talk by Aaron Koblin, the idea that data can be collected and given visual representation to better define our humanity is explored in depth.  Koblin has participated in conducting several experiments to see how we can amass small contributions from individuals, and present them in a fashion that allows them to be seen together in a coherent, appealing manner. One example of this from the video was the Johnny Cash Project, where over 250,000 people from 172 countries participated in the construction of the music video for Johnny Cash’s song, Ain’t No Grave. The video was created using images pieced together at 8 frames per second, where each image is a drawing made by one of the fans who submitted their work to the project. As a whole, the video flows surprisingly well, but if you take the time to pause the video at any interval, you can see any one person’s contribution to the piece, and it tells you a great deal about how their personality played into the creation of the piece.  The video has a very “real” quality to it, and it brings together many cultures and backgrounds into one fluid entity.

If we are to continue to evolve as a species, our technology will have to evolve alongside us. Across almost all cultures, technology and data has come to define us. But does that mean we have to lose ourselves in the process? If we choose to use technology, not as a means to hide ourselves behind its veil of anonymity, but as a narrative device to visually express ourselves as people, then we have a chance to not only maintain our humanity, but share it in a way that has never before been possible. Do you have a story to tell?