[talk] my desire lines for (digital) futures
I recently gave a talk about my desire lines digital futures for EAST2046, a festival for east/southeast asian futures.
The talk was first distributed to the audience, to “scroll” or “walk” through the text together while I spoke. The slides were not presented as is usually the case in these types of environments, but I .
The talk outlined three desire lines for the web:
- Openness enables trust; it is a means through which we share, connect, and advocate online. But it is also a means of our exploitation.
- Building critical mass requires suspending (at least some amount) of disbelief and critique. It necessitates being together, and simply showing up.
- Technologies for surveillance can be co-opted for poetry, heritage, and attention. But the co-optation is mutual and constant.
You can watch the talk here:
Thank you so much to Lois Liao for organising and inviting me to present.

