The Software-Simulated Airworld: Anticipatory Code and Affective Aeromobilities

Abstract

M]odelling and simulation sit uncomfortably in science both socially and epistemically, because of the boundaries they cross. '' Sismondo (1999, page 247) 1 Introduction On 2 November 2006 the United States Air Force launched Cyberspace Command.Complementing their existing Air Combat and Space Command, the new Command facility sought to establish and preserve not only``freedom of access and commerce in air [and] space'', (1) but also cyberspace. The increasing use of such networked battle simulations by military forces means that the ability to`fly' and fight' is increasingly being taught in a virtual realm, and code has become a medium through which aerially mobile objects and forces are structured, trained, and coordinated. For the US and other armed forces, computer code, and the infrastructure that carries it, has become a new territorial space whose exploitation enables them to achieve`full spectrum' dominance (Graham, 2004;Weizmann, 2002). (2) Cyberspace, not real space, has become the new territorial`high ground'. (3) The importance of computer code to commercial aviation is similarly evident. From the check-in desk to the flightdeck, aeromobile objects and bodies are screened, sorted, and monitored by a labyrinth of networked computer systems. For the most part, these systems are taken for granted and our dependence on them only revealed when a computer breakdown at air traffic control grounds flights or a malfunctioning baggage system misroutes luggage.

Anticipating ubiquitous computing: Logics to forecast technological futures

“…Secondly, and notably, there exists a literature on various ways of understanding futurity and particularly anticipation. A small but significant amount of work has been conducted in human geography explicitly on the ways in which futures are and have been figured and attempts have been made to engage with futures (for example : Adey, 2009;Anderson, 2006Anderson, , 2007Anderson, , 2010dBudd and Adey, 2009;Evans, 2010;Kitchin and Kneale, 2001;Kraftl, 2007;Macnaghten, 2010;Pinder, 2001Pinder, , 2005 : Braun, 2005;Harvey, 2000;kinpaisby, 2008;Wolch, 2007).…”

Data-Driven Participation: Algorithms, Cities, Citizens, and Corporate Control

“…This VGI stands as the datafication of human activities and social life where our movements, interactions, and opinions become coded through digital services and transubstantiated by an array of algorithmic treatments (Richter & Winter, 2011). It is rare that an end-user has total control over a VGI dataset from the collection to its use in any particular capacity (Budd & Adey, 2009). Rather, it is often argued the adopting data-driven approaches and computational methods remove the requirement of getting too involved with dealing with the "raw" VGI.…”

A Fiasco of Volcanic Proportions? Eyjafjallajökull and the Closure of European Airspace

“…These spaces, they concluded, are not only produced by code but are also utterly reliant on code to function. In the context of air travel, Budd and Adey (2009) have similarly commented on the digital technicity of aviation and remarked on the extent to which code mediates the production of airspace and makes it 'visible' and known to pilots. This activity of 'producing airspace' is accomplished through a heterogeneous collection of situated and coordinated actions involving a variety of different technologies and human actors.…”