[iDC] Mining the Military-Academic-Industrial Complex in a Poetic-Serious Fashion

[Simon Biggs]

I don¹t want to be negative about my institution¹s (Edinburgh College of
Art) key regional competitor (Glasgow School of Art) but even art schools
get into bed with the military and big business (very profitably).

http://www.gsa.ac.uk/researchandpostgraduate/content/default.asp?page=s18

As you will note, GSA undertakes research for the UK Army (via French
military manufacturer Thales) looking at how to better equip infantry with
hi-tech kit, QinitiQ (a major UK military R&D organisation) and the UK navy,
on submarine defence systems (Clydeside is where the UK nuclear submarine
fleet is based). GSA seems to have no ethical qualms about this, at least at
senior management level and within the research unit involved.

I don¹t know what other¹s think of this sort of thing. My own institution is
working on its research strategy going forward to 2014 and are planning to
build it on an ethical framework focused on sustainability and avoiding
certain research linkages. We will not get any browny points from the
research councils for doing that. We do hope our students will appreciate it
(their concerns in this area are in part driving our strategy).
Nevertheless, it is always hard to keep your hands really clean, if not
impossible.

Regards

Simon


Simon Biggs
Research Professor
edinburgh college of art
s.biggs at eca.ac.uk
www.eca.ac.uk
www.eca.ac.uk/circle/

simon at littlepig.org.uk
www.littlepig.org.uk
AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk



From: Anna Munster <A.Munster at unsw.edu.au>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:25 +1000
To: nick knouf <nak44 at cornell.edu>, IDC List <idc at mailman.thing.net>
Subject: Re: [iDC] Mining the Military-Academic-Industrial Complex in a
Poetic-Serious Fashion

HI Brian, Nick etc

I take your point Brian about the 'open' flaunting of science-military
research etc. I too have been similarly amazed to see detailed
descriptions of various data mining projects linked to homeland
security concerns but which are funded via agencies such as NSF as
'good' almost 'neutral' projects 'advancing' knowledge. (see, for
example, http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=103047).

I seriously wonder what the hell academics think they are doing - but
then again, what's new huh? Hasn't this been an ongoing problem of/for
the academy always...ie the always imbricated and evolving links
between knowledge and power....

cheers
Anna

Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC009201


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