Over the course of our research grant, we have studied how technology shapes and changes the ways individuals, community groups, government and the private sector work together. One particular technological development, an augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS, emerged over the summer of 2016. Pokémon Go (http://www.pokemongo.com/) raised many questions for our co-applicants, partners and collaborators, and the community at large.

On Wednesday, October 4th at 9:30 (EST), Geothink.ca (https://geothink.ca) will host its first monthly GeoThink&Learn video conference session on the topic of Pokémon Go, and augmented reality technology. It will highlight Geothink’s unique interdisciplinary perspective and include a myriad of ideas from our faculty and students.

Please join us for a question and answer session after presentations have concluded. Our four panelists will briefly introduce their research and then reflect on the future of artificial intelligence and its applications—particularly in the context of the work of our partners.

When: Wednesday October 4, 2017 9:30 – 10:30am

Where: [TBA – check subsequent emails for video login info]

Moderator: Drew Bush

Convener: Pamela Robinson

Panelists Talks:

Adriana de Souza e Silva: While Pokémon Go seemed like a brand new phenomenon, there is a long history of hybrid reality games that predates it. The popularity of this game, however, helped signal what new and existing social and spatial issues arise when such games become mainstream (mobility, sociability, spatiality and surveillance).

Tenille Brown: By playing a game like Pokémon Go, legal scholars learned about new challenges arising from the boundaries between public/private space.

Pamela Robinson (on behalf of her students): Pokémon Go, as a largely urban game, helped planners learn more about how people use public spaces and how augmented reality tools may be useful in municipal public consultation and civic engagement efforts.  

Renee Sieber: The majority of people who play(ed) Pokémon Go did it for fun. But there are some serious considerations too. These include asking how the game reflects real world bias and what kinds of behaviours the algorithm in the game promotes and/or dissuades.