…到了今天，我们自己能做到双十一开场每秒 8 万笔订单没有一个错单，我们的商家利用云服务可以实现弹性调度服务器资源，这是传统 IT 架构难以想像的。在今天，能把自己云服务能力向外输送的，全球只有三家公司能做到，谷歌，亚马逊和阿里。对于一个企业而言，现在的整个信息化系统是什么样的一个状况，直接决定企业未来的竞争力。 —- 虎嗅网：〈阿里巴巴新任CEO张勇开工一个月反思：“电子商务”未来会消失
显然的，中国对网络与商业相关技术的成熟，信息化之掌握已跃升全球首要，然而网络与信息化对人文艺术领域来说是似乎仍只是与电脑有关而已。这浮现出某种令人讶异的数位落差（digital divide），此数位落差不再是能否接触电脑与信息化的差别，而是同一时代中，决定了科技商业领域和人文艺术领域生产力的差距。当技术科技成为推动社会主要的生产力，艺术表现都将是前端科技的剩余，人文思考沦为旁观技术的纪录，而哲学，只是对技术带来的不适应症勉力治疗。
当人文艺术领域的思想与创新失去影响力，意味着真正的社会创新之不可能，这很可以解释中国山寨文化的部份原因，或者无数中国众筹计划的无用性，创客与创客空间的雷同性。我们无法想像没有自由文化的黑客，没有深切文化底蕴的动漫，或没有对社会需要积极理解的创客，更容易理解的是，苹果电脑绝非仅是由一群没有文化素养的技术怪咖（nerd）创造出来的。技术总是根植于人类对于社会改造与存活的需要，是人的器官（Bernard Stigler语），而非相反，否则我们将为了适应（adapt）技术而非采用（adopt）技术而苦尝其毒性，被远远抛落。人文艺术领域曾以文字，图像创造出社会高度需要的文化表意系统与价值，那么此时，人文艺术领域该如何面对信息社会与网络技术？套用阿里巴巴新任CEO张勇最通俗话来说就是，对于人文艺术而言，现在整个信息化系统设什么样的状况，决定了人文艺术的未来的竞争力。或者更具体一点，如何像程式工作者一样用新的工具”写出”改造社会的思想？
许多国家正弥补此种“差距”，也是各国正大力鼓吹跨领域专业合作的原因。例如，今年（2015）二月瑞士曾经举办过第一届“文化资料黑客松”（cultural data hackathon） ，其中很重要的元素是 OpenGLAM 这个开放艺廊、图书馆、档案馆与博物馆等文化机构的文化资料理念。从 web 2.0 时代开始，在博物馆领域中的技术创新者就透过各种新兴网路 IT 技术寻找更能够展现知识分享与社会教育理念的实践范型：从“群众标签分类”（folksonomy）一路发展到博物馆主动构想释出机器可判读的 API 服务 ，文化机构的技术专家们逐渐理解到科技打破藩篱的能力，共同合作来教育使用者与独立程式开发者，如何善于运用资料服务来建构文化机构与服务的独特面貌。同样在今年，五月在英国刚结束的“艺术黑客松”（art hackathon） ，其观点与实践则较贴近创作者与流行创客（maker）浪潮所展现的趋势角度。根据英国团队的说法，“艺术黑客松”是：
本计划正是企图弥补此数位差距的努力。将透过国际开放课程平台与一系列的黑客松，邀请国际学者，资深艺术家策展人共同规划，策划跨地域的顶尖文化艺术工作者与引导者协力，由教育者（educator）、程式设计者（coder）、艺术工作者（artist）与策展者（curator）共同参与，激发创作、编程与策展创意动能的文化艺术黑客松，统合中国文化工作者，创意者，网络工作者、科技社群，艺术学院师生进入新纪元时代，参与全球正在发生的，由数位文化，媒体技术与网络社会所结构的新生产力中，由是，也将是人文艺术的新高峰。谓之纪元（epoch)。
预计在三年内，筹划七次黑客松。
- 暖身计画: 落地松（Loadingthon）
- 百姓松（civicth0n）
- 合作松（coopathon）
… As of today we have the ability to take 80,000 orders per second without any mistakes. Our businesses have access to a elastic computing servers giving them the ability to use cloud computing, something hard to imagine achieving with the traditional IT infrastructure. Today business owners can, Ali is one of only three companies in the world capable of accomplishing such a feat, accompanied by google and amazon. Nowadays the state of the informationization system is what determines the corporations’ ability to compete with its competitors. —— huxiu.com : 〈 Ali BaBa’s newly appointed CEO Zhang Yong’s Reflection after a months work: The end of E-Commerce 〉
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It’s self evident that the technology involved in E-commerce has been well received in China. Though the leader in the world for informationization– the internet and informationization, still to most of the artistic community, are simply something that has to do with computers. This has lead to a shocking emergence of a so-called “digital divide” . One in which the division is not determined by the ability to access computers and informationization, but where productivity in technology and economics is separated from that of the arts and humanities. When technological achievements become the main source of productivity in society, art and humanities becomes a way to record philosophy but a means of trying to reconcile to the inadaptation brought from technology.
When the creativity and insight provided by the fields of art and humanities lose their influence, it means this society has lost its ability to innovate. This could explain the large production of knockoff products in China or why so many crowdfunded projects are never realized, and the lack of diversity between makers and their spaces. Its hard to imagine hackers without a free society, a cartoon that lacks deep cultural ties, a maker who has no need for a progressive outlook. We can, however, be certain that Apple definitely isn’t a company developed by nerds.
Technology is always rooted in changing the social structure and survival needs. It is an extension of humans and not the other way around, if one day we must resort to adopting technology to adapt then we shall taste its toxicity and abandonment. There was a period when the art and literature community used words and created images to show societies need for cultural value. How then should the realm of art and literature confront the informationization of society and networking technology? To use the vulgar words of Ali baba’s new CEO Zhang Yong, “ Whatever situation that is set up by the Informationalized society determines the competitive role the arts will play in the future. To be a bit more specific, how do we “program” like a programmer does a tool, a new format for social change? Many nations are attempting to bridge this “gap” or “divide” which is why there’s been much effort put forth into promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
For instance, February (2015) in Switzerland was the first annual cultural data hackathon. OpenGlam, an open gallery, played a major role in the event with its library, archive, museum as well as the cultural agencies conceptual data.
Since the advent of web 2.0 technological innovators as well as museums have been trying to utilize IT technology as means exhibiting knowledge and educational concepts in the form of a practical model : from folksonomy to museums taking the initiative to produce conceptual intrstruments that interpret API servers. Gradually technicians realized the barrier breaking potential technology possessed, collaborating with programers and users changing the appearance and function providing optimal and unique service.
On that same note, in May, this year in England held an Art Hackathon where concepts and practices that were presented were in close correlation to the latest trends of inventors and makers. According to the English team the “Art Hackathon” is about “the collaboration between creation and technology to create digital art. This entails (but not limited to) Interactive installation, visualized data, network service and physical objects.”
The main effort of this project is to bridge the gap in the digital divide. By hosting international academic courses and hackathons, veteran artists and curators hope to span out bringing different fields of artists and directors together. A hackthon that gives educators,coders,artists and curators a space to improvise, edit, and curate, uniting Chinese cultural workers, innovators, networkers, as well as those from the technological community. As the new era emerges students and teachers of art academies that are taking part in the global digitalization, produced by media and network societies is and will be the height of art and humanity, “Epoch”, There will be an estimated seven hackthons to be held in the next three years.