Hito Steyerl's “Ripping Reality: Blind Spots and Wrecked Data in 3D” explores how 3D technology affects our perception of reality, and in particular how broken, blind spots and distortions in data shape the way we understand the world. In her article, she suggests that 3D technology is not only a tool for reproducing reality, but also a means of making it, and that in the process, data loss, corruption, and reorganization can become part of the narrative.

Steyerl also discussed how the distortion of 3D reality affects our perception. Many 3D renderings appear to be accurate, but are in fact based on interpolations and algorithmic guesswork from limited data sets. For example, 3D scenes in facial recognition, surveillance technology, or virtual reality are often filled with “error data”-errors that are not just technical, but rather reshapes of reality. She suggests that our understanding of reality is no longer solely dependent on the physical world, but is increasingly influenced by digital constructs.

After reading this, I have a new understanding of the concept of “broken data”. In our everyday use of 3D technologies (e.g. AR, VR, facial recognition, etc.), we tend to default to their objectivity and neutrality, but Steyerl shows us the data deficiencies and selective ignorance behind these technologies have far-reaching social and political implications as well. 3D doesn't just “show” reality, it “produces” reality, often with blind spots, biases, and data deficiencies.

Digital technology is not just a tool, but a power structure. In the future, the question of how to understand this “broken data” and reflect on its implications may become an important topic for critical technological studies.