In a society where 90% of the world’s data has been created in the las two years the value of personal information has influenced infrastructure culture and politics. As the world becomes more data driven the networked societies we live in are dependant on the utilisation of the internet as a mai source of information, knowledge, connectivity and more recently how we maintain our lives. The use of apps to track our fitness, what we eat, what we read and many other intrusive uses of applications are the tools fo machines to predict our behaviours to create personalised user interfaces. The introduction of the 2013 E=uewede algorithm was designed to defin an individual’s exposure to information by predicting whether the content would be enjoyable to the user through filtering all media that opposed t their interests. This consequently led to social and information platform categorising interests into echo chambers and filter bubbles of information radicalising our interests and creating a more polarised networked society.

The 20th century marked the rise of a consumer society, characterised by information overload and personalised lifestyles within corporate chains. In the 21st century, technology has become integral to Western life, driven by algorithms and a data-driven economy. Platforms like Google and Facebook dominate email, socialising, finance, browsing, and information gathering, intensifying the role of mass media and keeping us constantly connected through our phones in a "black box society," where technology governs our data and consumption. Facebook and Google utilise algorithms, informed by user activity and mood research, to manage information flow. Research indicates that manipulating emotional content on feeds affects user engagement and mood, highlighting the significance of filter algorithms for their business models. With just 300 'likes,' algorithms create "filter bubbles," polarising views and fuelling societal extremism. Social media's influence in spreading propaganda and fake news is acknowledged, with Eli Pariser warning of the reinforcing effect of filter bubbles, concealing unknown dangers. Our interactions through screens profoundly shape our physical world, influenced by pre-programmed hybrid spaces. Shoshana Zuboff's concept of "behavioural surplus" involves the conversion of information through 'machine intelligence,' trading predictive products in "behavioural futures markets." This phenomenon peaks during idle moments, particularly in metropolitan areas. 'Boredom' becomes an online experience, while 'waiting' is studied through photographic analysis during journeys to university, revealing moments of behavioural surplus in public spaces. Urban planner Edward Soja categorises lived and physical spaces into three commodities: the physical environment, the transitional space of 'waiting,' and virtual engagement through idle online activity. A study tracked algorithmic influence in third-party tracking applications during a specified period.Google, termed a pioneer of surveillance capitalism by Zuboff, capitalises on behavioural data through collaborative networks, evident in services like Gmail and Google Drive, which collect user data for enhanced web experiences.Analysis of a Google profile activated in 2013 revealed default tracking of online activity, extending to third-party applications linked to Google or Facebook accounts, indicating a capitalisation on behavioural data to encourage habitual web scrolling.Near Future Laboratories explores subconscious gestures of idle behaviour and their relationship to physical space, seeking to redefine the virtual as tangible. The project questions the potential for resistance against algorithmic influence, exploring the transformation of 'waiting' into tangible spatial qualities to mitigate polarisation of interests and preserve individualism.