Category: Uncategorized (Page 1 of 6)

Dobson, James E. Critical Digital Humanities: The Search for a Methodology. University of Illinois Press, 2019.

This book examines the methodological foundations of digital humanities, analyzing computational approaches and their implications for humanistic inquiry. It is helpful for understanding the theoretical and technical challenges in DH.

• Metadata for Zotero:
  • Title: Critical Digital Humanities: The Search for a Methodology
  • Author: James E. Dobson
  • Publisher: University of Illinois Press
  • Publication Year: 2019
  • ISBN: 9780252042510

Gold, Matthew K., and Lauren F. Klein, eds.Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019. University of Minnesota Press, 2019.

This book is a collection of essays that engage with critical issues in digital humanities, including questions of inclusivity, ethics, and accessibility. It provides diverse perspectives from scholars actively shaping the field.

• Metadata for Zotero:
  • Title: Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019
  • Editors: Matthew K. Gold and Lauren F. Klein
  • Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
  • Publication Year: 2019
  • ISBN: 978-1517906937

Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey are both about how humanity uses AI as tools, to our benefit and our detriment. Interstellar views its AI, TARS, as a helpful companion. It is personified consistently, even able to have its “humor level” adjusted by the main character, cooper. Cooper talks to TARS like a fellow astronaut and human with a warm tone and quipping jokes. At no point does the robot attempt to rebel or murder its human operators. In fact, multiple times does TARS explicitly state it is not able to disobey orders. It is a completely subservient operating machine that assists in saving humanity by transmitting the needed black hole data that would allow humanity to immigrate off the climate change decimated earth. In short, Christopher Nolan believes we will be able to control our technological advancements without fear. On the other hand, 2001 presents a more cynical view of AI. A Space Odyssey’s AI, HAL, is treated very differently. Throughout the film, the astronaut, Dave, orders the AI to complete tasks with no warmth or compassion. Clearly Dave views HAL as only a cold, calculating machine with no hint of a personality or soul. Dave is proven very incorrect because HAL kills his fellow humans as well as attempting to take Dave’s life. Stanley Kubrick uses these actions of HAL to work out a fear of AI being able to make its own decisions with malice. His cynical view asserts that AI may become smarter than its human creators and will not value human life. Interstellar is a unique case of hope and technology. It addresses our current crisis of technology induced climate change with a fictional famine due to over farming while TARS is what saves humanity. Christopher Nolan understands that while we used technology to create a problem, we will need advanced technology like AI to continue forward.

A Murder at the End of the World” and the Perils of AI

As someone passionate about true crime, I found “A Murder at the End of the World” particularly compelling because it explores the intersection of AI with investigations, affecting not only the lives of victims, families, and suspects but also the notion of justice and accountability. True crime often emphasizes these concepts, but when AI is involved, the situation becomes more complex. How do we ensure fairness in AI driven crime solving? What happens when AI conclusions impact real lives? This show underscores the importance of considering the human cost in technological advancements.

In this high tech murder mystery, AI is more than just a tool; it is a pivotal force. The show raises critical questions about AI’s societal role, its interaction with human nature, and whether technology is designed to serve us or control us. It reflects the dangers of placing too much power in the hands of machines without fully understanding their potential consequences.

The show presents a world where AI is deeply embedded in human affairs but remains enigmatic and potentially perilous. It assumes that technological progress will likely outpace ethical considerations, centralizing power with those who understand and control AI. This reflects real world concerns about AI governance and accountability. At its heart, the series suggests that human nature shaped by ambition, secrecy, and fear remains unchanged, even as technology advances.

“A Murder at the End of the World” also explores the relationship between people and AI, arguing that, like any tool, AI reflects the biases and values of its creators. It can be used for both problem solving and manipulation, surveillance, and even murder. Without transparency and oversight, AI can become a weapon, distorting free will and raising the critical question. Can we trust a system that may act beyond our understanding?

Rather than portraying AI as inherently good or evil, the show illustrates it as an instrument of power. The AI actively influences events, raising moral questions about agency and responsibility. If AI makes life altering decisions, who is accountable? The series highlights how AI can amplify human ambition, reinforcing that its ethical impact is determined by the intentions of those who wield it.

This narrative connects to other AI centered stories, like Ex Machina, Westworld, and Black Mirror which explore AI’s potential to disrupt human agency. Much like HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the AI in this show is inscrutable, raising concerns about trust and control. By placing AI at the center of a murder mystery, the show intensifies these anxieties, illustrating AI’s dark potential in high-stakes scenarios.

In conclusion, A Murder at the End of the World serves as a cautionary tale, challenging us to examine how much control we should allow machines and whether we are ready for the ethical dilemmas they bring. As AI continues to evolve, the show reminds us that technology is only as ethical as the people behind it.

What the Cahokia AR app does well is help visualize what the historical sites would have appeared as during the time they were in use by the native Americans due to extensive historical research by experts. Not only does it provide renders of the interiors in use, but it provides historical context such as who used these sites, for what purposes were these sites used, etc. By creating 3D visualizations of the sites restored, visitors have a tangible understanding of the site’s importance to the Cahokia tribe. Having a digital app that anyone can use outside of the physical sites allows for those who physically cannot make it to the mounds in person. The app can also help whoever may be unable to traverse the hills or mounds or the long trails on site. For example, individuals with physical disabilities unable to walk or require assistance would be affected. Smartphones and touchscreens require sight to access unless apps offer features to assist. If the app does not offer such features, people with limited or no sight would be unable to properly use the app. The app does have some audio features that allow such groups to utilize. Making this information more accessible to everyone gives the public a better understanding and appreciation for the land we all share and inhabit.

Fifty years ago, any kid with a comic book would tell you that robots taking over the world were right up there with invading aliens or evil mutants, but today robotics and artificial intelligence are corporeal, ubiquitous even. It seems like everything we know that makes our lives easier has a computer in it, science fiction coming down to earth like this offers unique and potentially generation defining artistic expressions, if you can produce something once thought to be fantastic in the light of truth and fact, you can alter peoples’ imaginations of what the future will look like, opening us to new ideas and possibilities, two movies that do this well are “WarGames” and ex machina. In 1983 WarGames released in theaters, at the time machine learning wasn’t new, the concept had been around for half a century by then, what was unprecedented was the idea of a rogue AI, a tactical defense system in charge of the entire U.S. military nuclear arsenal, I imagine that the first reactions to this film were fear, the fear that this may soon be reality, the fear that we would trust the planets security to a machine that may somehow foul up and kill us all, a fear burning hotter in the cold war era. I believe the director John Badham intended to scare the audience into a more independent mindset, encouraging self-reliance by showing the consequences of reduced responsibility, a reminder that pandoras box cannot be closed. Fast forward thirty-one years, ex machina is released, by this time the science fiction genre had beat the artificial intelligence subgenre to death (yet it was before the release of perhaps the most notable paper pertaining to modern AI “attention is all you need”). this movie didn’t focus on fear of looming destruction, the writers took a more psychological approach, emotional even, it brought the viewer to a place where their pre-conceived conditions for sentience were tested, directly alluding to the the famous “Turing test” whereby a machine would be tested and if the person performing the test found the AI to be indistinguishable from that of a person, the test would be passed. This was not the only notable experiment in the film, though philosophical and not so much a test, the thought experiment “Mary in the black and white room”, or if you’d prefer “Mary the Colour Scientist” was a significant plot point. The thought experiment is as follows: Mary is a scientist, her specialty is color, she knows every fact about color, wavelengths, psychological effects, everything, but she lives in a black and white room, and has never actually seen color, one day Mary is let out of this room to see color for the first time, and she finally knows something that facts can’t supplement, she learns what it feels like to see color. The film states that AI represents Mary trapped in the room, but after Mary leaves the room, that is human. This brings us to the parallel between the two films, more accurately the ethical dilemma between them. In one story the creator let the genie out of the box, and in the other they sought to keep Mary in the room, both decisions were met with consequences. With the rise of AI, we can assume that one day soon one of them will pass the Turing test, and on that day, humanity has a very grave choice to make, what to do with a sentient AI. We as people know it is wrong to hurt things that feel, and we know the consequences of opening pandoras box, but those seem to be the only two choices on the table, the world’s greatest double bind is coming faster than we know.

AI Review on – A Murder at the End of the World

This TV has a lot of sic-if and science fiction and gives a little bit of AI features throughout the TV show. This also shows how the main character, Brit Marling she’s in this parallel world where she goes in and out of her past life to her currently life. Eventually, she realizes she is stuck in a time loop where she’s going between her old and current memories. She sees a guy that she knows, and she believes that this is a guy that she used to be in love with but she doesn’t know how this also shows a lot of AI features where it explains graphic features of their anime and animations that is being shown through the entire show. example it shows how they look up certain data research through their computers which is not the same it is built in like AI and it also shows the graphics that are being shown through how they transition through the time travel loop. Overall this TV show is very overrated, but it is very good to watch and I promote it very highly.