I think the Topic The Modern web and the reading of how google took over the web looks very intriguing. This appeals to me because I only use google and have been my whole life. Google has really taken over the internet and has a sort of monopoly over it. Honestly, who wants to use internet express. Google has such a clean UI that its almost a must to use on a daily basis. Also the AI Imaginaries in fiction and non fiction look intriguing. its crazy how far AI has come in a few short years. I remember when it first came it it wasn’t very useful and now it controls the internet. AI today has the ability to read create and think. Overall I am very excited about this class, there are so many different types of topics when it comes to Hum. Its like a mix of history, Technology and Innovation, there is really no way to define social Hum because it is so diverse.
Tag: Interest statement
I’m interested in how digital humanities are involved with digital marketing. I am a marketing major with an interest in working in digital marketing that aligns with digital humanities.
I took this class because I needed a humanities credit, but I didn’t want to choose something general and boring that had nothing to do with my major. I wanted to build a portfolio of classes so when I graduate its not just my major classes and a bunch of filler easy classes. Digital Humanities stuck out to me because, while I didn’t know what it was, I was curious to find out. I figured Digital Humanities would be a good class to accompany my marketing major and my career interests in digital marketing.
Looking through the syllabus and topics, I saw a few things that seemed interesting throughout. I think Unit 2, with Thinking (with) Machines seems interesting for a few reasons, especially because of the AI sections. I have a lot of mixed feelings about different types of AI, but that makes me more interested to learn and have more information on things like this. I’m hoping to come out of this class more informed on AI and everything surrounding it, especially in the sense of the digital humanities. I think Digitization Technologies is also an interesting topic that I haven’t thought enough about before this class. Historical archiving and stuff like that are interesting and I look forward to learning more about it and digitization and accessibility. I think accessibility in the Audience and Accessibility topic seems interesting as well. Going into computer science, things like this will likely be important in the field for me, like universal design and many aspects of audience and accessibility.
I am most interested in the section where we are going to talk about AI imaginaries and how it writes fiction. I find it interesting how it writes a varying amount of stories from different perspectives. Sometimes the stories are lighthearted and sometimes they can have deeper or darker meanings. As far as topics I would like to pursue farther, I would enjoy looking into why AI has a tendency to lie or provide false information. Is it because the learning models are not provided with proper information, or rather that they are programed to provide false or vague intel. Like different models such as ChatGPT or Grok AI provide very different answers to moral questions. So much so that there have been many jokes that have arisen because of the moral standpoints from these models. This has lead many people to ask questions regarding the safety of these programs and what we can do to prevent any issues from arising.
When looking over the syllabus for what we are going through this semester, I found some things of interest. Firstly, the history of computing. This subject seems interesting, and I wonder how deep we will go into a subject like this. Are we going into coding, or are we starting with the earliest computer developed by man? Secondly, AI imaginaries. I have gone through school knowing how AI is bad and shouldn’t be used, so I’m curious to see what we do in this section. Third, The Dredd Scott decision. I wonder how this period in history combines with Digital Humanities. This is a history subject, and that is what I find odd. Finally. Digital Storytelling. I am curious about what this means. Is this on how writers use technology to write stories, or is it on how game designers make up a story in a game to explain to the player? These are some of the things that stuck out to me on the syllabus that I found interesting in this class.
I’m really looking forward to the week 6 and week 14 reading involving St. Louis history and COVID-19. I moved to the St. Louis area about a year ago and I’ve had a lot of fun learning more about local history such as the World’s Fair, Forest Park, and Cahokia Mounds. There’s so much history all over the city and I’m always excited to learn more about where I live now.
COVID-19 was a worldwide event and hearing about other people’s perspectives from different regions is always interesting. It affected everyone in unique ways from having to change our work culture, school culture and just everyday life. Some people had doomsday preparations with bunkers, others had financial backup plans to work from home and some were already self-sustainable with homegrown food and filtered water. It’ll be really interesting to explore how our personal culture might’ve been involved in these decisions through this class.
After taking a look at the course syllabus, my main point of interest is to find out in what ways digital tools could make it easier to analyze history, culture, and social issues without losing their meaning. The very themes of data visualization, mapping, and digital storytelling capture my attention as they require both imagination and rationality. I wonder about the different ways that technology can be applied not only for the dissemination of research to more numerous audiences but also for the exploration of who is being represented and who is being muted in digital domains. Ethics and social impact of technology have also become very attractive topics of discussion, especially when it comes to injustice, inequality, and the role of digital media in both the reinforcement and challenge of these problems. I am really looking forward to the day when I will be able to do my academic work on the subject of local history, like that of St. Louis area and the surrounding regions, say, Cahokia, through digital projects. I would like to see my semester’s work involving a mix of technology, ethics, and storytelling while I sharpen my digital skills as a matter of practice for other areas beyond this class.
Ioannis Koupepides
Take a look at the course schedule in the syllabus. What topics, readings, or assignments look the most intriguing? What might you want to pursue further as the semester goes on? Write a blog post on this website of about 150 words about some of your initial interests in this class. Add the tag “Interest statement” before you publish it.