Artificial Intelligence

At the Neurosciences Institute they are attempting to model the workings of neural systems through robotics.  Their efforts are aimed at creating machines that think like humans.  Sensors on the robots gather environmental information and make actions (decisions) using a complex neural system.   

 

This links goes into more detail.

http://www.nsi.edu/index.php?page=113&pimsw=0&mots=bbd

IM

The following articles look at instant messaging usage.  The first describes its general usage and resulting changes that have occurred over the last few years.  The second is more in-depth and looks at its pervasive use by college students.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/technology/07online.html?_r=2&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

 

http://www.stanford.edu/class/pwr3-25/group2/pdfs/IM_Social.pdf

Location Music

This new application for the iphone records audio samples of the environment around you, and then processes them using loops, samples, pitch modifiers, distortion etc….and outputs a new composition based on your immediate surroundings.  Talk about augmented reality.

some audio/video samples here and general info here and here.

Organic Computing?

Recently a group of scientists in Israel have developed a way to fashion a computer circuit from the actual neurons that our brain uses to communicate within itself and with the rest of our bodies.  They have used cultured neurons in order to create a reliable AND logic gate.

Diagram and actual image of cultured neurons.

Apparently, the neurons in the brain are characteristically unreliable, only connecting with an adjacent neuron 40% of the time, and although this experiment did nothing to increase the reliability of the connection, it used the same techniques of bundling that the brain uses to get more than 40% efficiency from the neurons themselves.  I don’t think that this, as of right now has any groundbreaking implications for human life, but it is still an interesting way to investigate the working so the amazingly sophisticated human brain.  Read about it….

IYO YOYO

For any of you who have an Iphone or are interested in getting one, this site introduces a new way of powering your Iphone.

http://www.baekdal.com/design/cool_objects/iyo-yoyo/

Holographics + Augmented Reality = Cool

This is a great example of augmented reality taken to a new level using a holographic projection system.

http://www.baekdal.com/future/user_experience/holographics-augmented/

Upcoming Colloquium

The Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science will be taking place Nov. 1-3 at the University of Chicago. 

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/dhcs2008/home/

 

The WikiPhil Portal: Visualizing Meaningful Philosophical Connections

This session (session 2) is relevant to some of the things we have been talking about in class.  The presenters created a tool to extract data from Wikipedia. 

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/dhcs2008/files/2008/09/athenikos.pdf

  

The Emergence Project (session 3)  involves the use of generative patterns and is part of an installation at the Hyde Park Art Center.

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/dhcs2008/files/2008/09/sauter.pdf

 

Many others too……

Wikis in Architecture

The social and information networking features of the internet are an area of focus for Andrew Burrow and Jane Burry of the University of Melbourne’s Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL).  The researchers explored the use of a wiki of hypertext links for a collaborative project relating to the Familia Sagrada.  One of the study participants was located at the site of the Gaudi-designed structure.  The other participants remained in Australia.  The wiki is used to share information about the project between an interdisciplinary group of participants.  The intent of the ongoing research by SIAL is to define and refine organizational structures for collaborative work enabling work zones that are easy to access and offer necessary security to participants. 

 

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/113390154/abstract

 

Crowdsourcing

The idea is similar in some respects to flash mobs.  The difference is that a physical gathering does not necessarily take place.  Instead web 2.0 tools are used to create a movement.  Often the intent is to stage a movement on social or political issues, but the objective can also be used to encourage developments in technology as we saw with iPhone or Android phone applications last week.  The link below is an article discussing the crowdsourcing for political purposes. 

  

http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/1097/

End of Theory

Wired published an article in June of 2008 titled, The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete.  One point made by the writer, Chris Anderson, is that the saturation of data out there has diminished the need and relevance of scientific method.  The precedent of a small population developing a hypothesis no longer carries the weight it once did.   The notion of correlation had been negated and viewed as merely coincidence, but has now gained new significance.  Instead Anderson observes, “With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves.”  

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/16-07/pb_theory