Artificial Intelligence in Digital Culture

FAIN: AKA-265705-19

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)
Suren Jayasuriya (Project Director: October 2018 to present)
Pavan K. Turaga (Co Project Director: April 2019 to present)
Edward Finn (Co Project Director: April 2019 to present)
Xin Wei Sha (Co Project Director: April 2019 to present)

A one-year curriculum development project on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

This project aims to foster a transdisciplinary environment where humanities and STEM students can think critically, engage, and interact with technical and social constructions of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and systems. At Arizona State University in the School of Arts, Media and Engineering (AME), we already offer a unique B.A. in Digital Culture. This grant will support the design of an undergraduate curriculum specialized track for our Digital Culture B.A. focused on humanistic and socio-cultural engagement with AI. This track will feature a core set of classes with complementary domain knowledge that we anticipate including, What Algorithms Want?; Science Fiction; Foundational Representations for AI; Creativity and Responsibility; and Speculative Futures for AI.

Media Coverage

New curriculum will focus on philosophy of artificial intelligence (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Mary Beth Faller
Publication: ASU Now
Date: 7/23/2019
Abstract: Artificial intelligence algorithms have become pervasive in daily life, but should they? And what are the drawbacks and advantages of using machine learning? Several Arizona State University faculty members have won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a new curriculum that will challenge students to think about these complex issues while they’re learning how to create the technology.
URL: https://asunow.asu.edu/20190723-creativity-new-curriculum-will-focus-philosophy-artificial-intelligence

Associated Products

ODO: Design of Multimodal Chatbot for an Experiential Media System (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: ODO: Design of Multimodal Chatbot for an Experiential Media System
Author: Ravi Bhushan
Author: Karthik Kulkarni
Author: Vishal Pandey
Author: Connor Rawls
Author: Brandon Mechtley
Author: Suren Jayasuriya
Author: Christian Ziegler
Abstract: This paper presents the design of a multimodal chatbot for use in an interactive theater performance. This chatbot has an architecture consisting of vision and natural language processing capabilities, as well as embodiment in a non-anthropomorphic movable LED array set in a stage. Designed for interaction with up to five users at a time, the system can perform tasks including face detection and emotion classification, tracking of crowd movement through mobile phones, and real-time conversation to guide users through a nonlinear story and interactive games. The final prototype, named ODO, is a tangible embodiment of a distributed multimedia system that solves several technical challenges to provide users with a unique experience through novel interaction.
Date: 09/23/2020
Primary URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/4/4/68/htm
Primary URL Description: Main webpage for the article
Conference Name: MDPI Multimedia Technologies and Interaction

The Imagination Desk: Moya Bailey (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Imagination Desk: Moya Bailey
Director: Center for Science and the Imagination
Abstract: Moya Bailey is a Black queer feminist scholar, writer, and activist. She is the co-author of #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice and has a new book, Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance, coming out May 2021. In this conversation, we talk about online communities of support and activism, racial inequalities in medicine, the healthcare system, artificial intelligence, and Moya's term misogynoir, which describes a specific form of discrimination experienced by Black women.
Date: 11/6/2020
Primary URL: https://theimaginationdesk.libsyn.com/moya-bailey
Primary URL Description: Link to podcast
Access Model: Open access
Format: Web

The Imagination Desk: Regina Kanyu Wang (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Imagination Desk: Regina Kanyu Wang
Director: Center for Science and the Imagination
Abstract: Regina Kanyu Wang is a science fiction writer, researcher, and critic from Shanghai. She is now based at the University of Oslo, where she is part of the CoFUTURES project. In this conversation, we talk about the Chinese science fiction scene, its fan culture, and gender politics in the genre, as well as insights on Regina’s own recent writing—including how she builds nuance and complexity into her portrayals of AI and other technologies.
Date: 12/1/2020
Primary URL: https://theimaginationdesk.libsyn.com/regina-kanyu-wang
Primary URL Description: Link to podcast
Format: Web

The Imagination Desk: Katie Bouman (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Imagination Desk: Katie Bouman
Director: Center for Science and the Imagination
Abstract: Katie Bouman is an assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, electrical engineering, and astronomy at Caltech in Pasadena, California. In this episode, we talk about scientific collaboration, imagination, and Katie’s work on the Event Horizon Telescope, which produced the first image of a black hole by combining insights and methods from signal processing, computer vision, machine learning, and physics.
Date: 2/10/2021
Primary URL: https://theimaginationdesk.libsyn.com/katie-bouman
Primary URL Description: Link to podcast
Access Model: Open access
Format: Web

---