#com112

[jjduck2-blog]

(via Distracted Boyfriend)

[gabriellagabriellachan]

Remix and Licensing

“Everything is a remix” or so Ferguson (20120) says, but is the concept of remixing avoidable in today’s society? When everything has been thought of before, can anything really ever be truly original?

To discuss the themes from this topic, I created an audiovisual presentation which addresses; remix and licensing in different media forms, copyright and compares some examples as well.

To see my original thoughts and reflections on the topic follow this link;

http://gabriellagabriellachan.tumblr.com/post/180996434048/remix-and-licensing

[vectoringstuff-blog]

Week 12: The future of digital? Robots, self-driving cars, and artificial intelligence

Will the future ahead of us turn us into super humans, or give us robot best f ( r ) iends?

This idea isn’t just a simple Sci-Fi plot. It could be a reality. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the development of bionics, robotic prosthetics and enhancements, electric cars and the advancement of self-driving cars - something like Futurama isn’t far off the truth.

I watched a news program (which I’ve embedded below) about a New Zealand tech company that developed an exo-skeleton which gives disabled people and wheelchair bound people the ability to walk again. 

As well as this, I also found a short video about Harvard University developing a bionic soft suit to help the military and the elderly walk and move around, while giving the ability to prevent serious injury.

It seems like a call back to Darwin’s theory on evolution, except instead of naturally evolving, we are forcing that trajectory into our own interests, needs (whether medical or not), and sense of convenience. There are many stories about bionic prosthetics out performing the original limbs of amputees. There is even a man in Sydney who installed an Opal travelling chip into his hand to make transporting around Sydney easier. (Dole, 2017) 

With the benefit of extreme improvements to our human lives, there is always going to be extreme risks.

The late Stephen Hawking famously quoted that Artificial Intelligence could “spell the end of the human race.” Bill Gates and Elon Musk share similar opinions. Musk compared the idea of AI to the dictatorship of North Korea, if used without caution. Gates expressed that the good can outweigh the bad if managed properly. (Marr, 2018)

According to Hawking, he believed in the possibility that machines could “take off” on their own will. That once their AI develops enough they would find the ability to think for themselves, modify themselves and update their systems. In comparison to the slow biological sense of evolution in the human race, we would fall behind while our creation begins to dominate and take over. (Marr, 2018)

Our AI robots (or would they be considered creatures if they can evolve themselves?) might see themselves as the superior being and enslave the human race and history might repeat itself. 

Perhaps we should take a page from Mary Shelley’s gothic horror novel Frankenstein and proceed with extreme caution, as this pivotal moment in science can cause so much destruction. 

Sources:

Marr, B. (2018) Is Artificial Intelligence Dangerous? 6 AI Risks Everyone Should Know About. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/11/19/is-artificial-intelligence-dangerous-6-ai-risks-everyone-should-know-about/#5db0e0222404

Rutschman, A.S. (2018) Stephen Hawking warned about the perils of artificial intelligence – yet AI gave him a voice. The Conversation. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/stephen-hawking-warned-about-the-perils-of-artificial-intelligence-yet-ai-gave-him-a-voice-93416

Dole, N. (2017) Sydney man has Opal card implanted into hand to make catching public transport easier. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/sydney-bio-hacker-has-opal-travel-card-implanted-into-hand/8656174

[callumbodmanthoughts]

Who gets a say?

Social media gives voice to those who, without its presence, would not normally be heard. Minorities, activists and those who would actively be silenced by the status quo finally have a platform in which to generate presence, discuss ideas and set about changing the world for the better. It’s interesting, however, when you consider the other side of this: those who are in the status quo and use these same social media platforms for the same reasons - using their collective voices to add to the silencing power of those who are already powerful.

There is veil of protection the denizens of the internet enjoy. The nature of profiles, being that they can resemble nothing of their owner, ends up being a front to take the criticisms in response to what someone says, while the creator enjoys a persecution-free lifestyle away from the consequences of their words. Why are social media platforms so slow to respond to this? It’s been decades and still people are allowed to deceive and bully and smother anyone who they take aim at, without any repercussions because “it’s just too hard to hold them accountable”. 

When people begin talking about policies on hate speech and censorship laws the concept of “freedom of speech” always surfaces, and always comes from the side trying to argue for silence and oppression. The Freedom of Speech Act is simply a law pertaining to a governments obligation to not be able to imprison or otherwise vilify those based on what they say - this does not at all relate to policies companies like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram have the ability to put in to place.

Not everyone deserves the same platform. People need to understand that what they’re saying has more influence than they initially believe. This widespread apathy and misunderstanding that social media is superfluous and mundane is harmful to society, and things said without understanding or thought to their consequence has created many echo chambers in which people back up each others wild misunderstandings about the world. Poisonous words only serve to create more toxicity, even if it brings no immediate consequences. Companies need to take charge and moderate what kind of content they are publicly endorsing.

Mr Zuckerberg, if you allow hate speech to go on unimpeded on your platform, then you are supporting that same rhetoric. Mr Dorsey, if you’re allowing a precedent to be set to let people shamelessly bully people based on race and gender, then you are the same type of bigot. Mr Systrom, if you’re letting neo nazi’s and conspiracy theorists keep their pedestal, then maybe you have more in common with them than you would care to believe.

I believe you can say what you like without fear of imprisonment, sure. But using your voice to add to the hateful rhetoric of racism, sexism and the fake news campaigns destroying the validity of issues like vaccines and climate change. This way of thinking about voice is backward, and is harming our culture in deeper ways than people understand. 

[emceedigital-blog]

Comfort Zone

I have never really concerned myself with social media so I suppose I'm a bit behind the times. As a graphic designer social media is not only a means of catching the latest meme, its research. We can use social media to keep an eye on what is trending and what is no longer fashionable. Social media can also help to boost careers through self-promotion. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to learning.

[pezthings]

Blog 12

This week I discovered the photo sharing site, SlickPic. This site offers something for everyone, from the beginning photographer to the professional photographer. This online image hosting service offers a great way for beginning photographers to showcase their images and get feedback from more experienced photographers. However, professional photographers will enjoy the ability to create different collections and albums of their photos that they can share with potential employers.

 The ease of uploading is the most obvious attribute to this particular photo sharing, however this combined with the ease to share photos onto similar multimedia services such as your Blog is what makes SlickPic a really outstanding site for everyone. 

Not only is it sleekly simple to organise and share your own photographs, both privately and publicly, SlickPic has the amazing function of being able to see the most popular photos shared by other SlickPic users from around the globe. 

One of the stand out features of this site, however, was definitely the ease and accessibility to be able to edit photos once you have uploaded it to your profile. You are able to make every photo perfect and just the way you like and upload it to your albums all in the one server. 

[coatsey-1978]

Newspaper Pint Decline

Due the developments in online media the humble newspaper is experiencing hard times as many users are turning to digital channels to view their favourite newspaper. Most major newspapers now have apps available for download that keep the user up to date with breaking news from all areas of society. I use the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC app on my phone and iPad to keep abreast of what is happening in the world. The Sydney Morning Herald app was free on the iPad to begin with but they have now introduced a monthly cap on articles and then request you to subscribe for further reading. The below article states the upside created from the digital world that whilst the print decline is unfavourable the digital subscriptions and advertising have created a new income stream that has helped counter the revenue decline.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/increase-in-digital-sales-allays-decline-in-newspapers-20120809-23x2y.html

[jjduck2-blog]

#com112 #mentalhealth

[gabriellagabriellachan]

In today’s digital society it is nice to see little treasures like this street library in my local town!

[vectoringstuff-blog]

Week 8 - What is Google’s Greatest product

Google created the face of the world wide web by the design of their search engine. It made the internet accessible to anybody, and allows them to have a wealth of knowledge at hand at any time that we didn’t have before. It made the encyclopaedia redundant and allows us to learn, grow and evolve faster than we ever could before. It influences us and allows us to broaden our horizons to new ideas, opinions and cultures. You can find a new recipe or perhaps a substitute for an ingredient you don’t have. You’ll be able to learn new tricks and develop new habits from browsing Youtube. 

The other day the shower water tap came off  and I had no idea how to fix it. My first thought was “I’d better Google that.” 

The fact that Google has slipped into our vocabulary is another achievement in itself. We don’t say “I’m going to look it up.” We just say “Google it.” Because we know Google always has the answer, or an idea that leads us to our own conclusive answer. 

It may not always be correct, but that is because it has evolved from us. Google learns as we do, with each thing we post, each opinion we share, you can find it on Google. 

Google itself is its own greatest product because it has turned into this ‘Artificial Intelligence” of a sort. It is the brain and the face of the internet. It is the highway we take to our destination when we surf the web.

[callumbodmanthoughts]

Publicity > Identity

The identity of an artist is defined by the experience their audience has when viewing their art. Conventional art mediums like painting, performance and sculpture rely heavily on their audience physically being there to view them, and their prestige and experience is even effected by the room in which they are shown. The internet has created a platform for countless more mediums, but its the context and environment that makes them different from more conventional art forms.

An artists paintings or photographs can be viewed in quick succession while in the comfort of your own room, listening to your favourite Triple J mix, eating peanut butter out of a tin in your underwear if you please. How then does this shape the identity of the artist who is presenting their work in this way?

Most artists know full well their works are being viewed this way. Apps like Instagram help to create an easily accessed online portfolio for artists and allows potential collaborators or employers to view their art all across the world without having to meet them in person. But, just as it was before, competition is intense with this process. The “trend” algorithms help steam-roll those who are popular to even higher popularity, and even if your work is seen it’s probably for a fraction of a second as someone scrolls past it at light speed.

This creates a culture where artists are sacrificing their art in order to fit to this fast evolving and highly competitive atmosphere. The “8 second rule”, suggested by a study in 2015 by Microsoft has compacted these art forms into bite sized, grabby chunks - a shadow of what art used to be. Perhaps the minimalist movement really did win over the public.

Identity for an artist is defined by their work, and if their work is being diminished to fit the platforms we use most - then our artists, too, are diminished. 

[pezthings]

Blog 11.1

The other day I filmed my friends skating on a Lumix GH3, I edited the footage simply using iMovie (2011). 

The main part of the process was scrolling through all the footage and choosing the most appropriate shots. Afterwards it was important for me to edit the clips to the song I chose (Luck I Got What I Want - Jungle). I also had to change the colours of some of the shots, the shot of the birds and the lighthouse for example, as the lighting at the time of filming was different to that of the shots of the skatepark. Overall it was a very fun process and I am now going to start filming and playing around editing a lot more. 

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[coatsey-1978]

The Downside to On-line Media

In another course that I have studied about the Digital Environment we looked into the impact that the digital revolution is having the library system. It was a very interesting study as it exposed a significant downside to literature becoming readily available online. As a society we continually embrace these new services available but often we forget what we might lose as a result of this change. The local library system provides wonderful services above just stocking books so if they do not embrace this change we may lose an important community service.

The below links reference some on-line articles that discuss the issues and outline the need for our current libraries to evolve in order to survive this new trend.

http://www.davinciinstitute.com/papers/the-future-of-libraries/

http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/oitp/publications/policybriefs/confronting_the_futu.pdf

http://www.infotoday.com/OnlineSearcher/Articles/Features/So-Now-What-The-Future-for-Librarians-86856.shtml

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub129/freeman.html

Steven Coates

[sharonpittaway]

Activity 11.1 Video

Video creation/production is something I've had no experience with until recently. Despite my father owning a video camera since the early 1980s, and even though I've spent hours digitising his VCRs and editing out the parts where he thought he had stopped recording, I've never owned a digital camera or had an interest in creating videos from other footage.  Well, I've made movies for students as a way of reviewing the semester/year (made of images I'd taken throughout the year) but I hadn't really thought about that as creating a video until now.

And, when I think about it some more, there have been other times when I've made 'movies'. For instance, when my parents decided to have an elaborate 50th wedding anniversary (in 2008) I spent many (many) hours putting together a video of their lives together using still images. I wrote a script and recorded that, included music they liked, and included images that were of the time as well as of their lives. This video was shown at the anniversary function, and was well received. Every so often Mum still gets out the DVD and plays it.

That was the end of my video experience (apart from digitising many of Dad's VCRs and editing out the unusable bits using Windows Movie Maker).

For another subject in this course I had to make two videos. I bought a small video camera and recorded all of the footage myself. In one video I used royalty free music from a Mac as the backing track (the video was not to include narration of any sort) and the other video was interview-based.

Here is my first attempt at making a movie with recorded footage - starting with an original idea and then doing all the recording, directing, editing, etc!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZv-FOmC2EM

I find video problematic as I have trouble coming up with images that go with the words. I watched a video recently which had a very strong message and I was particularly interested in the images they used because that is the area I have the most problem with when I think about making an information-type video. I lack visual imagination - I'm too literal and I don't think in images. Words work for me, not images. It's interesting to come to this understanding about myself.

I used Windows Movie Maker to make a short (1min) video using images I took last year. I added music from www.freestockmusic.com to add some atmosphere (it had none with the images alone). The images were processed in Adobe Lightroom from RAW images I captured while in Italy and France.

I uploaded the movie to YouTube but I sincerely hope that no one watches it!

I used basic animations - but is this a movie??

[gabriellagabriellachan]

The Internet is for...?

Technology has come a long way since the creation of what is now known as the web/internet. The advancements in technology now allow us to interact with one another in ways we never dreamed possible. However, it must be taken into consideration, what we gained and what have we lost as a result?

To expand on my learnings and reflections from week 1 - conceiving the net, I created an audio discussion that addresses some of the ideas I came up with in my original textual post.

To see my original thoughts on the topic follow this link;

http://gabriellagabriellachan.tumblr.com/post/180080411278/the-internet-is-for

[vectoringstuff-blog]

The photo essay - Week 2 task

Here we go friends, the dreaded photo essay. My selfies ranging from bad to okay. Some of these should never see the light of day, but here they are.

I have labelled these from A to F so I can discuss why I think they’re good selfies and to determine what exactly makes them good... Or bad.

Selfies are limited by the length of your arm (unless you have a selfie stick), so they will automatically look distorted. You’re limited by the crop so it does take some effort to make them look good.

Photo A - I took it at a junk store. I found a Donald Trump Halloween mask about two weeks ago and thought it was so funny that I had to share it with my friends. I don’t think this is a bad selfie. The lighting is great, and it is a casual, funny and spontaneous photo with no prior planning. I didn’t really care what the end result looked like because I just wanted to show off the mask. I wanted to show everyone where I was and what I had found - I was living in the moment.

Photo B - I saved this one from snapchat. It is unflattering and the lighting is so bad. We were having dinner with my partner’s parents in their backyard and we were having a lot of fun so I snapped a selfie with him.  (Not that he looks pleased about it.) Again we were living in the moment and I wanted to show that we were having a good time together. I didn’t really care that it was an unflattering photo because we were being pretty carefree, and I think this photo demonstrates that time together.

Photo C - We went to the cinema to see Black Panther. Again super unflattering and poor lighting. I look washed out and have a goofy smile. This one has never seen the light of day but for some reason I kept it. This selfie reminds me of the good time we had that night. It’s taken at a weird angle with poor lighting so overall it’s a pretty bad photo.

Photo D - I think this is a flattering photo of me. There is warm lighting and my makeup looked really good that day. The background doesn’t reveal too much of my house, showing only neutral colours. I was wearing a black shirt too, so it puts my face into focus. My hair was also neatly tied up and the angle, although off centre, highlights my cheekbones and my eyes.

Photo E - I think this is more flattering for my partner but I like this selfie of me quite a lot. It shows off that being a caffeine addict is a personality trait for me (lmao), but also I liked how my hair looked and I’d just had my eyebrows done so I was super pleased with how they looked in that photo. The lighting wasn’t the best but I still think it is a good selfie.

Photo F - THE PINK HAIR!!! I love this photo - despite the snapchat filter. I had pink hair about a month or so ago and I took this photo to show it off. My makeup was good, my eyebrows looked good, and the green jacket complimented the pink of my hair. It took me several goes to take a photo that I considered good enough for social media and this was the result. Seems a bit narcissistic as it was a planned selfie - but I also just really wanted to show off my cool hair.

Photo D would suit a bank worker’s picture out of all of them as it isn’t taken on a super weird angle, and it doesn’t show off any ‘silliness’. It seems the most professional due to my neutral makeup and neat appearance. 

Photo A, D and F would be chosen for a dating profile, such as Tinder. They seem to show off my carefree personality as well as my appearance. I would base a dating profile’s photos mainly off these key traits as dating profiles are very visual and we choose who to communicate to based off their looks, with funny photos used to give a hint of who we are.

I would choose photo A, E or F for my facebook profile. They are casual and I think I look good in E and F. A shows off my sense of humour. In E I am drinking coffee with my partner, who I spend most of my time with. In F I liked how I looked and wanted to show everyone the colour of my hair.

For a history book showing off life in 2018, I believe any of them could be used but I don’t think they would say too much except that Donald Trump was considered scary enough to be made into a Halloween mask.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!