Alex DeLattre Original Work

Original Work

Peter Panagiotou Original work of Electronic Literature

Below is a link to my original work of electronic literature that consists of a Twitter bot that continuously re-tweets internet memes that contain #memes.  The bot will keep re-tweeting posts marked with #memes indefinitely. This piece of electronic literature creates a kind of ever-expanding digital catalog of memes.  

Meme Generating Twitter Bot

Reaction to Ray Kurzweil blog post

With technology growing so rapidly, we can be can assume it will continue to grow throughout the rest of our lives. The ways in which technology may change the world are simply mind boggling. Although we think that technology will continue to advance as it has already, some attempt to predict when certain technology is going to be available.  One such person is Ray Kurzweil, an American computer scientist who is famous for accurately predicting the advances of future technology.

A prime example of all these predictions is that a computer would be able to defeat a world chess champion, which Kurzweil predicted in 1990. Not only was Kurzweil’s chess prediction completely accurate, he was may other predictions that seem to follow suit in their accuracy. Kurzweil predicts that eventually computers will become so far advanced that they will cure all disease, and far out-smart the most intelligent human. There seem to be many positives that could arise from these technological advances. Once such positive could be to lessen the need for disease, and suffering among the human race. If we, as a species, could eliminate cancer-like illnesses; it could drastically improve the condition of many individuals who suffer on a daily basis. From a humanitarian perspective, this type of technology could have great utility. Another aspect of the technological advances Kurzweil predicts is the possible uses of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, in theory, could be used to solve problems that are too difficult for human beings to solve. This could create unbound possibilities when it comes to the many issues that face humanity, such as long distance space travel, or the previously mentioned issue of curing disease. While Kurzweil’s predictions are impressive there is some criticism of Kurzweil to consider.

While Kurzweil boasts a rather impressive record when it comes to making predictions, many of his predictions are quite broad, and often not very hard to predict. For example in 1990 he predicted the following --this from Predictions made by Ray Kurzweil-- “PCs are capable of answering queries by accessing information wirelessly via the Internet (by 2010).” This is a good example of a prediction that sounds jaw dropping to those unfamiliar with technology, but by the year 1990 the first search modern search engine had already been developed,“The first search engine created was Archie, created in 1990 by Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal.” This from  History of Search Engines: From 1945 to Google Today. It is also well known that wireless technology was invented by Nikola Tesla and this was in the early 20th century (possibly late 19th century). It is also well known that the Internet by 1990 was not a new concept. Given that information, it wouldn't be all that difficult to make that prediction, considering we already had all the technology to do it at the time of his prediction. Kurzweil also predicted that (by 2018) “10^13 bits (=10 TB) of computer memory—roughly the equivalent of the memory space in a single human brain—will cost $1000.” This claim from Predictions made by Ray Kurzweil, is rather misleading.  The following is from What is the Memory Capacity of a Human Brain?, “Bringing this back to the human brain, according to a 2010 article in Scientific American, the memory capacity of the human brain was reported to have the equivalent of 2.5 petabytes of memory capacity.  As a number, a “petabyte” means 1024 terabytes or a million gigabytes, so the average adult human brain has the ability to store the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes digital memory.” The article goes on to say, “The human brain is indeed a marvel, with more capabilities than most of us can imagine.  As more studies are coming out – it is only a matter of time until we truly find out how much the human brain can store.” This article clearly implies that we do not know how much storage capacity the human brain has. Also, Kurzweil believes we as a society are heading to a singularity, here is an objection to his claim. From, The Brain Is Not Computable, “Miguel Nicolelis, a top neuroscientist at Duke University, says computers will never replicate the human brain and that the technological Singularity is “a bunch of hot air.””  Miguel Nicolelis has presented a very clear objection to Kurzweil’s claim about the singularity.

While technology can be arguably predictable at times, and at other times arguably unpredictable, it is still extraordinary that we are making rapid technological advances. Technology is a huge aspect of life today, and will only continue to grow. Relying on technology is something that could be helpful due to everything that it can help us with such as curing cancer and other medical diseases. Overall, technology could significantly improve/extend the life that humans live.

Childhood Memories by Cassie Lewis

In this Google Maps essay, "Childhood Memories", I share stories/memories from a specific location that had an impact on my childhood. These stories may be broad or specific, but they helped shape my future and created the person I am today. I hope to continue to plot points on this map as I create more memories.

Video Games Blog Post

A video game, as defined by Wikipedia,is “an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor.”  While this definition does an adequate job of describing video games on the surface level; there is so much more depth when it comes to the world of video games. Video games can be meaningful works of art that can serve to engage, entertain, and compel the player to feel a range of emotions similar to film, or literature. One such example of a game that can have an emotional effect on the player is That Dragon Cancer.  This game takes the player on a journey in dealing with the approaching loss of a child that suffers from a terminal illness. The game can take the player on a emotional roller-coaster that conveys the pain of loss, as well as the joys that a child  can bring to parents, and the world.  Many people have a simplistic, and malformed view of the true depth that video games, similar to That Dragon Cancer, can have as an art form. Video games can be just as compelling as watching a film, and just as meaningful as reading a good book.  Although video games can exhibit emotional depth and range though well done game play and story, there are also practical examples of how video games can shape the mind.

Furthermore, in the modern world video games are very popular among people of all ages, but some might pose the question, what are video games really ? Forgoing the obvious answer , that they are games with video (or in a virtual space). Instead, this will focus on a bigger question, what can video games do for people ? Many have suggested that video games make people dumber, while this view may be popular, it appears to be false, this from Psychology Today “A new study has found that video gaming can stimulate neurogenesis (growth of new neurons) and connectivity in the brain regions responsible for spatial orientation, memory formation and strategic planning, as well as, fine motor skills. Brain volume was quantified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).”  This clearly demonstrates that video games can help people improve their daily lives.  Playing video games can help with school because as this quote suggests, they can improve strategic planning, which is a skill that is extremely important in classes such as math. This skill is also essential if one wants to have a successful career. Video games not only help make us smarter, but they can be viewed as independent pieces of art and literature.

Games are a combination of art, literature, and film intertwined into one. Video games can be seen as digital art because there is a lot of work, and meaning that goes into making the game enjoyable and presentable. A video game with bad graphics or lacking story is not going to receive good reviews, and will not attract the attention of  players. Along with that, video games are not video games without game play. Players would not have an enjoyable time if there was not compelling game play to be experienced. Film-like elements are also incorporated into video games because without influences from film video games today would be fundamentally different. Film elements are placed in games to make them more realistic, and entertaining. Games are sometimes looked down upon, but they are works of art. The Game Awards appreciates the best types of video games every year and has nominations such as Best Narrative and Best Art Direction. Video games are celebrated by many, but should be appreciated more because there are so many aspects put into one work that is specifically for enjoyment.