Creative
Technology
Seminar:

What is technology and why?

Week 2: Friday, Sept 24

What do we call "technology"? What's it like? What does it want? How old is it? How do build relationships with it and through it? What should we ask ourselves before, during and after we engage with it?

Hacking and repurposing

Week 3: Friday, Oct 01

What is hacking? It's motivations, methods and purposes. Why should we repair, maintain, repurpose and upcycle out technology and how?

Zoom chat

Worldbuilding / Emergence

Guest: Elise Co

Week 4: Friday, Oct 08

If the best way to predict the future is to create it - where do we start? We cannot control every signle small detail in our designs - but how can we create the rulesets that guide and steer the outcomes? Can we view design as archeology of the future? What would you do if you could play god?

Zoom chat

What is AI?

Week 5: Friday, Oct 15

How is contemporary artificial intelligence built? How does it work - and doesn't work? What is machine learning? What are neural networks? Why does this all even matter?

Zoom chat

IoT and wearables

Guest: Elise Co

Week 6: Friday, Oct 22

From grey goo to ubiquitous computing to a plethora of smart devices around us the idea of computers everywhere was taking hold of the imagination. What are all those things on the Internet, how does computation penetrate materials - and for what purpose and to what end?

Zoom chat

Week 7: REVIEW WEEK - NO CLASS

Body as interface

Week 8: Friday, Nov 05

The point of connection between a human body and a machine - a lever, a button, a camera, an implant. How do the two sides of this conneciton respond and affect each other? What changes do they undergo to adapt to each other - intentionally and not.

Zoom chat

Mixed realities

Week 9: Friday, Nov 12

When you can make up any reality you like - what will you make? What will drive you, what goals will you pursue? How will it change you, and those around you?

Zoom chat

Synthetic creatures

Guest: Elise Co

Week 10: Friday, Nov 19

What can be more exciting than making life from non-life? Computation has put the tools ans resources into the hands of people who want to try their hand at animating hard and soft matter, at building different bodies and different midns.

Zoom chat

Week 11: NO CLASS

Tools and making tools

Guest: Everest Pipkin

Week 12: Friday, Dec 03

Any work requires tools and professionals in all fields tend to have their favorites. Creative work often requires the kinds of tools that only exist in the imagination of the artist, - until the artist builds one for their own use. What happen these tools are released in the wild? Are there tools that only exist to create one kind of work? Why should you make or modify your own tools?

Zoom chat

Videogames

Week 13: Friday, Dec 10

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Additional Readings and Projects