Information Everywhere
November 13th, 2011
I’ve uploaded a couple sets that Portable / Bodycode has pieced together, which might typically be a bit of work to scrounge around for. They should give you a taste of what’s to come next Saturday at Cameo.
Right Click > Save As
117-RA-117-Portable_Bodycode-2008.08.25.mp3
22LWEPodcast22_Portablevs.Bodycode.mp3
UPDATE: I knew there had to be more mixes out there. The two above just happend to be what I already had. For more look here.
November 9th, 2011
November 7th, 2011
October 31st, 2011
I would have loved to have seen this show. Unfortunately I’m about a month late.
Though I couldn’t see it in person, the video has given me still more ideas I can incorporate into the visuals I’ll be doing at Sound Noir on November 19th.
October 21st, 2011
Below is a post I wrote for CScout’s Trendpool. The last paragraph was liberally edited by Paula as I’m still wrapping my head around the voice and direction our Trendpool posts should take. Most everything else stands as is.
Ubiquitous AI will aid consumers and the brands that target them
With the inclusion of the personal assistant, Siri, in the newly launched iPhone 4S, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has captured the interest of smartphone users. However, this latest iteration of Siri is just one example of what’s possible using today’s technologies. From the navigation system in Google’s autonomous car, the flight assistants in planes, and Canon’s stablized camera lenses, to EKGs and facial recognition systems, AI has been creeping into our culture for some time. It’s just now that these systems are at a point where the general public has begun consciously interacting with them via natural user interfaces—motion, gestures and sounds—rather than through the languages computers have traditionally understood.
Another development essential to the greater adoption of AI has been processing power: for example, IBM’s Watson required a huge amount of data, 90 servers with 2280 processors, and 16 terabytes of RAM to win at Jeopardy! Google’s self-driving car used a similarly large amount of resources in order for it to navigate streets while being mindful of pedestrians and bicyclists. But by storing needed data in the cloud, the more modest devices we carry in our pockets are able to take advantage of AI. As a result, we’re poised to see these technologies permeate a large number of industries.
As with Siri, one application of AI is the “personal assistant.” Eric Horvitz, a scientist at Microsoft Research, has built a digital assistant over the course of eight years, programming to to observe his daily work routines. Now with the understanding it’s gleaned, the assistant is able to interact with him and his coworkers, giving the appropriate responses to various workplace events: it can sense when he can’t be interrupted or when he’s running late, adjusting his schedule and interactions with his coworkers appropriately. In the near future, similar AIs will be able tailor their interactions with people based on their perceived emotional states as understood by users’ tone of voice or spacing of words.
In fact, in the future, if AIs are working properly, we won’t even recognize them. The goal of ubiquitous computing, of which AI is a component, is having information processing integrated into everyday objects and activities. For instance, a domestic system might recognize an individual by their voice or gait, and automatically adjust the room’s lighting and temperature. These developments will not only help make consumers’ lives easier, but also provide more specific, detailed information to brands about consumer behavior. By monitoring and analyzing individual habits, brands will be able to customize offers and reminders to potential customers at the appropriate moment and location. While this will undoubtedly raise privacy concerns, the potential for brands should not be ignored, and we expect that the most forward-thinking companies will begin to capitalize on this technology in the very near future.
October 20th, 2011
October 11th, 2011
Back in school everyone going through the photography department needed to take a class that was all about experimenting with alternative photographic processes. One specific class in the semester had us using unconventional items in place of negatives in enlargers. I don’t really remember where it came from, but I found myself stuffing a hair net into my enlarger.
Today, in the absence of an enlarger, I revived my scanner and started playing with hair nets in it. The results are very much in keeping with what I’d found back in the day. I can’t call the process difficult, but it does take time. Above are a couple examples of what I’ve churned out in the last few hours.
I’ll play with it more, enough to build a small body of work. After these few experiments, I can see a couple avenues I can explore with this subject matter. Outside this individual application of the scanner, I’m looking forward to experimenting with it more. Already, I’ve found myself browsing a couple dollar stores wondering how different things I’d come across might translate when placed on the scanner bed. There’s more fun to be had here.
October 10th, 2011
Shot this while having lunch at Putnam’s this afternoon.
October 9th, 2011
From GM to 3M, in boardrooms and on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley and on Madison Avenue, design matters more than ever. Around the globe, American designers have never been more influential. Welcome to an unexpected and inspiring moment.
