Rewatching ST:DS9 Sisko, Dax, Odo and Garak return from a conference on the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, where Garak got flak for his pro-Cardassian bias, and Odo is uncomfortable with his own reputation as a hero. They’re in a runabout, so it’s no surprise that a plot contrivance particle field hits them before the opening…
Rewatching ST:DS9 Strait-laced time cops arrive on the station to demand “just the truth, Captain.” Sisko’s voice-over informs us that on a trip to recover a Bajoran Plot Contrivance Orb, the Defiant picks up a passenger who would be strangely familiar to anyone who had seen any of Paramount’s extensive promotion for this episode, scheduled…
The technology will continue to improve so that that simulated gymnastics videos will look less and less bizarre, but people who can use AI to create flawless gymnastics videos aren’t actually learning gymnastics. No human being will become a better gymnast thanks to a better AI simulation of a gymnastics routine. More convincing AI-generated…
When I ask my students to use the library database to find scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles, some students stick with the search methods they’re already familiar with, and they submit works cited lists that include articles written by undergraduate interns, or articles from low-value pay-to-publish ecosystems like “Frontiers.” While I don’t read every article students…
What have my students learned about creative nonfiction writing? During class they are collaborating on a Google Doc that’s coming together very nicely before our eyes.
Two years after the release of ChatGPT, it may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission to power AI products. Yet the notion remains disturbing to many artists and professionals who feel that their craft and livelihoods are threatened by programs. Transparency is generally low: Tech companies tend not to advertise whose…
My older siblings say they remember our mother sitting them down to watch a new TV show called Sesame Street. A running gag was that Big Bird’s friend, the huge, gentle wooly-mammoth-like Snuffleupagus somehow always disappeared before anyone else on Sesame Street could see him, leading the adults on the show to believe “Snuffy” was…
I first started teaching with this handout in 1999 and posted it on my blog in 2000. Like the Ship of Theseus, I’ve made gradual changes so it’s not really the same document, but just now I spotted hilariously out of date references to bringing along transparencies with you as a backup.
[A] popular type of generative AI model can provide turn-by-turn driving directions in New York City with near-perfect accuracy — without having formed an accurate internal map of the city. Despite the model’s uncanny ability to navigate effectively, when the researchers closed some streets and added detours, its performance plummeted. When they dug deeper, the researchers…
I create five color variations of each #blender3d building I #design, and each of those has closeup, high, mid, and low resolution variations. It’s tedious but enjoyable. Kinda like knitting. #medievalyork #mysteryplay #aesthetics
Journalism is not a crime. It’s not a crime if it offends the powerful. It’s not a crime if it doesn’t offend them enough to suit you. Yes, journalists make mistakes. Yes, you should take a break from doomscrolling for your mental health. But the First Amendment freedom of the press is crucial to democracy.…
My mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my father-in-law. When I worked in radio news in the late 1980s, we were still loading reels and splicing tape, so it all came back to me pretty quickly.
My job is often to help students understand things that they aren’t good at doing yet. If a student arrives in my classroom with a solid ability to construct clear sentences and summarize difficult readings, using an AI tool that helps them spot grammar mistakes with less effort and capture the gist of a reading…
A healthy respect for the free press and the institution of journalism is absolutely crucial for a healthy democracy. Media literacy matters, while a jaded “I don’t trust journalists, I do my own research” DIY attitude is easily co-opted. A false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris was involved in a June 2011 hit-and-run incident…
About 30 years after I first saw John Speed’s 1676 map of York, today I was working on a region labeled “Z.” Or is that a “2“? There’s both an X and a 3 nearby… confusing context! A glance at the legend shows how brilliantly Speed handled the ambiguity. #usability #ux #ui #design #medieval #cartography
My simulated city has 1000 capsule inhabitants that are just smart enough to gather around markers and wait. In May, I had nothing. I‘m learning. #medievalyork #mysteryplay #unity3d
I’ve had a lot of fun in this new ensemble audio storytelling series. Did I do a good job convincing my friends I really saw a time-traveling elephant?
Support the arts in your community! #augustwilson #radiogolf
Everyone who is reading this article in 2024 grew up in an era where a photograph was, by default, a representation of the truth. A staged scene with movie effects, a digital photo manipulation, or more recently, a deepfake — these were potential deceptions to take into account, but they were outliers in the realm…