Week 01- Introductions
Humanity is undergoing an extraordinary period of intense changes affecting every aspect of our existence. These are driven, to a large degree, by the speed of technological evolution. Many consider ours to be a defining moment in human history.
This class explores some aspects of our present condition through the examination of the interrelations between images, technology and humanity at the turn of the 21 century
A general thesis if this course is this: the ongoing changes in our relation to images brought about by current technologies signals the emergence of a new, visual language. During the term we will investigate such possibility by attempting to communicate through images; to create a term-long image-based dialogue.
Homework
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1idnlU_iknpK5lZDFdiRx7VDDbVi778-0/view?usp=sharing
One of the discussions that I found most interesting in today’s class was the idea that images are becoming a language. As a former psychology student who has studied language, I think this is a very fascinating concept. With the sophistication of technology today, it is very easy and immediate to share images with others. It is also a fairly economic way of sharing ideas, given that “images are worth a thousand words”. Online, we can quickly reply to someone’s comment with a single image, and our idea can be communicated without ever having to use a single word. This is exciting, but also introduces an entire world of study for those who research culture, humanity, and technology. The concept of communication through images invites us to ask questions such as whether sharing thoughts through images is more sophisticated than using verbal communication, or more primitive?
I also found the discussion on artificial intelligence quite interesting. In my previous degree, I wrote an undergraduate thesis that dealt with the topic of AI, and it is a concept that I find quite intriguing. However, I do find it difficult to come to a conclusion on my exact opinions regarding AI’s role in society. I am curious about what the world might be like if all jobs were taken over by AI machines. I think it is exciting, but I can’t help but feel a bit nervous about it. The question of “what would we all do with our time if none of us had jobs?” is simultaneously interesting and frightening. As someone entering the tech world, I look forward to being in the middle of difficult questions like this.
Lastly, the third topic that I found particularly interesting was the idea of what it means to be human today. It seems that this concept has evolved over time, and the emergence of sophisticated technologies has only added to the complexity of this question. As we live in a world that is constantly inhabited by more and more “human-like” but non-human entities, the lines between human and non-human become increasingly blurred. If an entity thinks like a human, acts like a human, and talks like a human, but is built as a combination of computer hardware and software, can we still classify it is human? What makes it non-human? These kinds of questions address key philosophical ideals, and also ideas of morality. Because we are creating new kinds of entities, we have to decide how we treat them, and where they best fit in society. I look forward to discussing the question of “what does it mean to be human?” further.