This week's session started off on a high note for me. The focus of the session was primarily on information and communication technology and world change. As such, we went into the mind of Peter Molyneux who was the creative mastermind behind some of my all-time favourite games like Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and Fable. Prof showed us a video of the latest creative endeavours of this genius of man using the Xbox Kinect system and pinnacle artificial intelligence technology. It was simulation of a boy in the screen having a life-like conversation with a real person and both characters interacting on a truly life-like level. It was astonishing. I expected no less from Molyneux who renown for giving the gamer the freedom to choose his/her own destiny within game's story and to be the controller of the game, no pun intended. From Dungeon Keeper, a micro-managing real-time strategy game back in the 90s, to the latest additions of the Fable series, Molyneux has always wanted his gamers to be able to choose their paths and mould their in-game avatar to something they can gel with. This is why most of his productions are best-sellers and have a die-hard fanbase. It was not only interesting but also monumental to see how far gaming technology has come. Back when I was about four years old, I was playing the first ever Sonic the Hedgehog video game on the Sega 16-Bit console and now, people are having conversations and interactions with artificial intelligence on the Xbox 360. It's been a long and wonderful journey but sadly, the SMU school bus has taken me away from my happy gaming days.
Moving on, Prof brought up two quotes that really sparked interest in my already weary mind. The first quote was: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. this basically reaffirmed those countless hours of my childhood and teenage years spent playing video games. I mean, the reason why most people engulf themselves in video games is to enjoy themselves and escape from reality - to be something or someone you cannot be in real life. That, from my mindset, is the basic and fundamental notion of video gaming and why developers seek to make games more and more life-like and realistic and also why gaming has become an addiction to many people. It's because the allure comes from how deep you can be immersed in this "matrix" so to speak. And from the Molyneux video, it seems that that notion has come full circle - reality and the magical universe of technology have become one and the same. Well, almost.
The second quote from the early part of the session was by John Naisbitt saying, “The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human”. This to me was rather deep and thought-provoking. Naisbitt is claiming that whatever breakthroughs we have in this century will be to define ourselves and what we, as humans, can do. I believe he also means defining the human mind and how we can develop our thought processes into existential meaning. Ideas of trans-humanism, Aldous Huxley, Terminator: Salvation and Brave New World come to mind. Can humans be so perfect to the point where they can be programmed to perfection? Or is the heart of the machine, the perfect substitute for the warm, human imperfection. Will we, one day, have machines to govern us in absolutes and stoic reign or will we continue to use technology as a tool of advancement in our search for true knowledge? All these ideas, especially the Terminator and Skynet part, kept floating through my psyche, prodding me constantly to come up with an answer. Sadly, we didn't go too far into the topic which I felt could be an area for further discussion in this session. Although it may seem rather prophetic, based on science fiction and relevant for a module named Human Philosophy and the Future, it's interesting to see what others think of what it is to be human and the future of our race in this brave new world.
Another insightful topic we browsed over during the session was that of the future of the worldwide web. From Web 1.0 to the current Web 2.0, we are moving towards Web 3.0 where computers and information systems start generating solutions for people. Web 1.0 was mainly the linkages and developments of connections to other sources within the growing "interwebz". In Web 2.0, it was mainly participatory web operations like media-sharing and social media with a global and even mobile level of sharing - in essence, making the worldwide web an interactive platform for anyone with access. And futurists predict that the evolution to Web 3.0 will encompass artificial intelligence where computers are able to analyze and make judgments in generating solutions and also the advent of 3D technology and open video sourcing. I believe the current state of the Web is in about version 2.65. We currently use the internet to do searches which are filtered based on statistical data, user preferences and also public popularity by the computerized search engine, meaning the computers already do a level of solution-generation for us. Furthermore, we are already getting submerged in 3D technology and slowly getting our feet wet in the more advanced artificial intelligence systems where computers have the autonomy to make decisions and judgments instead of allowing human error to rear its ugly head. We are keeping everything from Web 1.0 and 2.0 and building rapidly upon these versions using the advances in modern information and communication technology. It would definitely be exciting to see Web 4.0 or 5.0 within our lifetimes. Hopefully, time-travel technology will also be available with every purchase of Microsoft or Macintosh systems in the not so distant future.
A major takeaway for me during the session was the fundamental process of knowledge management which consists of several steps. Firstly, the gathering of data followed by analyzing this data to come up with useable information. Then, constantly absorbing and refining the information to create knowledge and lastly, using this gained knowledge on a situational basis and eventually developing experience. This was the process highlighted during the session and found it to be rather useful when determining what to do with raw ‘data’ or when you find some information you have no clue how to use in the future. By following this process, you are able to compartmentalize these pockets of information and fully utilize them when needed.
The last takeaway I had for this session was from Bill Gates - “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Cheers, Bill.
Personal rating for this session: 8.765/10
Off to further musings,
James G14
No comments:
Post a Comment