January 13, 2004

Expert in Artificial Life and Canadian New Media Awards Nominee, Richard Lachman was in to talk about AI and AL. He showed work from California that simulated intelligence within the context of pets. Work in Canada included Degrasse Junior-high Web site where artificial characters advance the plot as played out by online people.

Discussion into expert systems, alice-bots, customer relations, etc. ensued and learners were able to tie in some concepts with their Web Authoring assignment of making a guide for their portfolio sites. This may be an abstract guide that suggests the number of visits by completing a picture or a more complex self modifying system where portfolio pieces are presented in order of statistical preferences.

Learners prepared McLuhan Tetrads for Multimedia Installations based on the talk and on in-class research and presentations. The Tetrads are available at: http://imm.sheridanc.on.ca/tetrads/artificialintelligence.html. Learners analyzed what the technology enhances, makes obsolete, retrieves and flips into. The lecture / lab experience is part of the Sheridan Multimedia Pioneering course where a new technologies with respect to Interactive Multimedia are examined and working samples are explored. The technologies are: