systems

On posthumanism potentially worthy of the name.

Laura Dassow Walls explores how ‘deliberative’ reading practices may allow us to weigh the words we hear against the world we cognize - keeping alive the possibility of reading as a moral act.

(source: http://electronicbookreview.com/thread/criticalecologies/deliberative)

This work develops a theoretical model of the communication which is established in e-poetry between an author and a reader by use of two computers. One is used to create the work and the other to read it. The files are transmitted with a CDROM.

We make first a diachronic study of the field. It shows that conceptions gradually evolve. The study of visual forms shows that the mind representation of the system made by the actors are important in this communication.

The model of linked text is purposed. The concept of text depends upon the global representation of the situation for each actor. This model is developed in cognitive and semiotic approaches. The notions of texte-à-voir, texte-écrit and texte-lu are introduced.

The study continues with an analyse of the differences in the running of a program in divers contexts. The communication is understood as the transformation of a running process into another. This is the procedural conception. It is developed in a systemic approach in three models : a psychological model, a functional model of the situation of communication, a global system for the contextual relationship. The principal model of the situation let a particular function, the generation, appear. It inserts between reading and writing. These models permit to explain the properties of the system. They give a frame in which the conceptions of actors can be treated. Graphical transform are used to do this.

(Source: http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00012165)

Card Shark and Thespis are two newly-implemented hypertext systems for creating hypertext narrative. Both systems depart dramatically from the tools currently popular for writing hypertext fiction, and these departures may help distinguish between the intrinsic nature of hypertext and the tendencies of particular software tools and formalisms. The implementation of these systems raises interesting questions about assumptions underlying recent discussion of immersive, interactive fictions, and suggests new opportunities for hypertext research.

Although human interaction with technological artifacts often involves treating them as if they are alive, the dominant discourse in our society portrays technology as the instrument of its human master. In the context of computing, our desire of absolute control over machines manifests itself both as the human computer interaction (HCI) community’s emphasis on “usability” and as popular culture’s apocalyptic imagination of the out-of-control artificial intelligence (AI) systems trying to eliminate humanity. It is revealing that, for instance, the word “robot” comes from “slave” in Czech. This paper examines the social and aesthetic limitations of this narrow instrumental view of technology. It proposes an alternative interaction model based on machine subjectivity, that is, constructing and perceiving computer systems as an independent entity in its own right.

Based on Heidegger’s theory of the “enframing” nature of modern technology (Heidegger, 1977), and experiments of modern dance (Copeland, 2004), this paper argues that perceptual and sensory habits, including our interaction with computing artifacts, are political. Both the prevailing human-leader-computer-follower interaction model and the apocalyptic literary imagination are limited by and reinforce the discourse of hierarchical control and power relationship in broader social contexts. Machine subjectivity, on the other hand, offers a playground for exploring alternative relationships between human and “the other” (i.e., computer) and consequentially provides insights to new social orders, such as the ones based on “multi-dominance” (Lewis, 2000).

In addition to political commentaries, machine subjectivity also affords novel aesthetic and meaningful interactive experiences. This paper examines the manifestation of machine subjectivity in a range of cultural artifacts in electronic literature, music, dance and visual arts, and highlights the novel aesthetics and expressions afforded by allowing computers to act independently.

Finally, the paper discusses our text-based interactive narrative system Memory, Reverie Machine. The system algorithmically generates stories about a robot character, who is controlled jointly by the user and the AI system. The tension between user and machine subjectivity, foregrounded in the struggle to gain control over the main character, is used to explore themes such as agency, resistance, and dis/empowerment.

(Source: Author's abstract for ELO_AI)

Abstract Designing interactive narrative for children requires awareness of the cognitive abilities of young readers. In this paper, we present the lessons learned from two example interactive narrative systems, Baby Duck Takes a Bath and A Little Quiz for the Little Hare. Baby Duck is a multi-sequential narrative where the user can explore how a duckling can become dirty or clean by interacting with its habitat. The agency of the characters (including a mother duck and duck friends) result from manipulating elements within the small story world. The narrative changes according to the user's interactions, allowing for change in perspective, agency and attitude in real-time. The Little Quiz system aims to teach young children the concepts of measurement and comparison through the conversation between two characters. It explores the design space of enhancing interactive narrative using a commonsense knowledge database to understand players' intention and generate relevant narration. Both works target children from 1st to 3rd grade in the early stage of learning story construction. Our approach to designing children’s interactive narrative is based on considering how children can manipulate interactive content. The basic principles of this approach are to provide:

1) a small interactive world that involves simple spatial relationships and story elements. A small story world eases the cognitive load of navigating a virtual space. Instead of building multiple story spaces to explore, we propose that having one or few spaces populated with interactive elements (such as actors and objects) supports children's cognitive understanding and learning through real-time interaction, rather than focusing on memory and spatial skills;

2) Contextual interactive content allows players to communicate by means of short questions and answers. To engage children in the interrogative process, our systems prompt content for children to interact with using simple dialogue. The systems raise contextappropriate questions and show supportive information to both arouse children's interests and further assist them in thinking logically to achieve a task.

3) Simple flexible inputs allow freedom of exploration on the content level. Real-time reactions to a wide array of inputs create a supportive environment for exploration. For example, multisequential opportunities for interaction and suggesting a variety of commands encourage exploration by the user. In our systems, even when the input is out of the boundary of author’s story model, we use commonsense computing or graceful error handling to fill the gap between the authors’ story model and players’ model. Our research aims to make interactive narrative more accessible to young children by supporting learning, creativity and logical development. We provide a brief review of children's cognitive psychology research supporting the proposed design principles. Our principles demonstrate how a children's interactive narrative can allow for creative play and avoid frustration. Furthermore, our interaction design strategy is aimed to reduce memory load and focus on story understanding rather than puzzle solving. By using simple and encouraging discourse through short interactive prompts, electronic fiction can be used to craft delightful and interesting literature for children.

(Source: Authors' abstract for ELO_AI)

A trivial program, one that simply prints “y” or a string that is given as an argument repeatedly, is explicated and examined at the levels of function and code. Although the program by itself is neither interesting or instructive, the argument is presented that by looking at “yes” it is possible to better understand how programs exist not only on platforms but also in an ecology of systems, scripts, and utilities.

(Source: Author's abstract, prepared for the Critical Code Studies Working Group 2012.)