Information and the Organism: Cybernetics, Cyborgs, ALife, AI

This weeks topic was “Information and the Organism: Cybernetics, Cyborgs, ALife, AI”

We talked about Cybernetics (the comparison between biological and artificial systems), Cyborgs (human who is supported by an electronic device ), Alife (Artificial Life) and Artificial Intelligence ( a computer which process operations based on thinking and learning)

What was important for me and I will give some more details was the statement “What makes us Humans”. We saw examples of experiments such as the mouse with the ear, the human with 3 ears and an artificial heart; those were examples of human parts which by using the latest technology are implemented inside organisms (human & animal). NO human parts, does not make something a human. “Self-awareness and free moral agency, speech and symbolic cognition, our nimble thumbs, conscience and the capacity to imagine: these are just a few of the traits that distinguish us from other species.” (WhatMakesUsHuman, 2008)

Here is a video of what people say in the question What makes us humans?



Latest technological products proves that Artificial Intelligence is ready for a big challenge, to prove that it can create a computer system which will be more clever than the human. The society should not be afraid of this achievement as long as it is used in order to not harm human life and environment.

You want it or not, now days everyone is depended by technology, for example me, I cannot leave my house if I don’t have with me my mobile phone or my laptop.
It is not bad to be depended by technology , as long as I said before is not harmful.

WhatMakesUsHumans, 2008. Conference in Los Angeles, [Available Online] http://whatmakesushuman.info/home.html [31/10/2009]

Beyond New: Thinking about Media Change

Have to admit that this week’s lecture was very interested for me as after my studies I want to follow the pathway of Interactive and Digital Media.

I will start this week’s blog post by referring to an award winning Interactive Advertisement for “LACTA” a Greek chocolate bar.
OgilvyOne Worldwide, one of the most respected advertising companies in the World created an Interactive advertisement, combining a TV Spot (“Old Media) and the continue of this TV spot (1 year later ) as an Interactive advertisement on the Web.
Have a Look:



It is a great example of combining an “Old Media or Traditional Media” with a “New Media”.

The reason why I am using quotations in the terms “Old Media” and “New Media” is because I don’t agree with those terms and their relations to media kinds, there is not old media and new media, we are still using every kind of media in order to promote and communicate. What will happen in 10 or 15 years? We will call Internet an “Old media” and the new innovations in the media market “New media”? I will agree that “New Media” is a term mean but I would prefer to call them as Digital Media.

The Birth & Death of Cyberspace

This week’s topic was “The Birth & Death of Cyberspace”.

The fact is that in order to discuss in detail this topic we need more than a month of daily lectures.

So what is Cyberspace? By hearing this word some images come up in our mind some of those images were discused in this weeks lecture.The image that comes in to my mind is different than those that where sawn in the lecture, by hearing the word Cyberspace the first image that comes into my mind is a spider and a web.

Dictionary.com identifies the word cyberspace as “the realm of electronic communication” and I agree, as cyberspace is mean of communication.

Referring to the word “death” of cyberspace as the topic of this weeks lecture mentions, is not meant the end of cyberspace, is meant the end or the decrease of real world human communication & Interaction.

Finalizing my blog post I would like to answer three arising questions of the Gibsonian Cyberspace.

• Where do we go when we go into 'cyberspace'?

The realistic answer would probably would be in different servers, but sometimes our mind travels into images, texts and videos related to the content we see in the cyberspace.

• What exactly are 'we' when we are in 'cyberspace'?

The realistic answer would be users or clients, but most of the times we like to be characters of our imagination

• Who is in control when we are in Cyberspace?

It is a difficult question with a very complicated answer but the realistic answer would be the admins and the administrations of our broadband line.

A Video in CBS, interviews a woman and a group of disabled people, where cyberspace and Second Life have “changed” their lifes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3547970n

By watching this video and by reading the article refered to the above video

Week 1, Welcome to my Blog

This blog has been created as an Assignment for the unit Media and CyberCulture at the University of Bedfordshire, in which i attend for an MA degree in New Media and Internet Technologies.