Week 3 Robotics and Art

Week 3 Robotics and Art

Walter Benjamin thinks that technology impacts art in a bad way. I don't believe that to be true because movies like Big Hero 6 and Wall-E show robots as protagonists with great characters. They are merely emotionless machines used to do every bidding by humans like the ones you could see in factories everywhere in the world. Animation technology has shown that robotic characters can have souls and characters where no other real movies have done so. 

Wall-E, a robot with character

When artificial intelligence came to play in movies like the Terminator, perspectives on robotics and rapid industrialization have soured among the general public in the 1980s. This depiction has indeed shown that technology is unrelenting and ruthless in conformity and absolute control. The future looked very bleak with robots and artificial intelligence taking over the military and destroying the world of humanity without mercy. 

Robotic Military Dog from Boston Dynamics

The rapid modernization of militaries around the world is definitely something to observe. With robots emerging in the US and South Korea, such as robotic dogs and automated turrets along the border of the DMZ, one has to wonder how scary these things are and how technologies are being incorporated into the military these days. Because sooner or later, if one's not careful of these things, one corrupt artificial intelligence, infected by a virus, could potentially turn these machines against us.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, has mentioned that AIs could potentially harm us if not kept in check because technologies are exponentially improving. He mentions that industrialization has made humanity more susceptible to rely on machines to do their bidding. He predicts that in the future, machines will take over most labor jobs and even white collar jobs. As a result, he believes that artificial intelligence should have limited intelligence and limited functions. 

While industrialization was viewed as a good thing by many, nowadays, those views are virtually gone. Many people realize how robotic technologies could potentially be a threat in the future and how industrialization plays a huge role in that. Thanks to movies like the Terminator and the Matrix, our perspectives on them have changed and humanity will always be cautious with big names like Elon Musk and Bill Gates. 

Sources

"Bill Gates on Dangers of Artificial Intelligence: ‘I Don’t Understand Why Some People Are Not Concerned’." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/01/28/bill-gates-on-dangers-of-artificial-intelligence-dont-understand-why-some-people-are-not-concerned/>.

Lewis, Tanya. "Screwing Up Artificial Intelligence Could Be Disastrous, Experts Say."LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/50467-artificial-intelligence-stakes.html>.

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

"Why Elon Musk Is Scared of Artificial Intelligence - and Terminators." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/18/why-elon-musk-is-scared-of-killer-robots/>.

"Smashwords – Depersonalization and Derealization: Responses to Industrialization in The Matrix and Terminator Series - A Book by Johnny Cross - Page 1." Smashwords – Depersonalization and Derealization: Responses to Industrialization in The Matrix and Terminator Series - A Book by Johnny Cross - Page 1. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/50354/1/depersonalization-and-derealization-responses-to-industrialization-in-the-matrix-and-terminator-series>.

Week 2 Math and Art

Week 2 Math and Art

I've gained an insight in seeing how mathematics influenced art by seeing Piet Mondrian use Fibonacci sequence and golden ratio. He used them to make the golden rectangle and give insight that any shape was possible using basic geometric shapes.

 Leonardo Da Vinci also used the golden ratio when he created Mona Lisa art as well as The Last Supper and The Annunciation. The science of physics was also influenced by mathematics because physicists use calculus to prove theories such as Einstein's relativity theory.

I learned that mathematics was really important during the Renaissance period because almost every artists used the golden ratio or divine proportions as it was also called. It really had such huge impact in their culture and still happens today because architects use it to build contemporary buildings. Artists use golden ratio to keep their arts beautiful and balanced where scientists use them to prove theories and make new ones.

Scientists like physicists rely on calculus to prove theories and derive them to make new ones. If we hadn't used mathematics, Galileo wouldn't have been able to prove that the Earth revolved around the sun instead of the other way around. Today would have been a much different world had mathematics not existed.


Sources

"Galileo’s Law of Planetary Motion." Galileo’s Law of Planetary Motion. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath568/kmath568.htm>.

"Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design." Phi 1618 The Golden Number. 4 May 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/>.

"MATHEMATICS AND ART." MATHEMATICS AND ART. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emat6680/parveen/Math_and_Art.htm>.

"Divine Proportion/Golden Ratio in the Art of Da Vinci." Phi 1618 The Golden Number. 7 July 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.goldennumber.net/leonardo-da-vinci-golden-ratio-art/>.

"Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg>.

Week 1: Two cultures

Week 1: Two cultures

I'm majoring in electrical engineering and I've learned how to program both myself and at UCLA. What C.P.Snow says about the gap between scientists and literary intellectuals are still there, but much less than before. 

We are coexisting with technologies today. Many people are now a part of the "Third Culture". We are in a generation where the consumers or the general public are introduced to technologies that are human-friendly and which don't require technical expertise. We embrace technology.

Computer companies like Microsoft and Apple are always making sure that average consumers are able to use their products with ease. Their products gave rise to computers around the world and now everything is done electronically. Human interaction with technologies became much easier thanks to products like the iPhone and the iPad.

Companies rose up to the challenges to use advanced knowledge/technologies and somehow make them acceptable to be used by the public. This has given rise to designers because user interface is everything when it comes to products and their appeals. That's how technology companies work today and they are integrated into the public. They hire design teams to do just that. They design devices to help people use them and modernize.

The public are starting to learn about computers and its importance and want to become programmers. Everywhere you go, employees and officials emphasize how important programming is today. I have a friend who had to learn how to program because he interns in a hospital where being able to keep data of patients and medicines is very important in hospitals.

I realized how much of our transactions made, whether large or small, are all done electronically. Companies like PayPal are making sure that hackers don't interfere during transactions. This is really important because trading money controls our economy and more and more hackers exist today to exploit the system. When banks around the world including Russia, Japan, Switzerland were hacked recently, the media turned its attention on cybersecurity and its weakness.

Cybersecurity is upmost important to protect companies from getting hacked or exploited and even Obama's administration is admitting about it. I see how far the world has come to to integrate into the scientific community and accept its importance. If I would come up with a title for this blog, I would title it "Computer Generation".


References

Brockman, John. The Third Culture. N.p.: n.p., 1995. Print.

Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures: And a Second Look. N.p.: n.p., 1963. Print.

Sanger, David E., and Nicole Perlroth. "Bank Hackers Steal Millions via Malware." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2015.

Digital image. Implementing a Comprehensive Cyber Security Plan. N.p., 26 Mar. 2015. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.

Digital image. Welcome to the Preview Release of Microsoft 2014. Jarred Walton, 11 July 2013. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.