As always, I was extremely impressed with both the breadth and quality of this final round of critiques. I’ve posted just a few pictures below for those who were unable to see some of the more performative pieces in action. Unfortunately I only had my camera with me for part of the second day, but I would have liked to document everything. Here’s a thin slice of what happened:
As an Avatar, Rob is made to interact with Alex. Alex responds in kind, air-typing to great effect.
Tori controls Rob using a control panel, a remote video feed and telephone commands.
Avatar-Rob auto-waltzes with Elaine. Security-risk prototype not yet ready for public spaces.
Rob experiments with Randy’s telepresence arm. The gesture is fairly unambiguous.
Steve contemplates the impending destruction of humankind at the hands of our robot masters.
Lyndall discovers that Randy’s telepresence arm can probably violate Isaac Asimov’s first rule of robotics.
I lived my dream of becoming an actual virtual ghost in Marie and Heather’s piece. A minor ethical quagmire.
These pictures are unable to translate the experience of these projects. Once again the question is raised: what kind of work can or should document a fleeting interactive experience? What is the nature of the document produced here?
“What is the nature of the document produced here?”
Just like a drug – it provides an escape from reality. “Escapes from reality” don’t have to make sense, just like a dream, they rarely ever do.
L II, Inc.