EDP cultures group 4

I honestly really enjoyed reading The Stories of Ibis way more than Techgnosis.  I consider my reading/comprehension skills a bit subpar so the best way for me to understand what's happening throughout books is to actually be engaged with the story line and have an actual desire for wanting to know what's going to happen next.  I also will choose fiction over non-fiction because I enjoy creating my own pictures and scenes in my head, rather than just strictly reading information to learn about things.  The best parts of this book that really caught my attention were when the settings took place in these virtual video game worlds and everything was basically a simulation.  I found myself really engaged with these parts because I'm a heavy gamer myself, so when I read about fiction and video games at the same time, it's easier for me to create my own stories in my head and enjoy what I'm reading more.   Prior to this class, I have never really thought deeply...

As I reflect on the quarter. I realize I have grown to view technology from an anthropological perspective. It makes  me think back to to the fist day of class when we watched videos of YouTube from an anthropological perspective. Also, reading Techgnosis allowed me to pair history with technology in an interesting way rather than the just looking at the history of technology. I've been able dive further into how technology influences the mind within this class as well. As a communications major, organizational communication across society has become increasingly interesting to me because this class pairs so well with my organizational communication classes about what messages are sent to the masses and how to make those messages succeed. This is my biggest takeaway from this class and I hope to apply this information and analysis to my career. I've become more passionate about technoculture. Personally, I enjoyed Techgnosis more than Ibis. Although the Stories of Ibis was an...

a) I liked this book much more than I liked Techgnosis. I think that one of the most prominent arguments - that fiction is somehow less 'true' or valuable than nonfiction - is illustrated perfectly. The premise is so interesting, hearing fictional stories from a fictional character in a fictional book. This is juxtaposed nicely with Davis's approach, citing countless historical, scientific and factual people, places and ideas. Both books give us a sense of wonder and simultaneous excitement and, possibly, some fear, when it comes to the future of humanity as well as technology. The made up characters provide a different insight to what could be, in my opinion seriously mirroring a Black Mirror type approach. This is oftentimes more entertaining and easier to digest. b) This class was particularly interesting in and of itself because I came in with no expectations. I had never taken an EDPX course before but, as it was cross listed with an MFJS course, I figured I would gi...

The final story in  The Stories of Ibis  is perhaps the most important story in the novel as it ties all the other fictional stories with the overall narrative and establishes the overarching theme of the book.  The Stories of Ibis  really seems to be about the consciousness of artificial intelligence, our relationship with new forms of technology and the inability to both accept our demise as well as the consequences of the choices we make on a societal level. Yamamoto seems to point to artificial intelligence as mimicking our emotional patterns to dissuade extreme circumstances, which is evident in Ibis’s revelation that robots allowed humans to steal from their cargo trains. AI haven't changed their objectives but have shifted their perspectives of human behavior in order to better serve their “masters”. AI’s role as servants seems allegorical to biblical symbols of servitude towards others, demonstrating that perhaps fear and selfishness are what separate people...

"The Day Shion Came" explores the nature of consciousness and the various forces that impact its development. Shion's ability to develop a sense of self-awareness brings up the question of what parts of the mind must be emulated or taken into account when creating realistic artificial intelligence that will accomplish its goals as concisely as possible. Shion's evolution throughout the story demonstrates how self-awareness can alter the behaviors an AI may choose to exhibit, especially in the case of an AI that seeks to relieve emotional human suffering. When AI are given broad goals like protecting humanity from harm, it becomes very difficult for them to act when they realize that humans are some of the greatest dangers to themselves and each other. This seems to go along with the theme of storytelling being a tool that reveals truths about human nature as separate from historical doctrine. AI no longer make decisions based purely on the desire to provide physical ...

Yamamoto’s The Stories of Ibis, “Story 6” is a continuity of the positive looks at technoculture and the development of artificial intelligence.   Beyond that, I see a thread throughout these stories that points out aspects of humanity and the self through the person’s interaction with AI.   The idea that technology has this reflective nature shines through when Kanbara says, “Where did this baseless fear that robots would attack humans come from?   Why were there so many stories about robots and humans fighting? Did they only exist because that was how mankind had always lived?   Did we simply see ourselves in these humanoid machines?   Were we not simply afraid of our own reflections?” (267).   The suspicion towards Artificial Intelligence isn’t about the threat of AI, but rather points out that humans may have this violent, dominating nature that they project on their humanoid robots. This story also brings up ethical questions regarding the creation...