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We explore how digital technologies shape and influence the arts and social sciences. This journey will take us through the very ethics of AI-generated content, how robots can create better stop-motion animation, and even how online meetings can change the oral traditions of Indian music-making!
Funny, Fake, Freaky, Fascinating? Making sense of computer generated texts
Dr Leah Henrickson
(Lecturer in Digital Media)
How would you feel if you were told that the news article you read this morning had been generated by a computer? What kinds of questions would you have? Who would you say is the author of that article, if there even is one? This talk offers a gentle introduction to natural language generation: when computers produce text in everyday human language. It considers the social and ethical questions posed by such technology, using recent examples from chatbots, news, fiction, and even your own mobile phones!
How the digital realm can create art
Dr Benjamin Hall
(Senior Lecturer)
Ben is an animator, illustrator and interactive designer with over 15 years industry experience. His talk will cover how technology changed the art of animation over the years as computer got more powerful and more tools were discovered.
How Zoom calls changed Indian music-making
Keranjeet Kaur Virdee
(CEO at South Asian Arts)
Keranjeet Kaur Virdee leads the South Asian Arts organisation dedicated to highlighting the literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Music is taught more orally and so over lockdown, students flocked to Zoom meeting to continue their passion. As it turns out, this rising popularity of online meetings has opened more doors than it closed as suddenly many people all over the world had access to experienced musicians in India.
Robots for Stop-Motion Animation
Ashley Dean
(Senior Lecturer)
Ashley Dean researches Computer Animation & Visual Effects in Leeds. Traditionally, stop-motion animation is a tedious task requiring precision and many hours of dedication for just a couple shots. Ashley will describe how this process can be made easier with the aid of specialised robots made exactly for this task.
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