Week 8: Take on the tools

We may get a video posted later.

3/11/25 – 3/15/24

There are two main projects this week. One is to investigate AI tools. You may use ones you’ve already worked with, or you may look for new ones. We don’t want any duplication though, so we have a form and spreadsheet where you can see what others have chosen. If you look at the list and see the name and URL of your chosen application, then you should pick something else. And don’t use anything that asks for payment or data you don’t wish to share. The other project is to form groups for the upcoming collaborative audio project. Details about the project will come out Week 9, but we want everyone in groups beforehand.

1. AI Tool Laboratory

There are a lot of AI-based tools for creating and manipulating digital media out there. Rundown AI keeps a healthy list which lets you sort out the free ones, and you can probably find many more through Google.  Your mission is to investigate a free tool, try it out, and find out its capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. The resulting list will be something to benefit the whole class, ideally.

Aggressive Technologies is looking to expand its AI arsenal, and has put out an open call for acquisitions. They are offering a finder’s fee and/or stock options to anyone who can make a good case for a target, to be awarded if they choose to make the buy.

Have your character (or you if you so wish) make a sales pitch to Aggressive Technologies about why they should acquire it, or why they should put it out of business if you prefer. The pitch can take any form you like, but it should include some sort of example of what the tool can do. Put it in a blog post and tag it AIpitch. To make it easier for everyone to avoid duplicating each other’s efforts, we have a form where you can enter the AI tool you will be using. That form populates the spreadsheet below, so check it first to make sure your tool isn’t already taken.

2. Looking ahead: Prepare for group audio projects

During weeks 9 & 10 we will be creating audio productions for ds106radio. This will be a group project, involving the course theme and your characters. You get to form your own groups. You will be forming groups this week so you can hit the ground running at the start of week 9. Further details on the project will be posted at the start of week 9.

Some advice on group formation:

Get into groups:

• Membership: You will have the chance to self-organize into your groups for this project.
• Show Ideas: It may be easiest to form groups around show ideas. There are a lot of great ideas out there, so this should not be a problem. You can see everyone’s ideas at https://ds106.ai/category/radioshowideas/ — at least everyone who tagged their posts correctly! The Aggressive Technologies connections may also be a good impetus for forming groups. You can see these at https://ds106.ai/category/aggressiveconnection/. If you see an idea you like, contact the originator about working together. If you have an idea you like, put a call out on your blog and Discord for collaborators.
• Use Discord: If you need to find a group, put the word out on Discord in the ds106radio channel that you’re looking for a group to join.
• Let Us Know Your Group: I created a spreadsheet to facilitate group formation. You should have received the link to it in an email. Give your group a name, put down a brief description of your show idea, and list the group members. There is also a section for people who are looking for a group.

Group sizes:

Groups should have 3 or more members. If a group grows to 8 or more people, we may decide to split it in two, unless the group can make the case that all members will be actively involved in the show’s production.

Group deadline:

You should start forming groups immediately. Everybody should be in a group by Thursday, March 14, by midnight. Your names and groups should be on the spreadsheet to make it official. If you have not joined a group by that time, you will be putting your fate in our hands. We will assign you to a group, but it will be entirely your responsibility to make the situation work.

3. Daily Creates: Let’s do three again.

4. Commenting: As much as you can