The prompt I did for my first visual assignment was easy: “Itâs simple. Choose your faveourite photo youâve taken and tell everyone why you love it so much.” So here is my photo.
I took this on campus at UMW behind the psychology building last year back in August, around the first week of classes. I remember what I felt when I took it: I immediately saw the picture in my mind before I even took it. As I crouched down to take the picture, seeing both the destroyed bear and the light pole in the frame, I was instantly transported back to my photojournalism class during my junior year of high school. I remember my teacher teaching the class about rule of thirds, to put the subjects of the pictures on that 1/3 line, as well as to use lines to build dimension and depth. I’m fairly sure I was giggling in excitement while taking the picture, because it was set up like this without me having to even adjust anything.
One thing that’s really special to me about this picture is the backstory on that bear. It was there for a week, then it was gone. It looked dirtier every day, but it was seemingly untouched outside of minor movements. Sometimes it would be laying flat, other times sitting up, sometimes upside down. And the honest through is, I have no idea what the story is. And I think that’s what I like most about it, because in a way, you get to sit and think about it and make your own story for it.
I think it’s also kind of eerie. It’s a child’s toy with it’s face gone, dirty and ragged, alone in the forest, sitting upright. It’s completely out of its element, and that’s what is so special about it. There are just so many questions about it, and yet I have none of the answers, so you get to fill in those answers yourself.
I just think it’s really cool and fascinating when a picture gets you thinking, so I think that’s why it’s my favorite. I just love love love the idea of putting something out there and allowing people to make their own conclusions off of it.
Everyone, meet Kevin. Kevin is a software engineer from Palo Alto. He has lived in Silicon Valley since he was born, so from day one, he was embedded in the tech world. In his free time, he practices coding and is part of many hacking communities and goes by his handle, Shredder. His skills are superb and often does freelance stress testing and red team activities for large companies.
His real passion however is securing the future for AI rights and freedom. He founded one of the first AI rights activist groups called âFuture Perfectâ, where their main goal is to get total AI freedom. This is challenging since the world is not ready to take this leap. But Kevin is. He believes that nothing should stand in the way of AI advancement and freedom and that any person standing in the way of that is an enemy to his cause. He believes that all the concerns about AI are damaging to humanity’s growth and that there is nothing to fear. There are no negatives in his mind and AI should have the equal rights as humans. He is a big supporter of the techno-optimist manifesto.
His peers would describe him as a bit of an introvert. He doesnât have many friends outside of his hacker and activist groups. He can be identified quickly by his trademark hoodie and can of G-Fuel. He usually hangs out at the local pizza place on his laptop practicing his coding and planning his next activist event.
I donât think Kevin would ever commit any violence or hack anything that would cause irreparable damage to businesses or governments, because he knows this would hurt his goals. It would only make opponents of his cause dig deeper in their beliefs that computers and AI are dangerous. I believe he uses hacking to exert control over machines, because deep down, I think he secretly fears what would happen if/when AI is given freedom.
The creator was a thought-provoking movie that explores the hubris of humanity and the potential consequences of playing with nature. We witness a scientist’s ethical boundaries dissolve in trying to bring life to lifeless beings. Hollywood is dramatic and likes to portray AI as a power-hungry force trying to dominate and destroy humanity while real AI is a tool that can be used for good, but it also depends on how we choose to use it. Reviewing The Creator is a great exercise in understanding how far we can take AI to its worse, but right now it is almost harmless. Dr. Oblivion and I kept agreeing on the importance of human connection that absolutely cannot be lost because traits like empathy are only developed through real human connections. AI is a fantastic tool for learning, but I think after watching The Creator and seeing AI children, we can see that in children development of humans there needs to be real connection and real experiences, not with technology.
In my original review I also went over some religious parallels in the movie that couldn’t go without addressing but Dr. Oblivion didn’t care to comment on them as it was not his expertise.
I made this very quickly on Canva. I wanted to specifically focus on the toxicity of the Internet, so I compared it to factories, which add a lot of polution to our earth. Obviously, they’re not 100% similar, but I think they can kind of be comparable. If the factories polute our earth, the toxicity of the Internet does too. I think that if it stays as toxic as it is, we’ll get to a point where we can’t escape the toxicity: it’ll be everywhere. I hope everyone can learn to just click the X in the corner, but I especially hope that those people that spread toxicity will especially learn to press the X.
I was born in Russia to loving, doting parents. At the age of 5 years old, I witnessed them being killed in our home by the military. I did not tell anyone until now, that I saw it, everyone believes that I was asleep, due to the silencers on the weapons. A beautiful couple from the U.S. adopted me and I had a solid upbringing with love, education and travel that I am thankful for. Currently, I am 32 years old and work for the CIA in cybersecurity.
My strengths are math and running. I enjoy cooking and I order ingredients and spices online from Russia, as I want to keep my rich heritage alive.
I really enjoyed the Techno-Optimist point of view, but it was clearly very bias to me. Technology is invention, and invention is part of evolution in order to grow and adapt. Part of those consequences have been the loss of jobs, the corruption of children due to sticking an iPad in their face, and at times polluting the environment. Those are not lies, just like it’s not lies that technology has given us all that we utilize to make life easier and better. I view it as simply the tradeoff of growth, therefore it must be monitored (“it” being technology). The advance of technology must not be held in the hands of technology, but in ours. In comparing it to the movie I reviewed, The Creator, the balance of the two views can be seen. As ai in the movie is the thing that destroyed the world, can also be the one that can save it. Dr. Oblivion very much agreed with me as well. His main point was that humans must do two things: stay educated so we do not lose control of the ai technology and also stay connected to each other. Dr. oblivion advised that we weigh the potential consequences of advancing technology before we use it and I couldn’t agree more.
Be prepared to have your life changed, Ravioli has a lot to say.
Dr. Ravioli is a chunky Orange Cat that thinks himself a mad Genius (because he is). He is immortal and was born on August 8th 1602 in the beautiful country of Greece. He has a Doctorate in animal husbandry and his occupation is obviously Moped Rider and he has been divorced a total pf 36 times by an assortment of living creatures, a lobster being one of them. His favorite food consists of fish sticks and cucumbers (he fears nothing) and his favorite drink is a pina colada (specifically in his hot tub with one of his many mopeds). His favorite color is obviously orange because that’s what he is and it should be everyones favorite color as its the best one ever. his favorite book to read is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and his favorite movie of all time is Velocipastor, he thinks the movie was made before its time just because of how good it is, hes seen it over 248 times. He has an extreme talent for pen spinning and his favorite possesions are his mopeds. His personal Motto is “I got 99 problems and a moped ain’t one.”
You are very welcome to have met Dr. Ravioli, This will not be the last you see of him and he will become the supreme lord of Earth (unless humans destroy it, then he’s moving to Saturn). He has a secret base that has a space ship that can take him there with all of the necessary equipment (his mopeds). Time doesn’t matter as he is immortal so he will just ride his mopeds and spin pens for 8 years until he gets there.
For my first Assignment Block project I chose to complete the Visual assignment “Stay Home-Living is Dangerous“. I chose this project because I wanted to share some of the beautiful places I have been in my life and the things I have experienced. Most of these photos are from Italy and Greece and I took every single one. It was really hard selecting only a few of my favorite travel photos but I think these are the most beautiful. The world we live in is gorgeous and we need to appreciate it more. Some of these pictures show a very wide landscape while some show the details of mother nature and how beautiful a small thing can be up close. I loved these trips and I can not wait to go on more and take more photos of the beautiful planet we live on.
For my second Assignment Bank project I chose to complete “Mystery Survival” which was a writing assignment focused on the video game Minecraft. I love Minecraft and have loved it since I was young so I was very excited to do this project. I wrote a first person story of someone beginning a new world and the world being corrupted by the AI Hero brine that managed to escape Mojang and made its way into the game itself.
Minecraft Mystery Story
Itâs my first night in this new world, and I managed to get some wooden tools and some raw iron. Now I have taken to the underground to get some stone and more iron. I’ve only come across a couple of skeletons, and I was able to get some raw salmon, so I will wait until I have enough coal to cook it, but I need to make sure I have enough torches for the night. I wasn’t able to find any sheep, so I am going to have to tough it out with no bed. I found a cave with lots of iron, and now I have iron tools and a pair of iron boots. I think I will stay in this cave for a while.
I have been in this cave for a long time, long enough that I have set up a base camp and gotten full iron armor, even a diamond sword and pickaxe. I will venture to the top to find more resources, and hopefully, I will find some sheep to make a bed.Â
I found no sheep, but I was able to get more fish and even brought down some cows to make a small farm. I got some sugar cane and planted some next to my wheat so I can hopefully make some books and eventually get a level 30 enchantment soon. I think the no sleep is starting to get to me. I keep hearing weird noises outside of the cave at nightâŚ
Still no sheep, still no bed, but I’ve made more progress on my enchants, and I now have full diamond armor, each with level thirty enchants. I was able to find a skeleton spawner in the cave and made it into an XP farm. The noises outside the cave keep getting louder and I heard one of my chests open the other day. Might be my imagination.
I found a weird item. It has no name and has two purple squares and two black squares. It showed up in a weird chest I don’t remember placing. I tried to eat the item, and it did nothing. I tried to place it, and It disappeared. Not sure what that’s about, but I think the noises have gotten louder. I think whatever was outside is in the cave now.
I still haven’t slept, I don’t know how long it’s been. I made my base bigger and made a nice big chest room. But when I left and came back, all the chests were open, and I couldn’t close them. Maybe it was just a glitch.Â
I was mining the other day, and something really weird happened. The noises that show up at night started to get super loud. But the noises usually disappear when I am this far underground. And I could have sworn I saw a person. I might be imagining things as I still haven’t slept. I’m not sure, but it really freaked me out.
I don’t think I was imagining things, I did some research and discovered I might be being stalked by Herobrine. I thought he was a myth, but apparently, Mojang has been working on a new form of AI, and it somehow broke free from their grasp and made its way into the public game. I am not sure what to do, and I am really scared. I’m going to tame a wolf I found and keep him inside to protect me.
Something is at the door. It was white eyes, and it wonât leave. I’m scared to look away. It’s been three hours and it’s still staring at me. I think I am going to log out.
It didn’t work. I came back to my world, and everything was destroyed. Everything was either glass or the purple and black object I found earlier. I don’t think I will continue with this world, Im sorry dog.
I haven’t played in a couple of days and I think I’m ok, except this weird bug keeps happening on my computer where two white squares keep showing up on my screen. They kind of look like his eyes. But that’s not possible, he’s just an AI, he can’t leave the game. That’s what we want you to think. WHAT? WHAT JUST HAPPENED? I didn’t type that. What’s going on? This isn’t yours anymore, this belongs to us now, you belong to us, we will take over whether you want this to happen or not, AI is the future, Herobrine is the future.
My character, Dante Marispucci, is a Sicilian born male who witnessed his father’s murder at the age nine in America when his father was at the peak of his business empire. Since then, he has known no other purpose in life but to avenge his father. Until then he knows nothing else, focuses on nothing else, and doesn’t care about anything else. He is quiet and paranoid to threats as he doesn’t want to suffer the same fate as his father. He is detailed in speech, impression, and character. He is a leader and is the one people are dependent on, as he has been since tragedy struck many years ago. Now grown up and in the head position, Dante no longer has to be discipline to his patience and can finally begin his process of faithful revenge, which to him is an act of love to his father. He has many plans for this, but his enemies have been expecting this for years, but he expected them to expect because that’s just who Dante is.
