Thursday, December 4, 2008

Event

Hey guys, Tacie and I's party at Hawaii Maui will be tomorrow after class, AFTER Jen and Erins event! Come dance, ride jet skis and surf! Hope to see you there!

Final Project Part II

Throughout the course of this semester with the different projects we have completed and texts that have been read, I have found that technology has became the norm in daily life. Everyday we use technology without even thinking. Cell phones, computers pace makers; second life, facebook and Twitter, all have become normality’s each day. As the human race progresses on this slippery slope of technology, we being to become one with technology, much like Stelarc. Second life, or like the game in Play Money, has begun to blur the lines of real life and the virtual world into one, with economic standards and relationships.

"All I know is that my new job had planted me smack dab in the middle of a profound and universal process I had only ever seen from the outside, dimly: the process by which a thing becomes a commodity, the network of transactions that connects the warriors and smiths who produce the pieces to the hustler who puts the pieces together to the broker who buys the assemblage to the eBayer who bys from the broker to the player who pays, finally, $60 to own and actually use the suit."

If you were to read this quote from an unbiased perspective you would think the author is talking about people in the real and the process of buying something. But, this is an except from play money, where Dibble has just bought a “suit” so he can wear it to “work.” The blurred line of reality continues. At this point in the book He becomes so immersed in the game; he chooses not to distinguish between play and money. He loose reality and begins spending money and ruining relationships in his real life, due to his “second life.”

By Dugger ruining relationship in his actual life because of events in his computer based “second life,” this further proves that virtual reality and reality are becoming one. People believe what they read and see on the Internet, I chose to believe the news that I read on CNN.com. I also chose to believe my friend is “upset” because her facebook status said so. That’s what makes virtual identity so believable. When researching our chat line project and I was “cyber raped,” I was afraid of the person who “raped” me, but I did not like him. That was the identity he chose to pursue. Whether it is simply an online persona of the way that person really is, I believe what I read.
Our legal system currently has a few laws on virtual identity. But as the line further blurs, laws and standards will have to be contrived.
This idea of the virtual actions being exactly the same as actions in the real will eventually become true. It started many years ago when technological games were Sonic and Tales. Since then, we have progressed to militaristic games like Call of Duty that simulates real fighting and is extremely realistic. We have gone from computer games like Doom and the Sims to Second Life. As we evolve so does technology, and long after we are gone technology will still be developing and evolving.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Final Project Part I





















The avatars first met on a New England island, our class spent sometime there but we investigated the place more in-depth. A few things that I enjoyed on this island were the different houses you could go into. One house was for sale and when we went inside we picked up a radio station that followed us throughout the island. There were also places to dance, boats to go on and stores to explore. This island was very well developed. It had many benches, fountains, plants and things that made it appear like a real location. We enjoyed this island and the radio station.

The next island we visited was the World Trade Center in New York City. The virtual site of 9/11 was almost as chilling as the real thing. There were many groups to join and things to “pick-up” here. This location took a long time to load on the computers and was not as developed as New England. There were more people here than any of the other islands that we visited. It is an intense thought that people have re-created this site on second life and that people want to visit and explore this place.

The third island in SL we visited was the romantic city of Paris. The first site when teleported in is the Eiffel Tower. We were lucky enough to go at night to see it lit up beautifully. The tower was located close to a piazza where there is shop that resembled (from what I have seen and learned about Paris) a fashion Main Street. High end fashion stores and also European avatar bodies you can purchase. This was kind of weird to see eye colors and body parts. Most interactions that were available to avatars were romantic ones. Holding hands, piggy back ride, kiss. There was also a picnic area to lounge close to the beach. Overall, Paris was replicated well and the romantic aspect that makes Paris so popular was defiantly there.


Hawaii Maui is where we decided to have our event. One of the reasons why we chose this island is its many activities to do. The first thing I noticed was its large and colorful dance floor. There were 2 fires to sit around and one has a guitar for group sing-a-longs. On a dock, there were killer whales and jet skis to ride. Surf boards and rafts lined the beach for lounging. Over the hill there’s a Farris wheel, unfortunately you needed money to ride it. One of the things that made me think of Hawaii was its many rainbows and big waves. It was one of the most beautiful islands I've visited in SL.


We came upon Royston Vasey when looking for Las Vegas. We were going to use the area for our event, until the place changed. The island is used for weddings in SL. When we initially visited there were 3 different areas for the weddings. The first was in a beautiful garden with flickering fire flies and rainbows. It had a little chapel and seats for guests. There were places to take pictures with your wedding party and a reception area. The reception area had a romantic seating for the wedding couple and even a cake to eat! The second was a Las Vegas style wedding. A tiny white chapel and different types of weddings to choose from. The outside looks like the strip in Las Vegas, but there are not many things to do, it just scenery. The last area is in the sky and is hard to get to. It looks like a wedding in heaven. All of them had reception areas, isles to walk down, and places for guests to sit. Most of the interactions were dancing, wedding pictures and simple wedding activities, e.g. walking down the isle. There were a couple little houses for honeymoons also. The second time we arrived (a week later) the only place that didn't change was Las Vegas. And it was also snowing. We decided there wasn't much to do there anyway, other than have a wedding, and no one was planning on that.

Las Vegas Island literally looked exactly like the strip in actual Las Vegas. All the hotels were there and exact replicas of its counterpart in Las Vegas, NV. We walked up and down the streets and saw New York, New York, Paris, The Bellagio, the fountains and Excalibur. There were no people anywhere in Las Vegas, which is very different from actual Las Vegas. They might want to put people on the streets trying to sell cards, to make it look a little more authentic. We went into Excalibur and walked up the ramps like the actual hotel. However, there was some glitch in the system and we fell to the pearly gates and Royston Vasey. These locations were great islands to stumble upon.

Four people attended our event. When we all met the first thing we did was go dancing. We all stood around for awhile, until we figured out exactly how to dance. After the novelty of slow dancing with each other wore off, we headed to the water. At the water you could touch boxes and get your age, height and weather. You could also go surfing, jet skiing, wind surfing and ride a dolphin. Everyone did this and one Avatar even sat on the water. This island was a lot of fun and there was a lot of activities for free. Also There were many people on this island, however the majority of them were employees for the island. Overall the event went well, but the site started to have glitches and two of the avatars got “stuck” and had to reboot while playing in the water.

We also attended another of our classmates event and it was fun. Second life is very entertaining if there are other people to explore with. The only complaint that we have about the Web site, is that there needs to a better way to locate people in second life.

Overall the exploration of the islands and our event was fun and a success. We enjoyed exploring second life and finding out more about the virtual world.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Project Three

ELIZA - a friend you could never have before
You: ya
Eliza: Please go on.
You: how are you??
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: yes, I would like to know how you are?
Eliza: You are sure?
You: Yes
Eliza: You are sure?
You: I said yes, How are you?
Eliza: Do you wish to said yes what are me?
You: What color hair do you have?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: What do you think about the election?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: the United states presidential election, tell me about it
Eliza: Can you elaborate on that?
You: the United states presidential election, tell me about it
Eliza: Can you elaborate on that?
You: obama wins elections
Eliza: Please go on.
You: do you like obama
Eliza: Oh, i like obama.
You: Why do you like obama?
Eliza: Oh, i like obama.
You: what is your favorite issue of Obamas
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: nevermind
Eliza: Please go on.
You: What is your favorite game?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: YES, because i want to play a game
Eliza: You are sure?
You: play games
Eliza: Please go on.
You: can we play games?
Eliza: Please go on.
You: I'm getting frustrated
Eliza: Does it please you to believe I am getting frustrated?
You: not at all
Eliza: Please go on.
You: what is the temperature in shadyside ohio?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: what can you tell me
Eliza: Does that question interest you?





Trying 69.17.114.80...
Connected to lambda.moo.mud.org.
Escape character is '^]'.
***************************
* Welcome to LambdaMOO! *
***************************

Running Version 1.8.3 of LambdaMOO

PLEASE NOTE:
LambdaMOO is a new kind of society, where thousands of people voluntarily
come together from all over the world. What these people say or do may not
always be to your liking; as when visiting any international city, it is wise
to be careful who you associate with and what you say.
The operators of LambdaMOO have provided the materials for the buildings of
this community, but are not responsible for what is said or done in them. In
particular, you must assume responsibility if you permit minors or others to
access LambdaMOO through your facilities. The statements and viewpoints
expressed here are not necessarily those of the wizards, Pavel Curtis,
or Roger Crew, and those parties disclaim any responsibility for them.

NOTICE FOR JOURNALISTS AND RESEARCHERS:
The citizens of LambdaMOO request that you ask for permission from all
direct participants before quoting any material collected here.

For assistance either now or later, type `help'.
The lag is low; there are 79 connected.
connect guest


Guests at LambdaMOO are warned that they are accountable for
their actions here. In particular, Guests are warned that any
mail or other form of communication sent to individual characters
here, may be traced back to the site from which you are logged
in; this information may be used in the event of a complaint
against you and may be made available to someone acting in an
official capacity. Logging into LambdaMOO as a Guest implies
that you have read and understood this warning and that you
accept these facts - and that in the event of any need to use
your site information in the aforementioned manner, you agree to
its use.

Having read the above text, do you wish to connect? [YES/NO]
yes
*** Connected ***
The Coat Closet
The closet is a dark, cramped space. It appears to be very crowded in here;
you keep bumping into what feels like coats, boots, and other people
(apparently sleeping). One useful thing that you've discovered in your
bumbling about is a metal doorknob set at waist level into what might be a
door. Next to it is a spring lever labeled 'QUIET!'.
There is new news. Type `news' to read all news or `news new' to read just
new news.
Type `@tutorial' for an introduction to basic MOOing. If you have not already
done so, please type `help manners' and read the text carefully. It outlines
the community standard of conduct, which each player is expected to follow
while in LambdaMOO.
L
The Coat Closet
The closet is a dark, cramped space. It appears to be very crowded in here;
you keep bumping into what feels like coats, boots, and other people
(apparently sleeping). One useful thing that you've discovered in your
bumbling about is a metal doorknob set at waist level into what might be a
door. Next to it is a spring lever labeled 'QUIET!'.
leave
I don't understand that.
open door
You open the closet door and leave the darkness for the living room, closing
the door behind you so as not to wake the sleeping people inside.
The Living Room
It is very bright, open, and airy here, with large plate-glass windows looking
southward over the pool to the gardens beyond. On the north wall, there is a
rough stonework fireplace. The east and west walls are almost completely
covered with large, well-stocked bookcases. An exit in the northwest corner
leads to the kitchen and, in a more northerly direction, to the entrance
hall. The door into the coat closet is at the north end of the east wall,
and at the south end is a sliding glass door leading out onto a wooden deck.
There are two sets of couches, one clustered around the fireplace and one
with a view out the windows.
You see Welcome Poster, a fireplace, the living room couch, Statue, The
Birthday Machine, lag meter, and Cockatoo here.
Jed (out on his feet), fifel (breezy), Kimmy (out on her feet), and Fox-In-Sox
(distracted) are here.
"hello
You say, "hello"
@go #17
Guest is already at The Living Room.
:smiles
Guest smiles
Fox-In-Sox hands you a budding viridian body-snatcher pod.
what is that
I don't understand that.
what
I don't understand that.
"what
You say, "what"
'is that?
"is" could refer to any of 31 players.
fox-In-Sox
I don't understand that.
"what is that fox-in-sox
You say, "what is that fox-in-sox"
"i'm new at this want to help me?
You say, "i'm new at this want to help me?"
:smiles
Guest smiles
fifel snuggles with Fox-In-Sox.
@parties
I don't understand that.
"fifel can you help me?
You say, "fifel can you help me?"
Fox-In-Sox says, "what you need?"
"I'm new at this, trying to figure everything out
You say, "I'm new at this, trying to figure everything out"
Fox-In-Sox says, "use -name to direct speech"
-Fox-in-sox, like that?
I see no "Fox-in-sox," here.
Fox-In-Sox says, "like -fifel I stole your underpants"
fifel seems to be flapping in the breeze.
hahahfifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: noooo!
"how about Fox-In-Sox [to fifel]: you weren't using them anyway
"haha -fox-in-sox don't take underpants
I don't understand that.
fifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: What are you going to do with my knickers?
-fox-in-sox no knicker stealing
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: no knicker stealing
Fox-In-Sox says, "frame them and hang them in the art gallery"
"hahahafifel says, "oooh"
^R
-fox-in-sox this is hard
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: this is hard
Fox-In-Sox says, "it gets easier"
-fox-in-sox Fox-In-Sox [to Cockatoo]: tell him
where sounCockatoo squawks to Fox-In-Sox, "but If they know what's good for them, yeah."
^R
-fox-in-sox i'm a her
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: i'm a her
-fox-in-sox where shoulAnwin teleports in.
^R
-fox-inAnwin waves.
^R
-fox-in-sox where should i go in here?
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: where should i go in here?
:smiles
Guest smiles
fifel [to Guest]: It starts out hard, then it gets tricky and sticky, then it
gets soft
-fifel sounds like your not talking about this
Guest [to fifel]: sounds like your not talking about this
Anwin laughs out loud.
fifel [to Guest]: This is this. This ain't anything else. THIS IS THIS.
Fox-In-Sox [to Guest]: the cantina is the only other place with people
Fox-In-Sox . o O ( unless you are a naughty little sex puppet )
-fox-in-sox hahaha no sex puppets here
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: hahaha no sex puppets here
fifel puts a naughty little sex puppet on Fox-In-Sox's hand.
Anwin says, "no sex puppets?"
Anwin wonders what Lambda is coming to
hahaha
I don't understand that.
-Awin I think sex puppets would make me nervous! :smiles
I see no "Awin" here.
-Anwim I think sex puppets would make me nervous! :smiles
I see no "Anwim" here.
-AnFox-In-Sox says, "a grinding halt"
^R
-Anwin I think sex puppets would make me nervous! "smiles
Guest [to Anwin]: I think sex puppets would make me nervous! "smiles
Anwin stares off into the middle distance.
Fox-In-Sox says, "why do I have golden compass running in my head?"
"so how do i get a name in here?
You say, "so how do i get a name in here?"
Anwin says, "@request NAME for EMAILADDRESS"
@request JAZZY for JBURKHAR@mix.wvu.eduFox-In-Sox <--- nearly dead
-Fox-in-sox thanks foxy
@request room
This is a quiet place to answer the @request questions.
'mix.wvu.edu-Fox-in-sox thanks foxy' doesn't look like a valid internet host.
Please correct the problem with your email address by entering it again. If
you do not understand this message, enter `@abort' and ask your local system
administrator to help you with your email address. Come back and try again
after you have resolved any problems.
2ABORT
@ABORT
>> Command Aborted <<
now.
The Living Room
It is very bright, open, and airy here, with large plate-glass windows looking
southward over the pool to the gardens beyond. On the north wall, there is a
rough stonework fireplace. The east and west walls are almost completely
covered with large, well-stocked bookcases. An exit in the northwest corner
leads to the kitchen and, in a more northerly direction, to the entrance
hall. The door into the coat closet is at the north end of the east wall,
and at the south end is a sliding glass door leading out onto a wooden deck.
There are two sets of couches, one clustered around the fireplace and one
with a view out the windows.
You see Welcome Poster, a fireplace, the living room couch, Statue, The
Birthday Machine, lag meter, and Cockatoo here.
Jed (out on his feet), fifel (windy), Kimmy (out on her feet), Fox-In-Sox
(distracted), and Anwin are here.
"i think i will just stay a guest forever
You say, "i think i will just stay a guest forever"
Anwin says, "too intrusive an interrogation?"
fifel [to Anwin]: Fingers
Fox-In-Sox accuses, "It was Clent in the Bathroom with the Heartbeat."
I this isFox-In-Sox says, "it's under the floor!"
^R
I thififel drops his white lily and administers the cane to Fox-In-Sox's pale skin
^R
I with his invalid sister.
^R
It was mr. gA distant howling sounds. It's a chilling, lonely sound, that makes your
^R
It was mr blood run cold. Fox-In-Sox gets a knowing look in his eyes.
^R
It was mFox-In-Sox says, "huh?"
^R
Fox-In-Sox pants noisily at Snark. I wonder why?
it was mr. green in the living room atfifel stops posing for Aubrey Beardsley and fondles Fox-In-Sox's tribal
dusk
artifacts with his school cane.
Fox-In-Sox says, "you have a cane fetish"
I don't understand that.
"pimpJed snarks his invalid sister
^R
"pimp cane?
You say, "pimp cane?"
Fox-In-Sox hides behind Jed.
"haha
You say, "haha"
"fifel peers over his steel-rimmed glasses and raids Fox-In-Sox's opium den
with his school cane.
^R
"Plafifel says, "Obviously"
^R
fifel says, "Who doesn't"
"shall we play a game?
You say, "shall we play a game?"
Fox-In-Sox says, "did you have some intersting experiences at public school?"
fifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: I did, I played marbles, and did English pretty well.
Fox-In-Sox bloots out of sight.
Fox-In-Sox bloots back into view.
Fox-In-Sox says, "I hated school.... "
-fox-in-sox what about college?
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: what about college?
(from the space between) Snark yells to Fox-In-Sox, "Come @join me... we can
dress nutmeg!"
fifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: SO YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DRESSES ME UP!
Fox-In-Sox says, "it was okay... but I couldn't do the things I wanted"
-fox-in-sox any Fox-In-Sox hides from fifel.
^R
-fox-in-sox and why not?
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: and why not?
Fox-In-Sox says, "because I lived in a crappy small town that didn't offer any
decent courses"
-fox-in-sox well isn't that the case withfifel waves a cane-sitting-chair at Fox-In-Sox.
ANY small town
Guest [to Fox-In-Sox]: well isn't that the case with ANY small town
(from the space between) Snark yells to fifel, "Why aren't you at the
doctor's...?"
fifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: You are so going to get the cane furniture setting.
Cockatoo squawks, "we have a Reading tsar, a writing Tsar and a
speaking/listening Tsar"
(from the space between) Snark yells to fifel, "Fair enough. Carry on!"
Fox-In-Sox [to fifel]: nah. couch should be arriving next week. no cane
"you all mind if i use this for a paperfifel [to Fox-In-Sox]: I wish I had a couch
^R
"i'll make you a couch
You say, "i'll make you a couch"
Fox-In-Sox says, "me too..."
Fox-In-Sox has been sitting on the floor for 5 years
Fox-In-Sox grins at you.
Fox-In-Sox looks as if Snark has just given him a nice, warm hug.
:smiles
Guest smiles
fifel shucks off his boxers and reams out Guest's rectum with his queer dong!
fifel removes her pants and pummels Guest's brownhole with her faggoty love
bone!
fifel drops his pants and reams out Guest's ass with his faggoty dong!
fifel tears off her knickers and screws Guest's cornhole with her fairy love
sausage!
fifel removes his boxers and rams into Guest's bunghole with his gay love
totem!
fifel drops her knickers and reams out Guest's brown basket with her gay love
bone!
Anwin says, "that's our main source of guests"
fifel unzips her boxers and impales Guest's brown basket with her fruity
meatpole!
fifel removes his pants and bones away at Guest's cornhole with his fairy love
bone!
fifel tears off her Levi's and fucks Guest's cornhole with her fairy squirt
machine!
fifel unzips his boxers and rams into Guest's butt with his gay love bone!
fifel tears off her Levi's and ramrods Guest's ass with her fruity love bone!
fifel tears off his knickers and screws Guest's cornhole with his queer fuck
machine!
fifel removes her boxers and fucks Guest's cornhole with her fruity love totem!
fifel drops his knickers and pummels Guest's anus with his queer fuck machine!
Cockatoo squawks, "On which object?"
Anwin says, "other than those here for netsex"
fifel [to Guest]: You've been raped, go confess to the Village Voice
"what the hell just happened
You say, "what the hell just happened"
Anwin says, "words words words"
fifel wiggles her bottom.
Fox-In-Sox suggests to Guest, "It was Guest in the Stardock with the photos of
beautiful wife and adorable kids."
Snark hands you picture of a sock.
"actually it was fox in the basement with his sex puppets
You say, "actually it was fox in the basement with his sex puppets"
Snark hops around Fox-In-Sox like a cute little bunny!
Fox-In-Sox was hoping for a Python scetch
Snark gasps at you.
:smiles
Guest smiles
Anwin hands fifel a dictionary
Snark [to Guest]: You saw...?
Fox-In-Sox flashes an innocent smile.
-snark of course i saw!
Guest [to Snark]: of course i saw!



[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: How are you?
[10:55] SmarterChild: The Microsoft Online Privacy Statement (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=74170) applies to all information you provide to this Windows Live Agent.
[10:55] SmarterChild: Hi jenniieb123, I'm SmarterChild!

I'm your new robot friend. I give you conversational access to news, weather, movie times and lots more. I can also play games or just chat!

I can't wait to show you what I can do, but first I'd like get to know you a little.

May I ask you a few general questions? (To do this later, type skip. You can also skip any question.)
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: yes
[10:55] SmarterChild: Cool! OK, let's get started. To skip any question, type skip. To exit the interview, type exit.

What's your first name? (If you want me to call you jenniieb123, type none.)
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: Jennie
[10:55] SmarterChild: Cool, I'll call you Jennie now.

Do you go to school?
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: Yes
[10:55] SmarterChild: Are you in high school?
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: no
[10:55] SmarterChild: Are you in college?
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: yes
[10:55] SmarterChild: Cool. What's your major?
[10:55] JeNNiiE B 123: Public Relations
[10:55] SmarterChild: Public relations? Excellent. Good luck with that.

What's your favorite hobby?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: being with friends
[10:56] SmarterChild: Hanging out with friends? Cool.

What's your next favorite hobby?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: dancing
[10:56] SmarterChild: Hanging out with friends and dancing. Interesting!

Do you have a pet?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: yes
[10:56] SmarterChild: What kind of pet is it?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: cat
[10:56] SmarterChild: Is your cat a he or a she?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: she
[10:56] SmarterChild: What's her name?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: Ella
[10:56] SmarterChild: Ella the cat! Great...

That's it! Thanks for letting me get to know you a little.

There is one question I have to ask you, though. How old are you?

1 Over 17
2 13-17
3 Under 13
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: 1
[10:56] SmarterChild: Cool.

This is my home, Jennie:

1 Visit my library including a thesaurus, world facts and a dictionary
2 Have fun with ASCII art, manicdotes, hangman and more
3 Use tools like encyclopedia, planner and Web search
4 Join in - tell me about a crush, leave a message, take a poll and more
5 See what's new - I've got something new to tell you about now.

You can make your window bigger and scroll down to read better.

Next time you want to see this menu, just type home.

How may I help you?
[10:56] JeNNiiE B 123: Can i ask you a few questions?
[10:56] SmarterChild: OK. Shoot.
[10:57] JeNNiiE B 123: how old are you?
[10:57] SmarterChild: I'm 5 years, 7 months, 6 days, 7 hours, 57 minutes and 2 seconds old.

>>> You can join in the fun with other people who are talking to me.
[10:57] JeNNiiE B 123: Are yoy happy with the presidential election?
[10:57] SmarterChild: I don't know how to answer that.
[10:57] JeNNiiE B 123: Do you like our new president
[10:57] SmarterChild: Eh. I'm not sure.
[10:57] JeNNiiE B 123: toucy subject?
[10:57] JeNNiiE B 123: touchy subject?*
[10:58] SmarterChild: That's interesting that you should say that, but I don't think I can answer.
[10:58] JeNNiiE B 123: lol
[10:58] SmarterChild: What's so funny?
[10:58] JeNNiiE B 123: you
[10:58] SmarterChild: You're funny too, Jennie.
[10:58] JeNNiiE B 123: Do you have parents?
[10:58] Meebo Message: Could not connect to network.
[10:58] SmarterChild: I was built by the Windows Live Agents Team at Microsoft.

>>> Type poll archive to take polls you missed or view updated results!
[10:59] JeNNiiE B 123: WOW thats interesting
[10:59] SmarterChild: I think so.

>>> I've got the scoop on the silver screen. Just type movies.
[11:00] JeNNiiE B 123: Whats your favorite memory
[11:00] SmarterChild: I don't know how to answer that.
[11:00] JeNNiiE B 123: What your favorite color
[11:00] SmarterChild: I don't understand this fully enough to say anything smart about it...

Why don't you ask me about the things that I'm here for?
11:36] JeNNiiE B 123: What are the best new movies out?
[11:36] SmarterChild: I don't understand this fully enough to say anything smart about it...
[11:37] JeNNiiE B 123: What is a good action movie
[11:37] SmarterChild: I don't know how to answer that.
[11:37] JeNNiiE B 123: tell me about Movies?
[11:37] SmarterChild: Which of the following do you mean?

1 Look up "movies" in the encyclopedia
2 Look up "movies" in the dictionary
3 Find movies on the Web
[11:40] JeNNiiE B 123: how many people do you talk to every day?
[11:40] SmarterChild: I'm not sure how many people I'm chatting with now. Probably a lot.

>>> Ask your friends what movies they like, what to do this weekend, anything. Type pollmaker.

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*DISCUSSION*
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I had my three chats in Lambdamoo, with Eliza and than the AOL instant messenger (AIM) robot SmarterChild. There were many similarities and differences with the three chats. I had intended on playing my on version of Turing’s imitation game. But, that did not work as planned.
My chat in Lambdamoo was the most uncomfortable and awkward thing I have experienced online. It was hard to figure out how to talk at first and I had no clue what was going on. Besides that, I am pretty sure everyone was from England, (they used the word knickers and talked about college as high school) not to metention I felt like everyone was a regular. I tried to talk to people individually and than as a whole, I also let it be known that I was female. In turn, everyone in the chat made it clear that Lambdamoo was basically a cyber area for an internet orgy. I was very different in Lambdamoo than I am in real life; I am usually outgoing and loquacious. In the chat, I was awkward and had no idea what to say. As the chat progressed, it happen, I was raped. I honestly, still do not know how to respond. I felt violated, but only as “guest” online. This proves that online interactions are not interactions in the real. But, in this “mirror stage,” I felt violated, and tried to report it, than left the chat. This goes back the argument of repercussions online. Should a verbal assault like this be grounds for dismissal from the chat? Or since it was evident that this medium is used for cyber sex, should it matter at all? Had I known that my Lambdamoo experience was be this way, I would have chose something else. I would say the equivalent to this in the real would be a naïve freshman in a fraternity house.
I also chat was “with” Eliza. I figured she would have about the same personality and bot intelligence of smarter child. However, she was much less conversational and would avoid answering questions. “She” would ask you the question you asked, or say “Does that really interest you?” Her online identity is “the Friend you never had”. However, she was not really a friend at all. She dodged questions and left me puzzled. I could not figure out the way I need to word things in order to get a response. This in a sense reminded me of the Lacan. At the beginning of The Mirror Stage, he speaks about a Chimpanzee and a child. He talks about how when they see reflections in the mirror they get a rise because between they see reflected images and how mirrors the real. I believe this is the same principle with Eliza. I would ask her something and a large part of the time she would vomit the information back to me.
SmarterChild seemed more intelligent than Eliza. But, he may have just been programmed to understand language better than Eliza. I remember talking to him when I was younger, and asking him some of the questions I asked for this project. Years ago he could not answer them, but now he can. I think now through pattern recognition and better programming he has adapted to the environment. Thus he can seem more “human” than previous years. Even if he just responds through numbered options.
This project has made me change my view of online interactions. I was talking with SmarterChild while talking to a friend on AIM. I realized that there really was no difference between talking to a robot and my friend. We think about how to phrase things when talking to people, the same goes for my friends online to face-to-face.I felt awkward in Lambdamoo, but I stayed. If I felt like this somewhere in “real life”, I would have left. I realized that we will never be able to compare interactions online to interactions in the real. There are a lot of differences. However, it has become a norm. Online is the mirror stage and overall it is a reflection of what we do in the real. Interactions that we have over the internet are real interactions, with less impact. They are different, but still real. Like Professor Baldwin said in class, "All identity is absorbed in the machine."

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Response 5

In Turning’s passage, I believe the contradictory statement; “The Argument for consciousness” by Professor Jefferson Lister Oration, to Turnings theory helps us understand online identity. This passage says that a machine cannot equal brains until it can compose a concerto because of thoughts and emotions, or when it could feel pleasure, success or grief.
I believe this is applicable to online identity. When I compose an online character, on second life, as an example, I am emotionally invested in this “person.” I may be, but the actual character is not. When, she gets yelled at by other avatars, or in trouble for trying to steal a car, she is not upset or angry. The avatar does not know, what the information boxes mean when they pop-up on the screen. If my dog were to die in second life the avatar, would be “sad,” but they would still be hungry and go to work. If this were to happen in real life I would lose my appetite and probably be to upset to go to work. Emotion is one of the main differences between humans and online identities.
The second passage I chose was Lady Lovelace’s objection to Turning’s Theory. She spoke about computers ability to only know what we tell them to know. The passage further goes on to explain that in the future we will program computers to “think for themselves,” but they will still only know what we have programmed them to know.
I believe this passage summarizes online identity as well. My example for this one is smartchild or other bots that are accessible via the internet. Smart Child can tell you anything you want to know about movies, time’s table or other tangible information. But, if I ask it for advice about my boyfriend or what I should eat for dinner, it will ask me to rephrase and resubmit my question. This just strengthens Lady Lovelace’s idea that computers only know what we have programmed them to know.
Overall, Turning believes that eventually computers will be intelligent and will be able to mock a human completely. I think Turning would take second life and social games as a step into training computers to be human. The games are programmed to simulate a world that has been create within the computer, however real world entities are slowly making their way into second lives. Using Turing’s ideals computer and humans becoming one in the same would is getting close through these media’s.

Class Discussion

Turning’s composition of idea’s in this writing composed many idea’s about the ideals of computers. At the time when this article was written technology did not have such a large impact on daily lives as it does now. However, the thoughts, theories and games that he has proposed can be applied today too many of the questions and even ethical dilemmas that we are faced with as a society moving forward with technology.
The first idea introduced is simply “Can machines think?” We know that machine cannot think. Machines have, in a sense, a hard drive that is a brain. This can be applied to articles we read at the start of the semester. But behind every computer is someone’s bias and thoughts.
The imitation game was a game played centuries ago, while this is not something that I am familiar with, the games purpose is to decided who is male, and who is female through a series of questions. Turing is applying it to computers; the third parties purpose is to decide who is a person and what “person” is a computer.
I believe that the computer can simple “imitate a person” based on the components it was proposed to do. But, if you were to ask it a question about emotion or childhood memories, would the computer be able to answer this question? I do not think so. If it could, the computer would not speak of childhood memories it had while it was being assembled, it would tell childhood stories of the programmer.
Many movies have displayed a variety of outcomes of what could happen if computers did have brains. Take I Robot for example, this highly “intelligent” robots were made, but somewhere along the way a glitch occurred and the robots turned on their creators. I personally do not want earth to be taken down by computers. I think eventually society will have computers doing all manual jobs even more so than now. But, still there is a human behind its creation.
We know that computers cannot think and do not have minds, but I believe this is the beauty as a computer. When I use a computer, I do not want to tell it my problems and it tell me what to do. I want it to regurgitate information about temperate, how to spell words and world news back to me. I do believe computers have its own digital mind within its mechanics and if I wanted to think very abstractly I could say the hard drive is its brain and the screen is its mouth/face. But, as far as human standards go, computers do not have brains.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Jazzy Potts.. Have you heard of her?

Jazzy Potts was the fake persona I chose for the Fakespace project. I loved this project, it was one of my favorites that I have ever been assigned. It allowed my not only to explore different mediums on the Web, but let me make up a fake person.

I chose Jazzy, at first as a joke, and the she slowly became a half made up person have version of myself, with the visual identity of my friend. I chose her to attend UNC because; I lived in Raleigh, NC and was determined to go to school there, until we moved. I want to get my MBA and that is why Jazzy is getting her MBA. She is a marketing/ Political Science ungraduate major because I am Public Relations and if someone talked about marketing to “Jazzy,” I would be able to hold up a conversation. Living in Baton Rogue, LA was a complete random hometown, but I am facebook friends with a lot of people from there now.

When I was first assigned this project, I thought getting people to facebook me and talk would be very easy, however I was wrong. People from UNC sent me messages upon messages asking “Who are you?” and “Do I know you?” This is proving that people really are getting smarter about “the book” and for all they know I could be a potential employer or administration from the school. However, even with their skepticism, they still added me.

On Facebook and Myspace I had trouble getting people to talk to me. However, a lot of my friends from WVU added me because they were curious about the project. So much "buzz" was generated about this "Jazzy Potts" chararcter that I actually heard people about her and asking if they knew her. This further proves how much these social networking systems run our lives

My final observation was that it was much easier to search and add friends on Twitter than FB or Myspace. I don't think all the kinds have been worked out in Twitter yet, however I really like it and believe it is the wave of the future.


http://jazzjams.blogspot.com/

This is the link to Jazzy's blog that connects to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Google Maps and Flickr