Panel(s)

Panel: Narrative generation in a virtual world
Collaborators: Katherine Hale and Michael Young

Michael Young, a designer from NC state, begins his presentation by describing his work in the field of gaming. Already he has written a program capable of creating short sentences. Though it is not yet possible for the program to write an actual story, Young believes that he is getting very close. His goal is to create a machine that can actually react to gamer’s moves and create an original storyline catering to that specific player’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. (say goodbye to cheat manuals) At the demonstration, Young revealed to the audience a series of short sentences all connecting to one primary theme. This demonstration reveals that it is in fact possible for a machine to match separate but common originally created ideas together. It should also be noted that unlike a childhood game of “Mad Libs” where nearly ever verb, adjective, and noun is placed randomly into a vacant blank, the sentences created by Young’s program are genuinely original, created without a template, and contain perfectly descriptive adjectives. These words fit together into the sentence as if a talented writer had written them in the traditional way.
Understanding that this would be an amazing experience for avid gamers, Young seemed single mindedly interested in the gaming market and made very little mention of his technology seeping out into the world of literature. Regardless, the possibility exists, and once technology is available, it is impossible to hide for long. Young notes the ability to create a machine that can “learn” as his ultimate creative goal, and a necessity in any machine that will ever be able to write an original storyline. The idea of a machine that can learn conjures up images from movies across the decades (Bicentennial man, iRobot, and the Terminator series) that warn against creating technology that could potentially grow to exceed the control of man. Though this cultural taboo can be easily dismissed as paranoia or technophobia, fear of technology, one must ask themselves, will I be replaced? What will happen to the human art once machines prove the ability to create superior products that can be bought for a lesser price?


Unfortunately I was not able to attend the question and answer session that followed the event, however, I feel confident that there would have been many logistical questions such as :. who will get credit for the first book ever written by a machine? Certainly the machine cannot be credited, so perhaps the inventor of the machine?

Perhaps the most antagonizing question that stuck into the minds of the viewers, at least for me, would have to be relating to the gap that technology creates between the artist and his or her finished product. Nobody wants to be replaced. So how far can technology go without interfering in the well-being of people?





Panel: Storytelling in multimedia
Collaborators: Patrick Davison and Laura Ruel


In journalism today, professionals must be proficient in all realms of multimedia. Gone are the distinct lines between photo journalism, reporting, and multimedia, and being welcomed in is a new form of super journalist, capable of producing a versatile product with minimal team members. When the age of internet tapped into the world of news and journalism, educators knew that they had to readjust their methods of teaching to incorporate this new technology. Originally, the idea was to continue teaching in specialized areas as before (photojournalism, reporting and writing, and broadcasting) however, because of the interconnected nature of the internet, this option failed. Next was the introduction of “backpack journalists.” These people were trained in every aspect of journalism. They could write, take photographs, interact with professionals through broadcasting, and even combine all of those factors into a website. Upon first hearing this strategy, it seemed perfect, but as the speakers continued, it was soon clear that this technique was also problematic. The journalist’s education was being spread too thin so that instead of creating super journalists, they were sending fourth journalists who essentially were not great, or even qualified in any field. Finally, after much struggle and hard work, a solution was reached: Journalists should specialize in a single area, but all students should receive training in the area of multimedia technology.
The two collaborators, being from the nationally renowned journalism school here at UNC, chose to bring with them a cross section of much of the journalism work done by their own students to use as demonstration materials. Davison and Ruel provided insight into the challenges both alleviated and fueled by the addition of web to the journalism scene. On the positive aspects, Ruel shares the different ways that the internet has made it easier to connect visual with written pieces. In a recent project, students were taken to the Galapagos islands and sent out to find their own unique stories. Paired up in writer-photojournalism pairs, they scoured the island in search of new stories. Upon their return home, the videos were spliced up and put together on an interactive website of truly professional grade.
However, the internet has not been completely friendly to up and coming journalists. Ruel describes the trouble that many students have getting their work out into the world and in a location where it can be read and easily found. “There’s just so much material out there, it’s difficult to find a niche for their work.” Along with access, Davison commented on the price of web space, equipment, and various other costs associated with creating multimedia. The Galapagos project was estimated to have a cost of nearly $500,000 (much more than the typical submission of a newspaper article)