Introduction to New Media gives students a hands-on feel for the history of new media technologies and their current social impacts. This year’s course features a special focus on the most disruptive technology of the present day, namely generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT and DALL-E.
This week defines new media and acquaints students with the course.
Course logistics and digital hygiene Success in New Media Which is the many-to-many solution?
Research preview (4pm with Saba Kawas)
Sign in to this website Syllabus review
Quiz 1: Syllabus
What Is New Media?
How To Use Slack How TikTok’s Algorithm Figures You Out Auburn Banned TikTok, and Students Can’t Stop Talking About It What if You Knew What You Were Missing on Social Media? Section 230 doesn’t shield TikTok from Blackout Challenge death suit A Driver’s License for the Internet
Quiz 2: New media definition and hygiene Student names
Are your devices listening to you?
Headlines from the future
Research check-in (4pm) Brainstorm teammaker questions 9/11 and many-to-many networks New media misfires: past/near-future/far-future/present Past disruptions exercise Peer support for Task 1
Task 1: Write about technological disruption
AI impact risk (video) AI impact risk (website) Quiz 3: AI impact risks Research consent + survey
WordPress Update and Publish buttons Sign into Terratoast with a prompt Fabricate random connections Google AI search tells users to glue pizza and eat rocks How generative AI works How to prompt AI: text 1
Complete Task surveys When to use AI (slides 1-4, 17-20) Self-identified study teams AI-generated study teams How to prompt AI: text 2 Prepare for Task 2
Task 2: Evaluate an Assignment with AI
This week you learn contemporary AI controversies as well as how to write with a chatbot. AI used to design entirely new cancer drug within just 30 days China Sows Disinformation About Hawaii Fires Using New Techniques 4chan Exploits Bing To Spread Controversial Images Online AI Brings the Robot Wingman to Aerial Combat Anthropic’s Claude Is Competing With ChatGPT. Even Its Builders Fear AI Eryk Salvaggio, Exploring the datasets (56 minutes) Quiz 4: AI ethics Meet in AI-generated teams AI v. human niche expertise exercise
GPT demo Act As Socratic Tutor How to prompt AI: The Socratic Tutor Socratic tutor exercise
AI- versus self-identified teams survey Aspect (AI-generated social network) Review current AI ethics news AI data visualization exercise Task 3: Write about technological disruption with AI
This week reveals how digital tools have made still and moving pictures easier to create but also less trustworthy. History of animation cheatsheet 30 Fake Viral Photos People Believed Were Real Long Before Photoshop, the Soviets Mastered the Art of Erasing People How to spot a digitally altered photo from the real deal Quiz 5: Animation and Photo Manipulation Spot the (Photoshopped) fake Varieties of digital art Photo manipulation in history Make a composite image One of the Greatest Scenes Ever Animated Squash + Stretch and Anticipation [0-4:44] Animate a sprite Task 4: Illustrate a hoax
This week dives into text-to-image generators. Flowers Blooming Backward Into Noise (2:50-26:30) That ‘AI-Generated’ Anime Is A Slap In The Face To Pro Animators This artist is dominating AI-generated art. And he’s not happy about it An AI-Generated Artwork Won First Place at a State Fair Fine Arts Competition, and Artists Are Pissed Florida Middle Schoolers Arrested for Allegedly Creating Deepfake Nudes of Classmates Quiz 6 AI Still and Moving Images Spot the deep fake: People | Scenes | Politics Preview Task 5 How to prompt AI: images 1 Text-to-image exercise How diffusion models work Brainstorm AI image questions Vote for best speaker questions How to prompt AI: images 2 Inpainting demo with Leonardo.ai Canvas Task 5: Illustrate a hoax with AI
This week introduces visual creativity with a focus on web design.Codecademy: Introduction to HTML Quiz 7: HTML Basics Web page basics Hand-code a web page (Codepen) Start a WordPress.com portfolio Task 6 Design a web portfolio
This week focuses on generating code for websites and games with AI. Sample exemplary submissions AI logo design AI web design Course correction Review course correction Announcing leniencies Introducing the New Media curriculum How to prompt AI: code 1 Code a simple shape with AI How to prompt AI: code 2
This week asks how new media can reinvent storytelling in the form of rich media and games. Console RPG (Role-Playing Game) Clichés How to Show, Not Tell (start at 5:38) Bad Dialogue vs Good Dialogue Valve’s “Secret Weapon” Game Development for Noobs Quiz 8: Story and Game Design The Chosen One trope
TV Tropes list of RPG clichés Subverting game clichés: Examples of storyboards Storyboard a cliché Preparing to voteGo to Collins Center lobby:
Bring:
Identifying election disinformation Catch-upStudents below a B- stay until caught up or class ends.
Task 8: Break a story cliché
This week looks at generating stories with AI with an emphasis on avoiding cliches. AI Cinematic Video Mastery: ImagesJust watch 0:00-8:20 (up to “Generating Cinematic Videos”).
Leonardo AI – Create Consistent Characters This trick is simple but doesn’t always work.
How to Write a Logline Quiz 9: Photo and Story VocabularyYou can find the answers in the Vocabulary tab of our Class Sheet or use AI to find them. Chatbots can lie, so it’s best to double-check AI-generated answers.
Storyboard an alternative universe: part A (photo vocab) Generating ideas with AI Preview Task 9 Storyboard an alternative universe: part B (story outline) Photo vocabulary review Consistent character design Storyboard an alternative universe: part C (story illustrations) Task 9: Break a story cliche with AI
[No Monday class due to Veterans Day holiday] SculptGL tutorials (1-4 required, 5 optional) Hunt for Red October (excerpt) 3d modeling, augmented and virtual reality 3d and XR New Media capstones Create a Jack-o-lantern with SculptGL IMRC tour (selfie to Slack) Task 10: Record a soundscape
This week looks at how digital audio and virtual environments can isolate or reunite us with the world around us. AI music could revolutionize the industry — and this artist is leading the way Hollywood Won’t Cast Asian-American Stars, but A.I. Machine Learning Can Are We Destined To Be Ruled By Pop & Rap Music?[5:11-9:30] What if You Could Sing in Your Favorite Musician’s Voice? The Artificial Intelligence That Deleted A Century Quiz 10: AI Music Visiting digital musician Nate Aldrich Preview Task 11 Image-to-sound generation AI-generated animation and music Draft your ethical guidelines Task 11: Generate a soundscape with AI
This week asks whether AI-generated animation and audio is good or bad for artists. AI Cinematic Video Mastery: Videos8:20-end (Start at “Generating Cinematic Videos”).
This week focuses on AI’s future impact on education and jobs. Professor freezes student grades after ChatGPT claimed AI wrote their papers Humans Absorb Bias from AI–And Keep It after They Stop Using the Algorithm Is ChatGPT a Better Entrepreneur Than Most? The Generative Workplace Quiz 11: AI in class and career Visiting VR artist John Bell Preview Task 12 Video generators AI video exercise Individual meetings with instructor and TA Portfolio update Task 12: Dig into a medium with AI, part 1
No quiz this week AI and the economics of the future Faking a job interview with AI GPT demo Conduct a Mock Interview Try a mock interview with AI Preview Task 12b AI is transforming the world of work, are we ready for it? 2:12-5:25 AI persona quiz + discussion Course evaluation Share a work in progress Individual meetings Post-class survey Task 12b: Dig into a medium with AI, part 2 No final exam for this class Task 14: Dig into a medium with AI, part 3 (optional extra credit)
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