Join the Communication Design department of City Tech, CUNY, for an exciting evening with renowned designer, author, historian, and educator Dr. Cheryl D. Miller as she discusses her latest book, Here: Where The Black DesignersAre feat. COMD Prof. Emeritus Dorothy Hayes!
Prof. Terao of the Entertainment Technology Department is screening the film, 13 Driver’s Licenses on Tuesday, December 3rd, in the Academic Complex Theater. Prof. Terao
Synopsis: The discovery of 13 confiscated driver’s licenses from 1938 leads a small German town to face its past. With no other clue except for those licenses, a group of high-school students and their tenacious teacher research the fates of the 13 Jewish driver’s license holders. A year later, an unexpected turn takes place. The modern-day Germans and some of the Jewish descendants from overseas gather in “their hometown,” and a fortuitous friendship begins.
Please join us Wednesday, 10/30 at 3pm in A105 to hear from City Tech alum and Editor-in-Chief of The Atlanta Voice, Mr. Donnell Suggs. Mr. Suggs will be zooming in from the presidential campaign trail to speak about how his City Tech education has informed his career in journalism. All are most welcome.
Call for Papers: Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, and Generative AI: The Ninth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium
Deadline for CFP: Friday, November 8, 2024
Date and Time of Event: Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 9:00AM-5:00PM EST
Location: Academic Building, New York City College of Technology, CUNY
Organizers: Jill Belli, Wanett Clyde, Jason W. Ellis, Leigh Gold, Kel Karpinski, and Vivian Papp
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“Motive,” the construct said. “Real motive problem, with an AI. Not human, see?”
“Well, yeah, obviously.”
“Nope. I mean, it’s not human. And you can’t get a handle on it. Me, I’m not human either, but I respond like one. See?”
“Wait a sec,” Case said. “Are you sentient, or not?”
“Well, it feels like I am, kid, but I’m really just a bunch of ROM. It’s one of them, ah, philosophical questions, I guess …” The ugly laughter sensation rattled down
Case’s spine. “But I ain’t likely to write you no poem, if you follow me. Your AI, it just might. But it ain’t no way human.”
–McCoy “Dixie Flatline” Pauley conversing with Case in William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984)
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William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) captures some of the anxiety today regarding AI. Less like Skynet and its cybernetic soldiers in Terminator (1984), the passage above gets the heart of the subtleties of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that we are now confronting with Generative AI (much like McCoy Pauley’s ROM or read only memory construct) and the pursuit of AGI or Artificial General Intelligence (akin to the novel’s Wintermute and Neuromancer). Various forms and degrees of AI are transforming human culture and relationships in ways both obvious (e.g., ChatGPT) and obscure (e.g., facial recognition, credit scoring, policing, and carceral sentencing). And like Gibson’s imagined future, the megarich of today are developing and deploying AI for their own capitalistic and ideological ends. While their motives are challenging enough to decipher, those of the eventual AGI systems they create will be even more so.
It is with these concerns in mind that we convene this year’s Ninth City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on the topic of Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, and Generative AI. Science Fiction offers a spectrum of AI perspectives from hopeful to warning. On the one hand there is Murray Leinster’s helpful if mischievous “A Logic Named Joe” (1946), but on the other, there is AM in Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” (1967). Together, we will examine the many connections between SF and AI: anticipation, caution, education, inspiration, prediction, representation, and more.
We invite proposals for 10-20 minute scholarly paper presentations or 40-60 minute panel discussions related to the topic of Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, and Generative AI. Please send a 250-word abstract with title, brief 100-150-word professional bio, and contact information to Jason Ellis (jellis@citytech.cuny.edu) by Friday, November 8, 2024.
Topics with a connection to Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, and Generative AI might include but certainly are not limited to:
How is AI represented in SF?
What is the history of AI in SF?
Does AI differ in SF across media (e.g., print, film, television, video games, etc.)?
How does AI affect individuals and society in SF?
How does SF approach AI Ethics including and beyond Asimov’s Laws of Robotics?
What are some of the unintended consequences of AI explored in SF, and what might we learn from those?
What are the utopian and dystopian possibilities of AI in SF?
What examples exist of teaching with AI in SF? Are there lessons for pedagogy today?
How does AI’s energy consumption figure into SF and Climate Fiction?
Are there mundane examples of AI in SF?
What can SF teach AI developers and users?
How is Generative AI depicted in SF?
How is Generative AI disrupting SF work practices (e.g., cover and interior art, writing, production workflows, etc.)?
Can AI make SF?
AI? What, me worry?
The event will be held in person at City Tech in downtown Brooklyn, New York.
This event is free and open to the public as space permits: an RSVP will be included with the program when announced on the Science Fiction at City Tech website (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/). Free registration will be required for participation.
The event is sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY.
The Annual City Tech Symposium on Science Fiction is held in celebration of the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, an archival holding of over 600-linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and scholarship. It is in the Archives and Special Collections of the Ursula C. Schwerin Library (Library Building, L543C, New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201). More information about the collection and how to access it is available here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/sciencefictionatcitytech/librarycollection/.
This week starts Banned Books Week, a week long event celebrating the right to read, and access to free and open information for all. This year’s theme is “Freed Between the Lines,” in which the American Libraries Association(ALA) highlights the “freedom to explore new ideas and different perspectives is under threat, and book bans don’t just restrict access to stories—they undermine our rights.”
What can City Tech do to reduce our buildings’ emissions and keep that power renewable and public?
With the recent passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act and state Build Public Renewables Act, we have an immense opportunity and urgent need to bring our campuses into the 21st century and onto the right side of the climate crisis. Come join us as we discuss how to do it! Thursday, Sept 12th, 12:30-2:15 PM at 300 Jay Street, LG-30 Amphitheater.
Come to our Decarbonize City Tech Town Hall!
· What: An in-person town hall to share information about City Tech’s plans to decarbonize our buildings so we can push for better, faster implementation.
· When: Tuesday, September 12 from 12:30-2:15 pm
· Where: Library Building LG-30 Amphitheater
· Why: With federal subsidies and state policies available to support this work, now is the time to push for these changes.
· Who: All interested students, faculty, and staff
o Speakers will include NYS Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, Kim Fraczek of SANE Energy Project (the grassroots group that stopped the North Brooklyn pipeline), and many more.
· How you can help: RSVP here and share widely! Encourage your students to attend and consider incentivizing their participation or embedding it in your curriculum.
The library will have modified hours during spring break.
Spring Break runs Monday 4/22 through Tuesday 4/30. The library is open 9:00AM – 5:00PM, and will be closed Saturday and Sunday, April 27th and 28th respectively.
There is a solar eclipse today. There may be free eclipse glasses at the Brooklyn Public Library located on Cadman Plaza.
See below for more information from the Vision Care Department.
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A message from CityTech’s Vision Care Program’s Director, Steven Indelicato, regarding today’s solar eclipse:
Dear CityTech Community,
Everyone is excited to experience today’s solar eclipse!
This is when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth.
In New York City, we will be experiencing a 90% partial solar eclipse. The last time we experienced a total eclipse was in 1925.
The eclipse is set to begin today in New York City at 2:10 p.m. EST and last until 4:36 p.m. EST, for a total of two hours and 26 minutes.
During this time, it is important to know how we can best protect our eyes to prevent damage.
Wearing eclipse glasses or certified solar viewers to meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard is a must.
Please be sure to visit your local New York City Public Library for free ISO certified glasses.
Never look directly at the sun without proper eye protection (i.e., eclipse glasses or certified solar viewers), and understand that traditional forms of eye protection, such as sunglasses, do not provide adequate protection for an eclipse.
Failure to protect our eyes could lead to fatal vision problems, including retinal and ocular damage, which has the potential to cause irreversible blindness or partial vision loss.
So, have fun today as you enjoy this rare phenomenon, but always exercise caution!
