Teacher: Saurabh Datta
Seminar Goal:
While we have unprecedented access to technology today, we have simultaneously buried ourselves beneath layers of abstractions, gated tools, and monopolized platforms. This abundance has created noise from which we need to gain clarity. On one hand we have "vibe coders," and on the other, a growing population who stigmatize technical knowledge and question its place in the creative process. Regardless, learning the basics is essential—but it should happen in a fun and engaging way, without bias. The goal is for everyone to discover what they can do and what options they have (not necessarily all the answers). We want participants to feel comfortable exploring at their own pace and according to their interests, ultimately enabling them to proceed with confidence.
The Seminar will cover:
In this age of AI (much like the internet era before it), we will explore artificial intelligence while emphasizing collaborative project work. Students will connect and communicate as they would in real-world scenarios, where people rarely work alone—whether creating art installations or developing major client interactive design projects with multiple team members and stakeholders.
In this 5-day seminar, students with diverse backgrounds will work in balanced groups (paired based on complementary capabilities). We will begin with:
1. Day 1: 1 hr intro and point of view
2. [Foundation: 1.5 days] Running a local AI model for analysis. Through this, we aim to:
1. Get comfortable with operating Terminal in Mac or other operating systems, especially for those without technical backgrounds.
2. Learn basics of running local AI backend systems (easier than it sounds).
3. Run basic examples and become familiar with the systems and terminology.
4. Use AI services to find solutions when stuck.
3. [Foundation: 1.5 days] Learn the basics of MQTT, a lightweight network protocol for machine-to-machine messaging (between robots, computers, or industrial systems). Originally developed for industrial infrastructure to monitor oil pipelines, MQTT is now widely used when multiple systems need to communicate. It serves as the foundation for many IoT protocols.
1. Our goals include:
1. Understanding how machine-to-machine protocols work and their potential in artistic installations and design projects.
2. Gaining hands-on experience using MQTT from terminal (broker will be provided in LAN) for student-to-student communication.
3. Inspiring participants to envision projects that can connect with each other.
4. [Project Brief and Implementation: 2 days] Students will apply their fresh knowledge after a brief ideation session:
1. Create projects that can receive {unknown data} from peers in the project LAN (created by the moderator), process that data with {local AI}, and produce tangible outcomes (visual, auditory, physical, textual, etc.). Part of these results should then be formatted and passed to the next peer—creating a Networked Inference chain.
2. We'll embrace a rough, "duct tape" approach—projects need not be polished. Low-fidelity prototyping and debugging should be celebrated as part of the process.
3. Complexity and messiness are encouraged, though not required. |
