AI and the future of Human-Computer Language: The progress curve of technological advancements in the world is about to hit a new tangent. The availability, accessibility and affordance of smart devices, autonomous systems and cyber-assistants has led us to reconsider the penetration of technology we want in our surroundings. These technologies represent forces very similar to those during the Industrial Revolution; only that now they will be much more impactful, fast and widespread [∂]. It has and will further, not only shake the socio-economic framework of our society, but also challenge us on a moral and ethical level. Why? Because for so long machines were complimenting the areas of human strength and physical labour. Now, they attempt to complement our notions of human intelligence.
Read MoreExcerpts of a memoir, I wrote about my visit to Chikmagalur in Sep 2015. The text describes my experience of a trek that we took to the Mullayangiri Hills, which I later got to know was the highest peak of state of Karnataka:
“It is a calming experience. To feel lighter. Feel carefree, alive, almost like a child. To feel the cool damp of the winter breeze brushing your face, the water accumulating near your eyelids and slowly making them heavy. My hairs try to blanket them but fail. It leaves its mild embrace underneath and moves on. My hands try to get a hold of them, to capture it forever. The breeze couldn’t care less. Its amorphous shape steals the meaning off the steady forms and gives them a mischievous dynamism. A veil it looks!” ….
Read MoreSome of the most profound philosophies change the way we see the world or rather count it. They can shed light on something as fundamental as elementary school concepts. They inspire us to contest these ‘given’ facts under a logical framework, question them and understand them better. This is the basis of any scientific approach.
A lot of my friends, even now, question the purpose of learning algebra and geometry in high school. They quickly come to the conclusion that learning advanced mathematics is irrelevant and find the topics purposeless. Many of them detest it; they grow fundamentally weak in those subjects and hence can’t see through the concept beyond their immediate application. But if you ask an architect, he/she will be able to tell you the applications of trigonometry in building plans, a computer programmer will appreciate the usefulness of Fourier transformations and believe it or not most of the compression algorithms (that let you video call and play online games) use very nuanced mathematical models.
Read MoreOur first design project (DP-I) was all about knowing ourselves, our social groups and our community better. One of the most prominent ways to do that is by the means of an Ethnographic study of the concerned group. At its heart, ethnography is the study of cultures. But what does it mean to KNOW a social group? And how do we as designers or rather ethnographers find it out? How does one's involvement in a social group affect its dynamics? How does the researcher celebrates or condemns social practices of the group in his/her writings based on his/her limited understanding of the world? What is the basis of these judgements?
Read MoreAs a course deliverable for Science and Liberal Arts we were asked to do a comparative analysis of the notion and theories of beauty and aesthetics between the Ancient Western and Eastern cultures.
The articles contains notions of form, functionality, sublime, catharsis, nava rasa, etc.
Read More
