In my project, I used the technique of “Abstraction: Experiment with shapes, colors, and forms to convey emotions or impressions” for my visuals. I tried to convey 5 different emotions. Some simple, some complex.

I described the emotions I wanted to depict to ChatGPT which then crafted prompts for me to give to DALL-E to create. When DALL-E gave me the images I didn’t settle on the first ones generated. Instead, I kept pushing the generator to create more, asking it to be “more extreme” and such until it produced something that I felt matched the emotions I was trying to convey. I did not specify realism or animation.

I got inspiration from multiple pieces of media I saw online with different “vibes”. For example, a video I saw online that simply depiction older looking photos of playgrounds with background music with a caption along the lines of “The good ol’ days”. The video made me feel nostalgic, but also sad, because it reminded me that I’m not a kid anymore. My life used to be so good, and yet during that time of my life all I wished for was to be a grown up. I will never be able to experience those things again. They now just live in my memory.
Is Ai capable of depicting an image that expresses this emotion?

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1R-b7I5FuF69WJA_JzbHPhHArEaAgAiLJbsGRyvek5Kk/edit?usp=sharing

Click HERE to play “Escape the Abandoned Hotel”

Made by Amy Bennet, Midori Davis, and Manuel Sanches.

Welcome to Starlight Haven, a world shaped like a puffy star. This celestial realm exists in a futuristic era where humanity has ventured far beyond its humble origins. Here, the fusion of organic life and digital intelligence brings forth a new era of coexistence, guided by the stars.

Era and Setting:
The landscape of Starlight Haven is diverse, featuring lush valleys dotted with bioluminescent flora, futuristic cities, and cascading waterfalls that flow into star-lit lakes. The inhabitants blend technology seamlessly into their environments, creating cities that gleam with crystalline structures and metallic textures, yet harmonize with the planet’s natural beauty.

Environment:
Starlight Haven’s climate is a dance of extremes. The valleys maintain a temperate climate, nurtured by AI-driven weather control systems, ensuring agriculture thrives year-round. The northern peaks, shimmering in blues and purples, experience eternal winters, where robotics sustain life and provide heat and shelter. Coastal regions bathe in perpetual twilight, their skies painted in vivid pinks and greens, thanks to the luminescent microorganisms that inhabit the surrounding seas.

Food and Culture:
The cuisine of Starlight Haven mirrors the planet’s vibrant hues and futuristic flair. Puff pastries infused with iridescent fruit fillings, star-shaped vegetables grown in AI-managed fields, and colorful liquids served in crystalline flutes are staples at every meal. Cultural practices center on the deep-rooted symbiosis between humans and AI, with festivals celebrating each region’s unique blend of nature and technology. The inhabitants embrace the pursuit of knowledge, creativity, and innovation as vital components of their way of life.

Economy:
Economically, Starlight Haven thrives on the export of its AI innovations and abundant natural resources. The economy is sustained through a blend of automated manufacturing, digital agriculture, and bioengineering. Key resources include nanomaterials sourced from the depths of the planet’s core and rare minerals mined from rocky outcrops. The regions operate in a cooperative network, sharing resources and technological advancements to maintain the delicate balance of the world.

Education:
Education is a lifelong pursuit, with every citizen equipped with an AI companion that serves as a personal tutor, guiding them through a curriculum tailored to their interests and the planet’s needs.

Technology:
Human-AI interactions are the lifeblood of Starlight Haven. Artificial intelligence permeates every aspect of life, from personal companions embedded in clothing to large-scale city management systems. The citizens, a blend of half-human, half-robot, embody this union, with subtle, seamless robotic enhancements that augment their natural abilities.

Uniqueness:
Starlight Haven stands as a testament to human ingenuity and AI collaboration. Its uniqueness lies in the delicate balance it strikes between organic life and artificial intelligence. The planet thrives on innovation, where the line between biology and technology is blurred, creating a society that celebrates the endless possibilities of a world where humans and AI evolve together.

Click HERE to play “Escape the Abandoned Hotel”

https://dtc-wsuv.org/mdavis23/world-building-website/

In this alternate 1950s, the Cold War has escalated into a fierce space race, with the United States and the Soviet Union leveraging AI technologies controlled by dominant corporate-government syndicates. The Soviet AI “Ivanov” and the American AI “Liberty” have become central to these power struggles, extending the conflict beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The surreptitious hijacking of a U.S. satellite by Ivanov sets off a chain of events, revealing a dystopian world where corporate-government entities use AI to dominate space and exert authoritarian control over global communications and surveillance. In this narrative, space becomes the ultimate high ground, not just for national pride or scientific advancement, but as a domain for authoritarian control. AI, originally developed as a tool for advancement, turns into an instrument of oppression, symbolizing the perils of technological progress unhinged from ethical and moral considerations.

Reflective Statement

While I have used RunwayML before, this was my first time using it with more detailed instruction and guidance. That said, it was still very difficult to get Runway to animate my images in the way I imagined in my artistic vision for this project. This made me rethink how some shots should look so that everything would be feasible for Runway while still maintaining a cohesive sequence, much like a movie trailer. Getting DALL-E to generate the images was easy enough, as I had been discussing my fictional world and strategizing with my custom GPT to come up with effective prompts for the images and scenes I had in mind. That said, I did forget to adjust the aspect ratio of my images to 16:9.

As my narrative within this world is very dystopian, I wanted to make that very clear in all the video, animations, and audio. Text prompts in RunwayML were unfortunately not as effective as I had hoped in animating clearly dystopian scenes, so I sought to make up for it by generating music in Suno.ai that reflected a repressive atmosphere. I then sliced it up and re-sequenced it to build up tension at critical moments. The music isn’t particularly sad or angry—it’s just tense and fluctuates in intensity. I thought minimal speech would be effective at maintaining this tension as well, so I used a soft but clear voice from ElevenLabs for the narrator to state just the major forces and conflicts that are at play in the story, with pauses for more dramatic effect. I also gave my main character just one line, in a Russian accent:

“They will….kill me…”

My AI business plan focusing on mixed media art education for children aged 7-10. I’ve tried to make it more structured and clear, with a focus on the essentials for such a curriculum. And emphasizing continual adjustment and improvement based on student feedback and learning progress.

Project Summary:

• Philosophy: This program is designed to empower young artists by teaching them to creatively use traditional art techniques and a variety of materials. Through modular projects, each child can progress at their own pace, ensuring that learning is both deep and enjoyable.
• Vision Statement: “Cultivating creativity and confidence in young artists through a flexible and engaging modular art curriculum.”
• Skills and Techniques: The curriculum will focus on different art mediums including pencils, charcoal, crayons, oil pastel, pastel, and watercolors etc. Each module will introduce a specific medium or technique, allowing for gradual and comprehensive skill development.

Needs Assessment:
There is a clear need for art education programs that accommodate varying skill levels and entry points throughout the year. Modular projects cater to this need by allowing students to join and integrate smoothly at any time without disrupting their learning progression or the flow of the class.

Skills and Technology Overview:

• Required Skills:
  Mastery of various traditional art techniques. Ability to guide students in exploring artistic expressions through different materials. Capability to adapt teaching methods to individual student needs and paces
• Development Needs:
  Regular updates to module content to include diverse techniques and materials. Ongoing professional development for teachers to stay current with educational strategies

Learning and Development Plan:
The curriculum will consist of a series of modular projects, each designed to last one to two months. These projects will be self-contained with specific objectives and outcomes, focusing on different artistic techniques and media.

Application and Impact:
Students will use the skills developed in each module to create individual and collaborative artworks. This structured yet flexible approach will foster a strong foundation in art, enhance creativity, and build confidence. The adaptability of the curriculum makes art education accessible and enjoyable for all students, regardless of when they start.

Project Timeline:

• Module Planning and Development (Month 1-2): Design initial modules and prepare resource kits.
• Implementation of Initial Modules (Month 3-4): Launch the first series of modules, adjusting based on student feedback.
• Ongoing Module Rotation and Development (Month 5 onwards): Continue introducing new modules, cycling through different techniques and materials. Periodically update and refine modules based on educational trends and student needs.

Budget:
Materials: $150 per student for initial art kits, plus $50 per student for each new module to cover replenishments and new materials.
Instructor Training: $200 per teacher monthly for workshops and training sessions. Module Development: $1,000 initially for creating detailed module guides and resources, with an ongoing budget of $300 every quarter for updates.

Evaluation and Reflection:
Success will be evaluated through student progress in each module, feedback from students and parents, and the adaptability of the curriculum in meeting diverse student needs. Reflections and adjustments will be made after each module to enhance the curriculum and address any identified gaps.

Blog Prompt: Consider how the entertainment industry (games, tv, movies, music), commercial design and marketing companies, and the artists that work for them, will be using Generative AI in the near future. If you were to start a small AI digital design/development/content company or service, how would you use AI to get started? How would you leverage what you know so far in the course to write a project plan, research, budget, create and market your idea?

Use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas for starting a small AI digital design or development business focusing on either entertainment (games, TV, movies, music), education, commercial design, or marketing. In a 300-500 word blog post, describe how you’d use AI tools to start a creative AI business. Given that everyone has access to these tools how would you add something unique?

In starting a creative AI commercial design business, I would need to do quite a bit of research on the industry as it is now to figure out how I can deliver something unique to the field with the help of AI.

Commercial design is the design of buildings and spaces for businesses. With that in mind, form and function are critical to a successful and effective design. This may already exist, but I think a modular, 3D simulation that allows people to customize the interior and exterior of a building would be very cool and help businesses decide on what designs they want. Before getting to the simulation, there would also be some kind of interactive assistant that asks businesses questions about their needs as a company and the goods/services they provide to help generate designs that cater to the specific needs and challenges of that particular business.

Visual AI: Tools like DALL-E or MidJourney would be great for crafting customized illustrations to be used in the 3D simulations. I’ve noticed that generative art does a pretty good job of coming up with attractive designs, so I think this is critical.

Textual AI: Platforms like ChatGPT would function well as an interactive assistant that communicates with the businesses. If there’s a plugin to add a customized GPT that people can chat with on your website, that would be great—but alternatively, many websites already have that kind of thing so it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with one. At the same time, those assistants can feel very impersonal so maybe my business would be better without one?

While AI helps with efficiency, making it easy and quick to make changes as desired, human creativity and expertise is what should really pull all of this together, to actually finalize designs that are ready for construction. If drafts could be generated by AI and then enhanced and finalized by human professionals, that would be optimal. It would be really bad (and grounds for a lawsuit) if an AI-generated blueprint had an error and was not thoroughly checked by a human professional, leading to an unstable building. Now that I think about it, my business is sounding a lot like the Sims as far as customizing interior and exterior design. But that could be cool and potentially a marketable point—businesses could have fun customizing their desired buildings and spaces while working with me.

Blog Prompt: Have a Chat in your Research GPT about creating an HTML5 (browser-based) game with a team of 3-4 students. Given your skills and interests in using AI tools, discuss what types or genres of game you would like to work on and what role you would like to play in its design/development. A text game, narrative game, exploratory game (world-building) or physics game (jumping, dodging shooting at obstacles).

In a blog post, share the type/genre, your role (coder, designer, writer) and a general description for a game you would like to collaborate on.

Game Concept: “Mysteries of the Lost Temple”

Genre: Narrative-driven puzzle game

Description:

In “Mysteries of the Lost Temple,” players explore ancient ruins, each representing a different ancient civilization, such as the Mayans, Egyptians, or Romans. The game combines intricate puzzles that require logical thinking with a captivating storyline involving myths, legends, and historical facts. Each level of the temple reveals a part of the story, unlocking the mysteries of a lost civilization and advancing the player’s journey deeper into the temple.

The puzzles would vary in type, including logic puzzles, riddles based on historical facts, and interactive challenges that involve manipulating ancient machinery or decoding hieroglyphs. The game’s progression would rely on both puzzle-solving skills and the unfolding narrative, offering clues and backstory through scrolls, carvings, and ghostly apparitions of past inhabitants.

My Role: Lead Writer and Visual Designer

Writing Responsibilities:

• Develop the overarching storyline and script interactions with characters and environments.
• Write puzzles that are integrated into the narrative, ensuring they are both challenging and relevant to the story.
• Create lore and background histories for each civilization featured in the game, enhancing the immersive experience.

Visual Design Responsibilities:

• Design the overall artistic style of the game, choosing a visual theme that reflects the ancient and mysterious atmosphere.
• Create detailed and engaging environments for each level, ensuring they accurately reflect the historical and cultural aspects of the respective civilizations.
• Work on UI/UX design to ensure that the game interfaces are intuitive and enhance the player’s experience.
• This project would allow you to fully utilize your writing and visual design skills, crafting an immersive world that players can lose themselves in, while also challenging their problem-solving abilities.

Blog Prompt: Read the article by Amy Goodchild and discuss some of the techniques that interests you. In class we will play with both generative visual art as well as generative literature or language art. Both require the use of JavaScript.

I am especially fond of randomness, because the possibilities are nearly endless. There’s just something about it that seems like it behaves like a living creature. I find this really fascinating because pseudorandom generative art in particular is controlled to a degree, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it is. I knew nothing about JavaScript before this class, and I’m kind of amazed at how Goodchild’s article helps it make sense for me within the context of how randomness operates in generative art. Math in general makes my brain hurt but I am curious about distribution and Perlin noise—I remember Perlin noise was mentioned in my DTC 101 class.

I’ve been thinking about doing generative art with AI for my final project, but I’m not sure if my practically nonexistent knowledge of JavaScript will be enough to make it feasible for me. Hopefully that is where AI can assist me, but it’s hard to truly harness AI’s power when you don’t even understand the field and skills required for whatever project you’re using it for. Because of my limitations, it may make more sense for me to go with something more simple, like generative art that operates on rules. That will hopefully prevent excessive frustration with JavaScript and numbers. Rules are also prevalent in natural systems, that are very much like the “living creature” kinds of behavior of generative art that fascinate me so much.

Blog Prompt: Create a Chat in ChatGPT and describe a basic website. Give some sense of the layout, colors and typography. Ask that the response be coded in HTML5 and CSS as one HTML page. Download the file and open it in a browser.

Input: Create a website in HTML5 and CSS as one HTML page. This website should have a title at the top, in very, very big font. Below the title, there should be a navigation bar with three links on it. The main color of the background should be a pale beige, the navigation bar should be dark brown, and accents should be caramel. The primary text color should be dark brown, while the text in the navigation bar should be pale beige. The display font should be Syncopate, and the body font should be Sedan.

After reading the articles above and performing the coding exercise, share your thoughts about what this all means for the future of coding. What does AI mean for software, game, app and web development?

ChatGPT produced code that is exactly what I described in my prompt. Although my instructions were quite simple, this level of accuracy shows a lot of promise for AI’s coding capabilities in the future. I am not by any means a good programmer, but ChatGPT has lowered the barrier for entry for people who want to build websites by a lot. I’m sure people who code websites for a living have concerns, as AI can do quite a bit of what they have been doing, but their expertise is still very valuable and necessary—I imagine that for very advanced and complicated websites and coding projects, you still need that expertise to understand exactly you are trying to get an AI to generate. That understanding will be crucial in coming up with the words that best describe the desired output in a way that ChatGPT will understand.

What are your concerns about the profession and what do you see are the opportunities? How might this affect your own future plans?

From what I have observed, AI, by all metrics, will be a huge boost of productivity for software, games, apps, and web development. It will certainly be a disruptor in these fields as it has for many other industries, so it is very important for people currently in these fields to learn how to use it effectively to support their work, rather than replacing it entirely. Even a coding novice like me can build a good website with ChatGPT. I previously thought that I could never be a programmer because it is a significant weakness of mine—but now, I see potential for ChatGPT to help me build a website for my father’s business—he built his current website in Dreamweaver, over 10 years ago. To say the least, an attractive website that is easy to navigate will do wonders as a marketing opportunity for his business.

This the link to my final-ai-project. Thank you so much professor Luers for a meaningful and life changing class.

https://dtc-wsuv.org/idumbuya22/final-ai-project/

AI and Cultural Identity

My final project and research essay is on AI and Cultural Identity. My central creative question is “How can AI celebrate cultural uniqueness without overstepping?”

Cultural evolution through art speaks to every human no matter the time and culture, from the cave paintings of prehistoric eras to the folk melodies that have withstood the test of time, we now stand at a crossroad where AI is poised to transform these expressions for a digital future. Here, I intend to contemplate the historical tapestry of cultural art and discuss how AI is not only discovering and preserving but also reimagining these age-old traditions. My central creative question seeks to understand how AI celebrates cultural uniqueness without overstepping its boundaries.

Over the past few years, we have seen AI emerging as a pivotal and crucial partner in the choreography of cultural identity within the digital world. As a digital artist, my expedition through the realms of AI has revealed its profound capability to not only generate imagery but also to intricately weave the rich tapestry of cultural identity into the fabric of modern expression.  cultural identity being transformed by AI. AI’s role in redefining cultural representation is grounded in its ability to learn and mimic complex patterns – not just visual, but also linguistic and symbolic. It also delves into the biases faced by people of color when they are looking for images of people of color. I will talk about how I manipulate AI to get what I want or not.

My final art gallery will be recreating my childhood memories with my late grandfather. I will use AI image generating APP DALL-E to recreate these memories.

Explore the world of Starlight Haven through a digital codex!

https://dtc-wsuv.org/tduran24/starlight-haven-codex/index.html

https://dtc-wsuv.org/dtc338-luers/final-ai-project-vlam/

https://dtc-wsuv.org/tduran24/tduran-art-research-project/
Webpage design in progress