Solipsist Development

Abstract

Concept.

Equipment.

Timeline

Week 1-2

Introduction to course and project development.

Week 3 - Proposal - 4/12

This.

Meet with Juan.

Week 4

Work time.

Week 5 - Milestone 1 - 4/26

Working model of each of two tracks:

Participant speaking to computer.
Computer/printer speaking to itself (feedback loop). Interpreting printer sounds as speech. Or transforming them into spech.

Week 6

Realize that the best approach will combine elements of each of the two tracks above.

Week 7 - Milestone 2 - 5/10

Characterization of system:

Software agent? agency.
Interruptions.
Unexpected responses.
Basic state modeling (emotional states, psychological states).
Basic drive modeling (for novelty, entertainment, activity, rest, conversation on certain topics).

Attention to possible choices of text.

I imagine these two go hand in hand.

Week 8

Have others experience the system, try it out.

Week 9 - Milestone 3 - 5/24

Near-final form, near-final realization.

Viewer interaction tests.

Week 10

Final changes, improvements, last minute blitz.

Presentation - 6/7

Research

Week 2

get system running again

Week 3

get system running again cont...
locate small desk and desk lamp. (focus on specific form as installation/object)

Materials

desk
desk lamp
sound-proof commercial glazing (windows)
receipt printer
microphone

Code

CMU Sphinx-4 Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) library - http://sourceforge.net/projects/cmusphinx/files/
Sphinx-4 wrapper for processing: http://svn.roberttwomey.com/processing/libraries/sphinx/
Example code for Grammar-based recognition: http://svn.roberttwomey.com/processing/sphinxBochner/
Example code for Statistical Language Model (SLM) based recognition: http://svn.roberttwomey.com/processing/sphinxSLMTest/

References

Mel Bochner. "Serial Art, Systems, Solipsism."
Natalie Jeremijenko.
- "If Things Can Talk, What Do They Say? If We Can Talk To Things, What Do We Say?" http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson/voicechip
- "Dialogue With A Monologuq: Voice Chips and the Products of Abstract Speech". http://www.topologicalmedialab.net/xinwei/classes/readings/Jeremijenko/VoiceChips.pdf
Kelly Dobson - Machine Therapy:
- "explorations of what we interact with when we interact with machines... much more than the machine itself... our sense of self, agency in the interpersonal and political world, and our shared psychological, emotional, cultural, and perceptual approaches to the world." (from abstract http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/44329)
- Blendie. sing to the blender to make it run. http://web.media.mit.edu/~monster/blendie/
- Machine Therapy sessions. http://web.media.mit.edu/~monster/machinetherapy/
- Machine Therapy. PhD Dissertation. 2007. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/44329
William Gibson. "Count Zero". The idea of the "loa", voodoo gods / fragments of AIs set loose at the end of Neuromancer.
Frances White. Valdrada. 1990. [1]
Redaction Paintings. Jenny Holzer. 2007. [2]
White Room #4 / Wittgenstein & my Brother Frank. 2005 William Pope.L.