bots and machine learning
CHATBOTS, ARTBOTS AND MACHINE LEARNING FOR WEB APPLICATIONS
What are chatbots and artbots? How can we play with these tools and more to create interactive machine learning projects in the browser?
• 1. July - 26. July 2019
• Based in ACUD in Berlin, Germany
• Four weeks, full-time
• Up to 10 participants accepted
Pricing
Artist / Student (Full Time)*
€1950
Professional*
€2150
course
description
Bots can be understood as internet-based software applications imbued with character and persona – what Donna Haraway would describe as “materialised figurations.” Bots often follow and reinforce figurations of the humanlike, conversational, assistive and servient. We are exposed to bots daily, whether in customer service chat windows or ubiquitous and opinionated anonymous social media accounts.
Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence concerned with the design of data-driven programs that autonomously demonstrate intelligent behavior in a variety of domains. ML systems are all around us. When you deposit a check, scan your fingerprint, or post a picture on social media, autonomous algorithms are deployed on the spot to sift through and make sense of your constant interactions with technology.
As computational technologies advance, bots are often mischaracterized as agents with ML, making it hard to distinguish between programmed devices and artificial intelligence. Together, we will learn about bots and ML, understand their differences and explore ways in which ML can transform bots. By integrating these separate components into a common creation, we can repurpose these tools and harness their capabilities for creative expression!
Libraries like TensorFlow.js and ml5.js have unlocked new opportunities for interactive machine learning projects in the browser.
The goal of this class is to learn and understand common machine learning techniques and apply them to generate creative outputs in the browser.
Week one focuses on bots. We’ll get started developing characterisations and roles for bots and immediately begin prototyping them. We’ll explore and invent new figurations for bots, and implement these using bot development tools. Following this, more complex bot architectures can be sketched out, speculatively drawing upon a broader range of APIs and software modules in mashup configurations.
In following weeks, we will focus on learning and understanding common machine learning techniques and applying them to generate creative outputs within the browser. We will start with running models in the browser using high-level APIs from ml5.js and exploring the Layer APIs from TensorFlow.js to create models using custom data. Libraries like TensorFlow.js and ml5.js will be used to unlock new opportunities for interactive ML projects. Don't let these words intimidate you, this class offers something for every skill level!
In the final week, instructors will take the opportunity to investigate more deeply into any special topics students wish to explore. Combining what we’ve learned, students will then develop projects to show as part of a final showcase of works!
in this course,
you will be
introduced to
Critical and conceptual development of projects
History of bots on the web
Difference between chatbots and artbots and how to create them
Libraries like TensorFlow.js, ml5.js, p5.js for creating web-based ML projects
Runway ML, Style transfer, Pix2pix and other up-to-date ML practices possible in the browser
An amazing network and community of like-minded creative beings and potential future collaborators
course outline
Week 1: Introduction to Machine Learning, chatBots and artBots.
Week 2: ml5.js, KNN image classifier, poseNet, Style Transfer and Pix2pix.
Week 3: RunwayML, Sketch RNN, Doodle Classifier, tf.js, create our own Neural Network from scratch.
Week 4: Project development, group work, and special topics, preparing for final showcase open to the public.
who is this
program for?
This course is for anyone who is interested in building creative bots and machine learning projects in the browser and programming beginners who would like to learn more about these topics. This class aims to make bots and ML more approachable for a broad audience of artists, designers, creative coders, and programming beginners. For each model or technique, we will learn how they work, how to use them and how to train our own models. The class will balance its focus between building and understanding how bots and ML works behind the scenes. Some familiarity with the basic concepts of programming is helpful but is not necessary. We will use ml5 in the class, which is inspired by more user-friendly programming tools such as processing and p5.js. No previous experience necessary.
meet the instructor
Matthew Plummer Fernandez
Artist, Producer
Matthew Plummer Fernandez is a British/Colombian artist that creates sculpture, software, online interventions, and installations, often in connection, producing and reflecting on contemporary social and computational entanglements and configurations. Matthew received an MA from the Royal College of Art, 2009 and is completing a practice-based doctorate at Goldsmiths, University of London. He runs the popular blog Algopop on algorithms in every day life. His work has been presented extensively, including solo shows at iMal in collaboration with JODI, and Nome Gallery in Berlin. His works have been acquired by the Pompidou in Paris, and commissioned by the V&A in London, and AND Festival, Manchester. He is currently represented by Nome Gallery and is an invited resident at Somerset House Studios.
Yining Shi
Artist and Researcher
Yining Shi is an artist and researcher who is interested in building tools to craft a better learning experience for people. She is creator of p5.playground, an interactive programming tool for designers and beginners to understand drawing functions in p5.js, and the author of the book: Make: Jumpstarting the Arduino 101. She is also an adjunct professor at Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU, where she teaches Machine Learning for the Web class. She contributes to various open source projects like ml5.js, p5 web editor, and p5.ble.js. Her work has been sponsored by Google and the Processing Foundation. She currently works at Sourcemap as a Senior Software Developer. Her work can be found at www.1023.io.
