librezine Time Leap Edition 2022
The Metaverse A world to come
The Future of Hiring
The Bias of Algorithms
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Contents 4-5 6-8 9 10 - 13 14 - 15 16 - 17 18 - 19
Digital Art in the LRC Game Consoles Puzzle Page The Future of Hiring The Metaverse The Bias of Algorithms 2001: A Space Odyssey
LRC Opening Times 1st Floor LRC Monday - Thursday Friday
8.30am - 7.30pm 8.30am - 4pm
2nd Floor LRC Monday - Thursday 9am - 7.30pm Frriday 9am - 4pm Arts & Construction LRC Monday - Thursday 8.30am - 4.30pm Friday 8.30pm - 4pm
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Digital Art in the LRC The LRC has recently purchased eleven brand new Apple Mac computers which are available in both the 1st and the 2nd floor LRC. These computers are especially suitable for our digital design students and come with a super cool bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Our Adobe package is installed on all the new Macs and allows students access to programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, After Effects, Indesign, Illustrator, Animate, Audition and Dreamweaver, which are particularly beneficial for our visual art and computer students looking to work in the creative industries. So whether you are a graphic designer, an animator, a website designer, a music producer or sound artist, a film maker or a photographer, the LRC has all the latest tech to suit your creative needs.
Graphics tablets are also available as well as a fantastic selection of art books featuring artists such as Takashi Murakami whose work is heavily influenced by anime and manga, and minimalist illustrator Malika Favre whose graphics reflect the pop art and op art style. So keep an eye out next year for the LRC’s enrichment workshops which will show learners the basics of using a handful of the Adobe programs. Check out the LRC on our socials for more information. @BCLRC (Twitter & Instagram) @boltoncollegelrc (facebook)
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Art Books in the LRC
This Malika Favre Cindy Sherman book exhibits the has shot self-porinteraction between traits of herself light, shadow and from the 70s until colour in a minithe present day. malist but bold Her images style. Her images often hold a are famed for her mirror upon use of optical illusions and geomet- society and in particular the variric patterns which work alongside ous roles that women portray. strong storytelling narratives. Mukurami-Ego The Art of Small is the name of Films showcasTakashi’s 2012 es the work of exhibition which Oliver Postgate showcased and Peter work from Firmin who 1997 to 2012 produced in the Middle East. His work some of the best stop frame aniconsists of self-stylised cartoons mation of the 60s & 70s includnavigating the highs and lows of ing Bagpuss and The Clangers. a consumer society. 5
The Evolution of the Game Console 1980s The 1980s saw an influx of developers entering the industry but due to the produc1970s tion of low-quality games and the The first over-saturation of the US market, home conthe industry crashed in the US in sole was 1983. the Magnavox Odyssey (1972). This paved the way for The Odyssey came packaged with Japan to step up and the introcards, overlays, paper money duction of 8-bit consoles which and dice to enhance the games as could now include sprites and graphics of the time were limited to multiple colours. in 1983, Nintendots and lines. do released the Family Computer (Famicom). This was redesigned for a post-crash US market and was released in 1985 as the Nintendo Entertainment System Following this, the most (NES), best well-known and successful console known for at the time was introduced – the Mario Bros. Atari 2600 and the popular game This console, and Mario Bros. Pong, released in 1975. games in particular, were hugely successful! Game consoles have gone through an astonishing evolution since they were first brought to market. Below is a brief history of the evolution of the game console.
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1990s Sega entered the market at the tail end of the 80s, releasing the Mega Drive/ Genesis in 1988. Although not as successful as the NES, Sega has also had a massive impact on gaming through the introduction of its most popular franchise – Sonic the Hedgehog, released in 1991. The 1990s also saw the successor to Nintendo’s popular NES console – the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990. This led to what has since been dubbed as the ‘Console Wars’, where Sega and Nintendo competed for dominance over the console market. Both these consoles were 16-bit which gave game developers more to work with and better colour options and range of sound.
2000s In the year 2000, PlayStation continued its market dominance by introducing the PlayStation 2 and to this day this is still the highest selling console ever made with over 155 million sold. Microsoft also entered the console market and released the Xbox in 2001. The mid 2000s brought Sony and Microsoft into direct competition with the release of their next consoles, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. These consoles had improved graphics and memory and were both very popular, mostly splitting the market evenly. In 2006 Nintendo came fighting back with the release of the Wii which In 1994, Sony focused more on a family-friendly debuted the image compared to the teens and PlayStation young adults that Sony and Microand found soft were targeting. This proved to immediate success. This brought be a very good move for Nintendo into popularity the compact disc as the Wii was a massive success! format for games over the cartridge The Wii controller included an format previous consoles had used infrared detection sensor which and included a memory card. This allowed users to be more actively meant that games could now be involved in games and for motion much longer and more complex. to be tracked by the console. cont...
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The Evolution of the Game Console cont...
By Clare Izquierdo
2010s The 2010s followed a similar pattern with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all releasing new consoles – the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The capabilities of these consoles gave developers more detail and the ability to create more realistic looking graphics. Although some forms of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets had been previously available, they hadn’t been capable of keeping up with the input of the user which created a delay and broke immersion. The introduction of the Oculus Rift in 2016 brought VR to the general consumer and massively reduced this delay. VR brought 3D immersion into specially designed games.
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2020s and the Future So far in the 2020s, we have had both Sony and Microsoft release new consoles. As we are currently only in 2022, it is unknown how these consoles will compare to previous releases. However, the graphical capabilities of these devises far outshine previous generations. But what will the future bring? Currently, developers are looking at improving VR so that they can become more immersive, with developers looking into how to bring in the other senses. This means that in the future we could have VR that can include smell and even touch through the use of specially designed suits/gloves. There is even research into how to include taste into future VR technology! We have gone from having the capability of only lines and dots to near photo-realistic graphics with the ability to include hours of content over the past 50 years, just imagine what the next 50 years could bring!
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The Future of Hiring The recruitment process its contents and scores it against has seen a massive transformation pre-defined data sets. over the past few years. More and more organisations are turning to Step two is an email invitation to AI (artificial intelligence) technol- an automated video interview. To ogy to recruit employees. HireVue complete the interview a device is an American digital recruitment with a camera, such as your mocompany that uses AI to assess bile phone, or a PC with a webcandidates. The technology uses cam is required. Transcription automated video interviews that technology converts your spoken analyse your facial movements, voice to text and facial recognition word choice and speaking voice technology analyses your facial before ranking them against other expressions and movements. The applicants based on an automat- interview consists of a series of ically generated “employability” questions and activities, including score. games, on which you are assessed. How it Works The software is programmed and trained using data sets. These are records of information deemed necessary to find the most suitable person for a vacancy, such as qualifications, applicant characteristics, skills, experience etc. AI is trained to properly interpret data and learn from it to perform a task with accuracy. Step one in the job application process you submit your CV. It then goes through an AI assessment where algorithms process 10
Step three is a face-to-face meeting in person, which can be very difficult to achieve given the previous two steps. So, what are the pros and cons of this interviewing technique?
Candidate Benefits •
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Interviews can take place at anytime and anywhere, at the convenience of the candidate. HireVue has conducted 26 million on-demand interviews. Every candidate goes through exactly the same interview, ensuring consistency of screening. It can eliminate unconscious bias and inequality by removing the stereotypes and beliefs humans have regarding suitable candidates. Speeds up the recruitment process.
Asperger’s, ADHD, autism and dyspraxia. These candi dates’ brains work differently and AI does not take that into consideration. Consequently, it has led to the exclusion of perfectly capable and highly qualified neurodivergent employees from the workforce.
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Issues with accuracy can occur. If a candidate fails to include certain buzzwords good candidates can miss out. Candidates who know how the technology works can include keywords and trick the system into thinking they are the best candidate. The technology looks at past experience and other data points which can result in great candidates being overlooked. It discriminates against people who are neurodivergent, such as people with dyslexia,
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Candidates are “put on the spot”, their minds can go blank and they may say or do the wrong thing. The internet can lose connection, freeze or buffer. In timed interview activities this can lead to an unfair assessment. Race, gender and emotion can be misinterpreted by some facial analysis technology. Voice transcription services still struggle with accuracy when faced with accents. cont... 11
The Future of Hiring cont........ Employer Advantages •
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The right questions are asked to elicit responses that can be measured and that are pertinent to predicting job performance based on occupational psychology research. Increases diversity and talent pool by widening the search area. • HireVue’s occupational psyThere are clear performance chologists have isolated proven indicators that differentiate the factors that let companies obstrongest from the least promjectively and impartially measising performers. ure candidate potential. Saves time by conducting interviews and robust assessments • Good for filtering through 1,000s of applications. at the same time. Reduces applicant dropouts Employer Disadvantages that occur with traditional long-winded recruitment pro• AI is trained to find patterns in cesses. companies’ previous behaviour, By combining video interviews identifying “the best” through with predictive, validated octhe existing historical hiring cupational science and AI, the data. This means that it could technology augments human define the best candidates as decision-making in the hiring those most similar to past process and delivers higher employees. quality talent, faster.
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AI systems learn to make decisions based on training data, which can include biased human decisions or reflect historical or social inequalities. It discriminates against people who are neurodivergent, such as people with Asperger’s, autism and dyspraxia. AI does not consider this which leads to exclusion from the workforce.
Maintain eye contact with the camera, not your face, look into the camera. Make sure the device you are using is working properly ie, the camera, microphone, the battery is fully charged and you have a good internet connection. Dress as you would for a traditional interTo improve your success rate, tailor view; a real person may look at the your CV to the position you are ap- recording. plying for, then check its AI score AI is revolutionising the screening for free at: of candidates and with most of the benefits being with the employers, https://resumeworded.com. it is here to stay. This website uses AI similar to that Although it has some teething problems, these are being used by employers to grade your CV and give you advice on how to addressed, but there is still a way to improve your score. When you are go before all anomalies are overinvited to an automated interview, come. practice speaking into a camera on By Janette Davies your own first so you are confident in the real one. 13
The Metaverse
We are entering into an era where new tech seems to be teetering on the edge of a complete digital takeover. If you thought it was difficult to tear yourself and your ego away from your phone and the social media apps of today then I’m afraid this is a mere drop in the ocean as to what is coming next. Try to imagine a virtual world that runs parallel in real-time to our own physical world, where people can plug in via some kind of VR/AR headset and experience life like we do in the real world. In the Metaverse you will into the idea of the Metaverse, be able to explore landscapes, work which means that like the inter& make money, buy property, build net, it wouldn’t be owned by one property, meet partners, socialize, company and would evolve into a enjoy concerts, study, workout, go shared experience. to the cinema, take a vacation, play Companies such as Meta (facegames and much more. Much like book), Microsoft, Unity, Epic the film Avatar all this will be expe- Games & Roblox want to be on rienced through your unique ava- the front line of this immersive tar identity and more than likely, interconnected 3D experience as a user, you would probably sign which won’t be so different in up to the different worlds and apps concept to the online multimedia using some form of crypto curren- platform Second Life (2003). cy as you seamlessly flow from one During lockdown virtual digital world into another. reality really came into its own There are lots of big tech where people spent more time players currently pouring billions either gaming or socializing in 14
various virtual spaces. I myself bought a festival pass for the Lost Horizon VR experience which would normally be a physical experience at Glastonbury Festival. After choosing an avatar (neon raving skeleton) I could then purchase clothes, hairstyles, accessories and of course the all-important dance moves. The club event happened in a warehouse styled world with different rooms playing different vibes from real-time DJs, as well as showcasing a selection of musicians and bands. As a 47-year old librarian remembering the 1992 Sci-Fi movie ‘The Lawnmower Man’ I found this technology utterly amazing that I too now had a digital body and could interact and communicate with other digital bodies inside a virtual space. I was probably a bit late to the party if I’m honest as this type of community and tech has been developing since the late 80s. The gaming community is really the pioneering force behind this tech, albeit through the act of competing or playing together in teams, and the multi-billion pound industry has definitely become a good place to connect and meet up with people on another level.
Another source of inspiration is the fantastic documentary ‘We Met in Virtual Reality’ which was made during lockdown and selected at this years Sundance Film Festival. The film was shot in a virtual space called VRChat using a camera called VRC lens allowing for a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective. All the conversations are real as are the relationships between the avatars where director Joe Hunting follows the interaction between digital people in a digital space. In many of the scenes people explore new landscapes together, socialize at the bar, have romantic dates or dance in clubs - they can even join in with belly dancing classes or sign language lessons if they choose. It seems that the virtual world can offer lots of immersive entertainment and interaction between people but without having to leave the comfort of your own home…which is something that is pretty cool but also really scary, I mean which world will the next generation prefer to live in? By Zoe Rothwell 15
The Bias of Algorithms We have all heard the term ‘algorithm’ being used more and more lately, especially in regards to social media…but what are they? Why are they being discussed, and what makes them so potentially problematic? Algorithms were initially created for the computer to take time-consuming, mundane tasks out of human hands, things like calculating, collecting data, noticing patterns, and now recommending, excluding, filtering, enhancing engagement, and advertising. A programmer uses a set of instructions to tell the computer what to do, such as finding out how many qualified applicants have applied for a job, or which social media posts get the most likes, and the instructions keep piling on, the algorithm will then detect or get instructed on what to do with that information, how to organise it and what to include/exclude based on what the users want. Fast forward and it has expanded to almost every aspect of our daily lives and the driving force 16
behind the future of Artificial Intelligence, through instructions on top of instructions and data on data on data, until the emotionless computer begins making deductions and conclusions for itself……(shivers). This might all sound like a dystopian future, but it’s happening right now, from Police using algorithms to calculate where the most threat and risk to the public is, job applications being filtered, to social media choosing for you what you see and don’t see online. Even CCTV and government tracking use algorithms to understand all the data they receive on a daily basis. You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking this is all very intelligent and has made many people’s lives easier, I mean, why would I not want Netflix to recommend me types of content that it knows I enjoy? However, as clever as it is, its not without its faults, and these faults can have lasting consequences.
Algorithm Bias is when A Facebook whistle-blowerrors are made systematically, over er just exposed the social media and over again with potentially neg- giant of being aware that their ative results. This is especially prev- algorithms can cause serious alent if the original programme’s damage, only showing people instructions already had some kind what they like thus polarizing of bias in them. Let me explain… society until people are living in I think at this point we can online echo chambers, promoting all agree that human beings are posts without fact checking them, capable of intense and lasting bias, spreading sensationalized posts, prejudice, stereotyping, and disand causing mental health issues crimination, and sometimes when in the young, particularly where instructing an algorithm, these body image is concerned. lovely qualities can find themselves being subconsciously ingrained into these overly logical computers, that are only capable of objective thinking, and not the empathetic nuances that we (most of us at least) are capable of. However, all hope is not Not only that, but somelost, if the laws and legislation times we humans have nothing to can keep up, hold corporations do with it, the algorithm is designed and companies responsible for to pick up on patterns and make being more transparent and open judgements accordingly. about their algorithms, bring on Recently Amazon had an board teams dedicated to making incident where their algorithm was them as fair and thorough as posbeing used to filter job applications, sible, we may just be able to climb most of the applications were from out of this hole. On our part we men and some from women, the can be clued up and aware of algorithm read this to mean the them, make sure we check the more likely ideal candidates would sources and the validity of the be men and began to filter women’s posts we see online, question job applications as less desirable. things, and hopefully we won’t And now let’s follow the fall into the algorithm traps makmoney… ing our personal worlds smaller. By Iram Hussain
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2001: A Space Odyssey A Prophecy of our Times Have you ever watched the iconic movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey?’ If not, I would encourage you to do so but brace yourself for a mind-boggling adventure as this film can still puzzle us today as it did half a century ago when it was released in 1968. With its showcase of the future technology, it can be seen as a blueprint of the digital world we are living in today and a true masterpiece of science-fiction. KUBRICK AND CLARK Collaboration on the Plot With the most amazing director at the time, Stanely Kubrick and a celebrated sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clark working together on this project, you are in for an absolute treat. The opening film scene depicts a group of ape-like humans jumping around a mysterious black monolith. This encounter initiates a change in the behavior of one of the ape-men who discovers his own strength by using a bone as a weapon and killing another apeman. I don’t know about you, but the shape of this black slimline
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By Ivana Fletcher
monolith strangely resembles one of the iPhones and we know that mobile phones with internet access have brought huge benefits to our lives but also many dangers like instant access to pornography and cyber bullying to name a few. The next scene catapults us into space, millions of years into the future. A gigantic, two-wheel shaped spaceship is set to go on a mission to investigate another monolith on Jupiter. There are only a few crew members, of which two are astronauts and three are scientists in hibernating state.
HAL
The real game player and the antagonist in the film is the super intelligent and sentient computer called HAL who controls the majority of space ship operations. His words are far more superior to the banal and superficial communication between the crew members. When HAL makes a mistake and the astronauts decide to shut him down, this seemingly benevolent and soft-spoken computer kills most of the crew. Eventually, HAL is shut down by the only remaining astronaut. Here Kubrick tries to predict the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence that we all face in today’s world. Can we fully control the AI systems and eliminate any possibility of negative outcomes of their activities? Those are the questions we all need to ask ourselves next time we pick up our iPhones or switch on our tablets when checking the latest suggestions generated by algorithm programs on the internet.
TABLET DISPUTE Another interesting fact is that Samsung used the film snippet during their infringement battle with Apple around the tablet patent. They claimed that the tablet-like screens used by two astronauts whilst eating are evidence of the existence of the idea-before the real tablet was invented. It is hard to imagine that Kubrick’s special effect team would create something so strikingly similar to the 21st century iPad or a tablet. Is it a coincidence or some sort of wonderous space force? I leave this for you to decide. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED There are many lessons to be learned from this motion-picture masterpiece. Although there are immense advantages of modern technology, there are many dangers that come with it too. We all need to ask ourselves how much our cognitive capacity has been impacted or even reduced due to relying too much on AI. Striking the right balance is the key, perhaps pick up that dusty road map instead of using a Satnav from time to time which may help us to retain some of our traditional know-how. 19
