March 2021 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Question related to theoretical computer science
by Hansen Hsu 31 Mar '21

31 Mar '21

Nils Nilsson’s book might have some useful references to Winograd’s blocks world papers. Look for the chapter in which he discusses Winograd’s SHRDLU program. Nilsson, Nils J. The Quest for Artificial Intelligence. 1st edition. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. For Winograd, I have a couple of references: Winograd, Terry. “Thinking Machines : Can There Be? Are We?” In The Boundaries of Humanity : Humans, Animals, Machines, edited by James Sheehan and Morton Sosna, 198–223. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. Winograd, Terry, and Fernando Flores. Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Norwood N.J.: Ablex Pub. Corp., 1986. I’ve only read parts of the latter, so I don’t know how much he discusses his earlier work on SHRDLU in here, but the latter incorporates a bit of Hubert Dreyfus’s brand of phenomenology into a critique of the AI being done at the time, which basically critiques Winograd’s own earlier work on SHRDLU. Agre’s book that I mentioned earlier can be thought of as in this critical AI/HCI tradition. > > El mié., 31 mar. 2021 21:49, Hansen Hsu <hansnhsu(a)gmail.com <mailto:hansnhsu@gmail.com>> escribió: > Hi Javier, > > I think there probably is a significant relationship between AI research on games and microworlds. > For microworlds, I’d look into the blocks world research that was done at MIT, particularly that of Terry Winograd. > MIT was also where Spacewar! was created by Steve Russell, and there was also significant early chess research done there by a group led by Alan Kotok, student of John McCarthy, and later by Richard Greenblatt. > Both ideas are in the air among MIT’s CS researchers in the 1960s, so there has to be some connection. > > I have a couple of blog posts on AI in chess and Go up at the Computer History Museum blog: > https://computerhistory.org/blog/ai-and-play-part-1-how-games-have-driven-t… <https://computerhistory.org/blog/ai-and-play-part-1-how-games-have-driven-t…> > https://computerhistory.org/blog/ai-and-play-part-2-go-and-deep-learning/ <https://computerhistory.org/blog/ai-and-play-part-2-go-and-deep-learning/> > The content itself may not be as useful to you as the links to various other resources in our collection, including videos of our oral histories and events related to chess, including oral histories of Kotok and Greenblatt. > These also have links to our online chess exhibit, which itself has links to some items and video clips in our collection on chess. > https://www.computerhistory.org/chess/ <https://www.computerhistory.org/chess/> > > You can search our collection here: > https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ <https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/> > > Critical AI researcher Phil Agre’s book > Agre, Philip E. Computation and Human Experience. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. > makes an explicit connection between microworlds and games as he uses the microworld of the videogame Pengi to test an AI to play the game. > This is a bit later than the 1960s though. > > >> On Mar 31, 2021, at 10:41 AM, Javier Poveda F <jpovedaf(a)gmail.com <mailto:jpovedaf@gmail.com>> wrote: >> >> Dear all, >> >> >> My name is Javier Ramiro Poveda Figueroa, PhD candidate in history of science at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. I am interested in the study of history and philosophy of computing from the 1930s until the 1990s. I am researching in the relationship between early computing games like chess and checkers with microworlds. For that reason, I am searching literature that can help me to understand whether microworlds and early computing games have are related or not. I would like to know if you have any information about the problem I am working with. Your help will be valuable. >> >> >> Kind regards, >> >> >> Javier Poveda Figueroa. >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org>

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Question related to theoretical computer science
by Javier Poveda F 31 Mar '21

31 Mar '21

Dear all, My name is Javier Ramiro Poveda Figueroa, PhD candidate in history of science at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. I am interested in the study of history and philosophy of computing from the 1930s until the 1990s. I am researching in the relationship between early computing games like chess and checkers with microworlds. For that reason, I am searching literature that can help me to understand whether microworlds and early computing games have are related or not. I would like to know if you have any information about the problem I am working with. Your help will be valuable. Kind regards, Javier Poveda Figueroa.

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Question related to theoretical computer science
by Javier Poveda F 31 Mar '21

31 Mar '21

Dear all, My name is Javier Ramiro Poveda Figueroa, PhD candidate in history of science at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. I am interested in the study of history and philosophy of computing from the 1930s until the 1990s. I am researching in the relationship between early computing games like chess and checkers with microworlds. For that reason, I am searching literature that can help me to understand whether microworlds and early computing games have are related or not. I would like to know if you have any information about the problem I am working with. Your help will be valuable. Kind regards, Javier Poveda Figueroa.

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SIGCIS seeks a Vice-Chair of Finance
by Andrew Russell 31 Mar '21

31 Mar '21

Dear colleagues - SIGCIS is currently seeking volunteers to serve as the Vice-Chair of Finance. For those who may be new to the organization, SIGCIS leadership is held by the Executive Committee. The Exec is comprised of three Vice-Chair positions: Meetings (Laine Nooney), Communications (Elizabeth Petrick), and Finance (tbd), which are overseen by the SIGCIS Chair (currently co-chairs, Andy Russell and Melanie Swalwell). Opportunity As SIGCIS has grown as an organization, and its annual meeting become more formalized, there is a greater need than ever for management of our long-term financial planning, and the coordination of annual fundraising. SIGCIS does currently have a fairly stable financial foundation, thanks to past fundraising efforts and endowments for the Computer History Museum Prize and the Mahoney Prize. But we believe our fundraising activities could be expanded and honed in new directions. Areas of Responsibility ⦁ overseesing/monitoring SIGCIS accounts, including managing communication with SHOT about financial matters ⦁ establishing and/or updating guidelines related to the use of endowment revenue ⦁ initiating an effective annual fundraising campaign that can be used to support travel grants, conference honoraria, and other SIGCIS initiatives The Vice-Chair of Finance will be invited to recruit a small team of support volunteers to assist them in their tasks. Eligibility and Desired Skills Since SIGCIS has no formal membership criteria, anyone is welcome to apply, though there is a preference for someone who has some exposure to the SIGCIS community, ideally having attended the annual conference within the last five years. There is no specific academic rank expected, nor is it required that the candidate hold a formal academic position. Graduate students are not prohibited from applying, but we do ask them to consider the time commitment involved in such a position. Background in any kind of fundraising is a plus, and there is a general expectation of strong attention to detail, as well as an ability to delegate, collaborate, and self-manage. Potential volunteers should send along a brief statement that speaks to your experience and interest; a link to a website or short resume/CV is also helpful. Please send materials - or any questions you might have - to both Andy Russell (arussell(a)arussell.org) and Melanie Swalwell (mswalwell(a)swin.edu.au) ideally by April 5, 2021. Thank you! The SIGCIS Executive Committee

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[REMINDER] MGRL Lecture Series: David Parisi & Justin Grandinetti
by Adriana de Souza e Silva 29 Mar '21

29 Mar '21

*** Apologies for cross-postings*** Department of Communication Mobile Gaming Research Lab Spring ‘21 Lecture Series Please join us for the Mobile Gaming Research Lab’s Spring ‘21 Lecture Series webinar: http://app.bronto.com/public/previewmessage/email/36892/1200600/html <http://app.bronto.com/public/previewmessage/email/36892/1200600/html>. To celebrate the release of the Retro Mobile Gaming Database (http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu <http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/>/), this webinar will feature scholars whose research is at the intersection of mobile games, archives and history. The talks will explore the history of touch-based mobile game interfaces and how Pokémon Go contributes to the creation of digital memory. WHEN: April 7, 2021 | 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST Featured Presentations Instrumentalities of Touch in Mobile Game Interfaces Dr. David Parisi, Associate Professor of Communication, College of Charleston (USA) Touch-based mobile game interfaces, by opening up new sites of contact between players and games, participate in a fantastical re-imagination of touch that originated in 1950s theories of information transmission. According to this model, touch could be deployed as the standing reserve of audiovisual interfaces, an alternative pathway for transmitting messages that compensates for the overloading and overcrowding of seeing and hearing in the modern media environment. By mapping the gap between these imagined transformative uses for digital touch and touch’s comparatively mundane deployment in contemporary mobile games, this talk provides a framework for further explorations of the relationship between mobile gaming and tactility. Speaker Bio (https://communication.cofc.edu/about/faculty-staff-listing/parisi-david.php <https://communication.cofc.edu/about/faculty-staff-listing/parisi-david.php>) » Pokémon GO and Digital Memory Dr. Justin Grandinetti, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of North Carolina Charlotte (USA) Critical to the functionality of the location-aware augmented reality mobile gameplay of Pokémon GO are elements of pervasive data collection, storage, and processing. For the player, this manifests in location-aware log and journal features, but also through the new Pokéstop scanning process that allows developer Niantic to “crowdsource” AR maps. In this presentation, Dr. Grandinetti will examine the digital memory of Pokémon GO as posthuman cognitive assemblage (Hayles, 2016; Lee, 2018) and part of a lineage of a personalized relation to space. Speaker Bio (http://www.justingrandinetti.com/ <http://www.justingrandinetti.com/>)» REGISTER HERE: https://ncsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Mxndqj3NQbCTlMS9aqoFmw <https://ncsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Mxndqj3NQbCTlMS9aqoFmw> _________________________ Adriana de Souza e Silva University Faculty Scholar Professor Department of Communication NC State University http://www.souzaesilva.com <http://www.souzaesilva.com/>

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Interfaces 2021 update
by Jeffrey Yost 29 Mar '21

29 Mar '21

Dear SIGCIS Colleagues, With *Interfaces, *we are now into our second calendar year/volume (started the journal late last May) and wanted to give a quick update. Also we'd like to encourage you to submit a short essay to us. In our first ten months our subscriber base (free) to get email alerts to new essays (approximately 8 to 10 times a year) has expanded at a rapid rate from 465 shortly after launch to 1,335 subscribers today and it keeps growing steadily! (Academics and graduate students from many fields and geographies make up the greatest share of the base, which also includes industry and government scientists, and others interested in computing--past, present, and future). Co-editor Amanda Wick and I are so grateful for the readership, many encouraging comments, course/classroom use, and thousands of views/downloads. We especially want to thank our authors, and the SIGCIS community. *Essays on all topics/themes/fields/approaches in the domain of computing and culture are welcome*. You can either email Amanda (abwick(a)umn.edu) or me (yostx003(a)umn.edu) with your essay submission or if you prefer, you can bounce ideas off us first. The general ongoing call is at the site (click on the journal title in the banner below or on any of the article links or here <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> to go to the journal). We have very exciting content in process, and offer a quick turnaround in editorial review with short time spans from first submission to publication (about a month) given a continuous publication of articles rather than scheduled issues. In case you missed something and are looking for some mid Spring reading, below is a list of essay articles published, along with their abstract.. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Spring! Best, Jeff and Amanda, Co-Editors, *Interfaces* *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture* <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> *Volume 2 (2021) * [Note: The link on the banner above and on articles goes to the top of the journal, essays, most recent to earliest, are on long scroll. There is a button jump back to 2020] Published March 2021 (Just published last week) “Of Mice and Mentalité: PARC Ways to Exploring HCI, AI, Augmentation and Symbiosis, and Categorization and Control” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>Jeffrey R. Yost, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota Abstract: This think piece essay comparatively explores history and mindsets with human-computer interaction (HCI) and artificial intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML). It draws on oral history and archival and other research to reflect on the institutional, and cultural and intellectual history of HCI (especially the Card, Moran, and Newell team at Xerox PARC) and AI. It posits the HCI mindset (focused on augmentation and human-machine symbiosis, as well iterative maintenance) could be a useful framing to rethink dominant design and operational paradigms in AI/ML that commonly spawn, reinforce, and accelerate algorithmic biases and societal inequality. Published January 2021 “The Cloud, the Civil War, and the 'War on Coal'” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> Paul E. Ceruzzi, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Abstract: The term “The Cloud” has entered the lexicon of computer-speak along with “cyberspace,” the Matrix,” the “ether,” and other terms suggesting the immateriality of networked computing. Cloud servers, which store vast amounts of data and software accessible via the Internet, are located around the globe. This essay argues that this “matrix” has an epicenter, namely the former rural village of Ashburn, Virginia. Ashburn’s significance is the result of several factors, including northern Virginia’s historic role in the creation of the Internet and its predecessor, the ARPANET. The Cloud servers located there also exist because of the availability of sources of electric power, including a grid of power lines connected to wind turbines, gas-, and coal-fired plants located to its west—a “networking” of a different type but just as important. *Volume 1 (2020) [launched the journal in late May 2020]* Published September 2020“Cultural Networks: Infrastructural Implications of AT&T’s Picturephone <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>” *Malinda Dietrich, University of Colorado, Boulder*Abstract: In 2020, video telecommunications seem ubiquitous. Between work and play, many people use a range of software to connect them with other people all around the world. This short essay begins to explore how we arrived at this seemingly universal technology by exhuming a failed technology: AT&T’s Picturephone. Through this historical exploration, we will come to see that infrastructure and culture are closely related, and that future work must be done to explore the social inequities that become apparent. *Published August 2020* “From Telecommuting to Mobile Work: The IBM Experience, 1890s-2020” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> *James W. Cortada, Senior Research Fellow, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota* *A*bstract: IBM was an early practitioner of remote working, beginning in the 1890s, but expanding this way of working in the 1980s. Customer engineers, programmers, systems engineers, salesmen, and consultants participated. Mobile work posed its own operational problems but offered benefits for improved service, productivity, and employee morale. However, its motives and practices remained controversial. Published July 2020 *“A Preface to Charles Babbage’s Ninth Bridgewater Treatise” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>* Amanda Wick, *Interim Archivist, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota* “*Charles Babbage’s Ninth Bridgewater Treatise” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>* *Margaret Dykens, Curator and Director of the Research Library San Diego Natural History Museum* Abstract: As a foundational figure in the history of science, Charles Babbage is best known for his contributions to computing. In fact, his mechanical, programmable calculating machines are considered precursors to modern computers. These accomplishments were the primary reason for the naming of the Charles Babbage Institute, and its archivists have sought to honor its namesake through the purchase of rare books authored and inscribed by him. One such book is a fragmentary oddity, the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, and a copy owned by the San Diego Natural History Museum that was recently examined by curatorial staff and prominent Babbage scholar, Dr. Doron Swade, holds curious clues to Babbage's approach to natural philosophy. *Published June 2020* “Of Bugs, Languages and Business Models: A History <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces?fbclid=IwAR0B1KQ0lqEF0t9exsaaMRXsJCaoULn…>” *Alejandro Ramirez**, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University*Abstract: A series of wrong decisions precipitated the Y2K crisis: adopting the 6-digit date format, using COBOL as the standard in business computing and discontinuing COBOL-teaching in many American universities shortly after it was adopted. Did we learn anything from this crisis? Published May 2020 “Where Dinosaurs Roam and Programmers Play: Reflections on Infrastructure,Maintenance, and Inequality” <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces?fbclid=IwAR0B1KQ0lqEF0t9exsaaMRXsJCaoULn…> *Jeffrey R. Yost, Charles Babbage Institute, HSTM, University of Minnesota*Abstract: This short essay examines two temporally separated crises (current unemployment system failures and Y2K), focusing on connections between infrastructural (largely COBOL-based) IT systems, maintenance, and societal inequality. *"Injustice wears the same harsh face wherever it shows itself."*-Ralph Ellison Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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CACM essay about Levy's 1984 book _Hackers_
by thomas.haigh＠gmail.com 27 Mar '21

27 Mar '21

Hello SIGCIS, CACM just published part two of my trilogy on classic accounts of IT work. This once considers Steven Levy's 1984 classic_ Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution_. It's called "When Hackers Were Heroes" and is available at https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2021/4/251341-when-hackers-were-heroes/fullte xt. The book is the source of the much-quoted "hacker ethic" but it's richer, stranger, and more deeply rooted in its time than you might expect if all you've seen is the bullet point version. The first part focused on Tracy Kidder's _The Soul of a New Machine_ (https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3436249) while part 3, due out in the summer, has the working title "Women's Lives in Code." It will explore both Ellen Ullman's wonderful _Close the Machine_ and the more recent (but set in roughly the same era) TV series _Halt and Catch Fire_. In case you are curious about that show, here's a preview: you should watch it but probably best to skip the first season which is a misbegotten attempt to make a _Mad Men_ derivative based around Jobs and Wozniak archetypes (except they work at what's basically Compaq and hire a Lisbeth Salander type for gender balance). The show reboots for the second seasons, improves dramatically, and finishes up, as critics have noted, being more like _Six Feet Under_ than _Mad Men_. While I am here, I should also point out another article of potential interest in the current issue: "Roots of 'Program' Revisited" by Lisebeth De Mol and Maarten Bullynck. https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2021/4/251342-roots-of-program-revisited/full text Back in February, CACM published a condensed version of Donald Knuth's 2014 talk "Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science." https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2021/2/250078-lets-not-dumb-down-the-history- of-computer-science/fulltext This gave me the feeling of being in a Christopher Nolan movie, as I'd already responded to it in the same venue in 2015, as "The Tears of Donald Knuth." https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2015/1/181633-the-tears-of-donald-knuth/fullt ext Six years after the response, the original arrives. Best wishes, Tom

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From Abacus to AI - Past, Present and future of Computing Recorded Talk now available
by David Wortley Outlook 24 Mar '21

24 Mar '21

This talk video recording which includes a short virtual tour at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park is now available online at https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-6779675014712041472-1Ygw Best Regards David Wortley FRSA Founder and CEO 360in360 Immersive Experiences david(a)davidwortley.com Virtual Conferences Director at IORMA Global Consumer Commerce Centre david.wortley(a)iorma.com Vice President of the International Society of Digital Medicine (ISDM) - www.isdm.eu president(a)isdm.eu Mobile: +447896659695

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From Abacus to Artificial Intelligence - The Part, Present and Future of Computing Lecture March 24th at 14:00 UK Time
by david＠davidwortley.com 24 Mar '21

24 Mar '21

Today's Journey through the past, present and future of computing technology includes an exclusive virtual visit to the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, home of the Codebreakers. Join me at 14:00 GMT today Login at https://www.linkedin.com/events/abacustoartificialintelligence-6779679132931 379201/ Best Regards David Wortley FRSA Vice President of the International Society of Digital Medicine (ISDM) Founder and CEO of 360in360 Immersive Experiences - <http://www.360in360ix.co.uk/> www.360in360ix.co.uk Virtual Conferences Director IORMA Global Consumer Commerce Centre - <http://www.iorma.com/> www.iorma.com 360in360 Teleporter Tours - <http://www.360in360teleportertours.com/> www.360in360teleportertours.com Personal Web Site - <http://www.davidwortley.com/> www.davidwortley.com EMail: <mailto:david@davidwortley.com> david(a)davidwortley.com Mobile: +447896659695 Work: +441327811827

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From Abacus to Artificial Intelligence - The Past, Present and Future of Computing and its impact on Humanity - Wednesday March 24th at 14:00 GMT
by david＠davidwortley.com 23 Mar '21

23 Mar '21

SIGCIS members will be very welcome to join this online talk on March 24th. The talk is part 4 of a series of one hour lectures on Technology and Humanity and focuses on the exponential changes in computing technology in the last 70 years. David Wortley is CEO and Founder of 360in360 Immersive Experiences and the former Founding Director of the Serious Games Institute. His pioneering career in computing and telecommunications technology began in 1979 when he joined IBM where he won a national competition for demonstrating the IBM System/38 (now AS/400). To join this talk free, go to https://www.linkedin.com/events/abacustoartificialintelligence-6779679132931 379201/ Best Regards David Wortley FRSA Vice President of the International Society of Digital Medicine (ISDM) Founder and CEO of 360in360 Immersive Experiences - <http://www.360in360ix.co.uk/> www.360in360ix.co.uk Virtual Conferences Director IORMA Global Consumer Commerce Centre - <http://www.iorma.com/> www.iorma.com 360in360 Teleporter Tours - <http://www.360in360teleportertours.com/> www.360in360teleportertours.com Personal Web Site - <http://www.davidwortley.com/> www.davidwortley.com EMail: <mailto:david@davidwortley.com> david(a)davidwortley.com Mobile: +447896659695 Work: +441327811827

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