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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] On the Merits of ChatGPT and the like as Historian's Assistants
by herbert.bruderer＠bluewin.ch 20 Jul '23

20 Jul '23

Might be of interest to you: Is Bard Better than ChatGPT? | blog@CACM | Communications of the ACM Best wishes, Herbert ----Ursprüngliche Nachricht---- Von : members(a)lists.sigcis.org Datum : 18/07/2023 - 22:12 (MS) An : brian.randell(a)newcastle.ac.uk Cc : members(a)lists.sigcis.org Betreff : Re: [SIGCIS-Members] On the Merits of ChatGPT and the like as Historian's Assistants I found Donald Knuth’s reflections in this topic informative: https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/chatGPT20.txt My two cents: The capacity for hallucination alongside what appears to be appropriate identification of context or nuance casts a veil of fabulism over all the output, which (IMO) makes models like these unreliable in ways that even Procopius was not. Given that problem, a model which more often returns correct information might well be considered *less* trustworthy overall as an assistant. On Tue, Jul 18, 2023 at 12:49 PM Brian Randell via Members < members(a)lists.sigcis.org> wrote: Hi: Brian Coghlan and I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest aroused by, and the positive comments we have received on, the little paper "ChatGPT’s Astonishing Fabrications About Percy Ludgate" that we published in the April-June 2023 issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. The study [1] that we reported on was a temporary diversion from our main interests, but we are curious to know whether the startlingly high level of fabrications (so-called "hallucinations") in the answers we obtained from ChatGPT is typical of its performance when used as a historian's assistant. It would be great if someone with appropriate skills and resources (research students!) could organise and carry out a serious statistically-valid evaluation of the trustworthiness of the answers provided by ChatGPT and the like to a wide range of questions on the history of computing, carefully checking (i) the existence of any citations listed, (ii) the accuracy of all the factual statements made, and (iii) whether the errors found were likely to be because of errors in the learning data, or due to ChatGPT's text selection and generation strategy. One of the motivations we had for our study was the enthusiastic and uncritical assessments of ChatGPT's merits as a historian's assistant that we found on the web. We have since been amused and embarrassed to find that the one article we quoted [2] in our paper was almost certainly generated by ChatGPT itself. It turns out that the alleged author, Martin Frackiewicz, has been posting on average close to twenty sizeable articles a day since mid-March on his company's website in praise of ChatGPT. A much more credible favourable account of the merits of ChatGPT and the like has been provided by Mark Humphries and Eric Story [3]. This is very optimistic about the ability of historians to use such systems in ways that achieve high levels of veracity, and to identify such errors as are nevertheless made. It would be good if such hopes could be validated - or debunked - before large amounts of ChatGPT-generated text on the history of computing was published and added to future sets of learning data. Cheers Brian Randell 1. ChatGPT’s Astonishing Fabrications about Percy Ludgate - https://treasures.scss.tcd.ie/miscellany/TCD-SCSS-X.20121208.002/ChatGPTs-A… 2: ChatGPT-4: A Valuable Tool for Historical Research and Analysis - https://ts2.space/en/chatgpt-4-a-valuable-tool-for-historical-research-and-… 3. Today’s AI, Tomorrow’s History: Doing History in the Age of ChatGPT. https://activehistory.ca/2023/03/todays-ai-tomorrows-history-doing-history-… — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at 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 https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigci… and you can change your subscription options at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-si… -- Adam Hyland ( he/him) adampunk.com UW HCDE PhD Student

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Help for sources
by gregorio magnanego gatell 18 Jul '23

18 Jul '23

Hello, I'm a History of Science PhD researcher of the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona interested in the history of video games in the 90s. My thesis is focused on the relationship between the USA industry of games and the commercialization of video games in Spain from 1993 to 2001 (first generation of 3D graphics). In the last times, I'm researching the connections of the entertainment world and the Department of Defense of the USA. I found the document "Modeling & Simulation Master Plan" (DOD, 1995), about the development and administration of modeling and simulation technology (VR, 3D graphics, IA...) for the army (with objectives of training, planification and weapons control). Also, I'm studying the approximation of Defense and Entertainment in the workshop of Illinois in 1997 "Modeling and simulation: linking Entertainment and Defense". If anybody of you could inform me of any source that you consider relevant for the study of these topics, in particular regard to the Spanish case, I would be very grateful. Thanks for your time.

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On the Merits of ChatGPT and the like as Historian's Assistants
by Brian Randell 18 Jul '23

18 Jul '23

Hi: Brian Coghlan and I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest aroused by, and the positive comments we have received on, the little paper "ChatGPT’s Astonishing Fabrications About Percy Ludgate" that we published in the April-June 2023 issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. The study [1] that we reported on was a temporary diversion from our main interests, but we are curious to know whether the startlingly high level of fabrications (so-called "hallucinations") in the answers we obtained from ChatGPT is typical of its performance when used as a historian's assistant. It would be great if someone with appropriate skills and resources (research students!) could organise and carry out a serious statistically-valid evaluation of the trustworthiness of the answers provided by ChatGPT and the like to a wide range of questions on the history of computing, carefully checking (i) the existence of any citations listed, (ii) the accuracy of all the factual statements made, and (iii) whether the errors found were likely to be because of errors in the learning data, or due to ChatGPT's text selection and generation strategy. One of the motivations we had for our study was the enthusiastic and uncritical assessments of ChatGPT's merits as a historian's assistant that we found on the web. We have since been amused and embarrassed to find that the one article we quoted [2] in our paper was almost certainly generated by ChatGPT itself. It turns out that the alleged author, Martin Frackiewicz, has been posting on average close to twenty sizeable articles a day since mid-March on his company's website in praise of ChatGPT. A much more credible favourable account of the merits of ChatGPT and the like has been provided by Mark Humphries and Eric Story [3]. This is very optimistic about the ability of historians to use such systems in ways that achieve high levels of veracity, and to identify such errors as are nevertheless made. It would be good if such hopes could be validated - or debunked - before large amounts of ChatGPT-generated text on the history of computing was published and added to future sets of learning data. Cheers Brian Randell 1. ChatGPT’s Astonishing Fabrications about Percy Ludgate - https://treasures.scss.tcd.ie/miscellany/TCD-SCSS-X.20121208.002/ChatGPTs-A… 2: ChatGPT-4: A Valuable Tool for Historical Research and Analysis - https://ts2.space/en/chatgpt-4-a-valuable-tool-for-historical-research-and-… 3. Today’s AI, Tomorrow’s History: Doing History in the Age of ChatGPT. https://activehistory.ca/2023/03/todays-ai-tomorrows-history-doing-history-… — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html

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CFP: Born Digital Cultural Heritage
by Melanie Swalwell 14 Jul '23

14 Jul '23

CFP: BORN DIGITAL HERITAGE NOW #BDCH23 - https://aama.net.au/conference/ Thursday, November 30th - Friday, December 1st, 2023 #BDCH23 is the third iteration of the Born Digital Cultural Heritage conference series. The first and second iterations - in 2014 and 2022 - brought together academics and practitioners from across the world to consider issues in the field of born digital heritage, from a range of disciplinary perspectives. A notable feature of this conference series has been the deliberate attempt to establish dialogue between those working in different professional fields. We recognise that born digital heritage reaches into all disciplines and that, if we want to make progress on the challenges of preserving born digital heritage, it takes people from a range of disciplines and professions working together. Therefore, we seek to break down professional silos and other barriers that inhibit the discussion and sharing of questions, knowledge and know how to address common challenges that we all face when researching, preserving and accessing different forms of born digital cultural heritage. BDCH#23 will consider where born digital cultural heritage is at now. What are we making progress on and what are the urgent challenges? How are we going to safeguard our digital heritage for future generations? For this event, we aim to expand the fields of discussions to include architecture and design and extend the focus on digital games and media arts to include websites, networking and other relevant domains. The challenges of preserving digital cultural heritage aren't limited to legacy technologies, of course, but also affect contemporary platforms such as apps, VR, AR, etc. BDCH#23 will be a hybrid conference held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne and online via zoom. Access the full program for the last Born Digital Cultural Heritage Conference held in 2022<https://playitagainproject.com/conference/conference_program/> with abstracts and recordings of all presentations. We invite proposals for papers that address the four sub-themes: Collecting, Curating, Preserving and Researching, as well as those that cut across these sub-themes. Please send an abstract of 300 words, plus keywords and references, and a brief author biography (50-80 words) by July 27th, 2023. Send proposals to aama(a)swin.edu.au<mailto:aama@swin.edu.au> An anthology "On Revisiting 1990s Born Digital Artefacts" (working title) is planned after the conference. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to: * Recognition of digital cultural heritage * New approaches to collecting and curation * Engaging audiences with legacy digital artefacts * Exhibition case studies * Policy directions * Institutional interactions * Networked initiatives and coalitions * Distributed collections * New approaches to loans * New techniques in preservation * Imagining future tools, methodologies, problems and/or solutions * Legal developments * Tools and practical case studies * Training and workforce development * Progress on emulation strategies * Histories of the born digital * Reflections from researchers on accessing newly re-accessible artworks * Collaborations between practitioners and researchers. -- Melanie Swalwell Professor of Digital Media Heritage Co-Chair, SIGCIS<http://www.sigcis.org/> Acting Deputy Director Centre for Transformative Media Technologies School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education Swinburne University PO Box 218, Hawthorn Vic 3122 Australia http://transformativemedia.swinburne.edu.au/ Tel +61 3 9214 3911 AS426 mswalwell(a)swin.edu.au @melswal Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality<https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/homebrew-gaming-and-beginnings-vernacular-di…> Game History and the Local<https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-66422-0>

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New Publication: Digital Energetics
by Anne Pasek 12 Jul '23

12 Jul '23

Hi All, Just passing on the news that our (Zane Cooper, Jordan Kinder, Cindy Lin + me) new book, Digital Energetics<https://meson.press/books/digital-energetics/>, is now out in open access. It aims to be an energy (and thus we argue, necessarily also a labor) history of computing, with touch points in the US, Canada, Greenland, and Indonesia. I suspect many folks on the list will enjoy it. Hope you're all doing well! Anne Pasek Assistant Professor - Department of Cultural Studies and School of the Environment, Trent University Canada Research Chair in Media, Culture, and the Environment (she/her)

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Zuse / binary
by Erica Robles 11 Jul '23

11 Jul '23

Dear Colleagues, This thread on Zuse is fantastic and I wanted to signal interest from myself and my collaborator, Scott Ferguson, on this topic. We’re media scholars and there are a few tendrils on Zuse and this question of math and the medium that surface from time to time (see Lev Manovitch on New Media: A User’s Guide<http://manovich.net/content/04-projects/026-new-media-a-user-s-guide/23_art…>). We’re particularly interested in Zuse as a figure that brings computing and film history into conversation. He used discarded 35mm film scrounged from trash cans outside studios as punched tape, and we understand that his machines used floating point representations rather than fixed-point numbers in calculation. We would love to be in correspondence/conversation with Zuse scholars and enthusiasts. We’d also be curious if there are recommended articles or resources that place Zuse in a genealogy of floating point computing to the present. Many thanks for opening this topic. Erica & Scott Erica Robles-Anderson Associate Professor Media, Culture, and Communication New York University erica.robles(a)nyu.edu<mailto:erica.robles@nyu.edu> Editor-in-Chief, Public Culture<https://read.dukeupress.edu/public-culture> erica(a)publicculture.org Hi Johannah - As far as I know the letter hasn't been published, though there are references to it in the literature. There's a typed copy in Herman Goldstine's papers at the APS. Goldstine sent von Neumann's original manuscript (of the First Draft) back to Valentine Bargmann at Princeton, as JvN was in Los Alamos at the time. I contacted Princeton last year to see if there was any sign of it in Bargmann's papers. The archivist I was talking to said no, but did turn up the autograph of the May 8 letter instead, which was a nice consolation prize! All the best Mark On Sun, 9 Jul 2023 at 14:45, Johannah Rodgers <johannah.rodgers(a)gmail.com<mailto:johannah.rodgers@gmail.com>> wrote: Thank you, Mark! Not having been aware of this von Neumann letter, my reading of the "First Draft" and of the "EDVAC Progress Report" with regard to the decision to use binary notation would indicate that the technical affordances of various components far outweighed consideration of human usability and legibility. Now that I know about this von Neumann letter--is this in the APA archive or published somewhere?--I will look forward to integrating that into the mix. All best, Johannah On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 9:26 AM Mark Priestley via Members <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> wrote: Hi all It's worth remembering that von Neumann mailed the text of the First Draft to Herman Goldstine at the end of April 1945, around two months before the June 30 date that we are familiar with from the mimeographed version. On May 8 he followed up with a long letter which included additional material to be added to the report (it never was). A lot of this material concerns input and output: von Neumann was concerned that long binary strings are unfamiliar to operators, and proposed a binary-coded decimal scheme for input. Instructions were to be punched on a special-purpose keyboard with dedicated symbols corresponding to those in EDVAC's order code. Of course, binary-coded input would require translation into binary, so there are trade-offs involved, the effects of which may not have been obvious a priori. Presumably Eckert and Mauchly are just exploring these trade-offs by considering a binary-coded machine in detail - had anyone done this before? They don't seem to have be committed to one or the other ("a binary system may ultimately be used"). But importantly, they are concerned with the overall economy of using the machine, not just with the narrower question of whether binary is in some sense "simpler". So on p71, for example, they write "the ease with which a problem may be arranged for computation and the desired instructions placed on magnetic wire or tape is a very important factor in the design of the EDVAC". They go on to say that it's important that all the symbols used should appear on a standard typewriter - presumably a direct riposte to von Neumann's proposal! Best wishes Mark Dr Mark Priestley www.markpriestley.net<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.markpriestley.net&d…> Senior Research Fellow The National Museum of Computing Bletchley Park, UK https://www.tnmoc.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tnmoc.org_&d=DwMFa…> On Sun, 9 Jul 2023 at 05:19, Brian E Carpenter via Members <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> wrote: On 09-Jul-23 05:23, Johannah Rodgers via Members wrote: > Thanks everyone for this fascinating discussion. While I cannot offer any contribution to Zuse's decision to use binary notation, I do have an opinion to offer re: the decision to use binary rather than decimal notation with the EDVAC. In their 1945 report entitled "Automatic High Speed Computing: A Progress Report on the EDVAC," Eckert and Mauchly write that "accuracy is ensured by digital methods" (6) but, there is also an indication that the reliability of vacuum tubes is greatly increased by the use of "digital methods." Thanks for reminding me of that report. On the binary v. decimal point, it is interesting to contrast it with the von Neumann report. The progress report says: "In the EDVAC, the various digits specifying a number will be transmitted serially through a single channel. Switching equipment is consequently simplified and reduced. Moreover, the storage or memory elements to be used in the EDVAC are entirely different from those used in the ENIAC." [page 4] "Indeed, the EDVAC will store its operating instruc- tions in exactly the same manner as it stores numbers." [page 5] "For the purpose of this report, it was decided to present plans based on use of a coded decimal number representation, although a binary system may ultimately be used. The computer elements are therefore somewhat more com- plicated than they would be for a binary machine." [page 8] That was dated almost exactly 3 months later than the von Neumann report, which clearly states that the machine should be binary. An interesting discrepancy. I wonder whether the progress report was aimed at a somewhat conservative management chain? Or is this simply a reflection of von Neumann's status as a brilliant outsider? Regards, Brian Carpenter > > All best, > > Johannah > > On Sat, Jul 8, 2023 at 12:43 PM Ceruzzi, Paul via Members <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>> wrote: > > Fascinating discussion. Zuse told me that he was taught binary arithmetic in grade school, but he only learned of Leibniz's essay on binary (ca. 1680) after Zuse began work on computers. Babbage was an admirer of Leibniz's work but did not consider binary for his engines. The Z1, which had a binary calculating unit, did not work well, and therefore Zuse adopted electromagnetic relays (a technology not available to Babbage) for his later machines, which did work. Attempts to reconstruct the Z1 for the Deutsches Technikmuseum using late 20th-Century machine tools also failed -- please correct me if I am mistaken. But note that Zuse built a successful mecahnical binary /memory/ unit for the Z4, which not only worked well but which was in steady service at the ETH in Switzerland for years. The joke was that the clicking of the Z4 relays was the loudest noise in Zurich on any given evening. The Z4 is now at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. > > Paul Ceruzzi > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* Members <members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>>> on behalf of Jesper Juul via Members <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>> > *Sent:* Saturday, July 8, 2023 8:05 AM > *To:* Evan Koblentz <evank(a)njit.edu<mailto:evank@njit.edu> <mailto:evank@njit.edu<mailto:evank@njit.edu>>> > *Cc:* members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>> > *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Zuse / binary > > *External Email - Exercise Caution* > > In Raúl Rojas' paper on the Z1/Z3(1), he writes that "instead of using gears (as Babbage had done in the previous century), Zuse implemented logical and arithmetical operations using sliding metallic rods. The rods could move in only one of two directions (forward or backward) and therefore were appropriate for a binary machine." The Z1 is 1936-38. > > This doesn't quite explain if rods or binary arithmetic came first, but there is a footnote to Zuse's book "Der Computer mein Lebenswerk". > > As a side note, I can recommend seeing the Z1 in the Technical Museum in Berlin if you are near. > > Jesper Juul > > 1) https://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/Zuse_Z1_and_Z3.pdf<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ed-2Dthelen.org_comp-2…> <https://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/Zuse_Z1_and_Z3.pdf<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ed-2Dthelen.org_comp-2…>> > > On Fri, 7 Jul 2023 at 18:34, Evan Koblentz via Members <members(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>> wrote: > > What are some good articles addressing why Zuse, Aiken, Stibitz, etc. > decided to use binary (or not)? > > -- > Evan Koblentz > > New Jersey Institute of Technology > - Senior Writer, Office of Communications and Marketing > - Adjunct Instructor, Ying Wu College of Computing > - Faculty/Staff Advisor, NJIT Lego Club > > evank(a)njit.edu<mailto:evank@njit.edu> <mailto:evank@njit.edu<mailto:evank@njit.edu>> > (973) 596-3065 > https://web.njit.edu/~evank<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__web.njit.edu_-7Eevank&…> <https://web.njit.edu/~evank<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__web.njit.edu_-7Eevank&…>> > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…> <http://sigcis.org/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=…>>, 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/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…> <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…>> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…> <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…>> > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…> <http://sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…>>, 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/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…> <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…>> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…> <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…>> > > > > -- > johannahrodgers(a)gmail.com<mailto:johannahrodgers@gmail.com> <mailto:johannahrodgers@gmail.com<mailto:johannahrodgers@gmail.com>> > www.johannahrodgers.net<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.johannahrodgers.net…> <http://www.johannahrodgers.net<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.johannahrodgers.net…>> > > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…>, 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/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…>, 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/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_piperm…> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.sigcis.org_listin…> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sigcis.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=s…>, 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. 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Crowdfunding: 76+ hours of interviews with Hungarian home computer enthusiasts on BluRay
by Gleb J. Albert 09 Jul '23

09 Jul '23

Dear list members I just learned about this amazing project which is highly relevant not only for the history of computer subcultures, but for the history of East European home computing in general: https://fundrazr.com/stampsback The makers of the Hungarian "Moleman" home computing documentary series are planning to release 76+ hours of raw (and English-subtitled!) footage of interviews they did with Hungarian home computer users and enthusiasts (mostly crackers, hackers and demosceners) who were active in the 1980s and the early 1990s. I am sure this will be a treasure trove for the cultural and social history of home computing behind the Iron Curtain, and of immense value for any researcher working in the field. The footage will be available on three BluRay disks. I just pre-ordered my copy and really hope that the project will reach its funding goal. All the best, Gleb -- Dr. Gleb J. Albert Historisches Seminar, Universität Zürich Universität Zürich Historisches Seminar Culmannstr. 1 CH-8006 Zürich Switzerland Tel. +41-446346187 <http://uzh.academia.edu/GlebJAlbert> Review editor: H-Soz-Kult, review team "History of Knowledge" - <http://www.hsozkult.de>

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Zuse / binary
by Evan Koblentz 09 Jul '23

09 Jul '23

What are some good articles addressing why Zuse, Aiken, Stibitz, etc. decided to use binary (or not)? -- Evan Koblentz New Jersey Institute of Technology - Senior Writer, Office of Communications and Marketing - Adjunct Instructor, Ying Wu College of Computing - Faculty/Staff Advisor, NJIT Lego Club evank(a)njit.edu (973) 596-3065 https://web.njit.edu/~evank

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SHOT 2023 - SIGCIS cfp
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 08 Jul '23

08 Jul '23

Apologies for the mass email but I couldn’t find anything in the SIGCIS website, Has the cfp for this year’s meeting on the back of SHOT in LA gone out? If yes, could you please point me to it. If no, any idea when? Ta muchy Bernardo

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On Media and Climate: CFP of Possible Interest?
by Corinna Kirsch 07 Jul '23

07 Jul '23

Hello All, I'm co-editing an upcoming issue of *Media-N <https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/median/information/authors>*, the peer-reviewed journal of the College Art Association's New Media Caucus, on the topic of digital art, media, and climate. *The deadline for abstracts is July 31. * I've included a list of suggestions for book reviews below the CFP, too. Please share widely. Thanks, Corinna *Media-N: Journal of the New Media Caucus **invites submissions for a special themed issue:* [image: A cartoon dog in a small hat sits calmly in a wooden chair at a dining table while flames and smoke consume the room.] Image: KC Green. Alt text: A cartoon dog in a small hat sits calmly in a wooden chair at a dining table while flames and smoke consume the room. *As the World Burns: On Media and Climate* Guest Editors: Corinna Kirsch, PhD (Pratt Institute) and Rebecca Uliasz (Duke University) *Deadline for abstracts: Monday, July 31, 2023* For this special issue of *Media-N* <https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/median/information/authors>, the editors invite abstracts on topics related to the history, theory, and aesthetics of digital media and climate. We hope to shed light on the long history of digital art and media’s participation in planetary processes connected to climate change, including the challenges posed by new media art’s ongoing culpability and participation in its advancement, and the overarching effects of these actions on social, perceptual, and cognitive registers, both globally and individually. Through this form of eco-criticism, we approach two acute developments faced today, each bearing enormous and unevenly distributed threats to a globalized world: climate change and the proliferation of data-driven technology across nearly every social sphere. We also seek alternatives to climate discourse’s hyper-focus on present-day structures by appealing to deep histories and non-western approaches to the ambiguous interconnection of media and “nature.” In so doing, we see that the relationship between media and climate is not a new situation by any means, nor is it a universal one: the Anthropocene began prior to this century, with geological shifts recorded at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and, even further back, to the European colonization of the Americas. As Andreas Malm has put it, “We can never be in the heat of the moment, only in the heat of this ongoing past.” Questions informing the special issue include: In what ways are new media scholars, activists, and artists engaging with the Earth-altering processes of technology? How have practitioners, scholars, and activists working with digital media illuminated the way agency, subjectivity, and environment is defined and operationalized in diverse geo- and socio-political contexts? What alternatives might be sought through appealing to indigenous and other forms of climate knowledge, cultivated by communities that have long found themselves subjected to colonially-induced climate change? As a method of promoting cross-disciplinary conversation among the new media community, we are seeking project reports, exhibition and event reviews, interviews, and manifestos in addition to formal research papers. Topics of potential interest to the editors include, but are not limited to: - Questions related to weather, climate, and digital infrastructures - Weather and meteorology in media and systems-based practices, e.g., climate control in museums, solar powered art, and media projects with natural radio - Relation between media aesthetics and environmental “injustices,” e.g., eco-fascism and climate-change denialism - Elemental, thermal, atmospheric, infrastructural and other forms of media that aren’t exclusively digital - Non-western and indigenous histories and theories of art, digital media, and the environment - Environmental media and digital or financial capitalism, e.g., blockchain, algorithmic forecasting, and predictive simulations - Climate fiction, futurities, and imaginaries, including multi-species assemblages - Environmental media and digital colonialism and neocolonialism - Labor, subjectivity, and psychic dimensions of environmental media *To submit an abstract for consideration, *please send *200-300 word abstracts* and a condensed (under 5 pg.) *CV* to the following individuals by *Monday, July 31, 2023*: - Guest Editor, Corinna Kirsch: *corinna.kirsch(a)gmail.com <corinna.kirsch(a)gmail.com>* - Guest Editor, Rebecca Uliasz: *rebecca.uliasz(a)gmail.com <rebecca.uliasz(a)gmail.com>* - Interim Executive Editor, Chelsea Thompto: *chelsea.l.thompto(a)gmail.com <chelsea.l.thompto(a)gmail.com> * - Executive Editor, Johanna Gosse: *johannagosse(a)gmail.com <johannagosse(a)gmail.com> * *Final Submission Length Guidelines:* - *Articles: 6,000-8,000 word range* - *Artist's projects: 4,000-6,000 word range* - *Interviews and Reviews: 1,000-3,000 word range* Book reviews of possible interest: - Boaz Levin, et al., Mining Photography: The Ecological Footprint of Image Production - Stephen J. Pyne, The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next - Sabine Himmelsbach, et al., Coding Care Towards a Technology for Nature - Jennifer Gabrys, Citizens of Worlds: Open-Air Toolkits for Environmental Struggle, 2022 - Max Liboiron and Josh Lepawsky, Discard Studies: Wasting, Systems, and Power <https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543651/discard-studies/> - Nicole Starosielski, Media Hot and Cold <https://www.dukeupress.edu/media-hot-and-cold> - A “Cloud” round-up? Possible texts include: Yuriko Furuhata, Climatic Media: Transpacific Experiments in Atmospheric Control; Alix Johnson, Where Cloud Is Ground: Placing Data and Making Place in Iceland - A “Plastics” round-up? Possible texts include: Heather Davis, Plastic Matter; Amanda Boetzkes, Plastic Capitalism: Contemporary Art and the Drive to Waste Corinna Kirsch, PhD Lecturer, Art History and Criticism Stony Brook University, State University of New York Phone: +1 (936) 697-1902 Pronouns: She, they Current: "As the World Burns," *Media-N* (abstracts due July 31) <https://arthist.net/archive/38999> **************************************************************************************************************** This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. *****************************************************************************************************************

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