How to talk to machines: between writing, voice and technology 3002-KON2023K22-OG

Talking machines: robots, computers, cars, and spaceships have been accompanying the imagination of modernity and the future for years, and a smooth conversation with a digital device, reminiscent of a conversation with another person, has for years marked the horizon of imagination of what AI is. At the same time, the voice interface, talking to the machine, and dictating commands, which often appear on the screen later, are increasingly part of everyday digital life.
Under the influence of digital technologies, the boundaries between what is written, printed and spoken have changed. Digital devices are machines in which this boundary is constantly being transformed. At the same time, we talk, send text messages under the table, chat, and check Google. We conduct discussions with chatbots, NPCs and do classes on Zoom; we ask virtual assistants for advice, give orders to cars, and talk in languages we don't know. As a result, what is written, post-typographic, and what is spoken is combined into new configurations unknown 20 years ago.
The crucial elements of these (re)configurations are talking and listening machines. The seminar aims to look at the changes in language practices, in which digital machines considered as media, interfaces, and non-human subjects are essential.
Topics:
-Lectoorality and new lecto-orality - introduction of concepts
-Electronic interfaces: from switches to writing and voice - selected stories
- Writing space - hybrid writing, writing as a conversation
- Talking to robots - artificial intelligence, robotic breakthrough
- Imaginary interfaces - the voice of the robot, the voice of the computer, how to talk to machines in pop culture: robots, cars, computers in literature, cinema, and games
- The smartphone as a lecto-oral machine
- City space: between writing and voice
- "Alexa. Who is H?” - voice assistants
- Car - the lecto-oral machine
- Dystopias and utopias "after writing" - Zuckerberg and Dukaj

Type of course

general courses
elective courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Basic digital skills, working with a computer and smartphone, ability to work in a group, proficiency in the English language allowing for the reading of scientific articles.

Course coordinators

Jerzy Stachowicz

Learning outcomes

Participant:
- knows and understands the specificity of cultural studies and their connections with other humanities and social sciences
- has advanced knowledge of selected aspects of the history of Polish culture and neighboring foreign cultures
- has advanced knowledge and understanding of basic media and means of cultural transmission (word, image, spectacle) and their influence on the shaping of the cultural process
- knows and understands selected trends and tools of the history of literature, theater, performing arts, visual arts, and film
- can interpret gathered material considering historical, social, and political context
Is ready to:
- critically assess the acquired knowledge and received content
- recognize the importance of cultural studies reflection for social life and acknowledge the need for its development.

Assessment criteria

No more than 2 absences are permitted in classes.
Attendance and participation in classes, group work (40%), presentation on a chosen topic or written assignment (60%).

Bibliography

Selected readings:
Mladen Dolar, Polityka głosu, tłum. P. Bożek i G. Nowak, “Teksty drugie”, nr 5, 2015.
Jack Goody, Mit, rytuał, oralność, tłum. O. Kaczmarek, Warszawa 2012.
AI Narratives: A History of Imaginative Thinking about Intelligent Machines, red. S. Cave, K. Dihal, S. Dillon, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2020.
Alan Turing, Maszyna licząca a inteligencja, w: Filozofia umysłu, red. Bohdan Chwedeńczuk, Aletheia, Warszawa 1995 (oryg. 1950)
Justine Humphry, Chris Chesher, Preparing for smart voice assistants: Cultural histories and media innovations, “New Media & Society”, 23(7) 2021.
Sherry Turkle, Samotni razem. Dlaczego oczekujemy więcej od zdobyczy techniki, a mniej od siebie nawzajem, tłum. M Cierpisz, Kraków 2013.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3002-KON2023K22-OG in USOSweb