|Week 11: 11.3

Week 11: 11.3                 

Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Six: Steering Faster; ; eR—“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Persuasion and the Toulmin Method”

Due: THE MODES OF PERSUASION: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES

Upcoming:

Week 12: 11.10

NO CLASS : VETERANS DAY

|Short Answer Responses: Sci-Fi Short Fiction

Directions:

Answer questions 1-3, then any two questions between 4-7.

1. Which story has a character that most embodies the characteristics of ethos?
2. Which story’s plot most embodies the characteristics of pathos?
3. Which story relies most heavily on ethos for its premise (e.g. set up)?
4. For which character did you feel the most sympathy?
5. Which character ultimately compromised his/her/its authority?
6. Which character acts most illogically?
7. Taken as a whole, did the stories rely most on logos, pathos, or ethos?

Guidelines:

• All responses should be no more than 10 sentences—open each response with your thesis, then follow leaning more heavily on evidence than commentary
• Be very specific—quote extensively to support your thesis
• Clearly indicate which question you are answering, though questions do not have to be presented in order
• Write in the present tense 
• All titles should be in title case and inside quotation marks 
• All stories can be found in the eReader (to the right of this post)

Required:

• MLA Style

Due: Fri 11.3

|Future News 10.26

• New "church" is established to worship AI (Daily Mail)
• Elon Musk is not on board with worshiping AI (Independent)
• Artist's mirrored installation lets you enter a diamond (Inhabitat)
• Here is what children came up when asked what the houses of the future should look like (Co.Design)
• Regal Theaters to test "surge pricing" scheme for blockbuster films (Dark Horizons)
• SETI astronomer: We'll find intelligent alien life within 20 years (Newsweek)

|Week 10: 10.27

Week 10: 10.27
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Five: Peak of the Pyramid; eR—“Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal, "Intro to Prom" by Genevieve Valentin, ""The Secret Life of Bots" by Suzanne Palmer

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Understanding Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion”

Upcoming:

Week 11: 11.3                 

Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Six: Steering Faster; ; eR—“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Persuasion and the Toulmin Method”

Due: THE MODES OF PERSUASION: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES

|Future News 10.19

• Here is the future of CGI tech in film (FastCoDesign)
• How Stockton, California is pioneering basic income in the United States (Vox)
• Google's parent company, Alphabet, to build a city of the future in Canada (BBC News)
• The best spot for a lunar base may be inside a cave (Gizmodo)
• This may the the cruise you vacation on in the near future (Express)
• NASA: Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all—it's just not Pluto (Futurism)

 

|Week 9: 10.20

Week 9: 10.20
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Three: Building the Base of the Pyramid
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY); REFLECTION 4

Upcoming:

Week 10: 10.27

Read: ABUNDANCE— Part Five: Peak of the Pyramid; DB—Short Story Pack 1: “Ancient Machines” by Michael Swanwick, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” by Mike Resnick, “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Understanding Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion”

 

|Reflection 4: A More Perfect Union—On a Mixed Race America

President Obama was often lauded as our first black president, but he might've been more accurately identified as our first mixed race president. That he is viewed as a black president, when is actually half white, points to our country's complicated history with race. Indeed, President Obama may very have provided America a peek at its future. It is increasingly clear that 21st century Americas will look markedly different than those that came before them. Though still relatively small in numbers, mixed race Americans are already changing the racial landscape of the country—according to a 2013 study, a record 12% of newlyweds married someone of a different race. Consider also that future mixed race Americans will be further reshaping an already increasingly less white population. But just how will mixed race Americans reshape the country we know today? Are we evolving toward "a more perfect union" or will this racial trend eventually render our country unrecognizable to Americans of today?

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "The Changing Face of America" (National Geographic)
• "Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers" (Pew Research Center)
• "Mixed Race People are Changing the Face of America" (Huffington Post) 
• "What Makes Someone Identify as Multiracial?" (FiveThirtyEight)
• "Raising a Biracial Child as a Mother of Color" (Atlantic)
• "Interracial Marriage: Who is ‘Marrying Out’?" (Pew Research Center)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• Two full pages in length

Due: Fri 10.20

|Future News 10.12

• RIP AIM (Ars Technica)
• NYC on the verge of a sing;e-stream recycling program (Scrapmonster)
• The key to harvesting stem cells in the future may be a root canal (UNLV)
• Here's what future Target stores will look like (Apartment Therapy) 
• Japan is raising chickens who lay eggs with cancer-fighting properties (Inhabitat)
• eSports are coming to Hulu (Engagdet)

|Rogerian Argument: Infographic

Now that you've completed a Rogerian Argument about the AI debate, it is time to "remix" that assignment into a more visual medium. To do that, you will translate your argument into an infographic, a visual representation of information. In this infographic, all six components of your Rogerian Argument (overview of the issue, summary of opposing view, statement of understanding,  stating your position, statement of contexts, and common ground solution) should be illustrated in one of three areas: proponent, opponent, and solution. Aim for some variation of THIS configuration. Also, find samples HERE and HERE.

Infographics are most easily created in PowerPoint (or a comparable program). However, you may also use programs, such as Photoshop or Illustrator.

A well-executed infographic will:

• Have a title that articulates its Rogerian Argument nature
• Have a design inspired by the subject matter (the AI debate), balancing it with sufficient content
• Visually translate perspectives and facts in a clear and enlightening manner
• Stay within the parameters of the debate about AI technology
  

Note:

• In most cases, infographics are best sent as an attachment (especially if they contain animation)
• If sent as an attachment, keep in mind that I may or may not be able see the intended fonts of your infographic on my computer
• Static infographics can be sent as screenshots or PDFs

Due: 

Fri 10.20 - Draft 1; Bring 2 copies—B&W okay

Fri 10.27 - Final draft; Email to dhdelao@gmail.com by 5 PM

|Week 8: 10.13

Week 8: 10.13
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part One: Perspective
Class: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: ANALYSIS; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; ; PowerPoint: "Infographics 101"

Upcoming:

Week 9: 10.20
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Three: Building the Base of the Pyramid
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY); REFLECTION 4

|Rogerian Argument: Analysis—The AI Debate (IN-CLASS)

In 2014, noted astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Hawking told the BBC, "The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." Hawking has since been joined in his fear of artificial intelligence (AI) by a chorus of tech luminaries, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates. These critics charge that AI is developing at such a pace that its consequences cannot be fully understood nor anticipated. On the other end of the spectrum, AI proponents argue that the technology has the potential to vastly improve life for humans. AI is not something to fear, they say, but to embrace. Can we find consensus on the development of AI? Is there common ground between those that fear AI and those that embrace it? Using a (six paragraph) Rogerian Argument, outline how their solution bridges the divide between the pro and anti-AI camps.

All evidence to support your solution should come from the following sources (use a minimum of five):

• "What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns on Us?" (Smithsonian)
• "Intelligent Machines: Do We Really Need to Fear AI?" (BBC News)
• "Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are waging a war of words over the future of AI" (Business Insider)
• "Artificial Intelligence: Friendly or Frightening?" (LiveScience)
• "The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions" (MIT)
• Artificial Intelligence Will Not Turn into a Frankenstein's Monster" (Guardian)
• "How Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize Our Lives" (National Geographic)
• "The Upside of Artificial Intelligence" (Wired)
• "Artificial Intelligence is Our Future. But Will It Save or Destroy Humanity?" (Futurism)
• "Bill Gates Joins Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in Saying Artificial Intelligence is Scary" (Quartz)
• "Machines That Can Think Will Do More Good Than Harm" (Edge)
• "Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk Are Both Wrong About AI" (Slate)
• "The Case Against Killer Robots, From a Guy Actually Working on Artificial Intelligence" (Fusion)
• "The Case Against Out-of-Control Artificial Intelligence" (AEI)
• "Should We Be Afraid of Robots?" (Newsweek)

In-class : Fri 10.13

|Future News 10.5

• Company's sex robots are disturbingly trashed at trade show (ZDNet)
• New Google device can instantly translate up to 40 languages (CNBC)
• How would you like your phone calls beamed directly into your brain? (NewScientist)
• You're a wall thermostat in a new interactive short film (i09)
• This house was 3D printed to connect like Legos (Telegraphs) 
• The Japanese hotels are almost entirely run by robots (Business Insider)

|Week 7: 10.6

Week 7: 10.6
Read: eR—"The 100 Best Infographics" (Creative Bloq), "10 Tips for Designing Better Infographics" (DotDash), "12 Warning Signs that Your Infographic Sucks" (Visme)
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: "Infographics 101"
Due: REFLECTION 3

Upcoming:

Week 8: 10.13
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part One: Perspective
Class: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: ANALYSIS; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY)