Ben Swift

The Other Side: Algorithm as Ritual in Artificial Intelligence

Our cultural and scientific understandings of neural networks are built on a set of philosophical ideas which might turn out to be superstitions. Drawing on methodologies of defamiliarisation and performance art which have been adopted by HCI, we present an analog apparatus for the ritualistic performance of neural network algorithms. The apparatus draws on the interaction modes of the Ouija board to provide a system which involves the user in the computation. By recontextualising neural computation, the work creates critical distance with which to examine the philosophical and cultural assumptions embedded in our conception of AI.

Critical Challenges for the Visual Representation of Deep Neural Networks

Artificial neural networks have proved successful in a broad range of applications over the last decade. However, there remain significant concerns about their interpretability. Visual representation is one way researchers are attempting to make sense of these models and their behaviour. The representation of neural networks raises questions which cross disciplinary boundaries. This chapter draws on a growing collection of interdisciplinary scholarship regarding neural networks. We present six case studies in the visual representation of neural networks and examine the particular representational challenges posed by these algorithms. Finally we summarise the ideas raised in the case studies as a set of takeaways for researchers engaging in this area.

Intelligent Agents and Networked Buttons Improve Free-Improvised Ensemble Music-Making on Touch-Screens

We present the results of two controlled studies of free-improvised ensemble music-making on touch-screens. In our system, updates to an interface of harmonically-selected pitches are broadcast to every touch-screen in response to either a performer pressing a GUI button, or to interventions from an intelligent agent. In our first study, analysis of survey results and performance data indicated significant effects of the button on performer preference, but of the agent on performance length. In the second follow-up study, a mixed-initiative interface, where the presence of the button was interlaced with agent interventions, was developed to leverage both approaches. Comparison of this mixed-initiative interface with the always-on button-plus-agent condition of the first study demonstrated significant preferences for the former. The different approaches were found to shape the creative interactions that take place. Overall, this research offers evidence that an intelligent agent and a networked GUI both improve aspects of improvised ensemble music-making.

InfiniCloud 2.0: distributing High Performance Computing across continents.

InfiniCloud 2.0 is World’s first native InfiniBand High Performance Cloud distributed across four continents, spanning Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. The project provides researchers with instant access to computational, storage and network resources distributed around the globe. These resources are then used to build a geographically distributed, virtual supercomputer, complete with globally-accessible parallel file system and job scheduling.This paper describes high level design and the implementation details of InfiniCloud 2.0. A gene sequencing pipeline as well as plasma physics simulation code are used to demonstrate system’s capabilities.