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Leo is a serious experiment |
First introduced to a forgiving audience at the, International Cyber Conference, Bath,UK June '96 (digital chaos) (c) paul birkeland-green 1995 |
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LEO Photographed in 1999. Much of the voice recognition is now resolved , due in part to the leaps and bounds made in recent years by Dragon, Philips and IBM. There is no point re-inventing the wheel! There is however some of the original system in place for other reasons. The original plates are beginning to fade but the original 'concept' seems to still hold water. The translucent effect seems more realistic than other approaches. And the 3D effect adds to this. Seeing is believing....is it? I suspect it is not what the eye sees that it believes more of what the mind expects. I would have to wouldn't I, for to believe that was what I was seeing would make them exist... for me anyway! To see what I am getting at you have to watch Sesame Street, The Muppets or a ventriloquist. A dialogue with a piece of fabric over someone's hand does not, on the face of it, seem like a very rational scenario. However it does work in practice, for most people (why I have no idea). So can this be taken one step forward? At what point does the illusion begin to degrade. Leo plays at that subconscious level at that point at which we believe inanimate objects possess a presence, an independent awareness or consciousness, provided the basic parameters are observed.This may seem quite ridiculous at first sight, but there is much that we do that is quite irrational. Reason can only get you so far when wishing to replicate human interactions, especially with synthetic systems. To give an example: a muppet baby character is given a bottle of Whisky to drink by an adult presenter. What reactions does that stir? That it is ridiculous for a stuffed puppet to drink or the moral outrage of a young anything (if that is what it is) being given Whisky by a responsible adult? I would be very surprised if most people didn't at least feel the latter to some degree. The complexity of our actions/reactions do contain such seeming paradoxes. there will be more soon! |
The speakers are very crude I admit, they are efficient though! Leo sits in a room reading a story, observers in the room may listen or move around at will. However should they speak loudly in his proximity, he stops reading, looks up and declares " I cannot continue if you will interrupt me!" The reaction is quite dramatic, the conflict between social convention and belief of Leo's 'personality' override the option to dismiss the inanimate object.
This 'experiment' proposes some unusual conclusions. |
| The Process is concerned with many interpretations of current technology, sociology and philosophy. In particular experiments into alternative interactive systems. Whenever possible we would like to share the results of these investigations with all, although it must be stressed this work does represent a very large investment by many people. Therefore we welcome comments, collaborations and ideas and hope it will stir the imagination but all material remains the copyright of , The Process. |