By Jasmine Clark
In a previous blog post I wrote about virtual reality as an educational tool. I focused more on the digital asset lifecycle of 3D assets, and briefly mentioned additional concerns around access. In this post I would like to get more into the actual project I am planning around this research. The intent is to create a replicable workflow, from the creation of a 3D learning module to its presentation and preservation. This learning module, derived from the Blockson Collection and aimed at a K-12 audience, will include 3D assets generated utilizing photogrammetry as well as any additional assets generated from its assembly in Unity.
There will be a combination of materials that users are able to interact with placed within a virtually replicated Blockson reading room. I will be working in tandem with Alex Wermer-Colan, a CLIR Postdoctoral Fellow in Temple’s Digital Scholarship Center and Jordan Hample, Academic Information Technology and Support Technician. Digitization, creation, publication, and preservation will all be done utilizing resources readily available within the Digital Scholarship Center, with the intent of being entirely replicable by anyone with access to Temple University’s resources. A LibGuide will also be created for those looking to learn more about virtual reality. As the project goes forward, future posts will discuss progress and challenges. The intended audience for this module will also be narrowed down after further planning. For now, those looking to learn more about virtual reality, or its use in education, should check out the following resources:
Preservation:
A Rift in Our Practices?: Toward Preserving Virtual Reality
Education:
Real Uses of Virtual Reality in Education: How Schools are Using VR
Many arguments have been made for and against autonomous weapons, for example that replacing human soldiers by machines is good by reducing casualties for the owner but bad by thereby lowering the threshold for going to battle. The key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting. If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable, and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow. Unlike nuclear weapons, they require no costly or hard-to-obtain raw materials, so they will become ubiquitous and cheap for all significant military powers to mass-produce. It will only be a matter of time until they appear on the black market and in the hands of terrorists, dictators wishing to better control their populace, warlords wishing to perpetrate ethnic cleansing, etc. Autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks such as assassinations, destabilizing nations, subduing populations and selectively killing a particular ethnic group. We therefore believe that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity. There are many ways in which AI can make battlefields safer for humans, especially civilians, without creating new tools for killing people.