User:Manetta/graduation-proposals/proposal-0.1

graduation proposal +0.1.1

title: "i could have written that"

alternatives:

• turning words into numbers
• machine-human-machine

Introduction

For in those realms machines are made to behave in wondrous ways, often sufficient to dazzle even the most experienced observer. But once a particular program is unmasked, once its inner workings are explained in language sufficiently plain to induice understanding, its magic crumbles away; it stands revealed as a mere collection of procedures, each quite comprehensible. The observer says to himself "I could have written that". With that thought he moves the program in question from the shelf marked "intelligent" to that reserved for curios, fit to be discussed only with people less enlightened that he. (Joseph Weizenbaum, 1966)

what do you want to do?

setting up a publishing platform / magazine to reveal inner workings of technologies that systemize language.

/

setting up a publishing platform / magazine to reveal inner workings of technologies of systemization / automation / machine learning that work with simplification / probability / modeling ...

... departing from underlying technological issues, and bringing them to a broader cultural context ... in order to look for alternative perspectives

Relation to previous practice

what are you doing?

In the last year, i've been looking at different tools that contain linguistic systems. From speech-to-text software to text-mining tools, they all systemize language in various ways in order to understand natural language—as human language is called in computer science. These tools fall under the term 'Natural Language Processing' (NLP), which is a field of computer science that is closely related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

As a continutation of that i took part at the Relearn summerschool in Brussels last August, to propose a working track in collaboration with Femke Snelting on the subject of 'training common sense'. With a group of people we have been trying to deconstruct the truth-construction process in algorithmic cultures, by looking at data mining processes, deconstructing the mathematical models that are used, finding moments where semantics are mixed with mathematic models, and understanding which cultural context is created around this field.

Another entrance to understanding what happens in algorithmic practises such as machine learning, is by looking at training sets that are used to train software that is able to recognize certain patterns in a set of data. These training sets could contain a large set of images, texts, 3d models, or video's. By looking at such datasets, and more specifically at the choises that have been made in terms of structure and hierarchy, steps of the construction a certain 'truth' are revealed.

There are a few datasets in the academic world that seem to be basic resources to built these training sets upon. In the field they are called 'knowledge bases'. They live on a more abstract level then the training sets do, as they try to create a 'knowlegde system' that could function as a universal structure. Examples are WordNet (a lexical dataset), ConceptNet, and OpenCyc (an ontology dataset).

Relation to a larger context

"i could have written that" will be a publishing platform reflecting on the topic of systemizing natural language, touching systemization / automation / machine-learning to speak about simplification / probability / modeling, with an approach that is very much based on an aim of revealing the inner working processes of technologies.

other publishing platforms (touching the same topics):

magazines

• The Journal of Typographic Research (1967-1971) (now: Visible Language)
• Radical Software (1970-1974, NY)
• die Datenschleuder, Chaos Computer Club publication (1984-ongoing, DE)
• Dot Dot Dot (2000-2011, USA)
• the Serving Library (2011-ongoing, USA)
• OASE, on architecture (NL)
• Libre Graphics Magazine (2010-ongoing) PR)
• Works that Work (2013-ongoing, NL)
• Neural (IT)
• Aprja (DK)

other

• Monoskop
• unfold.thevolumeproject.org
• mailinglist interface: lurk.org
• mailinglist interface: nettime --> discussions in public

Thesis intention

Practical steps

how?

• writing/collecting from a technological point of departure, as has been done before by:

- Matthew Fuller, powerpoint (+ in 'software studies, a lexicon')
- Constant, pipelines
- Steve Rushton, feedback
- Angie Keefer, Octopus

• touching the following issues around the systemization of language:

- automation (of tasks/human labour; algorithmic culture, machine learning, ...)
- simplification (as step in the process; turning text into number)
- the aim for an universal system (taxonomy structures, categorization, ascii/unicode, logic)
- it works? (revealing inner workings and non-workings of technologies)
- cultural context (algorithmic agree-ability, believe in technology, AI, aim for invisibility / naturalization)

• while using open-source software, in order to be able to have a conversation with the tools that will be discussed, open them up.

(keeping in the back of my mind the approach of 'i will tell you everything' (my truth is a constructed truth), which took the structure of a machine learning training set (called the SUN dataset), and applied this to a set of objects that formed an exhibition together. The training set was (also literally) a voice over of this exhibition, that framed the objects by speaking from the choices that have been made to construct the SUN dataset.)

sort of 'mission statements'

general

As a magazine is a periodical format that evolves over time, it captures and reflects a certain time and location including the present ideals and concerns. Setting up a magazine is partly also comming from an archival aim. Looking back now at the issues of Radical Software published in the 1970s, it creates an urge to capture the concerns of today about (algorithmic) technologies (data monopolies, a strong believe in algorithms and a objectivication of mathematics for example). This technological point of departure would fulfill also an aim of creating a stage for alternative perspectives on these issues (making 'it-just-not-works' tutorials for example), along an aim of revealing the inner working of technologies (of for example machine-learning processes or speech-to-text software).

It would be great if technology would be as visible as possible again, opened up, and deconstructed, at a time where the invisibility of technique is key, and computers or phones are 'just' working. These ideals come from a certain set of cultural principles present in the field of open-source: take for example the importance of distribution in stead of centralization, the aim of making information available for everyone (in the sense that it should not only be available but also legible), and the openness of the software packages which makes it possible to dig into the files a piece of software uses to function.

personal

As i have a background in graphic design, a form i like to express myself through is by creating formats/structures of communication. Setting up a magazine would give me the possibility to do so, in close collaboration with others.

questions of research

• how to built and maintain a collaborative publishing project?
  • technically: what kind of system to use to collect? wiki? mailinglist interface?
  • what kind of system to use to publish?
  • publishing: online + print --> inter-relation
• forms of communication that could produce alternative perspectives to bring technologic 'issues' to a broader field?

References

datasets

* WordNet (Princeton)
* ConceptNet 5 (MIT Media)
* OpenCyc

people

algorithmic culture

Luciana Parisi
Matteo Pasquinelli
Antoinette Roivoy
Seda Gurses 

other

Software Studies. A lexicon. by Matthew Fuller (2008)

reading list

notes and related projects

BAK lecture: Matthew Fuller, on the discourse of the powerpoint (Jun. 2015) - annotations

project: Wordnet

project: i will tell you everything (my truth is a constructed truth)

project: serving simulations

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graduation proposal +0.1.2

title: #!PATTERN+

Introduction

what do you want to do?

• publishing about truth construction processes in algorithmic cultures, by taking Pattern as a case-study object

A way of speaking back to these algorithmic cultural fields would be by publishing a critical fork of the text-mining software package called Pattern. The fork will be called #!PATTERN+, which will be a new release of the original package developed by the CLiPS research group at the university of Antwerp.

• to reveal machine-human labour (pingponging)
• to deconstruct truth-systems of data-mining
• to talk back to a piece of software

Relation to previous practice

what are you doing?

Last January (2015) an interdisciplinary arts-lab in Brussels called Constant organized a worksession called 'Cqrrelations' in which we reflected on the construction of machine learning models in the field of text-mining. Together we learned about a software package developed by the CLiPS research centre of the University of Antwerp, called Pattern. With a smaller group we trained an algorithm to tell us if a certain text could be called 'patternalistic' or not.

As a continutation of that i took part at the Relearn summerschool in Brussels last August, to propose a working track in collaboration with Femke Snelting on the subject of 'training common sense'. With a group of people we have been trying to deconstruct the truth-construction process in algorithmic cultures, by looking at data mining processes, deconstructing the mathematical models that are used, finding moments where semantics are mixed with mathematic models, and understanding which cultural context is created around this field.

* understanding algorithmic processes,
* questioning where choises are made for the construction
* finding moments where semantics are mixed with math
* looking at the data-mining culture

Relation to a larger context

Thesis intention

Practical steps

how?

The critical fork '#!PATTERN+' will contain annotations in the form of commands inside the code, files that reflect questions that arose, and alternative tutorials will be added to the original package. By asking the question how is algorithmic 'truth' constructed?, these #!PATTERN+ notes will be developed in one of the following 3 sub-fields:

• Knowledge Discovery in Data (KDD) steps - a technical approach, revealing the process from 'raw' data to the presentation of the results
• text mining case studies - a reflection on the research projects that gave been done/are going on, working with examples and demo's
• culture of data-mining - a more context-based approach, looking at the communication conventions that are present in the field of data-mining

References

people

Luciana Parisi
Matteo Pasquinelli
Antoinette Roivoy
Seda Gurses

events

Cqrrelations (Jan. 2015)

BAK lecture: Algorithmic Culture (Jun. 2015) - annotations

software

* CLiPS Pattern, official website

reading list

via Femke: Seda Gurses preparing a session on Machine Learning

notes and related projects

Transmediale lecture: All Watched Over By Algorithms (Jan. 2015) - annotations

earlier notes (Jul. 2015)

notes taken during Relearn Aug. 2015, training common sense

#!PATTERN+.readme

the Annotator, Cqrrelations Jan. 2015, on etherpad

notes Cqrrelations day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5