Authors and Machines

Machines, by providing the means of mass production of works of authorship, engendered copyright law. Throughout history, the emergence of new technologies tested the concept of authorship, and courts in response endeavored to clarify copyright’s foundational principles. Today, developments in computer science have created a new form of machine, the “artificially intelligent” (AI) system apparently endowed with “computational creativity.” AI systems introduce challenging variations on the perennial question of what makes one an “author” in copyright law: Is the creator of a generative program automatically the author of the works her process begets, even if she cannot anticipate the contents of those works? Does the user of the program become the (or an) author of an output whose content the user has at least in part defined? This Article frames these and similar questions that generative machines provoke as an opportunity to revisit the concept of copyright authorship in general and to illuminate its murkier corners. This Article examines several fundamental relationships (between author and amanuensis, between author and tool, and between author and co-author) as well as several authorship anomalies (including the problem of “accidental” or “indeterminate” authorship) to unearth the basic principles and latent ambiguities which have nourished debates over the meaning of the “author” in copyright. This Article presents an overarching and internally consistent model of authorship based on two basic pillars: a mental step (the conception of a work) and a physical step (the execution of a work), and defines the contours of these basic pillars to arrive at a cohesive definition of authorship. The Article then applies the conception-and-execution theory of authorship to reach a series of conclusions about the question of machine “authorship.” Even the most technologically advanced machines of our era are little more than faithful agents of the humans who design or use them. Asking whether a computer can be an author therefore is the “wrong” question; the “right” question addresses how to evaluate the authorial claims of the humans involved in either preparing or using the machines that “create.” In many cases, either the upstream human being who programs and trains a machine to produce an output, or the downstream human being who requests the output, is sufficiently involved in the conception and execution of the resulting work to claim authorship. But in some instances, the contributions of the human designer and user will be too attenuated from the work’s creation for either to qualify as “authors” – leaving the work “authorless.

Social augmented reality application: Enhancing remote collaboration in physical work context

Effective, collaborative problem solving in physical work requires building common ground and active awareness of the situation. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that mobile video conversations augmented with an on-screen drawing feature are beneficial for problem solving and communication in physical work contexts. The thesis consists of the description and analysis of the design process of a mobile video application called Social Augmented Reality (SoAR) and the results of related background and user research done in the construction, facility maintenance and quality management sectors. Mapping how the users experience solving physical tasks with SoAR and especially how the drawing feature is used are the key goals of the study. Methodologically the thesis is a combination of qualitative field and interview studies and digital tool design. The iterative design process of SoAR is founded on the research-based design framework developed by Teemu Leinonen (2010). The design and development steps are described and usability research is conducted in a controlled environment in order to learn how spoken language and drawing on screen intertwine when collaborating remotely using SoAR. Usability research indicates that pointing by drawing is experienced as effective and that drawing on screen allows compact use of spoken language. Data on current communication practices in construction, facility maintenance and quality management is collected through interviews and job shadowing. Augmented video calls with SoAR are piloted in actual work contexts, and the field tests are analyzed on the basis of recorded SoAR calls and final interviews with the users. Augmented video calls appear to have a lot of potential in enhancing remote collaboration due to effective pointing at task objects and locations. SoAR is an open-source mobile application and one of the products developed in the Learning Environments research group of Aalto University, Department of Media, as a part of the Learning Layers EU project. The original concept of the application was developed by Doctoral Candidate Jana Pejoska

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Teachers’ Perceptions of Educational Games that Keep Score of Cooperative Performances

The scoring systems used in traditional sports and games are founded on the zero-sum premise that players are on opposite sides and one side can win only if the other side loses. These scoring systems may be effective at nurturing zero-sum mindsets and providing data for assessing performance in win-lose relationships. If so, games that use different scoring systems can be used to facilitate the development of collaborative mindsets, nurture win-win skills between diverse groups, and enable objective self-assessment of performances in non-zero-sum events when engaging with those on “other sides.” Although economic game theory has rich reservoirs of research regarding non-zero-sum games, educators do not commonly make use of game-theory concepts in designing educational games in a format that teachers can use to measure the individual performance of a student when learning together with others in a group. This study presents non-zero-sum games and scoring methods that have been used in teachers’ classrooms, and then analyzes teachers’ perceptions of the effects on students’ character and academic performance that teachers attribute to the games. The study uses qualitative research with semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The results show that teachers discern gains in academic achievement and character development when students learn together using games that keep score of cooperative performances. Teachers also identified challenges in using these games and recommended improvements. It is hoped that future work on games that quantify collaboration between different sides will increase the number of productive and peaceful relationships in classrooms and in communities

Robotics in Germany and Japan

This book comprehends an intercultural and interdisciplinary framework including current research fields like Roboethics, Hermeneutics of Technologies, Technology Assessment, Robotics in Japanese Popular Culture and Music Robots. Contributions on cultural interrelations, technical visions and essays are rounding out the content of this book