Cameron University to hold CODE+CULTURE, an exploration of AI and creativity

Cameron University’s English program will present CODE+CULTURE, an exploration of AI, on Friday, March 29.

Two scholars from Dartmouth College will discuss computer science, creative writing and cultural history in two different events.

According to a press release, at 1 p.m., Rena J. Mosteirin, poet, literary editor and lecturer at Dartmouth College, will lead “Poetic Digital Defamiliarization,” an interactive workshop on creative applications of computer language tools to craft innovative poetic forms and new poetic possibilities. The workshop is intended to help participants get comfortable using digital tools for creative textual defamiliarization. When defamiliarizing language, participants can create poetic possibilities. They can enjoy the weirdness and confusion that results from transforming a text, learning how to use digital tools to revise their work. The workshop takes place in Ross Hall, Room 100.

The release said Mosteirin’s most recent book, “Experiment 116,” is a volume of experimental poetry that sets out an argument for a global refugee idiolect. She is also the co-author of “Moonbit,” an academic and poetic exploration of the Apollo 11 guidance computer code. She also wrote a novella, “Nick Trail’s Thumb,” which won the Kore Press Short Fiction Award. Mosteirin’s chapbook, “Half-Fabulous Whales,” explores “Moby Dick” through erasure poetry.

The release said Mosteirin is an editor of Bloodroot Literary Magazine and is the owner of Left Bank Books, a used bookstore in Hanover, N.H. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Mosteirin earned an MFA at the Bennington Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in New York Magazine, The Rumpus, The Southampton Review and elsewhere in print and online.

The release said that at 7 p.m., James E. Dobson, author of “The Birth of Computer Vision,” will present “A Short History of AI and the Automation of Vision and Text Production.” His lecture will address the cultural history of machine learning algorithms and how this strange history shaped the neural networks and AI tools we use today. The lecture will take place in the Shepler Ballroom.

The release said Dobson is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing and director of the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College. He is the author of “Modernity and Autobiography in 19th Century America,” an account of the role communication and transportation technologies played in 19th century American literature. He also wrote “Critical Digital Humanities: The Search for a Methodology,” a meta-critical and theoretical account of the methods of the digital humanities. He is also the co-author of “Moonbit,” along with Mosteirin. His most recent book, “The Birth of Computer Vision,” concerns the cultural and intellectual history of machine learning and computer vision.

For more information, contact Dr. Carle Schneider, associate professor, at [email protected].