Off Center

It’s been a while since the last AI update, and with the field evolving so quickly, Scott and Jhave have plenty to catch up on. In this episode, they explore AI and writing - but who is prompting whom? Can AI serve as “steroids for creativity”? And if so, what are the unintended side effects? References Abundant Intelligence Project (2024). Indigenous AI and Language Revitalization. https://link.s...

This episode features an interview with Samya Brata Roy, now an Assistant Professor of English at Gitam (Deemed-to-be) University Hyderabad, recorded during the 2025 CDN Digital Narrative PhD Summer School. Samya discusses his academic journey and the founding of Electronic Literature India.  References Coover, Roderick (Ed.), with contributions by Mark Marino. (2019). The Digital Imaginary: Liter...

In the first episode of ALGOpod, Gabriele de Seta is joined by Joan Mukogosi, where they talk about her essay "Strategic Knowledge. Teens use 'algorithmic folklore' to crack TikTok’s black box", which she co-authored with Ireti Akinrinade. References Akinrinade, Iretiolu, and Joan Mukogosi. (2021) Strategic Knowledge: Teens use "algorithmic folklore" to crack TikTok&#39...

Returning guest Gabriele de Seta joins Scott to talk about Algopod, the new series of podcast episodes that will be released as part of the new season of Off Center. We also hear some interviews that David and Benji, two middle school students who had their work week at the center, did with several people within the center's staff. References Akinrinade, Ireti & Mukoki, Joanne (2019). Algo...

This episode Scott and Jhave talk about some of the ways in which AI is finding itself involved in research. They talk about some of the AI models that have been developed with research in mind as well as some of their own experiments with these models. References: Brain2Qwerty https://ai.meta.com/research/publications/brain-to-text-decoding-a-non-invasive-approach-via-typing/ Claude https://claud...

On this episode Scott joins David Bithell overseas, at Southern Oregon University's Digital Media Center. They talk about digital performance, collaborative online music and digital puppetry. References: Bithell, David. Followers . 2017. http://www.davidbithell.com/followers.html Bithell, David. Matters Dark and Luminous. 2023-Present. http://www.davidbithell.com/mattersdarkandluminous.htmlBit...

In this week's AI Update, Scott and Jhave discuss some of the ways in which fascism reproduces itself, how AI could be used as a tool to facilitate it, and how those leading AI development have found themselves in positions of political power. References: Ahmed, S. (2024). Social Media News Use Amplifies the Illusory Truth Effects of Viral Deepfakes: A Cross-National Study of Eight Countries ....

In this episode, Scott travels to Australia to talk with Tama Leaver at the Center of Excellence for the Digital Child. They discuss Tama's involvement with the Center, his research regarding generative AI, the ways in which children interact with AI and how they can be affected by them, as well as a recent ban to social media for all children under 16 in Australia. References Haidt, Jonathan....

Jhave and Scott talk about simulated worlds or environments created with AI, considering what are the boundaries for artifical life. References ByteDance. (2025). Protenix: Toward High-Accuracy Open-Source Biomolecular Structure Prediction . https://github.com/bytedance/Protenix Conway, J. H. (1970). The Game of Life . Scientific American, 223(4) https://conwaylife.com/ Genesis Consortium. (2024)....

In this episode we are joined by co-authors Lillian-Yvonne Bertram and Nick Montfort to talk about their new publication Output: An Anthology of Computer Generated Text, 1953-2023. We learn about their path into digital poetry and the process of putting together this anthology. References Bertram, Lillian-Yvonne. (2019). Travesty generator . https://www.nationalbook.org/books/travesty-generator/ B...

In this AI Update Jhave and Scott discuss O3, the new AI model announced by OpenAI, which excels in high-complexity tasks, demonstrating state-of-the-art capabilities in science, structured reasoning, and problem-solving. References Brown, N., & Sandholm, T. (2018). Superhuman AI for heads-up no-limit poker: Libratus beats top professionals. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aao1733...

In this episode, Alinta Krauth, new media artist, is joining Scott Rettberg for a discussion about her art and interspecies communication. References Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI). https://aci-sigchi.org/ Bertram, L. Y., & Montfort, N. (Eds.). (2024). Output: An Anthology of Computer-Generated Text, 1953–2023 . https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262549813/output/ Kleinberger, R., Hirskyj-Douglas...

Jhave and Scott discuss recent developments in AI and forecast new developments in AI storytelling, reasoning, efficiency, organoids, and medicine coming in 2025. References Amodei, D., & Hernandez, D. (2018). AI and Compute . https://openai.com/index/ai-and-compute/ Jumper, J., et al. (2021). Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-0...

In this AI update, hosts Scott Rettberg and David Jhave Johnston dive deep into the connection between AI and violence. Tune in for the latest AI updates, and the last episode of the year. We will continue the season in the new year. References Calvo, Serena, et al. 2024. Does suicide contagion (Werther Effect) take place in response to social media? A systematic review. Spanish journal of psychia...

On today’s episode, recent PhD graduate, Marianne Gunderson, joins Scott for a discussion on creepypasta, fanfiction and monsters, and machine vision. Doctor Gunderson has started her postdoctoral research at the ALGOFOLK (algorithmic folklore) project connected to the Center for Digital Narrative. References Andam, Julie. 2015. Skam. NRK. Atalaia, Nuno, and Marianne Gunderson. “Alexa’s Monstrous...

In this short byweekly AI update, hosts Scott Rettberg and Jhave Johnston talk about the use of AI in filmmaking in places like Hollywood. While actors and writers fear AI could take over their jobs, its use in filmmaking is rapidly growing.  References Bateman, Justine. 2024. “Hollywood is dead, according to Justine Bateman. Here’s what comes next.” Fast Company. Effective November 2, 2024. https...

Mark Amerika is a visual artist, media theorist, and novelist. He is a professor of Art and Art History at the University of Colorado. In this episode, Scott and Mark will discuss Mark's career in art and academia, and some of his field-defining works.     References Amerika, Mark. 1997. GRAMMATRON. Alt-X. https://www.grammatron.com/   Amerika, Mark. 1995. Sexual Blood. Black Ice.   Amerika, M...

Back with a new episode and song, are David Jhave Johnston and Scott Rettberg. In today’s episode, they will discuss AI agents. Secret agents, travel agents, helping you with anything you need. Whether that may be spying on people or booking that holiday you wanted to go on, the AI agents can do it for you. Listen now for this new AI update.     References Fourney, Adam, et al. 2024. “Magentic-One...

Welcome back to a new episode of Off Center. Today, Scott is joined by Talan Memmott, a professor of Mass Communication at Winona State University. They discuss Talan's career as a digital artist and electronic literature artist, highlighting his latest work in cripistemology. Tune in now! References Jackson, Shelley. 1995. Patchwork Girl. Eastgate Systems. Joyce, Michael. 1987. Afternoon, a s...

In this AI update, hosts Scott Rettberg and David Jhave Johnston dive deep into the evolving relationship between AI and human reasoning. They explore how AI models like GPT are learning to "think" through synthetic chain-of-thought processes. Tune in for the latest AI updates.     References Brown, Noam, and Tuomas Sandholm. 2019. “Superhuman AI for multiplayer poker.” Science 365 , 885...

This week's episode fits the Halloween theme. Spooky places, historical sites, and digital narratives. In this episode, Scott is joined by Nicole Basaraba, Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities at Trinity College in Dublin. They discuss topics such as cultural heritage research and dark tourism.    References Basaraba, Nicole. 2023. “The Rise of Paranormal Investigations as Virtual Dark To...

In this short biweekly AI update, hosts Scott Rettberg and Jhave Johnston talk about this year's Nobel Peace Prizes for AI research. John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, and Demis Hassabis and John Jumper received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Tune in to find out what their discoveries and inventions are.   References Baker Lab. n. d. “Baker Lab.” Retrieve...

In this episode, Jordan Magnuson, Fulbright scholar at the Center for Digital Narrative, joins us for an interesting discussion about indie games. Jordan has a background in making video games from a very young age. Together with Scott, they discuss the crossover between games and poetry.   References   Electronic Literature Organisation. n. d. “Electronic Literature Organisation”. https://elitera...

Robert Coover was one of the most important American novelists of the 20th Century, the author of more than twenty books including novels, short story collections, plays and other writings. He was also a leading figure in the field of electronic literature, the teacher of many digital writing workshops at Brown University, the co-founder of the Electronic Literature Organization, and a tireless pr...

We are back with another AI update about AI produced podcasts. And this time, we have a special guest joining us, Jill Walker Rettberg. In this episode Jill, Scott, and Jhave will discuss the new feature of Google's NotebookLM, that lets you listen to a podcast conversation about your source documents.   References Google. n. d. “NotebookLM”, NotebookLM . retrieved from https://notebooklm.goog...