Add to Calendar2024-11-26 15:00:002024-11-26 16:00:00Intro to User Experience Design & TestingLearn the basics of User Experience Design (UX) and Testing, including a brief look at the history and context of the practice. Attendees will get to meet other polymaths and receive a comprehensive demonstration with key lessons on UX practices, including how to structure professional user testing sessions.<br />
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User Experience Design is an all-encompassing methodology where research, data gathering, and test results guide decisions, instead of guesses and opinions. Particularly useful for students who will create user-facing products, this workshop will introduce essential ideas and demonstrate universal practices for UX design as it is used in the software development, video game, and product design industries.<br />
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Join us at the Ahmanson Lab for a lesson on User Experience Design and Testing that will welcome students of all backgrounds.<br />03:00 pm04:00 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-11-26 12:00:002024-11-26 13:00:00Philosophy and Politics of Virtual WorldsOur world is becoming more simulated: from the temporary virtual reality and gaming environments into which we voluntarily enter to the artificial, bot- and ai media-dominated online spaces into which we may soon find ourselves to the fully simulated world into which we may unknowingly live. This shift challenges us to navigate the ethical, social, and philosophical implications of living in a world where the line between reality and simulation is becoming ever more indistinct.<br />
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Topics for discussion during this conversation might include: How can we prepare ourselves to engage with our increasingly simulated digital spaces in critical and informed ways? What are the social and political implications of virtual worlds, including the capacity to counterfeit people and to simulate human behavior at scale? How does the prevalence of virtual and simulated environments affect mental health, and what strategies can be employed to promote psychological well-being in these digital spaces? How can individuals and societies develop strategies to navigate the complexities of a post-truth world where misinformation and simulated realities blur the line between fact and fiction?12:00 pm01:00 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-11-13 18:00:002024-11-13 19:30:00Polymathic Pizza: The Body of the Environment / The Environment of the Body06:00 pm07:30 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-11-12 15:00:002024-11-12 16:00:00Intro to Simulation Development with UnityLearn the basics of simulation/game development with Unity, including a brief look at the history and context of the practice. Attendees will get to meet other polymaths and receive a comprehensive demonstration with key lessons about how to create your own interactive projects.<br />
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As more fields, including film/television, archaeology, architecture, and education, begin to use game development technologies, tools like the Unity Engine are quickly becoming interdisciplinary powerhouses. As a free-to-use program that supports desktop, mobile, and XR platforms, Unity is a particularly popular option for students and beginners.<br />
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Join us at the Ahmanson Lab for a lesson on simulation development that will welcome students of all backgrounds.<br />03:00 pm04:00 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-11-12 12:00:002024-11-12 13:00:00Working Conditions in the Tech IndustryThe tech industry is plagued by numerous examples of poor working conditions and lack of worker autonomy. ‘Ghost work,’ which involves data labeling for machine learning models, is often characterized by low pay ($3.31 an hour on average), lack of job security, and poor working conditions, as these tasks are outsourced to underpaid contractors around the world. At companies like Amazon, warehouse employees frequently endure grueling working conditions, including strict productivity quotas, limited breaks, and inadequate safety measures. Workers in the gig economy are frequently paid according to opaque algorithms that determine both their compensation and job availability, making it difficult for them to predict their income and leading to a lack of job security and financial stability. Even software developers are crunched under extreme performance metrics and increasingly systematized monitoring.<br />
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Topics for discussion during this conversation might include: In what ways does the current wave of automation and declining working conditions in the tech industry resemble past periods of rapid technological change, such as the Industrial Revolution, and what insights can we gain from history to address today's labor challenges? How does the lack of transparency in algorithmic pay structures impact workers' rights and job satisfaction? How does the reliance on ghost work contribute to the perception of advanced AI capabilities, and what are the ethical implications of obscuring the human labor that actually make these technologies possible?12:00 pm01:00 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
DML 240 - Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall
Add to Calendar2024-11-05 15:30:002024-11-05 16:50:00A Ukrainian Dictionary of WarDML 240 - Friends of the USC Libraries Lecture Hall03:30 pm04:50 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-10-30 19:00:002024-10-30 21:00:00Visions & Voices: Phantasmagoria: Lighting the World BeyondDML - Los Angeles Times Reference Room07:00 pm09:00 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
Add to Calendar2024-10-29 18:00:002024-10-29 19:30:00Visions & Voices: Drag Me to Hell: Demonic Drag Performances and Costume Contest06:00 pm07:30 pmAmerica/Los_Angelespublic
