Abstract
Cloud Theory is an experimental videogame that explores apophenia, the psychological phenomenon of seeing patterns where none exist. We see shapes in clouds, but we also infer meaning from the GPT-based dialogue we have with an AI companion in the game. If language based machine learning models are simply stringing together words based on algorithmic probability, our minds are ‘apophenia engines’ that perceive meaning, intentionality, and life in digital worlds. How different is this process in simulated worlds from the meaning we perceive in the real world? Is the mind simply a sophisticated probability engine? As Anil Seth describes, is perception a form of hallucination? Cloud Theory is an attempt to ask these and other questions about the nature of intelligence and perception in an entertaining and playful way. See images from the game here: https://www.colleenmacklin.com/clouds
Presenters
Colleen MacklinProfessor, Art, Media and Technology, The New School / Parsons School of Design, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Creative and Cultural Technologies
KEYWORDS
Machine Learning, Videogames, Clouds, Perception
