Feisal Ahmad
Since 2002
Works in New York, New York United States of America

BIO
Feisal Ahmad is the content coordinator for Rhizome. He has an M.A. in Communications Theory, focusing on propaganda and electronic mail, and enjoys the company of the good folk at the RZA.
Discussions (46) Opportunities (3) Events (0) Jobs (0)
DISCUSSION

Re: no problems logging on just the five month problem of...


Daniel,

This one I know Francis is aware of..but I sent him an e-mail reminder just in case. I get this every once in a while too. Seems to affect MAC users on OS 9 (using IE 5 or 5.5)...which according to our stats is less than 5% of total users, but obviously anything more than 0 is too many. Anyway, I have let him know again and once he takes a look, will let you know what the deal is. It is a strange bugger though---wonder why refreshing is a temporary fix?

= feisal

Daniel DeLion wrote:

> Zero problems logging in but the reoccurring problem of a Mac using
> Explorer 5 still isn't fixed. Refreshing the page usually 3-4 times
> does the trick. I don't pay money for faulty goods - rock on the 30
> day grace, see ya with my sex change.

DISCUSSION

Re: problems logging on to site


Hi Eduardo,

I'll make sure to let Francis know of your error message and see what's up. Same thing happened to me occasionally a while back but hasn't happened since. Best,

= feisal

Eduardo Navas wrote:

> Is everyone having problems logging on to the Rhizome website? Since
> Frida=
> y I have not been able to access any works. I was looking at
> someone's per=
> sonal site, and he had a link to a rhizome object. I clicked and
> boom! I g=
> et the annoymous loggin interface.
>
> I log on to rhizome and then receive my personal info page, then I try
> to m=
> ove to the page I clicked on and I become annonymous again. My fees
> are no=
> t due until another two months...
>
> Why am I sending this message publicly? because last time I asked for
> this=
> to be looked into, it took almost a month to be fixed.
>
> Anyone else having problems?
>
> Eduardo Navas

DISCUSSION

In a former factory, space meets art in superb convergence


____________________________________________________________

The following story appeared in The Globe Online:
Headline: In a former factory, space meets art in superb convergence
Date: 8/3/2003
Byline:

" BEACON, N.Y. -- ''A good critic is one who describes his adventures
among masterpieces,'' said the French writer Anatole France."

____________________________________________________________

To read the entire story, click on the link below or cut and paste it
into a Web browser:

http://www.boston.com:80/dailyglobe2/215/living/In_a_former_factory_space_meets_art_in_superb_convergence+.shtml

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DISCUSSION

Rat-brained robot does distant art


...from BBC news (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3096973.stm).
Gave me a vaguely disconcerting feeling (shades of sci-fi gone awry).
Interesting though.

* * *

"Rat-brained robot does distant art
By Lakshmi Sandhana

Meet the latest spaced out modern artist - a picture-drawing robot arm in
Australia whose brain sits in a petri dish in the US.

The robot arm is in Perth...

Working from their university labs in two different corners of the world,
American and Australian researchers have created what they call a new class
of creative beings: "the semi-living artist".

Gripping three coloured markers positioned above a white canvas, a robotic
arm churns out drawings akin to that of a three-year-old. Its guidance comes
from around 50,000 rat neurons in a petri dish 19,000 kilometres away.

The "brain" lives at Dr Steve Potter's lab at Georgia's Institute of
Technology, Atlanta, while the "body" is located at Guy Ben-Ary's lab at the
University of Western Australia, Perth.

Webcam stimulation

The two ends communicate with each other in real-time through the internet.

The project represents the team's effort to create a semi-living entity that
learns like the living brains in people and animals do, adapting and
expressing itself through art.

...but the brain is in Atlanta

"We are looking at future scenarios where geography won't matter," said Mr
Ben-Ary. "The brain of the semi-living could be anywhere in the world, while
the body (machine) will interface and be fed off it," he told BBC News
Online.

"It really makes you think about the future possibilities, and realise that
the sci-fi vision of movies like Cold Lazarus can turn into reality in the
future."

Termed Meart (Multi-Electrode Array Art), the cells are connected via 64
two-way electrodes to a computer and are stimulated by information; in this
case transmitting scaled-down images of visitors in its vicinity, captured
with a webcam.

Learn a little

The computer translates any resulting neural activity into robotic arm
movement. By closing the loop, the researchers hope that the rat culture
will learn something about itself and its environment.

"I would not classify [the cells] as 'an intelligence', though we hope to
find ways to allow them to learn and become at least a little intelligent."
said Dr Potter.

The drawings are becoming less chaotic

"I look forward to seeing something everyone would call 'learning', but so
far, we only have evidence that the system is developing and adapting, such
as becoming more controlled - less chaotic over time," he added

Dr Potter hopes the venture will provide valuable insights into how learning
occurs at a cellular level.

The latest initiative is a development of the SymbioticA Fish And Chips
project, in which the artist-scientists grew fish neurons over silicon chips
to control a robotic arm that produced drawings and music.

DISCUSSION

CNN.com - Animal cams offer strange world views - Jul. 16, 2003


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