On Monday one day before the presentation, we gathered to finalize our presentation and made sure each part connected with one another. There were a few sections in the script that would get presented in form of acting, that needed change and rewriting. So we sat together and cut the parts that didn’t make sense to us and made sure that the two scenes match our imagined scenarios that would get presented by myself in a more theoretical way on the day of the presentation.
When we arrived at our official tutorial with our tutor, we had the chance to talk through our whole presentation. Since each member was part and we had someone to inspect us, we were able to get the feeling of how it might be on the presentation day. Overall, the first try in class together was satisfying and relatively smooth, only a few small points had to get revised. We got advised by our observing tutor, to make sure to have less description as regards to the performance, as we have enough explanation and information in detail at the beginning already. The reason to eliminate this part was to also verify to stay within the allowed time of 15 minutes.
On the 14th of March our group ”Pear” got to present our final work which got completed by us throughout the weeks to our tutor Jasminka, as well as two other tutors. For the performance, a peer in the group brought a wig for viewers to understand better who presents who in the performance. This was just an addition to the items we created out of sustainable materials and materials that can be reused, such as Lego and clay. We started our presentation with an imaginary story of how we envisage the future of work and how we picture our AI and robot agency in the year 2070. With this story, we simultaneously wanted to show what could go wrong within that institution. The peers who weren’t part of the acting attached a ”CARE” sign on their shirts to show viewers they are part of that agency. CARE combined the four core values of the company (collaboration, adaptability, responsibility, and empathy).
Subsequently, I described our mission, which is to create a balanced relationship between the 3 elements: ”human creator”, ”AI and robot” and ”human user”.
Each of those 3 components has an effect on the other, which can either be positive or negative, depending on the scenario. In the story that Arielle introduced our agency with at the beginning of the presentation, the creator of the robot was in a negative work environment which led to a defective and non-supportive robot. This could again have an influence on the human user. On the other hand, would a human user get a totally different experience if the creator of the robot would be in a positive state of mind, as smart and empathic features could get integrated into the system. Overall, we picture 4 different combinations and scenarios that could reflect the above-mentioned cycle between the human creator and human user. Here we concentrated mainly on the emotions of both.
Below I will list our 4 scenarios as a revision and the outcome the combinations could have.
Scenario 1:
The creator is emotionally healthy + the user is in a healthy mental state
->Outcome:
-Most effective combination
-Best user experience and engagement
-Empathy and understanding (which the agency highly values) from both sides
Scenario 2:
The creator is in a positive state of mind + the user is emotionally unstable
->Outcome:
-Robots would need to put more effort into the work (like motivating and understanding the user and his needs)
-Harder for the robots to get the user involved
-User would find it difficult to open up and trust the robot
Scenario 3:
(Reversed version of scenario 2)
The creator is in a bad mental state and the user is in a positive state
->Result:
-Lack of collaboration and compassion
-Robot isn’t adapting to his environment
-Unsatisfied client due to lack of interaction
Scenario 4:
Both the creator and user are unstable
->Result:
-Miscommunication or no communication at all
-Angry user due to lack of patience
-Horrible user experience
After the concepts got explained, our group member Rai explained the main values our company believes in followed by him being the narrator of our 2 scenarios that got presented in form of acting.
We decided to show two scenarios:
Scenario 2 and scenario 4 in order to show the observers two contrary examples.
After we presented questions like ”How did your main values (collaboration, adaptability, responsibility, and empathy) get reflected in your own work together thought-out the weeks? got asked by one of the tutors”
We all agreed that it was altogether interesting to not just work with students from our own course but also with peers from MA CCC. This developed and expanded the way we think of certain topics and how we approach certain problems or tasks. As we all come from different BA backgrounds, we noticed each member of the group had a different direction for completing this task. This felt difficult in the beginning as we all had to agree on only a few elements we want to present, but turned out to be extremely interesting, as we started to open up to concepts we were afraid of in the beginning or were not familiar with. Some members had a more creative way of thinking about the project while others had a rather theoretical vision.
In order to present slightly more unusual, we decided against a regular PowerPoint presentation and agreed on just adding a backdrop with images to each presented scenario while also having the posters in the classroom.
I have not only learned so much from our readings but also so much from my peers, as they made me create items by hand and not just digitally. As well as they showed me how to be more open to experimenting. Without them, I would have never known so many ways of presenting existed and that several different components can be introduced altogether. We all mastered how to combine our ideas and to adapt to each other, while each person in the group had their own responsibility.
Henceforward, I will surely think of many more ways how to bring a topic close to a crowd other than just with a regular presentation. This also makes it more interesting for the crowd. This group project will in many ways influence my presentation style permanently.
