Published 27 Feb 2023
Michael, Michael and Andy start things off for this edition of Games at Work with an 25 year old example of the metaverse: Ultima Online. The MIT Technology Review article on UO describes some of the experiment in the massively online world and likens the developers to a government that created laws through code and in-game economics.
Then the co-hosts into a discussion on Andy’s recent experiment with ChatGPT. Andy asked ChatGPT to write a professional bio, and as in many other well documented examples, the initial examples were filled with inaccuracies. Patiently and politely, Andy corrected those inaccuracies through the conversational experience, and landed with something quite good after several iterations. This kind of #PromptEngineering was the subject of a recent Washington Post article as well. A Wired article focused on how AI is employed to author more believable phishing email – so watch out for more sophisticated, grammatically correct scams in your inbox. And Midjourney was used to create realistic images of Gaudí architecture that was never built.
Next up is Andy’s recent AR acquisition, the Brilliant Monocle. This device has a small screen to provide information through a lens that attaches to an eyeglass frame. Speaking of small screens, James Brown (no, not the Godfather of Soul) made a functional Doom-playing computer using one of LEGO’s computer bricks. This reminded the co-hosts of e372 where another such example of a functioning LEGO-sized computer was discussed.
Then, the co-hosts talk about Humanity, a Lemmings-esque game that will be released in May. The currently available demo (available 23 Feb through 6 Mar) shows the interesting gameplay alongside a level builder. Wrapping things up for this episode, the co-hosts take a look at the latest edition of Gran Turismo, which features a VR mode.
What other games should the LEGO computer brick be able to play? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz (our home for now) and let us know!
These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
Selected Article Links
Metaverse OG
MIT Technology Review: Welcome to the oldest part of the metaverse
fun with AI
Andy’s fun with ChatGPT – multiple versions of his bio
The Washington Post article: Tech’s hottest new job: AI whisperer. No coding required.
@drewharwell an intriguing concept, especially when secondary education is so focused on the technical that literature, history and the arts are in fact quite intertwined and necessary for this kind of work. Much has been said about uncommon expertise in search being a differentiating skill set. #PromptEngineering is a natural extension. Also discussed on the #podcast episode of https://www.gamesatwork.Biz that will be published on Monday.
Wired article: AI Wrote Better Phishing Emails Than Humans in a Recent Test
Architectural Digest article: See the Fantastical World Antoni Gaudí Never Built
hacking
hackster.io article: James Brown’s Tiny LEGO Brick Computer Is Now Truly Self-Contained, with a Playable Doom Port
Games At Work e372 – Metaverse & LEGO Standards
games
The Verge article: Humanity tasks you, a Shiba Inu, with guiding humans through Lemmings-like puzzles
Wikipedia article: Lemmings (video game)
Wikipedia article: Lemming
Wikipedia article: Shiba Inu
The Verge article: Sony shares details on Gran Turismo 7’s VR mode and 10 new PSVR 2 launch games
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Such a fun episode, Michael & Andy! Loved your discussion on Life by You.