The leaves are the remains of a severely scorched early book, or codex, written in southern Egypt some time between AD 400 and 600. In a basement laboratory of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, an X-ray scanner is pumping invisible beams into a clump of charred parchment leaves that looks as delicate as a long dead flower…READ MORE: Scientists are X-ray scanning an ancient biblical text that’s so old, they’re afraid to open it | National Post
AI Is Dreaming Up New Kinds of Video Games | MIT Tech Review #AI #video #gaming #tech #algorithms
Michael Cook, a 30-year-old senior research fellow at the University of Falmouth, has built an AI capable of imagining new video games from scratch. Cook calls the machine Angelina, a recursive acronym that stands for “A Novel Game-Evolving Labrat I’ve Named Angelina” (a joke that Cook says got old pretty quickly). Since its earliest form, in 2011, it has created hundreds of experimental video games, received acclaim in an international game-making competition, and had its work featured in a New York gallery exhibit. READ MORE: AI Is Dreaming Up New Kinds of Video Games | MIT Tech Review
What Happens When an Algorithm Helps Write Science Fiction | WIRED #storytelling #tech #algorithms #software #text #analysis
That statement probably requires some explanation. Two researchers named Adam Hammond and Julian Brooke have spent the past few years developing software that analyzes literary databases. Their program can identify dozens of structural and stylistic details in huge chunks of text, and if you give them a collection of great stories—stories that maybe you wished you had written—they are able to identify all the details that those great stories have in common. READ MORE: What Happens When an Algorithm Helps Write Science Fiction | WIRED
A Day in the Life of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Librarian | Atlas Obscura #speciallibraries #archives #music #careers #librarianship #skills #MLIS
THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, in Cleveland, Ohio, is best known for its raucous and dramatic induction ceremonies. But it also has a quieter side: a library and archive, full of research materials, artifacts and memorabilia, and shelves and shelves of old records. Earlier this year, the Rock Hall advertised that they were looking for a new librarian, a position that, judging from the response to Atlas Obscura’s story about it, is up there on many people’s list of dream jobs.
So who got it? After a long and rigorous interview process, 34-year-old Laura Maidens started as the Rock Hall’s librarian in early September. We caught up with her about playlist inspiration, Ramones-themed prayer cards, finding secret notes from Keith Richards, and other highlights of the gig. READ MORE: A Day in the Life of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Librarian | Atlas Obscura
Steven Soderbergh’s New App [Mosaic] Will Change How You Watch TV | WIRED #storytelling #interactive #film #TV #miniseries #tech #mobile #apps
STEVEN Soderbergh’s latest project—an interactive smartphone app called Mosaic…contains a 7-plus-hour miniseries about a mysterious death, but…viewers have some agency over what order they watch it in and which characters’ stories they follow. READ MORE: Steven Soderbergh’s New App Will Change How You Watch TV | WIRED
Website uses neural networks to enlarge small images, and the results are pretty magical | Mashable #images #digital #archives #machinelearning #AI #digitallibraries #libraries
Images archived in digital libraries are either born digital or scans/photos of hard copy originals. This technology may be useful in enhancing images of historical photos and documents that are of low quality.
You know how in CSI, the cops always try to “enhance” a shot to zoom in and read (non-existent) details in photos? It’s amusing to the rest of us, but perhaps one day won’t be all that impossible, with artificial intelligence.
Researchers have been adopting neural networks and machine learning technologies to help computers fill in missing detail in photos.
Some consumer-ready websites are already making some of this magic accessible to you and me.
READ MORE: Website uses neural networks to enlarge small images, and the results are pretty magical | Mashable
Audible’s new romance audiobooks service uses machine learning to jump to the sex scenes | TechCrunch #audiobooks #reading #tech #UX @audible_com
Beyond the buzz worthy headline, this is a cool move by Audible (owned by Amazon) because they listened to reader feedback and used machine learning to improve the UX.
Let’s admit it: you probably aren’t reading that romance novel for the plot. Or its literary value. Audible knows this, and is today launching a new collection of romance-themed audiobooks that come with a handy feature that lets you skip right to the action. Called “Take Me To The Good Part,” the feature will fast-forward you to the steamy sections of the audiobook, says Audible. READ MORE: Audible’s new romance audiobooks service uses machine learning to jump to the sex scenes | TechCrunch
Portland’s Angriest Librarian Isn’t Mad Anymore | CityLab #librarianship #publiclibraries #society #access #activisim
After his profanity-laced tweetstorm went viral last week, Portland student librarian Alex Halpern found himself speaking up for his ̶[e̶m̶b̶a̶t̶t̶l̶e̶d̶ thriving and evolving] profession. READ MORE: Portland’s Angriest Librarian Isn’t Mad Anymore | CityLab
+ This angry librarian’s passionate defense of libraries won the Internet | Washington Post
Google partners with fact-checking network to fight fake news | engadget #fakenews #factcheck #librarianship #infopros @Google
Let’s hope IFCN hires more librarians as verified fact checkers…and not “would-be fake news detectives.”
Google is taking its battle against misleading information to the real world. The company has partnered with the International Fact-Checking Network, a nonpartisan organization run by The Poynter Institute that advocates across the globe for accuracy in online articles. The IFCN holds an annual fact-checking conference, funds fellowships and provides training for would-be fake-news detectives, plus it’s the author behind a widely accepted code of principles for media organizations.
Google plans to work with the IFCN in three main ways: increasing the number of verified fact checkers in the world, expanding the code of principles into new regions, and offering free fact-checking tools.
READ MORE: Google partners with fact-checking network to fight fake news | engadget
Technologies librarians need to know | LIBGIG #skills #tech #librarianship #infopro #careers
This post breaks out technical skillsets required in public, academic and special librarians as well as new skillsets in emerging technologies.
Trying to get a handle on what library technologies LIS professionals need to know can be a challenge, as both the tasks that librarians are taking on – and the tools they’re using to do them – seem to be changing daily.
Nevertheless, it’s especially important for job hunters to be aware of technology skills and knowledge that are in-demand, because increasingly these tools will be central to successful performance of your careers
infophile 