Kyle McDonald explained

Kyle McDonald
Organization:Free Art and Technology Lab

Kyle McDonald is a media artist. McDonald creates visually appealing models using code, and releases tool kits for other artists to customize their own art as they see fit.[1] McDonald was recently an adjunct professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts' ITP. He is a member of F.A.T lab (Free Art and Technology Lab), and a community manager for OpenFrameworks.[2] [3] He was a resident at STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.[4]

Work/Research

Kyle McDonald worked on certifying AI images. He identified fakes called "generative adversarial networks"(GANs).[5] They essentially take data into a neural network, and it is "trained" to produce the best possible image. While most images generated by these types of networks have become increasingly tough to dicipher, McDonald claims credit for positive identifications and offers proof for his marked deep-fakes. For example, GAN's have a tough time with background images because they home in on the face in the image, and as a result, produces a random one.[6]

As part of his work/research, McDonald and his partner Lauren McCarthy worked on a project called MWITM(Man/Woman in the middle).[7] Essentially, there was a server that would intercept the messages, and two chatbots, one for each artist, would communicate automatically without any direct messaging. The messages created were based on the communication style of the users, and were trained over time.

Work by McDonald has inspired Spotify's "Listening Together" feature.[8]

Other accomplishments

"Social Soul," 2014[9]

"Light Leaks," 2018[10] [11]

"Meaningful Interactions," 2016[12]

"The Thrill of Terrapattern, A New Way to Search Satellite Imagery," 2016[13]

"Meet Terrapattern, Google Earth's Missing Search Engine," 2016[14]

"The Augmented Hand Series -- Playful, dreamlike, and uncanny," 2015[15]

"An Addictive Experiment in Annotating Footage from a London Street," 2015[16]

"Exhausting a Crowd," 2015

"Wifi Whisperer," 2016[17]

"Highsight," 2015[18]

"Untitled Digital Art," 2014[19]

"Sharing Faces," 2016[20]

"How We Act Together," 2016[21]

"Hacking Surveillance Culture," 2014[22]

References

  1. Web site: Kyle McDonald. kylemcdonald.net. 2020-03-26.
  2. Web site: openFrameworks. openframeworks.cc. 2020-03-27.
  3. Web site: F.A.T.. F.A.T.. en-US. 2020-03-27.
  4. Web site: Kyle McDonald. kylemcdonald.net. 2020-05-10.
  5. Web site: Kyle McDonald – Artist Profile (Photos, Videos, Exhibitions). AIArtists.org. en-US. 2020-03-27.
  6. Web site: How to recognize fake AI-generated images. McDonald. Kyle. 2018-12-14. Medium. en. 2020-03-27.
  7. Web site: MWITM (Man / Woman In The Middle) — Lauren Lee McCarthy. lauren-mccarthy.com. en. 2020-03-27.
  8. Web site: Spotify's listening party shows when people stream same songs. Mobile Marketer. en-US. 2020-06-01.
  9. Web site: Search on Vimeo. vimeo.com. 2020-05-10.
  10. Web site: Light Leaks: A Shimmering Room Filled with Fifty Disco Balls and Hundreds of Reflected Points of Light. 2018-04-10. Colossal. en. 2020-05-10.
  11. Web site: New Media Art Finds Audience Through Cool Experiences. spectrumnews1.com. en. 2020-06-01.
  12. Web site: Meaningful Interactions. 2016-12-23. SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT. en. 2020-05-10.
  13. Web site: The Coolest New Way to Use Satellite Imagery. Meyer. Robinson. 2016-05-27. The Atlantic. en-US. 2020-05-10.
  14. Web site: Sky of the Beholder. Twilley. Nicola. The New Yorker. en. 2020-05-10.
  15. Web site: The Augmented Hand Series – Playful, dreamlike and uncanny. CreativeApplications.Net. en-US. 2020-05-10.
  16. Web site: An Addictive Experiment in Annotating Footage from a London Street. 2015-06-04. Hyperallergic. en-US. 2020-05-10.
  17. News: Stinson. Liz. 2016-06-04. 'Wifi Whisperer' Siphons Your Data in the Creepiest Way Possible. Wired. 2020-05-10. 1059-1028.
  18. Web site: STRP. www.facebook.com. en. 2020-05-10.
  19. Web site: Untitled Digital Art (Augmented Hand Series). Pinterest. en. 2020-05-10.
  20. Web site: Artist builds a video mirror with a thousand faces. Robertson. Adi. 2014-08-28. The Verge. en. 2020-05-10.
  21. Web site: How We Act Together, screen based human imitation Neural. Cianciotta. Aurelio. en-US. 2020-05-10.
  22. Web site: Schedule sxsw.com. SXSW Schedule 2014. 2020-05-10.