Peer engagement is valuable in having one assume the role of both investor and advisor, providing both encouragement, advice and constructive criticism throughout the development of your projects. These types of people also will exist in the workplace and in future projects that one ventures.

In this task, I am to provide reviews on my three assigned students: Kwan Yuk Lun, Tasawar Arij and Cheng Win Yin (Gio).

Kwan Yuk Lun’s Beta on Androids

The first beta I’ve reviewed was Kwan Yuk Lun’s well-structured beta presentation. Though it is a theme almost omnipresent in science fiction, it is always a solid choice for in-depth research especially when we consider that researchers are constantly evolving robotics in real life. As humanity gradually advances technology, the spectrum of what becomes possible broadens and new ideas spring out. These new ideas could even potentially become unique to sci-fi culture, or become a paradigm shift in how we view robots as their possibilities or limitations become evident in real life.

I’ve provided suggestions and pointers to how Kwan Yuk Lun could produce his digital artefact, namely on how Lecture 8 thoroughly explores the various characteristics and bountiful information on robots. Furthermore, I also felt that Elon Musk was a very appropriate futurist to recommend in Kwan Yuk Lun’s research. I used to watch a few videos on his thoughts on AI and robots. Elon Musk even made a pitch presentation to his investors on his Tesla Bot. Knowing how incredibly wealthy the company is in both riches and scientific achievements, I feel that Elon Musk may be pioneering one of the first robots. Therefore in my opinion, Musk is an excellent futurist to refer to in Kwan Yuk Lun’s digital artefact.

Arij Tasawar’s Beta on Fashion & Technology

The beta was exceptionally brief compared to the others, so I had a little trouble in providing a good review. I did not have much knowledge either in the topic, since there wasn’t really any brief examples of what was being presented with her digital artefact. It seems to be in line with most of the assignment’s criteria though, and there was a good focus on how she utilized a feedback loop to improve her digital artefact. However, I do look forward to what she could provide with the finalization of the project.

Personally, I do not have a good grasp on the concept of fashion so there was not too much I could say. I provided a lengthy documentary for her to look through as a reference material though since it explores quite deeply on the topic that Arij is interested in.

Giovanni Cheng’s Beta on Holodeck Technology

Finally, I was quite impressed by Gio’s beta presentation. It was a full package of entertaining visuals, proper flow & structure, and information. Many people would likely not know what a ‘Holodeck’ is supposed to be, but many relevant images and video clips (from Star Trek) was provided. These fitting media presentations all coherently built a general idea and concept throughout the video to be understandable, and I felt there was talent at play when it came to garnering the viewer’s interest in the topic. Should you look at it in a business perspective, it is an appealing beta when seen by investors.

First impressions aside, I was able to connect the concept of the Holodeck being similar to one of the VR projects I am interested in. As an avid fan of virtual reality technology, I follow a number of VR projects. Varjo’s Reality Cloud is one of them, and it is quite similar to the Holodeck. Since it is an ongoing project in real life, I believed that intensive research into them could be great for reference in Gio’s Holodeck digital artefact. Finally, I also pointed him to Lecture 10 which could reinforce his digital artefact’s discussion on ethical issues on the technology as it discusses technological determinism and social constructivism. For instance, with how some blame video game violence for influencing people in reality, it is also a concern if you could use the Holodeck to reproduce similar psychological issues that may make it a cause for blame.