Part 1: Design Ethics (page 1)
Part 2: Computer Graphics

 

Realism in computer graphics:  Check out two DVDs of movies that incorporate significant computer graphics. (e.g. sci-fi movies such as the Matrix series, fantasy or fable movies such as the Lord of the Rings series or Stuart Little, war or naval movies such as Pearl Harbor or Master & Commander, or computer animation such as Finding Nemo or Toy Story). You may want to compare a very recent movie and one movie from a few years ago.  Pay special attention to issues of realism:  What about the computer generated imagery looks realistic? What looks fake? How is the lighting? The motion of the characters? Computer generated skin, hair, cloth, fur?

 

The “how to” of realism in computer graphics:  Watch the "making of" feature on the DVD to learn about the computer graphics technology behind the effects and see what you can learn.

 

Realism in video games:  Play a recent 3D video game -- or better yet, watch somebody else play. Pay attention to matters of realism. What looks good? What looks crummy? Try to distinguish less-than-realistic features that are due to limitations of the machine as opposed to unrealistic features (like characters able to jump 30 feet) present for reasons of game play.

 

What are some differences between interactive computer graphics (video game) and offline computer graphics (film & cinema)?

• What ethical issues are raised by our increasing ability to produce offline computer graphics IMAGES that cannot be distinguished from reality?
• What ethical issues are raised by our potential near-term ability to produce INTERACTIVE graphics images that cannot be distinguished from reality?
• What ethical issues would be raised by the development of perfect "virtual reality" -- a computer-generated simulation encompassing not just images but the entire sensorial experience, one so realistic it could not be distinguished from reality (a la The Matrix)?

MakingofStuartLittle.pdf Sony Imageworks, The Making of Stuart Little.

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David Luebke, Professor of Computer Science Prof. David Luebke received a B.A. in Chemistry from Colorado College in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina in 1998. He joined the University of Virginia faculty ...

Deborah Johnson, Professor of Science, Technology and Society Prof. Deborah G. Johnson is the Anne Shirley Carter Olsson Professor of Applied Ethics in the Department of Technology, Culture, and Communication, School of Engineering and Applied Science (UVA) ...