The robotical gaze: A hypothesis of visual production using technological image/thinking

Media abundance and images proliferation have significantly altered our receptive and perceptual capacity, even fuelling alternative truths, and causing problems of meaning.At the same time, the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and computational thinking in everyday life has allowed to investigate several aspects of the Human-Machine relationship, also hypothesizing some theoretical considerations on the similarity between human and robotic logic models, as well as practical steps (also in the field of learning) of the relationship between the body and the object.The history of cinema has provided many examples of how humanity can look through mechanical eyes: in this sense, one could imagine a sort of cognisphere, i.e. a hybrid mode of computational thinking and pragmatics that today manifests itself mainly in images.The aim of this paper is to hypothesize it is possible to construct narratives through the interaction between images (and their hybrid surplus of reality/digital representation) and robotics, focusing on that robots can see and transmit to us, through sensors and minicams, what they perceive. We will also refer to a series of experiments (including educational ones) that we are carrying out in the 'L. Gallino' Laboratory of Behavioural Simulation and Educational Robotics of the Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences of the University of Turin, Italy.

From behavioural simulation to computer models: how simulation can be used to improve healthcare management and policy

Simulation is a technique that evokes or replicates substantial aspects of the real world, in order to experiment with a simplified imitation of an operations system, for the purpose of better understanding and/or improving that system. Simulation provides a safe environment for investigating individual and organisational behaviour and a risk-free testbed for new policies and procedures. Therefore, it can complement or replace direct field observations and trial-and-error approaches, which can be time consuming, costly and difficult to carry out. However, simulation has low adoption as a research and improvement tool in healthcare management and policy-making. The literature on simulation in these fields is dispersed across different disciplinary traditions and typically focuses on a single simulation method. In this article, we examine how simulation can be used to investigate, understand and improve management and policy-making in healthcare organisations. We develop the rationale for using simulation and provide an integrative overview of existing approaches, using examples of in vivo behavioural simulations involving live participants, pure in silico computer simulations and intermediate approaches (virtual simulation) where human participants interact with computer simulations of health organisations. We also discuss the combination of these approaches to organisational simulation and the evaluation of simulation-based interventions.

To Basel or not to Basel? Banking crises and contagion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose an object-oriented model of financial simulations which aims to test the applicability and suitability of the proposed measures of Basel III with respect to the prevention of banking crises. Design/methodology/approach – The authors introduce an object-oriented model of financial simulations in the banking sector, namely, virtual banking (VBanking). The system is based on behavioural simulation of economic agents and allows for transactions between them, using various forms of financial assets. VBanking has been implemented as an automated stand-alone model, allowing for repetitive simulations under the same parameter sets, producing an efficient series of statistical data. Findings – Interpretation of the resulting data suggests that some of the criticism against the proposed measures is justified, as neither economic crises nor contagion are diminished under Basel III. At the same time, the authors’ findings support that the stability goal is met, at least in part. Research limitations/implications – The model encompasses a relatively small part of the banking sector, while the authors choose not to deal with the production part of the economy. However, these limitations do not hinder the validity and importance of the authors’ findings. Originality/value – The originality of this article lies in the use of an object-oriented behavioural model and in the resulting model application that is based on it. This enables the authors to run a series of simulations with different parameters, the results of which the authors can then compare. The authors’ findings can contribute to the authorities’ efforts to ameliorate the policies of Basel III.