Author Archives: Katherine Wikoff

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About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor (PhD in English, concentration rhetoric) at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach film and media studies, political science, digital society, digital storytelling, writing for digital media, and communication. While fragments of my teaching and scholarship interests may quite naturally meander over to my blog, this space is intended to function as a creative outlet, not as part of my professional practice. Opinions are my own, etc.

Wednesday morning, September 10, in downtown Milwaukee

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

Just two photos from my morning drive to work. First, I was on 10th Street just west of the Wisconsin Club, housed in the 1843 mansion built by Alexander Mitchell, founder of the Marine Bank and president of the Chicago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Art on a sunny September day: warm glow, crisp shadow

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

This little work of art sits on the windowsill in my office. I’ve photographed it before. It makes me happy. Today late-morning sun struck at a high angle, casting a well-defined shadow and giving the copper wire a warm, mellow … Continue reading →

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Should AI Get Legal Rights? | WIRED

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

Very interesting article published yesterday in Wired magazine. “Model welfare” is an emerging field of research that seeks to determine whether AI is conscious and, if so, how humanity should respond (e.g., should AI have/deserve “rights”?) — Read on http://www.wired.com/story/model-welfare-artificial-intelligence-sentience/

Posted in Creative Practice in the Age of AI, Digital society, generative AI | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

We must build AI for people; not to be a person

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

An essay worth reading from Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman: We must build AI for people; not to be a person — Read on mustafa-suleyman.ai/seemingly-conscious-ai-is-coming

Posted in “Reblogged” posts from other writers, generative AI | Tagged , | 3 Comments

New “bloom patterns” type of origami introduces new possibilities in engineering

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

One of my favorite scenes in the movie Working Girl comes near the end, where our heroine, Tess (Melanie Griffith), seizes a last-ditch opportunity to stop her boss, Katherine (Sigourney Weaver) from stealing her deal. After Jack (Harrison Ford) corrals … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Art, Creativity, design | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Intersection of Beige and Cream

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

Because working on a computer for hours at a time (in a single sitting) is not good for anyone, I try to take short, frequent breaks to get in some stretching and walking as much as possible. Fortunately, my office … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

“The Art of Forgetting” – A short story, plus my start-to-finish ChatGPT creative conversation

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

This week’s short-short story, “The Art of Forgetting,” was fun to write. Before I go any further, here are the relevant PDFs for this week’s post. First, HERE is the PDF of my short story, “The Art of Forgetting.” And HERE is my … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Practice in the Age of AI, Creativity, fiction, generative AI, Writing with AI, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

I See What You Mean

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

Today’s post is something different for me. My friend Kathleen is editor of a newsletter that publishes fiction, poetry, and essays. Because her publication is limited to black-and-white reproduction of images, and the article below contains a color image, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Nature, Photography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Influence of Influences

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

Inspiration may strike, but creativity accumulates. One is lightning in a bottle; the other is molasses—slow to pour, but sticky enough to catch the stray ephemera that lend rich flavor to whatever artistic projects you’ve got baking. Creativity is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creative Practice in the Age of AI, Creativity, design, Music, Photography, Popular culture, Technology, Writing with AI, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Southpaw Violinist (Or, ChatGPT makes a mistake)

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Katherine Wikoff

When I asked ChatGPT for an image to illustrate “The Pianist’s Hands,” the short story I wrote with ChatGPT and posted earlier this week, I thought it was gorgeous and (for a few minutes) an “absolutely, breathtakingly PERFECT!!!” image to … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, Music, Technology, Writing with AI | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments