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Bart Simon

Dr. Bart Simon is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director/Co Founder of the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology at Concordia University in Montreal. He is also co-founder and former director of the Technoculture, Art and Games research centre (TAG). In addition, he is co-founder of the Concordia Ethnography lab and the Machine Agencies research group at Concordia. Bart Simon has a PhD in Science Studies and Sociology from UC San Diego. His areas of expertise include game studies and design, science and technology studies and cultural sociology. His publication record includes 1 monograph, 3 edited and co-edited collections and 18 peer reviewed single and co-authored papers on topics as diverse as scientific controversies, posthumanism, satellite technology, AI in Games, Minecraft, the cultural economy of independent games, and surveillance studies. He has also been involved in substantial research-creation projects in game design, most notability, a two-player proximity sensor game, Propinquity, which has been presented at several festivals and venues and in several publications. His current game design project with colleague Lynn Hughes is a hybrid immersive theatre role playing game that takes place in a real market.

Almost all of Dr. Simon's research career has focused on interdisciplinary research and collaboration across the social sciences, humanities and design and he has pressed his particular ethnographic, materialist and post-humanistic sensibility with research and graduate training in areas of digital games, surveillance technology, AI and machine learning, and the production of immersive experiences.

How a solar Minecraft server is changing the way we play video games

Nov 19, 2024 07:39 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

Video games have always been a showcase for new technologies. They help create new audiences and new markets. In the 1990s, computer parts manufacturers advertised the speed of their video cards in terms of the frames they...

Economy

Vietnam’s November Trade Sees Monthly Decline but Strong Year-on-Year Growth

Vietnam recorded a notable month-on-month decline in trade activity in November, according to new data from the National Statistics Office (NSO). Exports fell 7.1% from October, reaching $39.07 billion, while imports...

Austria’s AA Credit Rating Affirmed as Fitch Highlights Stable Outlook

Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Austrias Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating at AA with a Stable Outlook, underscoring the countrys strong economic fundamentals despite rising fiscal pressures. According to the...

Fed Meeting Sparks Division as Markets Brace for Possible Rate Cut

The upcoming Federal Reserve meeting is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched and contentious in years, with investors focused on how divided policymakers are over a potential interest-rate cut and the signals...

U.S. Stocks Rise as Cooler Inflation Boosts Hopes for Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as a softer inflation reading strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could move forward with an interest-rate cut next week. The SP 500 climbed 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial...

U.S. Stocks End Week Higher as Markets Anticipate Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stocks closed the week with modest gains on Friday, as investors weighed a wave of delayed economic data and maintained strong expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut at next weeks policy meeting. Despite...

Politics

CFPB to Review Anti-Discrimination Policies and Fair Lending Rules Amid Policy Shift

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is preparing to convene its Consumer Advisory Board next week to review major policy changes, including a controversial proposal to scale back long-standing...

Supreme Court to Review Legality of Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to examine the legality of President Donald Trumps directive aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, a move that could redefine a long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment....

Australia Imposes Sanctions on Taliban Officials Over Human Rights Abuses

Australia has announced new financial sanctions and travel bans against four senior officials of Afghanistans Taliban government, citing the worsening human rights situation in the country, particularly the escalating...

U.S. Appeals Court Rules Trump Can Remove Members of Key Federal Labor Boards

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump had the authority to dismiss Democratic members of two major federal labor boards, marking a significant win for efforts to expand presidential control over...

Trump Backs Review of U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule After Hepatitis B Policy Change

President Donald Trump on Friday expressed support for a major shift in U.S. vaccine policy after government advisers voted to eliminate the long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...