Team Human Dennis Yi Tenen
Oct 4, 2023
Dennis Yi Tenen, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, discusses the hidden history of modern machine intelligence influenced by medieval poetry and Russian folktales. They explore similarities in folk tales across cultures and the impact of high-definition televisions on perception. They challenge the misconception of technology as independent, discuss limitations of language models, and emphasize the importance of historical context in understanding technology. They also reflect on nostalgia in music and desire to produce Jesus Christ Superstar in Moldovan.
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Comparative Literature Origins
- Comparative literature studies global literary traditions, initially focusing on non-English works.
- Early comparatists debated whether similar folktales across cultures originated in the brain or a shared zeitgeist.
Dennis's Tech Background
- Dennis Yi Tenen worked as a software engineer throughout his academic career, starting with desktop publishing in the 90s.
- His early work involved manually curating medical journals and designing web pages for early cell phones.
Technology as Cooperation
- Technology, like dictionaries, represents cooperation across time and space, condensing centuries of human effort.
- We often mistake this accumulated effort for inherent intelligence in the technology itself.