In this workshop, offered at ELO 2024, participants will learn how to prompt Chat GPT (or AI code generator of choice) to generate valid HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code and use a code editor (I will demo Visual Studio Code) to create a unique work of electronic literature or digital writing.

Access a full recording of the workshop here.

This practice is an example of Cyborg writing because it integrates human and artificial intelligence to produce code writing that results in electronic literature. It also brings to bear what I playfully call a hackeur approach, in which you hack the code of an elit “engine” to achieve your own artistic vision. This workshop will blend the two practices by using AI to iteratively generate code that is then modified by the human user to develop their own digital writing and electronic literature.

Here’s an outline of the workshop:

1. Introduction and overview of A Cyborg Digital Writing Primer and sharing of initial ideas for works of electronic literature or code engines.
2. Choose an idea offered by a workshop participant and demonstrate how to use Chat GPT and VS Code to produce a working piece of electronic literature.
3. Breakout rooms for participants to develop their own works. I will be available to answer questions, and help debug issues.
4. Sharing works and discussion.
5. Conclusion: how to develop engines for Taper, including how to instruct Chat GPT to avoid CSS for formatting and techniques to minimize code to meet 2048 byte size constraints.

The workshop will empower participants to leverage AI to produce works of electronic literature and digital writing, while improving their AI literacy, code literacy, programming skills, and code reading skills. I believe this is an important set of skills to train our community in because it lowers the technical bar to create these kinds of works.

Once the recording is made available, I will embed or provide a link to it below.