Episode 55: Artificial Intelligence and Modeling: A Talk with Jake McKee

Your hosts have been wrestling for some time about how to approach the topic of Artificial Intelligence and its possible impacts on our hobby. As Barry says, there’s no stopping the progress of the technology, and Jim adds that it’s as likely to lead to great things (helping scientists cure cancer, say, or slow the warming of our planet) as disturbing ones (putting teachers out of a job, or journalists, or, as touched on some with Joan Biediger in Episode 47, artists).

Jake McKee came to our rescue with an email outlining his thoughts on A.I. that prompted us to invite him on the show for a wide-ranging conversation that begins to grapple with these issues. Based in the tech hub of Austin, Texas, Jake is a consultant in the digital realm, a photographer, a devoted modeler, and a blogger (with both a tech blog and a modeling blog). In the past, he’s done digital marketing for Lego, and he’s also worked at Apple. He’s been thinking about A.I. a lot, and he certainly helped us formulate our thoughts, and consider the possibilities.

Below: An A.I.-animated Airfix carabinier recently posted on the Napoleonic War Scale Models and Dioramas Facebook group, which is mentioned in our chat, and some examples of Jake’s imaginative modeling.