Scholarship Reflection: Clevinger Annual Scholarship for Arts Integration through A.I./Technologies - Jade Thompson
Growing up, I always felt at home with the arts. My parents both play instruments and fostered their own love for music and art as young children, and I developed this same appreciation early on. I recall excitedly joining my middle school’s band, and going on to play in marching and ensemble settings within middle school, high school, and college. In high school, I also performed in our local musical theater program, and fell in love with the act of creating characters and storytelling through performance. When I began my time here at Mississippi State as a Software Engineering student, I never imagined that I would have the chance to return home to the performing arts as a part of my studies. However, through the Shackouls Honors College, I have had an incredibly enriching experience via technology integration within the arts.
Beginning in January of 2024, I worked closely with my colleagues within the Social, Therapeutic Robotic Systems (STaRS) Lab and Dr. Clevinger (Senior Faculty Fellow and Professor of Communication/Theatre at the Shackouls Honors College) to collaboratively brainstorm and plan for a production of Trinimmus that would include robotic actors. In regular meetings, I was able to directly contribute to the formulation of techniques for robotic expression of relevant emotions. Throughout the remainder of the spring semester and the beginning of the subsequent fall semester, we were able to establish a loose approach for characterizing our starring robots in the context of the play. This experience gave me a newly holistic perspective on the development of robotic functionalities and behaviors. As an undergraduate, I have engaged in research experiences in the field of social robotics, particularly for therapeutic applications. Unlike more broad fields of robotics, where innovation may lie primarily in mechanical or technical feats, social robotics research often focuses on human-robot interactions, and particularly how to understand and improve them. During my time within this production of Trinimmus, I have been given ample opportunity to closely study the social aspect of my research efforts firsthand, largely through the planning and dynamic execution of robotic interactions with human counterparts.
Working with emerging technologies in the context of performance and artistic expression has introduced me to the importance of arts integration, especially in scientific disciplines. By applying technical skills to compose robotic expressions for this play, I have learned about ways that technology can be used by humans to enhance the expressive capabilities of art, as well as ways that art can make technology more accessible and engaging to a wider population. Ultimately, with the opportunities granted by the Shackouls Honors College over the past year, I have learned much more about the potential provided by my joint technical and artistic backgrounds, and I hope to utilize the new perspectives gained through this experience throughout my future career.
----
Jade Thompson is the first recipient of the Clevinger Endowed Scholarship for Arts Integration through AI/Technologies (2024/2025)
