1272 Mill Dam Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
April 4, 2016
Judges, Senior Project Board
First Colonial High School
1272 Mill Dam Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Dear Judges:
As a soon-to-be graduate of First Colonial High School, I will take this opportunity to tell you about some things I learned this year. I learned that often times, I find myself extremely busy and when I throw myself into one big project, I tend to put everything else on the back burner. Theatre is my passion and since we were working on shows during this project, I found myself sometimes running out of time to work on things, so I took a step back and decided that that was not the ideal way to handle the situation. I began to split time between my project and theatre to ensure that what I needed to do will get done. This lesson will help me as I continue my education and theatre, as I will be able to handle multiple shows as well as the volunteering I want to do when I go to college, as I want to work with the St. Albans Sanatorium (a historical site) restoration project.
I chose to work with artificial intelligence for my paper and project because, even though it isn’t what I want to do with my life, it affects all of us daily and it has been something that has interested me since childhood. I feel that the event I held achieved my goal of reaching out to many people and understanding their opinion on A.I. Since I didn’t give my clear cut opinion on A.I., I don’t feel like anyone felt they should answer any specific way, as I presented both sides and had them make their decision. It was informational, as well as fun, with an obstacle course where participants became the robot and a Botpoet program, where a poem was given and participants decided if it was written by a human or robot. These games came with prizes and I feel taught everyone the importance of A.I.
Too many people these days do not appreciate the technology and programming around them that gives them their iPhones, GPS systems, and even trends such as Cleverbot. Many don’t know that these are levels of artificial intelligence and learning that they are, as well as the potential for it to increase, will help everyone understand how A.I. affects them.
Thank you for taking the time to read my portfolio and for listening to my presentation. I hope you have found them interesting.
Sincerely,
Brandi McElhaney
Brandi McElhaney