Can you draw a crude sketch on the back of an envelope or napkin? Then PhotoSketch can (purportedly) render that concept into a seamless “photo” that looks quite realistic. Is this a good thing?

Paul Wehage looks at Kurzweil’s idea of the Singularity in the context of two articles discussing current trends in crowdsourcing and wonders whether the Singularity will really change human nature that much…

Group collaboration is not always a bad thing, especially when individuals perform specialized activities to produce a group advancement. The use of Twitter and Facebook during the recent Iranian electoral uprising also implies that a clearly defined common intent makes more effective use of these tools. Paul Wehage explores how these ideas might be more relevant to our own individual lives than we might suspect.

Akahele doesn’t just talk about Wikipedia Art. Akahele creates Wikipedia Art. Wehage and Kohs create works for the Wikipedia Art Remixed project for the Venice Biennale.

The speed with which Web 2.0 came into full-blown existence is in large part the reason this latest consumer-focused media revolution has come into being free of the expected restraining forces – normally offered by order-injecting referee institutions. Hence, not only must Web 2.0 content be largely user-generated, so too the means of protecting truth and reputations.

When Paul Wehage initially posted on Akahele about Wikipedia and Art, it was something he thought would be only a minor curiosity which would perhaps interest a few performance artists and other specialists. However, Wikipedia Art proves to be much more explosive than one would have thought…

While the Internet is amazing, mediocrity is its great disappointment. This article posits that history’s great software projects are the product of single individuals or partners, not crowds.

According to a recent program on their website, Wikipedia just loves Art. However, do artists love Wikipedia? Art can serve to mirror Society, but what happens when the reflection isn’t what you expect to see? This article deals with how Artists interact with Society and how Wikipedia views Art, with a focus on the Wikipedia Art project attempted in February 2009 by artists Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern.