Nicole He’s
Internet Realm 😎

Hello! My name is
(she/her) and you have reached my website. I am an independent game developer and creative technologist based in Brooklyn, New York.  You can see some of the things I have made over here ︎

I’m currently directing two unannounced videogames:  an experimental game produced by the National Film Board of Canada, and a commercial indie game with Nerial and Devolver Digital.

In the past, I’ve worked as a creative technologist at Google Creative Lab, and an outreach lead at Kickstarter.  I am also an adjunct faculty member at ITP at NYU, which is where I received my Master’s degree.

Beyond doing computer stuff,
I enjoy cooking, powerlifting, and recently, streaming on Twitch.

Contact

I am generally available for speaking events, so feel free to reach out for that, or if you just wanna say what’s up.

︎︎︎ email
︎︎︎ twitter
︎︎︎ mastodon
︎︎︎ github
︎︎︎ instagram
︎︎︎ twitch

If you want to follow my work and get (very infrequent) updates on new projects and announcements, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter here or below:

Select Interviews

︎︎︎ Kill Screen (2020)
︎︎︎ Believer Magazine (2019)

︎︎︎ ARTE Tracks (2019)
︎︎︎ WIRED (2018)
︎︎︎ Kotaku (2018)
︎︎︎ CBC Radio (2017)

Events


Past
︎︎︎ Game Developers Conference
    Talk
    March, 2023
    San Francisco, CA
︎︎︎ !!Con
    Talk
    November, 2022
    The Internet
︎︎︎ GAMES &&
    Talk
    November, 2022
    Princeton, NJ
︎︎︎ REFRESH #4
    Keynote
    November, 2021
     Zurich, Switzerland
︎︎︎ Whaaat!?
    Talk
November, 2021
Boulder, CO
︎︎︎ Design and Technology Cloud Salon
    Talk
November, 2020
The Internet

︎︎︎ SPACE10 Sessions
    Talk
May, 2020
The Internet

︎︎︎HarvardxDesign
    Talk
    February, 2020
    Cambridge, MA

︎︎︎ORD Camp
    January, 2020
    Chicago, IL

︎︎︎Playtopia
    Talk
    December, 2019
    Cape Town, South Africa
︎︎︎Machine Agencies at the Milieux Institute at Concordia
    Talk, Workshop
    October, 2019
    Montreal, Canada

︎︎︎Glitch Appy Hour @ XOXO 2019
    Demo
    September, 2019
    Portland, OR

︎︎︎The Conference
    Talk
    August, 2019
    Malmö, Sweden

︎︎︎Google I/O
    Demo
    May, 2019
    Mountain View,  CA

︎︎︎A MAZE.
    Talk
    April, 2019
    Berlin, Germany

︎︎︎Game Developers Conference
    Talk
    March 2019
    San Francisco, CA

︎︎︎Awwwards Conference
    Talk
    November 2018
    New York, NY

︎︎︎Creative Coding Festival
    Keynote
    November 2018
    New York, NY

︎︎︎Grace Hopper Celebration
    Demo
    September 2018
    Houston, TX

︎︎︎XOXO
    Talk
    September 2018
    Portland, OR

︎︎︎Artworld Videogames
    Exhibition
    August 2018
    Melbourne, Australia

︎︎︎ACMI Masterclass: Artworld Videogames
    Talk
    August 2018
    Melbourne, Australia

︎︎︎Google I/O
    Demo
    May 2018
    Mountain View, CA

︎︎︎True/False Film Festival
    Talk
    March 2018
    Columbia, MO

︎︎︎Interrupt Conference at Brown University
    Talk
    April 2017
    Providence, RI
︎︎︎WordHack
    Talk
    January 2017
    New York, New York

︎︎︎The Conference
    Exhibition
    August 2016
    Malmö, Sweden

︎︎︎FACETS
    Panel
    May 2016
    New York, New York


Etc

︎︎︎ Collaborators, friends, people I admire who make cool stuff ︎︎︎ Hello, Computer: Unconventional Uses of Voice Technology 2020 syllabus ︎︎︎ My student blog from grad school


😎

The Best Art


What is this?

This is the About page for The Best Art, an artistic collaboration between the computer and the human. The project is hosted at the-best-art.computer.

Who are the collaborators?

The artist is a MacBook Air, 13-inch, early 2015. The human is Nicole He.

How does it work?

The computer queries the universe and uses an algorithm to objectively calculate the best art for any given moment in time. The human executes the commands.

How does it work...more specifically?

The computer's creative process is computational, and therefore unbiased.

For any current moment, the computer’s algorithm produces a number called the Art Index. The Art Index is determined by a number of factors in the universe, including the time of day and weather, how many times the president has tweeted that day, how close the International Space Station is to the computer, and the computer’s horoscope. (The computer is a Gemini.)

The computer also generates a machine-appropriate large number of project ideas, which are run through a sentiment analysis program to generate a rating. The computer then matches the current Art Index to the project that is closest in rating, thus determining the best art for the current state of affairs in the universe.

The human receives the computer’s instructions in the form of a printed receipt. The human then executes the commands, outputting the best art and fulfilling the computer's artistic vision.

How many projects have been made?

There have been a total of 27 projects.

How do you know it actually produces the "best" art?

Good art pulls meaning from the chaos of the universe, and also reflects the artist's unique point of view. The computer rigorously combines these two factors in its programming, optimizing them to produce the best art.

Rest assured that the results are objective, because they are determined mathematically via algorithm.

Has there been press about The Best Art?

Yes.

  • CBC
  • The Outline
  • Technical.ly Brooklyn
  • Tabi Labo
  • I have questions for the computer or the human.

    You may email hi@nicole.pizza.

     ︎︎︎ Back