Dr. Susanne Coates (Cytherion) has a diverse background that spans software development, media and film production, artificial intelligence, electronics, nerve-to-computer Interfacing, sailing, electronic music, and neuroscience. Susanne is a Co-founder of Wyld Earth Films, LLC, a company she started with Emily Wathen to produce films which focus on women’s stories, the environment, and science communication. Susanne lives, works, and travels aboard her 12.8 metre (42′) sailing sloop, Sérénité.
Latest posts
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Basic Soldering for Electronics
Soldering is one of those skills that looks simple until you try it. Touching a hot iron to a blob of metal — how hard can it be? In practice, the difference between a reliable solder joint and one that fails six months later comes down to technique, temperature control, and understanding which method suits…
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AI-Driven Storytelling and Narrative Engineering
In 2023, a science fiction story generated almost entirely by AI won second prize in a Chinese provincial competition—only one or two of the six judges recognised its non-human origins. The same year, AI-illustrated children’s books flooded self-publishing platforms, and Hollywood writers walked out in part over fears that studios would use large language models…
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Building A Custom Optical Encoder For Rudder Position Sensing – Part 2
In Part 1, I introduced the problem of rudder position sensing for SCANS and explained why Gray code (and optical sensing) provides reliable absolute position encoding in the presence of mechanical imperfection and electrical noise. This second part examines the first part of the implementation: the translation of Gray code theory into manufacturable encoder disk.…
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Building a Custom Optical Encoder for Rudder Position Sensing – Part 1
Part 1 of a multi-part series documenting the design and development of a 3D-printable optical encoder for sailboat rudder position sensing.
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Artificial Intelligence and the Philosophical Zombie
The emergence of large language models (LLMs) and other advanced machine learning systems has revived long standing philosophical debates concerning the nature of consciousness, agency, and subjective experience. One particularly salient concept is that of the philosophical zombie
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The Spectrum of Consciousness
This article explores the concept of consciousness as a spectrum encompassing various forms of life and potentially extending to artificial intelligence (AI). Consciousness is considered not as a unique human trait but as a continuum of cognitive complexity observable across all species.