The Second Life of Harlem

Dr. Mnemonic outside the Apollo

It has an Apollo Theater and a Cotton Club, and with luck, one day (I hope) a Billie Holiday AI may sing onstage.  The brainchild of Bryan Mnemonic, Virtual Harlem is a recreation of the legendary New York neighborhood during its Renaissance years. A real world English professor (RL biography here), Mnemonic conceived of this project in the 90s, when an early version was created with high-end supercomputers.  Since then, he's been using Second Life as a teaching tool, even conducting an entire writing class within.  "I hope [it] will become an interesting blend of collaborative activities happening between businesses, educators, researchers, residents, entertainers all interested in 1920s jazz era," he tells me.  "Sort of like a living growing 3d wiki, but much more."  He hopes to make it self-sustaining by renting out space and businesses, and given the era's wonderful style, drama, and awesome music, it's easy to see a whole subculture developing around it-- almost like Midian, but roleplaying in a real historical community. That may include some of Harlem's most storied characters:  "[W]e are working with a company to add AI bots to the environment who will represent some historic characters," Professor Mnemonic says. 

His Virtual Harlem abuts a virtual MontMarte, also his project, and at the time we met in-world, he was in Paris, showing them off to his students at the Sorbonne.  Read more about both at the blog of Infoisland.org, a great resource by the folks who run the Second Life Library, and visit Harlem by clicking the SLURL teleport at this link.