Diego Bonilla

Diego Bonilla
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Born	1969 (age 56–57) Mexico City
Nationality	Mexican-American
Alma mater	Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Occupation	Academic Media artist Professor

Diego Bonilla (born 1969) is a Mexican-born American academic, media artist, and professor of communication studies at California State University, Sacramento. He is recognized for his interdisciplinary work in hypermedia storytelling, digital media literacy, open education, and immersive virtual environments. His career includes contributions to electronic literature, experimental film, and educational innovation, with a focus on the intersection of technology, storytelling, and learning.

Early Life and Education

Diego Bonilla was born and raised in Mexico City. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City. During his undergraduate years, he published a poetry book titled "El Anfiteatro de la Memoria" (1992, Editorial Praxis) and several short stories in Mexico. His early literary work was featured in the "Horizonte" literary journal published by UNAM, and later included in the anthology "Generación del 2000. Literatura mexicana hacia el tercer milenio" (Conaculta, 2000).

In 1996, he co-authored a book titled "Mercadotecnia e imagen en Internet" ("Marketing and Image on the Internet"), published by Editorial Iberoamericana.

Bonilla moved to the United States in 1996 to pursue graduate studies. He obtained a Master of Science in Media Management from Syracuse University and later completed a Ph.D. in Mass Communication, specializing in Digital Media. His doctoral research focused on how users acquire short-term memory while experiencing narrative on a computer, contributing to the development of a hypermedia narrative titled "A Space of Time". Syracuse University recognized his work with the Graduate School Doctoral Prize in 2003.

Academic Career

Bonilla joined the faculty of California State University, Sacramento as a professor of Communication Studies. He developed courses bridging technology and communication, covering topics such as new media theory and digital media authoring.

His research interests include hypermedia storytelling, non-linear narrative forms, human communication on the Internet, and the societal effects of new media. His 2006 article, "La estructura como narrativa: El uso de algoritmos estadísticos para el control de una narrativa hipermedia no lineal" ("Structure as Narrative: The Use of Statistical Algorithms for the Control of a Non-Linear Hypermedia Narrative") in the journal "Razón y Palabra" discusses how digital media affects traditional narrative structures.

Bonilla has supported AI literacy and computational thinking in education and emphasized the importance of computing in narrative comprehension. He has curated open educational resources (OER) for educators, including initiatives like "AI News Social".

Open Education Work

From 2014 to 2016, Bonilla was a representative on the California Open Educational Resources Council, contributing to the expansion of access to free or affordable learning materials in public higher education. He co-authored articles on OER and helped create the California Open Online Library for Education (COOL4Ed).

Latin American Academic Networks

In 2005, Bonilla co-founded the Red Iberoamericana de Narrativas Audiovisuales (Red INAV), a network of audiovisual storytelling researchers. Colombian scholar Jerónimo Rivera cites Bonilla as a founding member of Red INAV, established during the V Bienal Iberoamericana de la Comunicación in Mexico City.

In 2012, he spoke at the Second International Symposium on the Electronic Book in Spanish with a presentation on hypertext.

Creative and Scholarly Works

Early Electronic Literature

In the late 1990s, Bonilla created works in electronic literature such as "Autorretrato" (1998), a hypermedia poem, and "Universales". These were featured in "Antología LitElat Vol. 1 (2020)". "Autorretrato" was highlighted by UNAM's Horizonte journal. German scholar Inke Gunia discussed Bonilla's multimedia poetry.

Interactive and Computational Storytelling

One of his notable projects is "A Space of Time" (2003), an interactive multimedia narrative developed during his doctoral research. The project won the Internet/Multimedia Category award at the XXVI Moscow International Film Festival in 2004. In 2017, he released "Accidental Occurrence", a hypermedia short film edited by an algorithm.

Electronic Poetry and Digital Literature

In 2019, Bonilla and poet Rodolfo Mata created "Big Data", a generative video poem addressing data collection and AI-driven persuasion. It was a finalist for the 2021 Robert Coover Award for Electronic Literature.

In 2020, he co-authored "Tablada Hipertextual: Edición Electrónica de la Poesía Reunida de José Juan Tablada" with Rodolfo Mata.

Virtual Reality Filmmaking

In 2021, Bonilla premiered "Uku Pacha", a virtual reality short film co-written by Helena Galán. The film incorporates viewer interaction for narrative influence. In 2023, he produced a 3D virtual-reality documentary on the Homeless World Cup.

Social Justice and AI Art

Bonilla's project "Requiem Diurnus" is a digital gallery addressing feminicides. The project used AI to generate images and poems accentuating dignity and resilience.

Influence and Legacy

Bonilla's work in storytelling and computation has been noted by Mexican literary scholar Héctor Perea, who examined Bonilla's approach in a 2020 essay. Bonilla is involved with Sacramento State's Center on Race, Immigration and Social Justice, and the Center for AI in Society.

Current Initiatives and Future Directions

Bonilla's recent project "AI News Social" is an AI-powered publication helping navigate AI developments in higher education and social justice, available under a Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license.

Selected Works

Books and Anthologies

"El Anfiteatro de la Memoria" (1992) – Novel (Praxis) "Mercadotecnia e Imagen en Internet" (1996) – Nonfiction (Iberoamérica) Contributor to "Generación del 2000. Literatura mexicana hacia el tercer milenio" (2000) – Anthology Co-author of "Tablada Hipertextual: Edición Electrónica de la Poesía Reunida de José Juan Tablada" (2020) – Digital scholarly edition (UNAM)

Digital Works and Films

"Autorretrato" (1998) – Electronic poem "Universales" (2000s) – Electronic poem "A Space of Time" (2003) – Interactive multimedia narrative "Accidental Occurrence" (2017) – Algorithmic hypermedia film "Big Data" (2019) – Generative video poem (with Rodolfo Mata) "Uku Pacha" (2021) – Modular virtual reality film "Pitched Together" Homeless World Cup VR Documentary (2023) – 3D virtual reality documentary "Requiem Diurnus" (2023) – AI-generated gallery addressing feminicides

Selected Academic Publications

"La estructura como narrativa: El uso de algoritmos estadísticos para el control de una narrativa hipermedia no lineal" (2006) – Article in Razón y Palabra "Sobre la importancia del pensamiento computacional y la literatura" (2020) – Prologue to a digital literature anthology Co-authored studies on Open Educational Resources in California higher education (2016)

Awards and Recognition

Graduate School Doctoral Prize, Syracuse University (2003) Internet/Multimedia Category award, Moscow International Film Festival (2004) Finalist, Robert Coover Award for Electronic Literature (2021)

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