Artificial Intelligencce – Page 15 – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and also the Sunday after Black Friday which seems to have been going on since the 4th of July. To help you recover from the hustle and bustle, both behind and ahead, here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. There’s not a deal to be had. Just some interesting reads and good thinking.

Kicking it off David Todd McCarty wonders just What Are We All Really Thankful For? There are times when my response would be “You got me.”

Chauncey Devega strings together a list of comments from a few pundits as they headed into Thanksgiving on the dangers they see ahead culturally and politically in Democracy’s Last Thanksgiving: Experts Imagine America in a Year if Trump Wins The 2024 Election.

Denny Henke (BeardyStarStuff) tackles the deepening political and social crisis we’re facing in this post with the looming threat of losing Democracy as we think we’ve come to know it. Here’s a quote: “It has been eroded to a thin veneer with little substance because the substance of democracy is the people. And the majority of people of the US stopped caring decades ago.”

State of play? State of Mind? With 2023 heading to a close that means 2024 beckons and so too does another presidential election in the US. But this one seems a bit, well, let’s just call it divisive. There’s certainly tumult ahead. Some are picking up and moving to safer places. Do those exist? Timothy Noah takes a look at The Red State Brain Drain Isn’t Coming. It’s Happening Right Now.

The bigger they are the harder they fall. But these days it just means they’re landing in a cushion of money. Douglass Rushkoff takes a look at the move fast and break things bunch in ‘We will coup whoever we want!’; The Unbearable Hubris of Musk and the Billiionaire Tech Bros.

Speaking of broken things, what’s going on in the world of Artificial Intelligence after last week’s craziness with OpenAI and Sam Altman? No AI engine could possibly figure it out, much less a human. But Christopher Mims seems to think that ‘Acclerationists’ Come Out Ahead with Sam Altman’s Return to OpenAI.

Apple doesn’t like to admit mistakes and makes us live with some of them far too long. *Cough* *iCloud* *Cough*. Jason Snell lays out A History of Apple’s Mistakes and Failures—and How It Hates To Fix Them.

And from the world of entertainment John Carreyrou takes a look at another episode of not admitting costly mistakes in The Strange $55 Million Saga Of A Netflix Saga You’ll Never See.

Just for fun, here’s another entertainment industry piece, Caity Weaver takes a look at the career of Flo. You know Flo. She sells insurance. But do you know the actress who plays her? Check out Everybody Knows Flo From Progressive. Who is Stephanie Courtney?

And since you’ve read all of this on some screen or the other, take a look at this piece from Scott-Ryan Abt as he wonders What Happened to the Man on the Train? Here’s quote: “Maybe there was a time when people didn’t stare at their screens, but those days are forgotten. Maybe there was a time when you’d have a shared human experience on a train, at an airport, at a coffee shop, or on the street. Screens have changed that.”

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Artificial Intelligence is No Match for Human Goofiness

Everyone’s intelligence is being challenged given the decidely human drama going on over OpenAI’s adventures in whatever it is adventuring in. The story’s not over by any stretch of the imagination (or hallucinating) but from what we know it only proves that anything humans touch, humans can screw up.

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Here’s a link to a story on TechCrunch about what, at the time of its publishing, was the latest news that Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella, exercising the muscles Microsoft built up with its 10 billion dollar investment in the company, hired Altman and the company president Greg Brockman after a weekend of boards, CEOs, directors, and investors doing what they typically do. Employees of OpenAI have signed a letter saying they’ll leave unless Altman is brought back. Even the guy who suggested outing Altman has signed on to do so. Goofy? You bet.

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But I’m thinking all the horses are out of the barn into more Azure pastures.

All of this is about AI, a powerful and world changing technology, fraught with possibly as much potential harm as promise. That genie is out of the bottle, never to be put back in with a future no human or AI model can really predict. This story will continue to unfold, as will the technology. What won’t change is what I said in the opening paragraph: Anything humans touch, humans can screw up.

Sunday Morning Reading

Chili was on the menu last night and it’s a chlly Autumn Sunday morning. So it’s time to share some Sunday Morning Reading featuring a little poetry, some politics, some not so intelligent moves in the Artificial Intelligence world (is it a world?) and just some damn good writing worth your time.

Let’s start with the poetry. One of my favorite new writing discoveries is NatashaMH on Medium. She popped out a piece of poetry, Pereginations, the other day on Ellemeno and this morning she’s got a terrific piece called The Day I Learned Poetry. Good stuff. Good times. Good fun. Nothing artifcial about the intelligence happening there.

Speaking of AI, it was and still is quite a weekend on that front. OpenAI’s board surprisingly fired poster boy CEO Sam Altman, now he may come back after lots of hueing and crying. Or he may not. Who knows. Om Malik has a great piece called Foundational Risks of OpenAI looking at the story but rightly hitting the bullseye that this is more than about corporate chaos and investment returns. I’m not sure AI, or its champions, is built for looking back with a long view.

Our politics here in the U.S is still a mess with no foreseable correction in the cards. Dan Balz, Clara Ence Morse and Nick Mourtoupalas take a look at some of the foundational biases in the U.S. Senate that, in my belief, need to change before any next card can be revealed. Check out The Hidden Biases at Play in the U.S. Senate.

Sometimes an outside view is needed for perspective. In this case not so much. Even so, The Economist weighing in with Donald Trump Poses The Biggest Danger to the World in 2024 offers good context in its global round up.

Like it or not, much of our life on the Internet is changing. Social Media is a crazy free-for-all and so is the world of entertainment. In How Social Media Is Turning Into Old-Fashioned Broadcast Media, Christopher Mims takes a look at the stew that’s stewing.

And where would we be without critics? Probably better off, but that’s not necessarily the point of Siskel, Ebert, and the Secret of Criticism by Richard Brody. Here’s a quote:

Criticism is a fraught profession because it’s parasitical. It depends on the work of artists, without which criticism couldn’t exist. A critic who acknowledges and accepts the fact of this dependence is trying to salvage the dignity of the activity; critics who don’t are just trying to salvage their own dignity.

David Todd McCarty is starting a daily column entitled A Bit Dodgy. I recommend subscribing, following, but most of all reading. I’m sure it will be quite a ride.

And in case you’re wondering, worried, or concerned about all of the insanity happening in the world that makes it feel like we’re approaching the End Times, Jeannie Ortega Law tells us that Left Behind author, Jerry Jenkins thinks that all of those End Times prophecies have been fulfilled. So check that off your list.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

The AI Pin Feels Less Than Humane

It’s tough to do a hot take on the AI Pin from Humane given how creepy cold the launch and the video was. The makers’ chill approach sure didn’t light any fires of enthusiasm. I’ve seen friends in a hangover stupor with more enthusiasm about their prospects of greeting a new day. If that’s the sort of calm, cool, and collected monotone our future AI world promises it sure doesn’t feel like a very Humane one.

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As for the technology, certainly at some point in the future we’re headed to something like this and I’ll give the makers credit for their efforts so far. At this point there’s no way to really judge the product or its future, but you can see a certain promise in this kind of Star Trek type of human to computer interaction.

Even so, whether collated and sorted by AI or generated by apps you still need to somehow get something “on screen” at some point. And I’m thinking that needs to be larger than your palm. I can’t imagine negotiating with a laser image of someone’s face in my palm, and “voice only” only gets you so far.

That’s the big disconnect in my first reaction. The AI Pin feels more like an input accessory than an end point. If I’m out for the day and snap a few pictures or video they need to be viewed before they are of any value other than further training an AI engine or sending location tracking data. And yes, i can imagine a future with some sort of headset or glasses to view those images, but I also imagine whatever that face computer might be, it will also have the same approximate features as the AI Pin.

So, I say kudos for pushing the discussion. Push it with a little more human enthusiasm next time around.

Here’s the video.

Sunday Morning Reading

Big week and a traveling weekend. A new granddaughter has made her entrance. Rehearsals have kicked off for The Lehman Trilogy, and as usual most things surrounding us feel unresolved and unsettling in ways that can color good news in ways that make you think. Here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share.

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Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner seek to remind us that viewed through the wider of arc of human history moments of peril do get resolved, but at a high cost in human suffering. Check out All These Emotions.I get the context. Just not thrilled with what seems like an easy way to shrug off the moment.

Doing Less, Extraordinary Well by David Todd McCarty takes a look at how standards shouldn’t shift even when our circumstances do.

Do You Know What Time It Is? I’m not talking about the switch of the clocks between daylight and standard time that happened this weekend. Jonathan Chait looks at that question as a warning we should all be aware of in The Authoritarian Right’s Code-Phrase: ‘Do You Know What Time It Is?’Highly recommend you read and be aware of this.

Almost a companion piece to the previous entry, Mike Lofgren pens Right-Wing Fake History Is Making a Big Comeback—But It Never Went Away. Myths are always grounded in some fact and some fiction. This is a lengthy read and is perhaps as guility as it thesis. The take away is the more things change the more they remain the same.

Artificial Intelligence hasn’t been featured in awhile here on Sunday Morning Reading, but this caught my eye. Polly Thompson tells us about how an AI Bot Performed Insider Trading And Lied About It’s Actions, Study Shows. Don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming.

And speaking of the Internet and bad folks doing bad things because they can, Amanda Chicago Lewis takes a look at The People Who Runied The Internet. Same type of folks who’ve ruined most things throughout history.

And closing things out on a totally different note, one of my favorite writers of the moment, NatashaMH, penned Excuse Me, I’m Heterosexual.I’m saving this piece to share with my new granddaughter one day. Maybe the note isn’t actually all that different.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

Summer is heading towards Fall and we’re on lake time this weekend. So a shorter list of things to share. As usual it’s a potpourri of topics and great writing. Enjoy!

Mug shots were the talk of all the towns this week. David Todd McCarty takes a look at a bit of of mug shot shooting history in The Lost Art of Shooting Criminals.

Always fun to look back on the history of old school Chicago politics. Edward Robert McClelland takes just such a look back as he looks ahead in The Machine Has Given Way to Organizing.

This piece is a real pleasure from Natasha MH. Worth lingering over for more than two minutes. Check out A Two-Minute Pleasure.

In this world where the reliance on facts keeps diminishing Jonathan Taplin takes a look at How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg and Andresseen-Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs- Are Creating an Autocratic Reality.

And if Autumn is approaching so too is football. David. K. Li takes a look back at the Supreme Court case that changed the game (or rather the money behind the game), in Meet The Man Who Thinks He’s Screwed Up College Football With A Supreme Court Win.

An another harbinger of Fall is the build up and anticipation of new Apple gear. Jason Snell takes yet another look at the never ending debate surrounding the purpose of the iPad in Giving Up The iPad-only Travel Dream.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

Here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. It’s an interesting mix of topics that caught my eye (and prompts a bit of editorializing). Hope something catches yours.

Sundaynewspaper With this being the 25th year anniversary of the iMac, Jason Snell writing for the Verge tells us How The iMac Saved Apple. Well worth your time if, like me, you have any interest in Apple and its hardware.

Work From Home is probably going to be a topic of interest for quite some time as we try to grapple with how we’ve changed since the pandemic began. (Hint: We haven’t come close to understanding how we’ve changed.) Jessica Grose has an intriguing NYTimes piece that takes the discussion a step deeper beyond just where we work but also how long we work in Leaving the Office at 5 Is Not a Moral Failing.

Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune has an excellent piece called What Happened to Theater in Chicago. Looking at the doldrums we seem to be in following the pandemic, the piece hits many of the issues head on. Except one. High ticket prices. It’s not just Chicago. It’s nationwide.

A great piece of writing from Dorothy Gallagher called My Father’s House reminds us that a house is more than just a home.

And back to Apple stuff for a second, M.G. Siegler takes a look at StandBy for iOS 17, which is looking like one (if not the one) tent pole feature of the new release. If you ask me, if this type of feature, no matter how cool, is where we are with smartphone evolution, we’ve more than reached the end of the curve.

Artificial Intelligence is still the topic of the moment and probably will be for the rest of our lifetimes. Charles Jennings takes a look in a very good article with a title meant to provoke, There’s Only One Way to Control AI: Nationalization. If you ask me, it’s time to provoke and heat up the discussion.

Lisa Weatherby in the NYTimes takes a look at the eye-popping cuts now happening at West Virginia University. If projected decling enrollments suggest cutting programs in the liberal arts and humanities, it sounds like the game to make the world a bit dumber is succeeding.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

On the road spending time with the grandson this weekend. So I’ll be brief. But these writers and articles are worth spending some time with this Sunday morning. A few of them writing about, well, writing.

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I’ll kick off with a controversial piece by Adam Thirlwell in The Guardian who takes a look back to the French Revolution to perhaps find clues into why we’re writing and expressing ourselves quite so much today. Too much writing? Too much self-examination? Depends on what you call writing if you ask me. Anyhow, check out ‘We’re Gripped by graphomania’: why writing beame an online contagion and how we can contain it. I’m not one for containing any of this. The terrific examples below I think illustrate why.

Baldur Bjarnson is one of the thinkers I’m following when it comes to the topic of AI. He’s written a terrific piece called Authorship, in which he explores what happens when creative work, in this instance he’s using film to illustrate, becomes less about the author and more about the aggregator.

One of my most recent discoveries NatashaMH has written two excellent pieces that I recommend. The first is The Need To Write And The Will to Heal From Our Traumatic Experiences.It’s quite a journey. The second is A Portrait of A Woman and is also more than worth your time. Great stuff.

Natasha tells us this piece by David Todd McCarty, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For inspired her to sketch A Portrait of A Woman. I’ll take her word for it. It damn sure stands on it’s own and sorta makes me hope he never does find it.

Talking at The Texaco is another McCarty piece worth your time. As you read it and you think you know where it’s headed, hang on. You don’t.

So much, too much, of our energy is being taken up with all of the news surrounding the orange buffoon and the shit he’s dragged us all into. It’s worth remembering we’ve been here before. While I’m not a fan of Rich Lowry, this look back at Huey Long is a good reminder. We’ve been here before. Damn shame we’re so good at burying those memories.

And to close this out and look ahead, the Farmer’s Almanac is out with it’s predictions for the winter. If they’re correct, many of us might be bundling up this winter.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

Here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. From arts in space and on the stage, to booby trapped tombs and age-old pathogens thawing out of the ice, here’s an electic mix of topics that might or might not connect together as we sweat and swelter through the Dog Days of Summer. Enjoy.

The Lunar Codex is an archive of various forms of creativity including contemporary art, poetry, podcasts, film, images, and other Earth bound cultural artifacts that’s on it’s way to the Moon. Headed up by Samuel Peralta it will travel on several rockets and include works of 30,000 artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers from 157 countries. J.D. Biersdorfer tells us about it in the New York Times.

Back to Earth it seems that archaeologists are afraid to look inside the tomb of China’s first emperor. You know the one guarded by the Terra Cotta army among other things. Apparently it’s not just what might be disturbed by digging or what might be disturbing if they do, but there’s a theory that the place is booby trapped. Sounds very Indiana Jonesish. Tom Hale writes about it in IFLSCIENCE.

The Stage Is Yours according to Natasha MH in this Medium post on Ellemeno. It’s a great piece about arts, artists, dance, theatre, authenticity, and those hidden fears and secrets inside of us all. You know, the ones we choose not to share when we offer ourselves up. Or do we?

The strikes by the actors and writers unions have pointed a spotlight on AI and how that might replace creatives in film, TV and other industries. Studios see financial savings from reduced costs. But maybe they should take a look at Michael Grothaus’ piece in Fast Company as he theorizes that AI might even replace the studios themselves.

In what sounds like science fiction, scientists have woken up a 46,000-year-old roundworm from the Siberian permafrost. Carolyn Y. Johnson in the Washington Post tells us about that. But if tinkering with what many might think should be left alone doesn’t sound John Carpenterish enough for you, we’re also hearing about frozen pathogens that are waking up on their own in cold places that are warming up. (Can you say Climate Change?) Corey J.A. Bradshaw and Giovannie Strona wrote about this in The Conversation and I caught the article from Science Alert.

Ryan Busse is a former gun company exec who is now warning about the dangerous growing radicalization in his former industry. Corey G, Johnson talked to him for this article in ProPublica.

The social media world is certainly in a state of flux given all the damage Elon Musk has done to Twitter and the scramble by others to provide venues that might offer some of what Twitter used to be before it was X-ed out. Craig Grannell has a great piece called X Marks the Rot. Don’t Buy Into Elon Musk’s Lifelong Crusade.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Sunday Morning Reading

On the road this weekend, so this edition of Sunday Morning Reading will be a little brief. There’s always something to share though.

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On the Artificial Intelligence beat, Catherine Thorbecke at CNN reports that AI might not be quite the time saving boon some have promised. Imagine that.

Who knew Country Music would get embroiled in the so-called “Culture Wars.” Well, unless you haven’t been paying attention, just about everybody. Because hey, just about everything gets caught up at one time or the other. Emily Nussbaum has a terrific long read in Country Music’s Culture Wars And The Remaking of Nashville. FYI: No mention of some guy not born in a small town but singing as if he was.

If you’re looking for a collection of good writers and good writing you won’t go wrong with Ellemeno Magazine on Medium. Some top notch and provactive stuff going on there. Because there’s so much quality writing, I don’t feel so guilty for not recommending more this selections this Sunday.

If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.