Politics – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Disgraced Denny Hastert Dies

Times have sure changed

Once upon a time. It seems not so long ago, yet so distant. There was a time when we held crooked politicians and pedophiles to account for the wrongs they committed.

I’m reminded of just how relatively recent that was in seeing the news that Illinois politician and former Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert has died. Hastert was arrested and convicted in 2016 of violating federal banking laws to make secret payments to cover up his sex abuse crimes. He later admitted his crimes at sentencing.

Times change and sad to say, we certainly don’t live in those times anymore.

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The Golden Age Of Shit. Super Intelligence Style

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. -Walter Scott

The farce that unfolded in Washington DC yesterday regarding Artificial Intelligence wasn’t comedy. Yet it was super hilarious. At some point you have to understand that the wool is being pulled over all of our eyes, including those of the president. And you have to laugh.

Us president donald trump attends national design studio launch event for america gov a new ai powered government website at t.jpg.

In an election year that sees American’s distaste for anything approaching the topic of AI growing like kudzu, the folks running the AI show keep rapidly alternating back and forth between requests that the government step in and stop them from destroying humanity and telling us that their products will create a new golden age of abundance.

If there’s a joke in the circle jerk of a game they’re playing, it’s that the president croaks that he got the assembled AI oligarchy to sign on to a “morally binding” agreement to self-police. You read that right. “Morally binding.” There’s lots of laughing about a group of technologists who built empires on stealing the work of others, who never met a law or a moral they wouldn’t spit on, signing such a document put forward by one of the most outrageous criminals the world has ever known. But that’s just the set up.

The joke is that these conmen are playing the decaying before our eyes president for all they can while he’s still breathing. He no longer understands what’s put before him. He doesn’t have a competent staff. A fact made abundantly clear by the misspelling of the United States under the president’s signature and the fact that his administration’s AI fueled new website spent the day disproving all the lies he’s foisted upon a population with an average reading age of a sixth grader. You’d think his flunkies would use AI to do some basic proofreading and fact-checking. But that’s above a sixth grader’s skill set. Apparently they’ve already “corrected” the website to spit out the lies again.

These tech bros are openly yanking the president’s chain, taking advantage of his infirmity, our divisiveness, our curiosity, and the greed of the markets. The rest of the world is doing it. Given their desires to run the planet, into the ground or elsewhere, they might as well get in on the act before the curtain comes down.

Couple all of that with the supposed name change in the order, rebranding Artificial Intelligence to Super Intelligence. On the one hand it’s good to know that if the technology kills us all there will be no shortage of superlatives to describe the end of times in the summaries all the robots, Muses, and Dots will spam each other with after we’re gone. It beats being wiped out by something branded as artificial, I guess. On the other, the name change is just super silly. Call me when OpenAI changes its name. I’m just surprised he didn’t name it American Intelligence. Or Trump Intelligence.

If there’s drama ahead in any of this, it’s that at some point it’s going to all go to shit. Mostly it has already. Those who dismiss every warning as merely marketing remind me of early climate change deniers. Those who take the warnings seriously remind me of every bandwagon jumper that’s ever leaped to a conclusion. As in most things, what truth that exists probably lies somewhere in the muddy middle, which is exactly where those who will profit over either their success or failure want it to stay.

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s all complicated. Until it’s not.

In some weird way another Sunday has rolled around and pulled into the station that signals the end of another week. I say weird because it’s one of those weeks where you lose track of where you are day by day, and have to keep reminding yourself which day that ends in “y” you’ve landed on. It’s complicated. In a way to avoid my momentary confusion, here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. If I’m sharing it, it must be Sunday, right?

Matthieu marseille JzmM3xTu2Xw unsplash.

Artificial Intelligence continues to complicate the news with more and more problems predictably arising daily out of that tempestuous soup we called technology. Ian Duncan has a more than interesting essay on the matter titled Sex, AI, And The Apocalypse that’s worth your time. Whether you’re buying what anyone, including Duncan, is selling, it’s worth examining the merchandise.

Aurra Kawanzaruwa reminds that’s it’s not the lie that’s told that matters as much as the doubt it creates in The Liar’s Dividend. Who Benefits From Your Doubt.

Meanwhile, David Todd McCarty takes a look at An Uncomplicated Life. Easier said than done. Better done than not.

JA Westenberg says Outrage Is Our Last Campfire. Any piece that begins with examining a bit of Anton Chekov is worth your time in my view. I’m not sure if outrage is the last or not, but it sure is consuming us more than keeping us warm.

I miss good sports writing. Chicago is a crazy sports town, and at the moment, with both major league baseball teams in the playoffs and the NFL season underway emotions are running rampant. The stakes are high, but the odds are fading with the Chicago Bear’s star quarterback and thus that team’s hopes injured. Most of the hopes and baseball dreams will come to naught in my opinion, but it makes for an uncomplicated way to while away some time between commercial breaks for online betting. Matt Lombardo’s has a good piece of sports writing in The Official Quarterback Hell Travel Guide worth checking out if you’re into such things.

Sad to say, you can’t talk about sports today without talking about gambling. Alex Klavens, Walk Bogdanich and Jenny Vrentas investigate How Draftkings Uses A.I. To Target The Gamblers Likeliest To Lose. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

To close out, give a read to Timothy Snyder’s piece A Medidation On Train Stations. The things we know, and the things we just set aside to deal with so many other things are enough to complicate countless lifetimes.

(Image from Matthieu Marseille on Unsplash)

Thanks for reading. Feel free to subscribe if you want. It’s free. 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. If you’d like more click on the Sunday Morning Reading link in the category column to check out what’s been shared on Sunday’s past. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. This site does not use affilate links.

Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Hive Mindlessness

I always look at everyone when we’re on the street and think, ‘We’re like sheep or ants.’ – Lee Ryan

The stock we place in leaders to change the course of countries and companies is more times than not an illusion. The bigger the organization the greater the illusion. For the moment at least these organizations are still made up of humans, and in most cases to think humans march in lockstep you’ve got a hitch in your step.

Oktavianus mulyadi Ir0LXvMPnyc unsplash.

We watch presidents and dictators and CEOs and heads of this and that issue orders, decrees, mission statements, warnings, social media posts, and what have you, and it’s easy to put whatever statement they make to bed and move on whether it’s a problem solved, problem created, or a promise made. Yes, leaders set a tone and an agenda. But leaders don’t do the dirty work down under that make the trains run on time.

Often it’s underlings who think they’re doing what’s called for. They can sometimes twist and turn the agenda to their own purposes. Occasionally they turn their own zeal into a tempest that laps the original intent of whatever they’ve been ordered to accomplish.

And then there are those not in the mix that follow. Seize the agenda. Jump on the bandwagon and try to turn it into the permission slip they’ve always wanted to do now that they feel justified. Or perhaps just because it’s possible. They and the curious who sit on the sidelines can also upend any agenda.

Wealth certainly doesn’t trickle down, but bad motivations do. Strike that. The gravity occasionally runs the other way. Permission slips open up a plethora of permissive possibilities that even the strongest hand of the strongest boss can’t control. That’s human nature. Like Mother Nature, it’s a delusion we can control either.

Even so, we like to think there’s a world out there where we’re all pulling with the same purpose towards the same goals. That’s the illusion.

What prompted this little bit of an essay, beyond watching the always on/off political posing these days, was watching Meta’s new attempt to conquer the world, Muse, rocket up to the top of the app charts with surprising speed. Given all that we know about Zuckerberg’s machinations and maniuplations I don’t believe there was a public out there thirsting for this next move. But it’s being devoured and guzzled in gulps not seen since votes were secured with beer and a sandwich in Chicago taverns back in the day.

Humans are an evolved species that can reason. Perhaps that’s the illusion. Insects that revolve around queens like ants and bees don’t reason. The irony of the gender difference of bosses between the insect world and our technologically driven one is amusing, but the willingness of the drones that follow the leader is depressing.

(Image from oktavianus mulvadi on Unsplash)

“Super Intelligence” Bathed In Nescience

No bliss in this ignorance

You want to laugh. But eventually the ludicrousness of it all just makes you want to throw a brick at a data server. For all the good that will do.

Igor shalyminov Okk_nf2aTyo unsplash.

In a scripted speech before the United Nations yesterday, America’s renamer-of-everything-in-chief, declared that we’re no longer calling Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence. Heretofore it will be called Super Intelligence. Say the magic words, wave the magic wand and poof. The world’s your oyster.

Given the tech world’s penchant for naming things I’m guessing if any of the obeisant lords of the tech world take him up on this we’ll be seeing names like Super Intelligence ++ and Super Intelligence Ultra in the future.

Like I said, it’s all a bit ridiculous. The reality is this is the one name change that no one will pay attention to but the administration flunkies lacking in any intelligence whatsoever, and the remaining yet reportedly diminishing cadre of supporters who still wear their red hats and slop up his Truth Socials like gravy.

It’s one thing to be puffed up with so much ego that you think you can change the course of history just by opening your mouth. It’s another when you open it so wide you can’t see the entire world laughing at you from behind your gums.

I’m just surprised he didn’t call it Trump Intelligence.

(Image from Igor Shalyminov on Unsplash)

Sunday Morning Reading

Yes, and…or No, But?

It’s a Sunday. Yes, and it’s raining. Yes, and it was darker than I prefer when I sat down to write this edition of Sunday Morning Reading. The content feels darker too. Sign of the times? Or just a look inside what’s caught my attention? You read. You try to figure it out. I don’t think I can. Neither can anyone else it seems. Game on.

Michal vrba AJlaheUF IA unsplash. Boys playing chess

AI safety is all over the news, which means it has become practically a dead horse of a topic. Is it scam or a real threat? No one knows. Funny. I think that’s how the scammers prefer it. Especially if there’s a there there. Juliette Kayyem says Destroying Humanity Is Against The Law. Is it?

Anand Giridharadas repeats the obvious in The System Is Rigged. The Cavalry Is Not Coming. We’re On Our Own. Obvious as it may be, it’s worth your time.

Phillips Payson O’Brien says The American Age Is Over. Duh.

David Todd McCarty takes on The Abject Failure Of American Media. McCarty also sprinkles some wisdom on the Ed Sheeran controversy in Ed Sheeran Learns The Hard Way That Neutrality Is Not A Safe Space. There are parallels about more than just safe spaces if you’re of a mind to see them.

Anyone who didn’t think The Kennedy Center was going to be just another in a long list of casualties that would take a miraculous act of resurrection after Trump spoiled all the parties was deluding themselves. Everyone knew the lies going in. Janay Kingsberry reveals the financial ones for the few who pay attention in What The Kennedy Center’s Tax Returns Reveal.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the improv technique “Yes, and…” Dennis Hogan asks “What was Improv?” in his piece No, But. If you know, you know. If you read, you’ll find out.

Justin Neuman says we are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, and pointlessly. There’s wisdom there. There’s also wisdom in what he offers about this era when everything is gamified in More Nothing Now.

Neil Steinberg brightens the morning by suggesting that sometimes all we need is a kitten in Farm Kitten.

(Image from Michal Vrba on Unsplash)

If You’re Moving From 1Password to Apple Passwords Check Out These Resources

Making tech choices shouldn’t be this hard

This is a wacky era for many when it comes to computing, regardless of platform. The rapid pace of change is letting up, propelled by Artificial Intelligence and a cascading series of factors. Another is users’ distaste with some companies and/or their leaders’ decisions in the political and social climate meltdown we are all living through. Too often it feels like we’re choosing the least worst of bad options in the same way it often does in politics.

Sasun bughdaryan WUJmdr8pNwk unsplash. A computer keyboard with a combination lock resting on it

I’ve been reevaluating my use of 1Password for some time. The app has served me well across multiple devices and multiple platforms. When Apple first released its Apple Passwords app in 2022 I thought of switching, but held off to see how the app would evolve, and because the cross platform and other features were still of use. But I’ve felt the tug several times since 2022, and at the moment, now feels like the time.

I say at the moment for several reasons. In a couple of months it will be time to renew my 1Password subscription. Apple Passwords keeps improving, even though it still doesn’t match 1Password’s feature set. Lastly, the ownership of 1Password has made one of those political decisions that doesn’t sit right with me and many others.

I won’t get into the political parts of that in this post. The Verge has a good summary of the issue at this link.

What I will do though is link to two excellent articles for those who might be interested in switching from 1Password to Apple Passwords.

The first is from Ricky Mondello who actually works at Apple in the password management and app/website authentication spaces.

The second is from Glenn Fleishman on Six Colors, also on how to migrate from 1Password to Apple Passwords.

Ricky’s piece is more of a broad overview. Glenn’s piece is quite thorough and covers a number of do’s and don’ts.

For whatever reason you might be thinking of migrating from 1Password to Apple Passwords both are excellent resources that you might want to keep handy.

The good news is it is possible to make such a switch, even though changing horses in midstream might lead to some new challenges and habit changing.

The bad news that keeps accumulating more than I think most want is that too often it feels like we’re in a situation when we might be choosing between lesser evils.

I hate that.

(Image by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash)

Sunday Morning Reading

Is reading, like writing, in danger?

Time for a little Sunday Morning Reading. But reader beware. Some think reading might be in danger. Read on. If you choose to.

Ben white 1MHU3zpTvro unsplash. A man sitting by a lake or river, reading a book.

Like a lot of folks who write I’ve been recently writing about writing in this AI age. But writing is only one side of the page writers want readers to turn. Readers don’t turn pages if they don’t like what they read. Bryan Cantrill thinks readers might be slowing their roll in his piece The Revolt of the Reader. I’d give it a read whether you write, or simply read the words of others.

Becky Ferreira takes a look at how The Remnants Of A Lost ‘Supercontinent’ Just Rewrote The History Of Life On Earth. Accepting that would require a global scale of editing and require quite a bit of new reading.

Roko’s Basilisk. Ever heard of it? Yes or no, you should check out Albert Buneko’s piece What If We Could Have A Future?

Perhaps you’ve heard that there’s a 10% chance AI will destroy humanity in the next decade? Over the weekend Anthropic’s Dario Amodei penned a large piece (or maybe he just had Claude generate it-who knows?) titled We Must Pace The Frontier. In the race he’s running he’s calling for things to slow down and governments to step in because there’s danger out there. It’s caused quite a stir. Fellow race participants, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk, have quickly jumped in to agree. Either these guys are seeing the writing on the wall from folks who just aren’t buying their overhyped promises, or one of their AIs cracked into something we don’t know about yet. Or it could just be more hype. Or it could just be an attempt to push their agenda in upcoming talks the US is to have with China. Given that no one trusts anything they say, who knows? I’d say who cares, but there is that whole future thing that Albert Buneko was writing about.

Speaking of writing on the wall, apparently the gold rush for vibe coding apps isn’t what it looked like it might be. Paul Ford asks A.I. Was Supposed To Give Us Killer Apps. What Happened? The world only needs so many task management apps.

In the political realm folks are turning their attention to January 3, 2027 as a possible next January 6th coup. Michael Luttig lays it all out in The Final Battle For America’s Democracy. It’s a scary read. I think what he lays out is indeed possible. That said, if there is such a thing as a final battle, I think it was lost with the last presidential election.

With a hat tip to David Todd McCarty, I discovered Patrick Metzger’s piece What Canadians Won’t Admit About America. You should discover it as well.

And if you’re not going to be doing any reading this Sunday, perhaps go out and take a walk. Before you do, read David Todd McCarty’s Life On Goshen Landing Road.

Read well.

(Image from Ben White on Unsplash)

Sunday Morning Reading

Reading and thinking on a rainy late-summer morning.

I have a love/hate relationship with late August in Chicago. Hints of Autumn, my favorite season, become stronger. The sun rises later, which I’m not a fan of. That’s where we are on this rainy Sunday morning in Chicago, so it’s time for a little Sunday Morning Reading. And thinking.

Ronit shaked ENNtoNUxhU unsplash. Transparent umbrellas appear to float in the sky.

I like to think I keep an open mind. I also like to think that the life we’re living currently will one day be better. Bottom line, I like to think. Daryl Van Tongeren says that Everyone Wants To Think They’re Open-Minded. Here’s Why Most People Aren’t. My mind is increasingly closing to the possibility of things getting better in my lifetime.

Natasha MH explores egos and gatekeepers in The Structural Shift Beneath Our Feet. I’d argue the shift is in our minds.

David Todd McCarty says that Engagement Might Be The Problem, Not The Solution. To my way of thinking, it never was the solution. Unless you were running one of the engagement platforms.

Davi Ottenheimer sees a similarity between the tech bros and plantation owners. He’s not wrong. Check out “AI Own” And The Techbro Dream of Plantation Life.

Zoe Williams tells us How To Spot A Psychopath, saying ‘It’s like the difference between a domestic cat and a wild cat.” Given that most probably haven’t encountered the latter, perhaps it’s no surprise that the real deal is often so difficult to spot.

Neil Steinberg continues to delve into his archives, this time with a piece from 2015 called Face Fear. When you look and think beneath the surface, there’s no wonder what wonders you’ll discover.

I’ve attended a number of wakes, visitations, memorials, and celebrations of life recently. “Wake” is my favorite term of art for masking grief. It just feels more appropriate to my way of thinking. Timing is everything, so Natasha MH’s piece While The Dead Was Sleeping struck a chord this week.

Speaking of those departed, this week we lost one of the good ones, Dolly Parton. Lots of things written about her extraordinary life and legacy. I particularly enjoyed this piece from Heather Cox Richardson.

It’s a dreary day and some of the links above are also are a bit dreary. So, to close on a cheerier note, Mastodon friend Ian Robinson linked to this piece called How To Talk To Comedy Writer from Andy Reilly. If you’ve ever paid attention to comedy, I bet you’ll recognize some of what you’ve seen, if not why you laughed at it.

(Image from Ronit Shaked on Unsplash)

Sunday Morning Reading

“Cowardice is stronger than common sense.”

Another Sunday with yet another stab a sharing some Sunday Morning Reading. What caught my eye this week revolved around history, featuring fiddle players, photography, and a bit of Chekov among other topics. Rosin up the bow and enjoy.

Guillaume gryn_dvs kv5v3 Yh _M unsplash. Black-and-white close-up of an older man playing a violin, wearing a light fedora with a dark band and a patterned shirt, focused with an expressive, open-mouthed expression as he draws the bow across the strings.

Kicking things off are two great pieces from Robin Ince. He jump starts the first with a well worn quote from James Baldwin:

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

I think we’ve all been gaslit a time or two in our lives. Even if you think you haven’t you should give both The Gaslight Years — Part One and To The End — Gaslighting Part Two a read. I think the fact that Baldwin wrote “hates” in the plural tells a tale.

“Agreement is cheap. Challenge is expensive.” So, says JA Westenberg in The Intellectual Circle Jerk And Why We Can’t Stop. Regardless of the hit to the pocketbook, both come with a cost.

We’ve always fought over history, even while we’re making it. Fine to fight over it, because history teaches us you can’t erase it, no matter how hard you try. Kelsey Ables takes a look at The New History Wars.

Speaking of history, Alan Palazon looks into The Forgotten Photographer Who Put A US President In The White House — And Pioneered Photographic Branding.

Harrison Smith tells the story of Violet Hensley. She Set Aside The Fiddle To Raise Children. At 99, She Made Her Opry Debut. Ms. Hensley recently passed away. Rest in peace.

I’m glad to see that Natasha MH keeps pursuing her art and her writing about it. Check out In The Canvas Grotto.

And to close, here’s a piece from 2018 that Neil Steinberg pulled out of his archives to highlight again this week. Glad he did. The title is a famous quote from Anton Chekov. Cowardice Is Stronger Than Common Sense. Maybe history does just rhyme after all.

(Image from Guillaume Gryn DVS on Unsplash)