What do you think is the future of AI?
Honestly, I suspect nobody truly knows—certainly not the so-called experts. When I hear someone introduced as an expert, my skepticism kicks in immediately. The most useful definition I’ve encountered came from junior college: “Someone who knows a whole lot about very little.”
Consider this: generalists, not narrow specialists, are most capable of predicting AI’s trajectory. So many variables influence the outcome in so many different ways that you’d need someone with broad, interdisciplinary knowledge to make an informed prediction.
However, that’s not enough. Self-centered people will exploit AI for selfish purposes. Given the chance, people will use it for harmful reasons. The key is identifying those bad actors while someone can still stop them.
I believe the trick very simply is to spot those who will make a big deal out of it being something for the good of mankind. My own personal experience tells me so. I have seen broad pictures of all the good that computers will do for mankind, and I see the broad selfish uses that they are used for. The people they really help are the management—those who use and abuse the power the computers provide them. While it is nice to have a UNIVAC in my pocket in the form of a phone, it is those who have the power that can abuse it. And most of us quickly and willingly accept it.
I believe it will be the way of artificial intelligence. The bottom line trick is to remember to keep AI our servant, not our master. My fear is that it will be accepted as a servant while all the time becoming the master.
That wasn’t expected
I went shopping early this morning. One thing on the list was eggs. The price was actually pretty good. I started to get the large ones as usual; then noticed the extra large were but a few cents more. Then I saw the jumbo, which were very likely worth the little bit more.
I am glad I backed off. The extra large didn’t fit in tray designed to hold the eggs. I didn’t expect that.
Nonetheless, I still managed. Had I got the jumbo eggs, I would have had to put them in a bowl, the one I don’t have. As I think back over it, I likely would have come up with other problems.
The last two I was not able to get them to fit. I don’t know. Maybe a couple of jumbo eggs made it into the extra large. So I did the only thing I could. I ate them of course. And they were pretty good. They actually turned out perfect in appearance and taste.
Thing is, when I arrived to the check out area, they didn’t have so much as one person checking people out. Didn’t much care for that. I’m 78, with a month of my birthday. Then I looked closer and realized that Wal-Mart decided to close the registers with the larger tables. That meant they expected this 78, almost 79 year-old to check out 250 dollars of groceries using two 2 by 2 foot tables, no help whatsoever of course. This while I saw employees standing around conversing with each other.
When they came out with bar codes, I sort of expected the self d check out registers. No more help loading cars, I sort of expected. The “I don’t care attitude” they had while they stood around while I struggled with the groceries… That wasn’t expected.
By the way, I also had to beg to get someone to help when the eggs wouldn’t scan. Where will it end. Or maybe the more appropriate question, when will they cease coming up with the unexpected.
Not Sure of the Meaning of the Prompt
Which book’s world would be the worst to live in?
I wasn’t sure what the prompt was asking, so my first thought went to Silas Marner. Then another idea hit me: what about a world where temperatures keep rising and scattered groups of survivors struggle to cope with the heat and each other? That book exists. I wrote it. I called it The Survivors, and honestly, it’s a strange, frightening place where people do disturbing, almost unimaginable things just to stay alive.
Yes, it is available by Amazon Kindle books.
The Simpler it is….
The reason Tennessee State sent a committee in to oversee the Shelby County education systems is that it the worst one in the state, likely one of the worst in the country. As a side note, it is the sort of thing that happens when the Democrats are put in charge of things. And wouldn’t you know it, Shelby County is fighting it it with all they have. And, guess what, the local news media is doing all they can to help the county in their efforts.
It really is simple. They all should be pulling for the best education for the students. To me, it would seem it is their jobs and reputations they are fighting for. It would seem they will intentionally stand in the way of good education for their own purposes. Moreover, it would seem poor educations is the bigger part of their purpose.
The pattern seems about the same with law enforcement. I would spell it out but I don’t see the need. The simplest fact is, when the lock up the criminals, there is less crime. And since they brought the National Guard in, there are more criminals in the jails.
Now, if they would get it in gear and build another jail. We did it a few years ago in Desoto County and we don’t have nearly the tax resources as Shelby County.
In Case You’d Like a Reminder
Don’t really know why, the thought occurred to me ! didn’t know the requirements for senators and representatives, other than their age. So I looked them up. You will be glad to know that both must be US citizens. However, unlike the president, they may be born outside the US. Isn’t that nice. Senator must be a citizen nine years, representatives 7 years. As for me they will not get my vote unless they were born here, and I don’t mean an anchor baby either. And as for President, I would prefer mine to be second generation. And four years active service.
And, oh yes, none of them should have any foreign entanglements with any other nations. I suspect they would have written it that way if they really thought it through.
One would think it would be a sound idea to change the requirements accordingly, but that would require an amendment. The Supreme Court already ruled on that. Change cannot be made by states or Congress. Also, that goes for term limits and memory capacity. Yeah, it sort of appears we are stuck with current rules. I don’t see much hope for a change in the law, let alone an amendment.
If we should get one through I think we should also disallow lawyers from even entering the Capitol Building.
An Section Please
Those that have read my posts know mostly how I feel about illegal immigration. For those few that don’t, let me summarise. All people here illegally should be deported as soon as possible, if not sooner.
While I do believe the above, I am willing to that we should revise their stay to legal if:
- Renounce their former citizenship and agree to proclaim their allegiance to the US and only the US.
- Agree to follow American laws to the best of their abilities.
- That they are able to earn their own livelihood or someone will provide full support for them.
- That they know how to speak, read and write English or will know how at a third grade level in six months; and at a sixth grade level within a year.
- If it is for the convenience of the USA for one of the following: as a witness, particularly one involving a serious felony such as murder, rape or grand theft, by going into and completing at least 4 years of service, especially in a combat zone, determined by an appropriate agent that it is convenient for us to keep the alien. Example, the rocket scientists we brought from Germany at the end of WW II.
The above would still be subject to evaluation and determination by appropriate US agents. Moreover, if it is determined that the exception was granted because of fraud, the person would still be subject to immediate deportation. Also, if at any time it is determined that any of the above was not followed, they would be deported without notice.
Maybe We Need Better Screening?
Pulled up my computer screen and saw the headline “Selma Blair arrested for allegedly trying to open airplane door and biting flight attendant.”
My first thought was to look more closely at the article. Then I thought better of it. First plane I rode was a 727 out of L.A. There were no inspections. I walked straight back to the gate, presented my ticket and received a boarding pass. A while later, I got on the plane. A few hours later, I got off. That was it.
I have had reason to fly from time to time since and each time it was worse. The planes improved, but the security was successively worse. Or, should I say tighter. Yet people like this get on the plane. Biting attendants? Do I ever want to get on a plane where passengers are apt to try to take a bite from anyone? Certainly I would not want to risk sitting next to one. He or she might succeed.
They still say traveling by air is safer than car. Maybe so. But I am beginning to wonder. Perhaps the next step is to muzzle all passengers.
Of course such things, they say are rare. The hitch is that they are getting less rare.
Mnemonics and Computers
The prompt on search engine optimization and the kind explanation of the meaning of the mnemonic triggered some old memories of when I worked on computers. It was back in the 1970s though 80s. Some of the machines I worked on weighed tons, literally. The processor cabinets alone were 1500 pounds and there were three of them. To work on them, we had the aid of microfilm, about eight or nine pounds of them.
Mostly it was lists of signal and the paths they took. I will save you the details but they used mnemonics for signal names. For instance, atbe001, which stood for A register to B register enable for bit one. We got used to them quickly, first in our work. We knew exactly what each signal was for from its mnemonic or its name.
It is training I used quite a bit and became practiced at it, a lot.
Now, it is a little odd. Those tons of computers are now scrap. The knowledge, required then is mostly useless now.
Even so, occasionally I see a license plate and I say to myself, “Yeah that’s the signal that….” Recently, not so much. Even these memories are fading.
Occasionally, I do learn new mnemonics. However, retired and almost eighty, the just aren’t so important as they were.
Stress and Managing It
How do you manage stress?
I try to avoid it. Naturally, it still assaults me from time to time. I have seen my part of it. I went through a bunch of it in boot camp. I don’t like it. But boot camp is more than 10 decades ago. In all likelihood it made me a better person. Still, I’d prefer never going through it. I don’t really manage it so much as just learn to deal with it. It’s either that or go nuts. Sometimes I think it’s a little of both.
What do You Know?
A simple question, right? I love the lyric in *A Puzzlement* from the very popular play and movie, The King and I. I can’t remember it exactly but I am sure you can look it up. In it the king of Siam says, there are times I am not certain of what I absolutely know.
I have heard very few quote it or even talk about it. Yet, I am sure we all come to points in our lives we question what we were taught, read, or simply heard…and we determine it must absolutely be true, and then we found out maybe it’s not true. Sometimes we find out it is a totally fabricated lie.
To be sure it has happened to me. Frequently, it has revealed a lot about the person or organization that fabricated it. Sometimes, truthfully it was by mistake. However, sometimes I must admit to myself that the one doing the lying must be a liar, especially when these fabrications are frequent.
In the case of The King and I, the poor king was lied to by his parents, perhaps because of their ignorance. It seems that the error is that Siam is not only the largest country in the world, but bigger than all the other nations combined.
And so it is he found out that what knew to be so, was not so. What a horrible thing; to be confronted by the truth when he discovered he had believed something so basic. Once confronted, the king immediately realized his error and made the appropriate changes in his life.
The movie was based on the stage play, which I never saw. The stage play was based on a book, “Anna and the King of Siam,” which I did not read. My expertise on the history is very small Let us hope that if it is factual that the king really did see his error and he changed his outlook to the truth. I would also hope that those who read this, when confronted with a truth will not hold onto their former belief.
