"The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers." - Sydney Harris
I've been recently reminded yet again of our humanity in all its frailty and glory. The journalist Sydney Harris lived well before the current AI outpouring. Computation differed in scope, but not so much in nature. It remains a sub-sentient algorithm processor. But the wonders of large language models have provided a wondrous human-like wrapper to its processing because it talks like us. And we are wired to think that if it talks like us, it must be like us. Even if we know differently.
That same wiring also sees a stranger as a danger. And so, we look first for threats before we acknowledge safety. But once we acknowledge safety, we do our best to convince ourselves that accepted sensemaking is justifiable. And we do our best to make it so.
If we thus anthropomorphize our technology, that is hardly surprising. Because once it is no longer a stranger, it must be safe. So, we tell ourselves. But the danger is not in our technologies. It is in our nature. We carry it within us...
- Through the incessant hype, we're becoming used to large language model AI. But Tiny AI is coming. The Next Generation of Tiny AI: Quantum Computing, Neuromorphic Chips, and Beyond - Unite.AI
- "The future of AI leans towards precise, specialized LLMs, like those focused on coding." ChatGPT and Gemini are cool, but they're not where the future of AI is heading (xda-developers.com)
- That future includes moving into our physical analog world through robotics. the A.I. That Drives ChatGPT Will Move Into the Physical World - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- For example, Watch This Humanoid Robot Talk and Complete Tasks Thanks to OpenAI Tech | PCMag
- And continues to transition into those layered digital worlds we're building on top of our physical reality. Meta Unveils SceneScript: Transforming Mixed Reality with Advanced AI (cryptopolitan.com)
- And here. Virtual-Reality Fitness Brands Are Designing Immersive Workouts (businessinsider.com)
- As well as move out of the cloud and on to our physical devices. Meet Jan: An Open-Source ChatGPT Alternative that Runs Completely Offline on Computer - MarkTechPost
- It continues expanding its powers across fields. A Google AI Watched 30,000 Hours of Video Games—Now It Makes Its Own (singularityhub.com)
- As new models and tools proliferate. Introducing DBRX: A New State-of-the-Art Open LLM | Databricks
- Meanwhile, AI ethics efforts furiously push forward in their tough race with technological development. Non-profit Fairly Trained certifies an AI large language model as free of copyright infringement, in a blow to a key claim of AI firms - Music Business Worldwide
- As AI milestones, stepstones, and reality checks unfold. OpenAI might launch GPT-5 with improved capabilities mid-this year | Windows Central
- But take a breath; rest a moment, and remember that AI is merely our tool, able to assist us in making a better world if we allow it. Here, a lovely look at whimsy and beauty in the human experience. For the Love of Cats in Turkey – SAPIENS
- And the ever-beautiful curation of Maria Popova. The Middle Passage: A Jungian Field Guide to Finding Meaning and Transformation in Midlife – The Marginalian
- Now that we've rested, there was more than AI in the world this month.
- If cryptocurrency continues into our future, one of its founders ponders its safety. Can Ethereum Survive a Quantum Attack? Vitalik Buterin Weighs in (beincrypto.com)
- And as we struggle to cope in the midst of our exploding technological landscape, an interesting speculation. "Researchers propose a groundbreaking hypothesis, linking chronic stress and inflammation to societal and cognitive dysfunction on a global scale." Regardless, that technology is affecting our minds and our bodies in ways we have yet to learn. Global Stress and Inflammation: A Cycle of Societal Dysfunction - Neuroscience News
- We continue to struggle in our usual ways beyond technology, as well. Climate. Resources. Water. https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7174575063512363008?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- And the toll that our places and work within society place upon us. Why the emotional labour of hospital staff is dirty work | Aeon Essays
- Living within the constraints and possibilities of these wondrous physical bodies with which we perceive the world around us. "Sometimes our bodies react to the world around us before we realise, so how do internal signals such as a quickening heart or deep breathing affect our thoughts?" Interoception: The inner sense driving your thoughts (bbc.com)
- And so, it behooves us to consider how we spend our energies carefully. A New Philosophy of Productivity - by Cal Newport - Behavioral Scientist
- And live within that delicate dance of reason and emotion that so defines our humanity. Emotion vs. Reason: Rethinking Decision-Making - Neuroscience News
Been a full month. Personal work carries forward on the YES! series. On the tech level, some victories were scored on the ethical AI side of things. See the European Commission's Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI. ai-ethics-guidelines.pdf (aepd.es) But balancing our precarious triangle remains both danger and quest...
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7 个月Deep thoughts, and cool format. Thanks for this Chuck Metz, Jr. I love how you have connected dots with your prose while offering the opportunity to go deep with links that enrich each idea. Well done.
President Foundation for Sustainable Communitiesare
7 个月Excellent reminder that the true problem is the imbalances that come from human decisions. That also means we can rebalance!
Author, Heartificial Intelligence and Hacking Happiness. Director, IEEE Planet Positive 2030. Founding E.D. of IEEE AI Ethics program and IEEE 7000 Standards Series.
7 个月Thanks for this, Chuck!