The nightmare is here, and it is real.
Some people I like and respect speak of the great hope of “artificial intelligence.” History suggests they are wrong. They would be right if we were a benevolent species, but we are not, never have been, and this side of Heaven never will be.
A year after Microsoft unveiled its big push into AI riding on the early wave of ChatGPT excitement, we haven’t come to terms with how AI fits into our world. Sorting it out will take time, but we need to start doing so with the assumption it is here to stay.
The conversation with my friend Angelo was satisfying and thought-provoking, as they always are. We had been talking about how men, when they grow up (chronologically) and have money, are wont to buy the things they desired but didn’t get when they were little boys.
Is it me or have they gotten more annoying? Those little puzzles to separate out the robots from humans that appear on web sites constantly?
In a recent column for Christianity Today, Yi-Li Lin argued for a significant increase in usage of AI-related tools in church work. I’m sympathetic, but he goes too far. The ways he does are revealing to the challenges every profession is facing, or will face, with this technology.
I watch Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote every year like people watch the Superbowl — snacks, celebratory anticipation, the works. The greatest ones over the years remain memorable long after, conveying master showmanship and a clarity of vision for technology that makes life better. Ironically, while introducing a device called Vision Pro, this year’s conference felt like an aimless stumble towards dystopia.
Longtime Mac users who have any level of need for professional audio tools have probably encountered veteran developer Rogue Amoeba and their suite of tools. I use Audio Hijack Pro, Loopback and Farrago as the core of our workflow on Zippy the Wonder Snail. A series of little discoveries moved me to making those tools my one-stop-mic-enhancement shop for OBS Studio and beyond.
“Beware the ides of March.” So said the soothsayer to Julius Caesar. The date was known to Caesar and every Roman because it, today, March 15, was the official day for settling debts. Which I suppose some of Caesar’s colleagues thought they were doing when on that date in 44 B.C. they multifariously perforated him with knives, rendering him dead.
Some level of mainstream machine learning has been present in the lives of ordinary folks like you and me since iPhoto first did facial recognition well over a decade ago. Other AI or AI-like tech has become increasingly pervasive, but quite limited. Now, a flood of “experience this now” machine learning is drowning out past years’ “imagine if this were just a bit better” tech. Two tools to utilize such tech are worth your attention right now.
There used to be a joke — well, we said it was a joke — among photographers: when shooting family groups and weddings, put the inlaws at the ends of the line of people. It would then be easier to crop them from the picture if things didn’t work out.