Could/Should, Paranoia, and AI Chatbots

We have to remember something: Our computers will never love us. Oh, they can fake us out, convince us, help us rationalize, do all sorts of crazy crap, but they will never care for us.

In that way, they are very human.

Two things to ponder:

Google researcher thinks its AI is sentient.

I don't know; I'm no expert. But I'm skeptical. As much as we think we understand things like sentience, I think in a way it's hubris if we think man, or a corporation, has succeeded in creating it.

Belgian "eco-anxious" invidiual kills himself because an AI chatbot convinced him to do so.

I've played around with AI enough to know as much as it is powerful, it also delivers quite a bit of gibberish. Much like the people who espouse extreme eco-conscious views such as not birthing, wanting to rid the world of pets, etc., in the name of eco-consciousness. The gibberish AI conjures holds a mirror up to the gibberish humanity conjures, and it can do all that without sentience.

It all comes back to one fact: We can make a thing, and think that thing is noble. And then stand by, shocked, as people, enamored with the thing, use it in ways we never considered or thought possible, all because it can do it.

Charlie Chaplin said it in "The Great Dictator": More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness.

We can grapple with algorithms, and chatbots, and the online rhetoric of a thousand people and a thousand AIs willing to manipulate us only for the sheer joy of watching monkeys dance, or we can remember we are humans, who can connect with humans, who -- I will grant you -- sometimes lead us astray, but for the most part, have our interests at heart. If the Belgian who killed himself had talked more to his wife and children about his eco-fears, maybe he'd be better off. Maybe he'd be alive.

Unplugging is going to become more and more important as time goes on, yet we seem determined to plunge into the cold world of technology, leaving our humanity on the doorstep.

 

[Typed for Facebook, but Deleted. Because I'm Tired, Boss. I'm tired.]

Headline: "Neighbors asked a man to stop making noise so a baby could sleep. He then opened fire, sheriff says."

But yeah. 2nd Amendment. Muh rights, and all that. Carry on, citizen. Nothing to see here.

Stupid arguments for and against gun control, post them below. Won't change the fact that five people are dead because someone else thought his right to shoot guns in his front yard at 11:30 at night trumped others' rights to sleep. Or live.

THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD THEIR OWN GUNS AND USED THEM, AMIRITE? Go ahead. Type it. Or it was the alcohol. Or brute stupidity. Type all of it. For heaven's sake; they just wanted it quiet so their baby could sleep.

Have all the guns you want. But use them responsibily. Balance your Constitutional rights with obligations of treating your fellow man with respect, and if that means you shouldn't be shooting your damn gun off in your own front yard at twilight, I guess that's what it has to mean.

And if you're drinking, or high, or whatever, put the damn guns away. Or don't drink or get high.

Make all the clever arguments you like. But remember, what we need more is kindness, not cleverness.

Maybe if I play it extra loud, for those in the back:

More than machinery, we need humanity.

More than cleverness, we need kindness.

Don't give yourself to these unnatural men;

machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts.

You are not machines; you are men.

 

The Laptop Saga Continues

Since thusfar my efforts to find a replacement U key for my son's laptop has proved fruitless, I turned yesterday to HP, the computer's manufacturer.

First, of course, that meant being able to identify the computer. Designers are too crass to label things correctly now; I'm staring at my HP Pavilion desktop right now (which recently came back from the dead). Try to find the name of my son's computer, and it can't be done.

Printed in tiny, smudgeable print on the bottom of the laptop are a series of numbers, which I ditufully entered into HP's website so they could identify the computer. That helped me conjure up the product number for it.

So, progress.

But then, sticker shock. Apparently, HP isn't sitting on a bunch of spare parts that they could either use to fix minor things like this, or send out to happy fiddlers like me willing to learn. No, they said they'd repair the laptop for $300. About 2/3 of what we paid for it. For a broken U key.

So that's a no-go.

Next on the list: Haunting local thrift stores in an attempt to find a discarded laptop that might have keys that'll work with his computer.

Such a pain in the butt. And more evidence that Big Tech is absolutely nuts.

There may be people willing to sell invidual parts, but I've been burned once, so I'm wary.

1066 and All that: Trust Me, Wikipedia Helps

I found this book at the thrift store several years ago, and finally pulled it off the shelf to read.

It's been a delight. Certainly one, however, best taken in small doses, as I've discovered it's easier to laugh at this garbled history if you understand the ungarbled history beforehand. That's meant a lot of forays to Wikipedia and other sources, trying to sort things out in my own head. I should add some of the references I was already familiar with thanks to a steady diet of British television programs ranging from Yes, Minister, to Keeping Up Appearances.

Still, there are many things in this book that can be chuckled at without even a surface understanding of history, such as this gem about Copernicus:

The reign of Henry VII marks the end of the Middle Ages. These were succeeded by an age of daring discoveries such as when Caprornicus observed the Moon while searching the skies with a telescope, thus causign the rotation of the Earth, crops, etc. Emboldened by this, Caprornicus began openly discussing the topic of capricorns, for which he was unanimously put to death.

Technically, as I think of it, this might be about Galileo.

While other similar collections have been put together, what I think sets this apart is that it's not necessarily a collection of student errors, but just a amalgamation of what's been overheard on theleivsion, on the streets, in the pubs, etc., to show how the complicaed history of a country becomes garbled over time and despite the best efforts of the educational apparatus.

So enjoy the book. I know I am.

Moldy Bagel on the Head? [Chef's Kiss]

1. To say I'm really excited for the garbage truck to come today is actually a gross understatement of the level of anticipation I have for the truck's imminent arrival.

2. Let this be a warning to the rest of you not to get old and adulty to the point the imminent arrival of municipal services could very well be the highlight of your week.

To say I was hoping a Facebook friend would reply with this very image would also have been a gross understatement of my Frinkiacesque anticipation. And of course, that was delivered.

Don't Do Business With Replacementlaptopkeys.com

UPDATE 2: They did, in fact, refund my money. I'm still not going to do business with them, as it appears they have a long history of noncommunication with their customers, and that is not the way to run a railroad. Conundrum, though: I was also refunded the money by our credit card company. I have emailed them to tell them I don't think it's right to get a double refund either. We'll see what happens there.

UPDATE 1: The company emailed me this evening to say they have cancelled my order and refunded the money. Whether or not this is the result of my repeated contacts, or my bank or credit card company contacting them, I don't know. We'll see if it's true.

***ORIGINAL POST***

Because I'm a klutz, I dropped a speaker onto my oldest son's laptop, snapping the U key in half.

Because I'm not a slouch, I glued the key together and repaired the keyboard, but told my son I would get a replacement key to make his laptop good as new.

That led to a search online to find a place where I could replace the key, and that led to replacementlaptopkeys.com, among a few other websites I considered.

I went with them, not particularly because of price -- the websites I visited tended to be the same, or at least in the same range. I should have done more homework.

Here, ten days later, the site that brags if you need a key, they have it in stock, still shows my order as "awaiting fulfillment."

A perusal of the internet, along with their social media presence on YouTube and Facebook, shows this is not an uncommon thing. Many people are dissatisfied with the company, saying their orders -- far older than mine -- still haven't been delivered. Or they're sent the wrong parts when an order is filled.

So I've filed a dispute with my credit card company. Here's your warning to stay away from replacementlaptopkeys.com.

And yes, I did try to contact the company. I called them several times, but the only option on their end that was working was to leave a message. Guess how many they've responded to?

I've also emailed them, both through my email account and through fillable forms on their website. Haven't received a single reply.

The only part of their company that seems to be working is the part that collects payments, just so ya know.

While I would be more patient with these people if they were communicating with me, I have none when their response -- even to critical posts on their social media accounts -- is silence.

So save yourself the trouble: Don't do business with them at all. They're scammers.

Worlds Are Colliding, Jerry!

 

Thusfar, I've been able to maintain space between Facebook and the real world. But sooner or later, WORLDS WILL COLLIDE.

Cradle to Grave

To quote a summary of 42 U.S.C. §6901 et seq. (1976):

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) gives [the Environmental Protection Agency] the authority to control hazardous waste from cradle to grave. This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.

This took on special significance to me this past week as I helped retire a procedure I also helped create, as part of the Idaho Cleanup Project at the Idaho National Laboratory.

I've been working at the ICP for more than a decade, and still love that the project shares an acronym with Insane Clown Posse. Retiring the procedure, however, felt like a milestone. I remember being in the building at the computer with our criticality safety engineer, inputting responses into the computer and recording the output so we could write the procedure based on the computer's actions.

I got to see the procedure in action once -- I'm trained to be in the vicinity, but not to operate the stuff; I don't like to do lookie-loos when they're unnecessary. Seeing the procedure in action was fun.

And now it's gone.

I hope it was easy to understand.

I'm sure I would have heard about it if it weren't. [Puts down Rubik's Cube.]

Thumper's Dad Was Right

Locally, there's a high-profile murder case, three years in the making, just entering the jury selection phase. The judge has ruled no cameras would be allowed in the courtroom, so a sketch artist was brought in.

The comments on the threads featuring the sketches are filled with rude invective and comments, criticizing the skills of the sketch artist. I'll wager those making the criticisms could not render these sketches any better, under the time constraints in place and to whet the appetite of the "crime vultures," who all along have said they could be better judges, better cops, better reporters, better this and better that. 

I make enough mistakes on my own I don't need to spend time pointing out those made by others. Living in a glass house and all.

Shut up, is what I'd say to these critics. Be better human beings. And get a better hobby.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

From President Russell M. Nelson's talk this morning at General Conference:

“I am greatly concerned that so many people seem to believe that it is completely acceptable to condemn, malign and vilify anyone who does not agree with them.”

Disciples of Jesus Christ are to be examples of how to interact with others — especially when faced with differences of opinion. “One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.”

The Savior’s Atonement made it possible to overcome evil, including contention. 

“Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully. ‘If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ that we can say about another person — whether to his face or behind her back — that should be our standard of communication.”

Contention and peacemaking are both a choice. “You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation.” Choose to be a peacemaker.

Charity, or the pure love of Christ, is the antidote to contention. 

“Examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others. I bless you to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ.”

Oh, I need to apply and remember this. Because meanness and snark and unfriendly sarcasm is so easy to do, and the Devil delights in it.