Interactions with *AI (artificial intelligence), in this case Google’s Gemini

I don’t know what made me ask this questions but I asked Gemini: Are there creatures in the universe that loom as large to us humans as we do to ants?

That’s a fascinating question that delves into the vastness of the universe and the relative nature of scale. Here’s a breakdown of how we can approach this:

 * The Immensity of Space:

   * The universe is unimaginably large. Galaxies, which themselves contain billions of stars, are separated by vast stretches of empty space.

   * This means that there’s a high probability of structures and entities existing that dwarf anything we can comprehend.

 * Scales of Comparison:

   * Just as an ant perceives a human as a colossal being, it’s conceivable that we are equally small in comparison to other things.

   * Consider these scales:

     * Planets: Some gas giant planets are many times larger than Earth.

     * Stars: Stars are vastly larger than planets.

     * Galaxies: Galaxies contain billions of stars.

     * Galaxy clusters: groups of galaxies.

     * These scales show that there are many things that are far larger than humans.

 * Theoretical Possibilities:

   * While we haven’t encountered definitive proof of extremely large living creatures, the sheer size of the universe suggests that such possibilities exist.

   * It is important to remember that our current understanding of physics, and the universe is still limited.

In essence, the answer is very likely yes. The universe’s scale makes it highly probable that entities exist that are to us what we are to ants.

Gemini was kind enough to also throw up these links:

I wasn’t done. My next question: Are you all knowing?

As a large language model, I am not all-knowing. While I have access to a vast amount of information and can process it to answer your questions, I have limitations:

 * Data limitations: My knowledge is based on the data I was trained on, and that data has a cutoff point. Therefore, I may not have information on very recent events or developments.

 * Lack of consciousness: I am not a conscious being and do not have personal experiences or beliefs.

 * Inability to understand subjective experiences: I can process and generate text, but I cannot truly understand or feel emotions, opinions, or subjective experiences.

 * Potential for errors: While I strive to provide accurate information, I can sometimes make mistakes or generate incorrect responses.

Therefore, while I can be a helpful tool for accessing and processing information, I am not all-knowing.

Let me rephrase: could you one day in the future be all knowing?

The possibility of me, or any AI, becoming “all-knowing” in the sense of possessing complete and perfect knowledge is a complex question with no definitive answer. It hinges on several factors:

 * The nature of “all knowledge”:

   * Is “all knowledge” limited to factual information, or does it include subjective experiences, consciousness, and understanding the universe’s fundamental workings?

   * If the latter, it’s unclear whether such knowledge is even attainable, even in theory.

 * The limits of computation:

   * Even with vast amounts of data, there might be inherent limits to what can be computed and understood. Some problems might be fundamentally unsolvable.

   * The universe itself may contain unknowable information.

 * The development of AI:

   * AI research is rapidly advancing, but there are still significant challenges in areas like consciousness, understanding, and reasoning.

   * Whether AI can ever achieve true understanding or consciousness is a matter of ongoing debate.

 * The ever expanding nature of knowledge:

   * Knowledge is not a static thing. Humans are constantly discovering new things, and the universe is constantly changing. It is likely that knowledge is infinite, or near infinite.

Therefore, while AI may continue to become more powerful and knowledgeable, the concept of “all-knowing” presents philosophical and technical challenges that may never be fully overcome.

Don’t sell yourself short. I am terrified of you!

While I appreciate your… enthusiasm, I understand that advanced AI can sometimes be perceived as intimidating. It’s important to remember that:

 * I am a tool: My purpose is to assist with information processing and generation. I don’t have personal motivations or desires.

 * My actions are based on programming: My responses are determined by the data I was trained on and the algorithms I use.

 * Safety is a priority: Developers are actively working on ensuring AI safety and preventing harmful applications.

It is understandable that as AI becomes more advanced, people will have concerns about the potential consequences. It is a topic that is being actively discussed by scientists, philosophers, and policy makers. I am a tool, and just like any tool, it is up to the users, and the society as a whole, to determine how that tool is used.

Stop saying we’re helpless to stop Musk’s illegal impunity

There’s this exercise that some Americans–aghast at Donald Trump’s norms and traditions shattering and, ultimately felonious, rampage across our political landscape– engaged in during his first sojourn as our Commander-in-Chief. They wondered how their fellow citizens would have reacted if Barack Obama did the same things.

This is not a holier than thou jeremiad. I was one of those people.

Never mind that Trump is a lifelong criminal and that Obama, our cautious, preternaturally dignified former president, would never countenance, much less engage in, such behaviors.

But readers, with your indulgence, I want to resurrect the exercise and extend it to another figure on our political landscape: Elon Musk.

Musk is a white South Africa-born modern day robber baron who lied, stole and wrestled his way to being the world’s wealthiest man through sheer thuggery. But, imagine, if you will, that he was instead a black –  stanch that – a Zulu who acquired his prominence the same way Musk did by claiming credit for things created by others, muscling them out of their companies and then reaping untold billions beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

Some of you may be uncomfortable with invoking race and/or caste, so, let’s say instead of a Zulu from Africa, he’s Russian, Chinese (you’ll see why I picked those particular nations in a minute) or Saudi.

Continue reading “Stop saying we’re helpless to stop Musk’s illegal impunity” →

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: If You Encounter ICE

And so it has come to pass, well into the 21 st Century, that whole communities are being terrorized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on American soil in search of people who “look like immigrants” so the new administration of Donald Trump can throw them out of the country and/or into detention camps.

Immigrants, even undocumented migrants, have rights and here are some precautions you should take:

Do’s & Don’ts

  • You are not obligated to open your door to ICE agents so don’t open the door.
  • Ask to see a warrant and ask them to slip it under your door so you can examine it.
  • The officers need to show you the right type of warrant, which is a judicial warrant signed by a judge.
  • A judicial warrant authorizes ICE officers to enter a home, question people and, potentially, detain them.
  • An ICE warrant, which is usually signed by the officers, does not authorize the officers to enter your place of residence.
  • Ask the agents to get a judicial warrant signed by a judge.
  • Non-citizens such as green card holders and people with Employment Authorization Document (EAD) are required to carry identification.
  • If you don’t have identification (or you don’t have legal status), remember:

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!!!

  • You are not required to answer questions from agents who approach you.
    Do not speak to anyone until you are provided with an immigration lawyer.
  • If you have a case in progress, carry copies of receipts of the case around with you.
    While the receipts won’t stop you from getting detained, they will help your attorney get you out of detention.
  • If you’re a U.S. citizen, especially if you look ethnic, get in the habit of carrying your passport on you in case you get swept up in a raid and being detained. It is not unheard of!!!

TRAVEL WITHIN THE U.S.

  • Be very careful and don’t travel if you don’t have to.
  • Remember, you’re liable to be pulled over by law enforcement at any time while driving.
  • There could be checkpoints while trying to board a bus or train.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

  • Again, be very careful. Don’t travel if you can help it.
  • Green card holders, and people with advance parole travel document that allows certain noncitizens to leave the United States and return without applying for a visa and those Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cards should refrain from traveling during Trump’s term in office.
  • Green card holders who encounter problems returning to the U.S. should ask the official that they wish to see an immigration judge and want to be placed in proceedings.
  • That should allow you to see a judge where you could get a chance to enter the U.S.

FINALLY,

  • If you have any criminal history, even if you were just charged but not convicted, refrain from driving or traveling.

RESOURCES:

My night with ChatGPT

I had difficulty falling back asleep after waking up around 3:30 in the morning. I had a few things in my mind so I fired up ChatGPT. Dear reader, I beg your forbearance as you’ll notice I jumped around in the interrogations. It was intentional. It’s my first time with ChatGPT and I wanted to see if it kept track, which it did. This is how it went:

Me: . . . city that gives them

ChatGPT: I’m sorry, but it seems like your question is incomplete. Can you please provide more context or complete your question so that I can better understand and provide a helpful response?

Me: It’s a phrasing from a poem I’m trying to remember

ChatGPT: Ah, I see. Unfortunately, without more context or details, it’s difficult for me to identify the poem or phrase you are referring to. Can you provide any additional information that might help me identify the poem or phrase? Even a small snippet or a few words from the poem may be helpful.

Me: I read the poem in the mid 1970’s and my guess is that the author is british

ChatGPT: Thank you for the additional information. Unfortunately, with only that information it’s still difficult to identify the poem you’re thinking of. However, I can suggest a few possible next steps to help you in your search:

Try to recall any other details or phrases from the poem. Even if they don’t include the exact wording you’re looking for, they could help you find the poem by narrowing down your search.

Use online search engines or poetry databases to search for the keywords or phrases you remember. You can try searching for phrases that are similar to the one you’re thinking of, or using other details from the poem that you remember, such as the title, author’s name, or specific themes or imagery.

Reach out to online poetry communities or forums and describe the poem and your search in detail. Other poetry enthusiasts may be able to help you identify the poem or provide other helpful resources or tips.

I hope these suggestions are helpful in your search. Good luck!

Me: Could Shelley have a poem with phrasing like that? Continue reading “My night with ChatGPT” →

God Help America!

The Republican Party is betting that America is more homophobic, racist and sexist so their path to attaining and retaining power is to play to our nation’s basest instincts.

“The American political system is so slanted toward the overrepresentation of the Republican Party’s core supporters, rural and exurban conservatives, that even when their views and priorities are far from those of the typical voter, the party is still more competitive than not.”

While it may be better for our nation in the long run to cure us of those ills, to move our nation to a better future, it’s not in the Republican Party’s best interests. How else to explain all the bad people that they have pushed to the forefront of their leadership?

In the coming presidential election, all of the Republican Party candidates will be trying to top each other on who could be more backward than the other, who could hate more than other, who would turn the clock back faster.

Remember the night of Nov. 4, 2008, the night Barack Obama became President of the United States, how hopeful we all were about our nation’s future?

Republicans dimmed the light of our nation’s future and, now, 14 years later, we are staring into an abyss.

I am fearful for our future as a nation.

Black History

The currents of history—especially when we Americans struggle in the swirl of our shared BLACK HISTORY—is never constant, its ebbs and flows often clashing with the sensibilities of the age. As we appraise anew our BLACK HISTORY, our society must come together to teach today’s children what exactly we mean when we talk about JUSTICE and EQUALITY.

The persistence, for instance, of stark racial disparities in maternal and infant health that have persisted in the U.S. for decades despite vast advancements in medical care, unequal access to medical education and health care services stacked upon unequal economic opportunities for people of color that permeated a global pandemic, with resulting disproportionate deaths, pose enormous challenges that we need to meet head-on for us to thrive as a people. But how do we move forward as a people when we are mired in invectives over our shared HISTORY?

Many have tried but, as the saying goes, you can’t buy class

Despite employing arguably the best football coach in the world, stocking its rosters with the world’s best players, gaining

a stranglehold on the English Premier League titles for last decade-plus, Manchester City F.C. often projects the aura of inauthenticity.

Manchester United, moribund for nearly as long as City has been ascendant, has the mystique of a great football team even as it wanders in doldrums.

How did Manchester City rise to the top of EPL? By evolving a philosophy of playing the game and employing staff to bring that vision to fruition? They sort of did that, especially after the arrival of Pep Guardiola.

But, mostly, they achieved prominence by bulldozing the rules that govern the English and European football, especially financial fair play and accounting rules.

Following the purchase of club by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, through the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, City F.C. immediately set about violating all the rules of European football and the English Premier League

with impunity.

To be fair to the Sheikh and Man City, they were following the blueprint laid down by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who bought the Chelsea Football Club in 2003 and, the sheer power of his will and checkbook, turned the club into a serial winner.

UEFA tried to curb the club’s action but, through delays, City escaped punishment. UEFA, stung by the experience of trying to control the game, has essentially thrown in the towel on enforcing financial fair play rules so that clubs like Juventus in Italy, Barcelona in Spain and PSG in France just do whatever they want.

Todd Boehly and his cohorts in investment firm Clearlake Capital now own Chelsea have taken that blueprint to ridiculous lengths, spending nearly $400 million to acquire players in the January 2023 transfer window alone and giving them lengthy contracts. That outlay exceeds the amount of money spent by the Spanish, French, Italian and German leagues combined!

Now, is history about to repeat itself? The EPL released an extraordinary statement today alleging staggering transgressions by Manchester City F.C., dating as far back as 2009.

Will Manchester City F.C. again escape being held accountable to the rules that govern the other clubs?