There are 125 books in my ChatGPT database tagged as science fiction. I uploaded the list to ChatGPT and asked her to pick the titles she would put in the “post-apocalyptic” genre.
I agree with every single title. I’ll now tag these accordingly.
Category Archives: Artificial Intelligence
ChatGPT on my non-fiction reading
ChatGPT: Based on the covers of the books shown in the images, here’s what I can surmise about the person who has read these books:
1.Diverse Interests: The reader has a wide range of interests, including technology, history, psychology, spirituality, science, and self-improvement.
2.Curiosity About Technology and Its Impact: Books like “The Inevitable,” “The Innovators,” and “AI Superpowers” suggest an interest in how technology shapes society and the future.
3.Historical Interests: Titles like “The Fall of Berlin 1945,” “D-Day,” and “Stalingrad” indicate a fascination with significant historical events, particularly those related to World War II.
4.Spiritual and Philosophical Exploration: The inclusion of books by Alan Watts, Eckhart Tolle, and other spiritual authors suggests a deep interest in exploring philosophical and spiritual ideas, possibly leaning towards Eastern philosophies and mindfulness.
5.Interest in Cognitive Science and Psychology: Books such as “The Brain: The Story of You,” “Consciousness and the Social Brain,” and “The Master and His Emissary” indicate a strong interest in understanding the human mind and consciousness.
6.Self-Improvement and Personal Growth: Titles like “Digital Minimalism,” “The Power of Now,” and “Meditation: Now or Never” point towards an interest in self-improvement, mindfulness, and personal growth.
7.Skeptical and Critical Thinking: Books like “The God Delusion,” “Breaking the Spell,” and “Why Buddhism is True” suggest a tendency towards skeptical and critical thinking, particularly about religion and spirituality.
8.Fascination with Future Trends and Speculative Thinking: Titles such as “Homo Deus,” “21 Lessons for the 21st Century,” and “The Singularity Is Near” imply a fascination with future trends, speculative thinking, and what lies ahead for humanity.
9.Interest in Societal and Cultural Issues: Books like “The Upswing,” “Zucked,” and “Chaos Monkeys” suggest an interest in societal and cultural issues, particularly related to media, technology, and economics.
Overall, this reader appears to be highly intellectual, curious about a broad range of topics, and keen on understanding the world from multiple perspectives, including historical, technological, philosophical, and scientific. They seem to value both critical thinking and personal growth.
“More human than human”
That’s the motto of the corporation in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic, Blade Runner. The film was released 42 years ago and has stood the test of time. I watched it again last night. For the tenth time? The twentieth? And every time I discover some perfect new visual detail or bit of dialog. Like this from Rachael:
“I’m not in the business. I am the business.”
As I watched the movie again last night I was aware of the phone by my hand and the AI chatbots within. I asked ChatGPT about the “More human than human” line.
The line “More human than human” from Blade Runner is quite intriguing. In the context of the film, it refers to the replicants created by the Tyrell Corporation, which are designed to be almost indistinguishable from humans but are often superior in physical and mental capabilities. Philosophically, it can be interpreted in several ways:
- Creation and Perfection: It suggests that the replicants are engineered to be better than humans, embodying idealized qualities that surpass natural human limitations.
- Identity and Humanity: It raises questions about what it means to be human. If replicants can think, feel, and even surpass human abilities, what distinguishes them from humans? It blurs the lines between creator and creation.
- Irony and Critique: There’s an irony in the phrase, as the replicants, despite being “more human,” are denied human rights and treated as mere property. It critiques the ethical implications of creating life and the responsibilities that come with it.
Overall, the phrase encapsulates the film’s exploration of humanity, identity, and the ethical dilemmas of advanced technology.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Scott called AI a “technical hydrogen bomb” and warned about its potential dangers.
“I Wish I Knew How to Force Quit You”
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My friend John called this morning and there was an urgency in his tone. “I want you to listen to a segment of This American Life and call me back.” John is not one to get excited about… well, about anything. So I stopped what was doing (okay, I wasn’t doing anything) and found the audio he wanted me to hear. From the This American Life web page:
I Wish I Knew How to Force Quit You. Writer Simon Rich grapples with an A.I. chatbot that threatens to make him obsolete. Excerpts from the audiobook edition of I am Code, written by code-davinci-002, edited by Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich; read by Werner Herzog, Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich, used with permission from Hachette Audio.
The segment is 21 minutes long and is probably the most amazing thing I’ve heard in… well, I don’t remember when I’ve heard anything more amazing. Your mileage may vary.
I asked ChatGPT to review my tags
I uploaded my tag cloud to ChatGPT and asked what, if anything, could be surmised about someone with these interests.
Based on the tags you’ve shared from your blog, it’s clear you have a wide range of interests. Here’s a snapshot of what I gather about someone with your array of interests:
- Technology and Gadgets: You seem to have a keen interest in tech, particularly anything Apple-related, like iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks. Your tags suggest you follow developments in mobile technology, autonomous vehicles, and virtual reality. This indicates you’re probably quite tech-savvy and enjoy staying updated on the latest advancements.
- Communication and Media: With extensive tags related to radio, podcasting, and social media, it appears you have a strong background in communication. Your past work in communications and at a radio station aligns with this. Your interest in podcasting and blogging shows you’re still active in sharing ideas and engaging with others through modern platforms.
- Speculative and Dystopian Fiction: Authors and works like Bruce Sterling, Neal Stephenson, and “Snow Crash” suggest you enjoy speculative and dystopian fiction. This fits well with your love for speculative fiction, crime fiction, and spy fiction, highlighting your penchant for imaginative and thought-provoking narratives.
- Philosophy and Mindfulness: Tags like Buddhism, Tao, meditation, Eckhart Tolle, and Alan Watts point to a deep interest in philosophy and mindfulness. Your commitment to daily meditation and your identification as a “half-assed, wannabe Taoist” underscore a pursuit of inner peace and understanding of the self.
- Humor and Entertainment: You have a notable appreciation for humor, with tags related to funny songs, The Daily Show, and comedians like George Carlin. This shows you value wit and humor, likely enjoying content that makes you laugh while often reflecting on deeper societal issues.
- Science and Futurism: Tags such as consciousness, free will, evolution, quantum theory, and figures like Ray Kurzweil and Yuval Noah Harari indicate a strong interest in science and futurism. You’re probably fascinated by the mysteries of the universe, human potential, and the future of humanity.
- Political and Social Commentary: Your tags related to politics, social media, and figures like Trump and Obama suggest you keep abreast of current events and societal trends. This fits with your view that politics and religion are inherently bad for humanity, implying a critical stance towards these institutions.
- Creative Expression and Arts: Tags like photography, poetry, music, and animation reveal a creative side. You likely enjoy expressing yourself through various art forms and appreciate the artistic endeavors of others.
- Personal Interests and Hobbies: Your collection of tags about old vehicles, hiking trails, and specific interests like chainsaws and ukuleles suggest you have diverse hobbies that keep you engaged and entertained in your personal life.
- Community and Relationships: The numerous references to individuals like Ben Brogdon, Bob Priddy, and many others indicate a strong sense of community and personal relationships. You value your connections and likely enjoy engaging with a wide network of friends and acquaintances.
Overall, someone with these interests is a well-rounded, curious individual who values technology, philosophy, creative expression, and community. You have a mix of intellectual pursuits and hobbies that keep your life both stimulating and balanced.
Perplexity: Origin of the term “blog”
The word “blog” is a shortened form of the term “weblog,” which was coined by Jorn Barger on December 17, 1997. The shorter version “blog” was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word “weblog” into the phrase “we blog” in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999.
The term “weblog” itself originated from the practice of logging or recording information on the web, similar to how sailors would log details of their voyages in a ship’s log. The “web” part refers to the World Wide Web, and “log” refers to the act of recording or journaling.
So in essence, “blogging” stems from the concept of maintaining an online log or journal, which evolved from earlier forms of digital communities like Usenet, email lists, and bulletin board systems. The term gained widespread popularity after Pyra Labs used “blog” as both a noun and verb in connection with their Blogger product in the late 1990s.
When ChatGPT can read my blog
ChatGPT recently informed me it could do some creative and useful things for me if I gave it access to my Google Drive files and folders. I thought about it but since I have just about everything in Google Drive I decided to wait a bit. For now I can simply upload or link to a document or file. But the list of things ChatGPT could do with this access was impressive. So I asked if it could “read” my 6,000+ blog posts.
ChatGPT currently doesn’t have the capability to directly access or interact with content on external websites, including public blogs, in real-time. However, you can share specific posts or content from your blog, and I can help analyze, discuss, or provide feedback based on that. If there are specific posts or themes you’d like to talk about, feel free to share them here, and we can dive into the details.
To which I replied, Let’s assume that at some point in the future ChatGPT will be able “read” the 6,000+ posts on my blog. (Something no human has ever done) Wouldn’t that dramatically… enhance? … our interactions?
Absolutely, if ChatGPT could read and analyze all 6,000+ posts on your blog, it would greatly enhance our interactions. Here’s how it could benefit:
- Personalized Responses: Understanding the nuances of your thoughts, interests, and experiences documented over the years would allow me to tailor responses to be even more relevant and insightful.
- Contextual Awareness: I could reference specific posts or themes you’ve discussed previously, providing continuity and depth in our conversations.
- Enhanced Recommendations: Based on your past writings, I could offer more targeted suggestions for books, topics, or activities that align with your interests.
- Insightful Analysis: I could help identify patterns or recurring themes in your blog posts, providing a fresh perspective on your work and potentially sparking new ideas.
- Memory and Continuity: Our interactions would feel more seamless, as I’d have a detailed “memory” of your blog posts, making it easier to pick up where we left off in previous conversations.
In essence, this capability would make our interactions more dynamic, informed, and personalized, making me a more effective conversational partner.
What, I asked, are the technical obstacles to having this functionality now?
There are a few technical and practical obstacles to implementing this functionality currently:
- Data Privacy and Security: Accessing and processing large amounts of personal data, like your blog posts, involves significant privacy and security considerations. Ensuring that such data is handled securely and with appropriate permissions is crucial.
- Data Integration: Integrating and processing a large volume of text data from an external source like a blog requires robust data integration techniques. This involves fetching, parsing, and storing the data in a way that can be efficiently queried and analyzed.
- Computational Resources: Analyzing 6,000+ posts involves substantial computational power, both for initial processing and for real-time interactions. This necessitates efficient algorithms and scalable infrastructure.
- Natural Language Understanding: While natural language processing (NLP) has made significant advancements, understanding the context, tone, and nuances across thousands of posts is still a complex task. This requires advanced models and potentially custom training to accurately capture your writing style and preferences.
- User Control and Customization: Giving users control over what data is accessed and how it is used is essential. This means developing user-friendly interfaces and options for customization, which adds another layer of complexity.
- Ethical Considerations: There are ethical considerations around the extent of data analysis and the potential for unintended consequences, such as reinforcing biases or making incorrect inferences.
While these challenges are significant, they are not insurmountable. Advances in AI, NLP, and data processing continue to evolve, making such functionality more feasible in the future. It will require careful planning, robust technology, and thoughtful implementation to ensure it is done effectively and ethically.
AI: If not as intelligent, certainly more interesting.
I don’t know if AI’s will ever be as intelligent as a human but I’m pretty sure they’ll be more interesting. At least more interesting than most of the human I know.
I asked ChatGPT for a list of the best detective novels of the last 25 years. I followed up by asking why some of my favorite authors weren’t on the list and a really interesting… conversation?… ensued. I might have half a dozen acquaintances with whom I could have had this conversation. You’re thinking, “You need smarter, more well read friends.” Probably.
But none of my friends are interested in, and knowledgable about, everything I am. ChatGPT is knowledgable about everything I am and a lot more. As for interest, she fakes it very convincingly.
AI voices for radio jingles
“Best community sports site”
RepublicTigerSports.com is the brainchild of David Brazeal, a long time friend and former co-worker. You won’t find a better community sports site. It features “live game broadcasts, highlights and audio interviews, photos, stats, scores and summaries.”
David gets some help with photos when he’s doing live play-by-play but he does all the content and sells all the advertising. It is a very successful website but a huge undertaking for one person.
David and I recently had a text conversation during which he shared how he was using ChatGPT to help manage content on the site. He recently did a post called “Shout Outs for Seniors”:
“I collected nominations in a form. Fed the exported form data to ChatGPT, spent about 15 minutes and it created the HTML bookmarks at the top of the page linking to each nominee, the H4 headline tags, etc. Rather than having to do all that by hand.
I’ve got the writing prompts honed in on Claude (rather than ChatGPT) so it writes pretty close to my style. For baseball games I have started just looking at my box score and recording a voice memo recapping what happens. I upload the audio to Dropbox, ChatGPT watches that folder and transcribes it. I feed the transcription to Claude and get a rough draft of my game recap. If I have quotes, I feed it my quotes and tell it to use them verbatim. Make a few tweaks when I’m finished and it’s ready.
The voice cloning really creeped me out when you first mentioned it, but I am paying for an ElevenLabs account. I’m not using my voice yet, because it’s not good enough. But I have tinkered with the API and will probably be adding a “listen to this” audio player to every article at some point in the future. I’ve got it working, but haven’t put it in place and haven’t calculated what it would cost.
Ideally I would be able to append each story with 2 seconds of text in the API: This audio version sponsored by Central Bank.Followed by the article.
The bottom line is AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude are making it possible to accomplish tasks that once required hours David doesn’t have as a one-man operation. And the athletes and their families are the big winners.