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Posts Tagged ‘AI’

In This Golden Age

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

A few thoughts on AI from one of the leading sci-fi writers of the day.

Scalzi on Film: Hollywood Totally Lied to Us About AI: Why Cinematic Cyborgs Are So Much Smarter Than What We Have in the Real World

Behold! Science has caught up to fiction, and the age of Artificial Intelligence, long promised by science fiction in film, literature, and video games, is here! And in this golden age…tech companies expend vast amounts of energy to create search engine assistants trained on partially or fully stolen data, who tell us it’s okay to eat rocks and put glue on pizza, and chatbots who “hallucinate” answers to queries, i.e. confabulate bullshit based on a statistical regression to the textual mean. Our “AI,” as it turns out, is less intelligent than a chicken, even if it has a better vocabulary.

Will the technology continue to change? Certainly, and with rapidity. Will it move more concretely from “applied statistics” to a more humanized “artificial intelligence”? We shall see!

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Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

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Got the Munchies?

Posted in Food and..., Holidays, tagged , , , on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Maybe AI can help:

Food Mood — Google Arts & Culture

Get inspiration for your next meal and create new recipes mixing influences from two cuisines, generated with the help of Google AI.

I decided to mix Ireland and Sweden. On the face of it, at least, the basic concept of baked salmon and mashed potatoes wasn’t terrible (although the AI-generated image was a little off base).

Or break out the chips. You do you.

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Photo by Ryan Quintal on Unsplash

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Why AI?

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Fellow Writers of the Future winner (2018) N.R.M. Roshak has started an excellent weekly newsletter on AI. Check it out if you’re interested in what’s happening in the field, how this tech is influencing social, business, and other arenas, or why I post results like this: Bright Colors, Happy Tone.

View back issues and subscribe here: Newsletter: AI Week.

It’s not for experts and it’s extremely readable. It’s really aimed at science fiction writers and readers: non-experts (like me) who are interested in the impact of this tech on society.

Enjoy!

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Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash

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Bright Colors, Happy Tone

Posted in Funny, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on January 17, 2024| 1 Comment »

I’d hoped to carve out some writing time today but instead I’m dealing with a lot of weird tech issues, some of which are concrete problems and some just disappointments.

Here’s an example of the latter. Note the prompt.

AI prompt: A metal cyborg unicorn bright colors happy tone

No, AI. Just… no.

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Today, Meet Tomorrow

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ken Liu is one of our modern masters of speculative fiction. The first story of his that I read was “The Paper Menagerie,” “the first piece of fiction to win three genre literary awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award.”

So he’s pretty good.

He’s also been thinking about art, AI and the evolving relationship between them. Here’s his new story:

Future Science Fiction Digest – Good Stories

Clara’s favorite part of the workday is the very beginning.

She likes flipping the switches on the wall right inside the office entrance, all sixteen of them, different colors and laid out in two neat columns, like the console from an old NASA space capsule that she got to sit inside once on a school trip to DC. As she takes a sip of her latte, her right hand running up the wall, click-click-click, flipping one switch after another, she imagines herself turning on rocket engines, initiating a docking maneuver, venting some dangerous alien spores out the airlock.

The story is one of the many interesting pieces in The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI, edited by Alex Shvartsman with an impressive roster of authors.

Today’s software can only imitate art, but what about tomorrow?

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Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

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Sleep Well, Dear Authors

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

A little reassurance about AI, from the great Margaret Atwood.

Margaret Atwood Reviews a “Margaret Atwood” Story by AI | The Walrus

Take heart! Not all is gloom! So far, generative AI chatbots don’t seem able to reflect on what they’re saying, though that in itself wouldn’t differentiate them from some actual human beings. Also, they’re bad at verbal texture, and they have a poor grasp of metaphor and sometimes even of punctuation. Well, they’re learning from us, so why wouldn’t that be true?

You’re still worried, young author? You doubt my word? Here are a couple of recent literary attempts by AI chatbots that ought to reassure you.

So we can all sleep well. For now, anyway;)

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Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

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Designing the Future

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on October 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Had a great chat this morning about AI and creativity with Technology Revolution’s Bonnie D., plus Jason Palmatier, Gene Williams and Glenda Benevides. If you’re interested in a discussion ranging from AI clones to democratized design, check it out.

Technology Revolution: “The Future of Human Creativity and AI: Emotion vs Logic? Part 2

LISTEN Later: On-Demand
WATCH Later: LinkedIn On-Demand and Facebook On-Demand

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Photo by Sharan Pagadala on Unsplash

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AI & Creativity

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on October 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow I’ll be taking part in a discussion on AI and creativity. Join me, fellow Writers of the Future alum Jason Palmatier, Gene Williams, Glenda Benevides, and host Bonnie D. Graham as we take a positive look at possible futures.

I’m curious to hear what this varied group of creatives predicts.

Listen in live or check out the full show later, links below:

Technology Revolution: “The Future of Human Creativity and AI: Emotion vs Logic? Part 2
Listen & Watch LIVE Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 8 AM Pacific / 11 AM Eastern

2 Ways to LISTEN LIVE: Technology Revolution Radio and VoiceAmerica Business Channel
2 Ways to WATCH LIVE-Stream Video: Linkedin and Facebook
LISTEN Later: On-Demand *** The live audio does not broadcast at this link
WATCH Later: LinkedIn On-Demand and Facebook On-Demand

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Photo by Ameer Basheer on Unsplash

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Not Cool, People

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

When it’s not the AI, it’s the users.

Sci fi publisher Clarkesworld halts pitches amid deluge of AI-generated stories

Closing submissions is a drastic move. Until a solution is identified, the magazine is not considering stories from authors. “We will reopen, but have not set a date,” Clarke said on social media. “Detectors are unreliable. Pay-to-submit sacrifices too many [legitimate] authors. Print submissions are not viable for us.

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Photo by Alison Wang on Unsplash

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Which is Witch

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on February 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’m working on a project and recently found myself at the CIA’s website (as one does). After finding the information I needed I was about to leave when a link caught my eye. Spy Kids. What, I wondered, would the CIA use to appeal to children?

Answer: stories and games.

Well, I had to check that out. 

Next thing I knew, I’d lost a considerable amount of time playing with codes. 

It turns out that ChatGPT is magic at some codes, and spectacularly bad at others. The key seems to be in knowing which is which.

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Photo by Yohan Marion on Unsplash

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