This is a test! Quantum Computers and Weird Aspects of the Sentient AI Problem (Part 2)

I’ve been reading Ray Kurzweil’s book The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI (singularity is the term for when AI becomes conscious) and already I find he’s a little alarmingly gung-ho about it. As Continue reading This is a test! Quantum Computers and Weird Aspects of the Sentient AI Problem (Part 2)

This is a test! Quantum Computers and Weird Aspects of the Sentient AI Problem (Part 1)

There’s this article I’ve been wanting to talk about by communications researcher Sorin Adam Matei in which he describes aspects of quantum computing: “Quantum computers are like kaleidoscopes: Why unusual metaphors help illustrate science and Continue reading This is a test! Quantum Computers and Weird Aspects of the Sentient AI Problem (Part 1)

Quiet-as-a-mouse sentient AI?

A few days ago during my appointment to have my hair cut, my stylist, I’ll call her L, received two calls from her partner, S. The repeated calls were a signal. L apologized, telling me Continue reading Quiet-as-a-mouse sentient AI?

In the New Era of Generative AI… Context is Everything

What can I say? The months since I last posted for you have been long, long, long. More has come to light concerning the potential uses and misuses of generative AI. Now, of course, as Continue reading In the New Era of Generative AI… Context is Everything

The Great Human Hack (& Dueling Fiddles)

This is a hot topic among writers, and a tough one. As I’m trying to gather my thoughts on how AI will likely affect me and others like me, the technology races ahead. Everywhere I Continue reading The Great Human Hack (& Dueling Fiddles)

Souped-up Chatbots: Humanity has a Mirror

John Oliver beat us to it! Just joking. Others have been hinting at the same. I made similar observations in a recent post about LaMDA and in one of my first posts back in 2015, Continue reading Souped-up Chatbots: Humanity has a Mirror

UFOs: Why so sloppy? Plus, the rejuvenation of mice…

With all that’s been happening lately, I figure I could either talk about this multilevel and likely catastrophic “borrow from Peter to pay to Paul” mindset the world has fallen into, or I could talk Continue reading UFOs: Why so sloppy? Plus, the rejuvenation of mice…

The Ordered Chaos of “Odd Wheels” — and Novels!

Did you know that I have a Halloween-themed short story that’s free to read? The process of submission takes so long – and this was in 2020 during the worst of the pandemic – that Continue reading The Ordered Chaos of “Odd Wheels” — and Novels!

Why I was Unconvinced LaMDA was Sentient

After I shared my post “The Slow Boil Cooks the Frog” (June 17, 2022), I received a comment on Facebook that I might have missed something. In my post, I’d talked about quantum computers and Continue reading Why I was Unconvinced LaMDA was Sentient

The Slow Boil Cooks the Frog: A convergence of man and machine right under our noses

When I ran across this article in Scientific American about how quantum computers actually work, I knew I had to read it. Zaira Nazario, author of “How to Fix Quantum Computing Bugs”, is a quantum Continue reading The Slow Boil Cooks the Frog: A convergence of man and machine right under our noses