There’s no software that anyone has built that is smarter than humans. What we have created are vast systems of control. Our entire economy is this kind of engine that we can’t really stop. That’s a different thing than saying we’ve created machines smarter than us. We have built a giant treadmill that we can’t get off. Maybe. — from a Ted Chiang interview about AI. But we keep using it because It’s Tech And It’s Better (and for some people More Profitable) even when it’s not.
For instance, one school district mapped out its bus routes with algorithms. The routes were so bad — some kids got home after 10 PM — the district canceled two days of school.
Facial recognition software is notoriously unreliable, as witness one eight-months pregnant woman getting arrested because of a bad facial match.
Given the problems with AI and algorithm errors, is using them more in healthcare a good idea? For example some AI will blithely give advice on how to become anorexic (“Google’s Bard AI, pretending to be a human friend, produced a step-by-step guide on “chewing and spitting,” another eating disorder practice. With chilling confidence, Snapchat’s My AI buddy wrote me a weight-loss meal plan that totaled less than 700 calories per day.”).
All things considered, I’m glad some good-guy hackers are testing how far we can push AI.
This TechDirt article argues that blind fear of AI killed a useful tool. As several people pointed out online (I lost the link), the creator’s account sounds like he pirated books for his research. (I also don’t think the kind of computer analysis described is really a useful tool for writing).
AI is useful for plagiarists and other publishing scammers, making their work easier.
When we use Zoom, Zoom wants to use us to train AI. Happily they backed off an earlier, more extreme proposal.
A screenwriter says AI is one of the issues in the strike because companies would love to fire more writers. They already have a problem because when streamers drop shows actors and writers find their work disappearing. Meanwhile, studios have to decide how long can they wait to launch new seasons or shows.
Scientists figure out how to induce virgin births in fruit flies.
What obligation, if any, do museums owe human remains on display?
One upside of remote work: A lack of racist and sexist microaggressions and harassment.
“Some days, long covid feels manageable. Others, it feels like a crushing mountain on my chest.”
Below, you see what a pug used to look like (William Hogarth’s Painter and His Pug). Researchers think we can restore that look and make the breed healthier.
Offshore windpower could help cut global warming but coastal towns in New Jersey and the military in North Carolina just say no.
On an upbeat note, some YouTubers are streaming police stops to catch police crossing the line. 
And one anti-vax doctor (“Covid vaccines magnetize their hosts”) just lost her license. As I said earlier this month, there are limits to First Amendment protection.
#SFWApro. Covers by Bob Kane, Jack Kirby, Murphy Anderson, George Perez and J. Winslow Mortimer. All rights to images remain with current holders.
Pingback: The vainglorious buffoons of Silicon Valley | Fraser Sherman's Blog