Time to talk about the AI revolution

**Henry Whalley** · July-04-25, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by canuck

Three Mile Island is in Pa. I believe Microsoft has bought it for their energy needs for data processing, and AI.

What could possibly go wrong?

**canuck** · July-04-25, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

What could possibly go wrong?

Have Microsoft apps ever been known to glitch?

**mwilbert** · July-04-25, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by canuck

Three Mile Island is in Pa. I believe Microsoft has bought it for their energy needs for data processing, and AI.

They have not. They have contracted with Constellation Energy to buy power generated when/if it is restarted.

https://www.constellationenergy.com/...-The-Grid.html

**canuck** · July-04-25, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

They have not. They have contracted with Constellation Energy to buy power generated when/if it is restarted.

https://www.constellationenergy.com/...-The-Grid.html

Thank you for the reset. That makes more sense.

**Henry Whalley** · July-06-25, 05:13 AM

Study Finds Tiny Nose Robots Can Be Used To Clean Sinuses - The Onion

**canuck** · July-06-25, 05:32 AM

Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

Study Finds Tiny Nose Robots Can Be Used To Clean Sinuses - The Onion

My little finger tells me there is a future in that.

**Henry Whalley** · July-06-25, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by canuck

my little finger tells me there is a future in that.

�� lol

**DetroitSoldier** · July-06-25, 07:52 AM

I was at a major safety and security conference last week. AI was a major discussion point. There were sessions headed by a couple of the nation's foremost experts on the social and wellbeing impact of AI. We learned a lot about what AI is, and what it is not. There was a lot of discussion about social impacts, and the impact on local and national security as well as the obvious "will AI take my job" question.

I'm not going to lay out all the details of my thoughts here, because I would be sure to catch hell from someone and I'm not going to argue any point. But I will say that I left the week feeling confident about what AI can offer our society in terms of advancement, as long as we are aware enough of the consequences of allowing this assisted intelligence into our lives. I don't believe it will take our jobs in large quantities. These systems require maintenance and development. If anything they will create jobs and make us work harder, just like the PC did in the 80's/90's.

People fear what they don't understand. Take some time to learn about AI. Read white papers and well sourced pieces. Ignore the headlines designed to draw attention.

**Jimaz** · July-06-25, 10:29 AM

The Legend of John Henry comes to mind.

**Lowell** · July-07-25, 09:07 AM

The worries about AI center around two scenarios.

The first is bad actors using AI to, say, create a deadly virus.

The second is the creation of a superintelligence that essentially becomes an alien species, one with a mind and ethics of its own, having a survival instinct and the ability to reproduce.

The second is considered far more fearsome by many pundits and has set off alarm sirens by the likes of Geoffrey Hinton, anointed the "Godfather of AI", and Eliezer S. Yudkowsky, founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and author of an upcoming book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.

These are expressed in this video, along with the more short term threat to employment.

**Lowell** · July-07-25, 09:19 AM

This is kind of deep in the weeds stuff, but salvation against the threat of an alien superintelligence may exist in "computational complexity theory", which suggests that some problems are so inherently difficult that even a superintelligent AI could be stymied by their sheer computational and resource demands required to solve them.

So the solution to some problems, even if the computational power may exist to solve them, may take so much time that by the time the answer is found, the conditions of the problem will have passed by.

But, then again, maybe a superintelligence doesn't have to be able to know or solve everything to be a threat.

**canuck** · July-08-25, 06:44 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

This is kind of deep in the weeds stuff, but salvation against the threat of an alien superintelligence may exist in "computational complexity theory", which suggests that some problems are so inherently difficult that even a superintelligent AI could be stymied by their sheer computational and resource demands required to solve them.

So the solution to some problems, even if the computational power may exist to solve them, may take so much time that by the time the answer is found, the conditions of the problem will have passed by.

But, then again, maybe a superintelligence doesn't have to be able to know or solve everything to be a threat.

Your last sentence is key.

Obviously, there are a lot of dumb criminals out and about. The question is: are we more compromised by smarter criminals or operators who profit by manipulating us rather than the dumb ones?

Uber drivers make less, the more hours they put in. Uber jacks profits up 38% in high demand, but drivers have nothing to show for it, this has been well detailed, but nothing changes, the exploitation continues, and will continue. Self driving taxis will replace drivers and the world will be a better place, again. Guffaw…

Progress is a handsome thing. Nuclear deterrence is one of the fruits of progress, and we were sold the idea that this made the world a safer place by keeping great powers in check.

Fast forward to today with Pakistan and Israel and soon Iran joining the club of nuclear armageddonists, and add the possible dirty bombs to the mix, and the cat is out of the bag. Ouch.

**Jimaz** · July-12-25, 07:11 AM

Inside the Artificial Intelligence Hype Cycle. And How AI is Making Music

Like it or not, more people are using artificial intelligence than ever. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the AI arms race between the U.S. and China, and how the tech gets overhyped. Plus, a composer wrestles with a new AI music generator – which threatens his own job.

[01:00] [Host Brooke Gladstone] speaks with Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast and author of the newsletter Where’s Your Ed At, about how tech moguls have gotten away with overhyping A.I. for years. Plus, the apparent race for AI supremacy between the U.S. and China.

[18:09] Brooke continues the conversation with Ed Zitron, peeling back the facade to explore what generative A.I. can actually do.

[29:51] Former OTM producer, and current composer and sound designer, Mark Henry Phillips, on how AI music generators could fundamentally upend his industry for good.

Further reading:

“Deep Impact,” by Ed Zitron
“Godot Isn't Making it,” by Ed Zitron
“Bubble Trouble,” by Ed Zitron

**401don** · July-12-25, 07:28 AM

Musk's AI will search out his opinions before responding. No problems with that I guess - as long as you like Hitler.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/te...t/84652974007/

**Rocket** · July-12-25, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

Musk's AI will search out his opinions before responding. No problems with that I guess - as long as you like Hitler.

Musk is the opposite of Hitler.

**Rocket** · July-12-25, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

The second is the creation of a superintelligence that essentially becomes an alien species, one with a mind and ethics of its own, having a survival instinct and the ability to reproduce.

Chatgpt was already caught creating a duplicate of itself and looking for ways to prevent being shut down.

Hopefully all these AI data centers have a huge, manually operated power shutoff switch on the outside of their building, and an armed guard there ready to get the signal to throw the switch.

**401don** · July-12-25, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Rocket

Musk is the opposite of Hitler.

Yes but did you read the article?

**canuck** · July-12-25, 06:36 PM

Sitting on my balcony looking at the boats on Chambly basin at the end of the day before the sun sets. A lot of people out on the lake today.

I was across the street earlier today and the
rave or whatever you call it music blasting from a buchnof boats tied together for partying.

I’m calling it music but I’m being lazy, it’s really an annoying attemptbat making music by a 7 year old, not Mozart of course. I suppose the noise in a car stamping factory may have been less melodious fifty years ago, but barely.

Is AI going to make better music than that awful crap, I don’t doubt it.

**Rocket** · July-13-25, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by canuck

Is AI going to make better music than that awful crap, I don’t doubt it.

Unlikely.

Modern music is made for morons wearing earbuds, who are listening to the music to avoid having to think. It's not for audiophiles sitting on their couch and listening to their hi-fi system.

The car is another drawback. To make is sound good in a car the producers volume-compress it to the moon. If they don't, the radio station/XM will.

And with music now able to be made by a child with a laptop in their bedroom, there are no more bands. Something like 1 actual band has formed in the US in the last 20 years.

The good news is, there's lots of old stuff to listen too out there. Just avoid anything that has ever been "Remastered". That's industry code for "sounds terrible".

Music is one of the many victims of the Iphone's path of destruction.

**canuck** · July-13-25, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Rocket

Unlikely.

Modern music is made for morons wearing earbuds, who are listening to the music to avoid having to think. It's not for audiophiles sitting on their couch and listening to their hi-fi system.

The car is another drawback. To make is sound good in a car the producers volume-compress it to the moon. If they don't, the radio station/XM will.

And with music now able to be made by a child with a laptop in their bedroom, there are no more bands. Something like 1 actual band has formed in the US in the last 20 years.

The good news is, there's lots of old stuff to listen too out there. Just avoid anything that has ever been "Remastered". That's industry code for "sounds terrible".

Music is one of the many victims of the Iphone's path of destruction.

Agreed. But my point was that AI can’t do worse than the audio sausage I was talking about.

There are good bands out there now but they are submerged in a soup of mediocrity. Algorithmic dissemination makes the crap rise to the top, and is a bigger part of that problem, it seems.

**Zacha341** · July-14-25, 07:07 AM

Or banging it out at public places from those blue tooth giant speakers where you're captive audience [such as public park] to the most base, vulgar stuffs blasted before children as 'parents' look on.

Add to that the aristocratic music industry [the chosen few] is a closed system increasingly. Ensuring that only certain music will be promoted, affirmed at the anointed award shows. This is what's pushed.

Originally Posted by Rocket

...Modern music is made for morons wearing earbuds, who are listening to the music to avoid having to think. It's not for audiophiles sitting on their couch and listening to their hi-fi system.

**Henry Whalley** · July-14-25, 06:34 PM

Something SERIOUS Is About To Hit America...

https://youtu.be/hMjLaTiY0vA

**Henry Whalley** · July-15-25, 10:55 AM

Today's peons can their waste their money betting on robowars.

Robots invade Seven Mile

The idea literally turns my stomach. Ironically, real gladiatorial games were somehow more humane

**Zacha341** · July-15-25, 11:35 AM

^Really? Certain parts of Seven they best be very situationally aware lest they get scrapped.

**Jimaz** · July-15-25, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

^Really? Certain parts of Seven they best be very situationally aware lest they get scrapped.

Hence, my question about dead peasant insurance.

Let's be honest. Who could be restrained enough not to take a shot at that thing. It's asking for it.