A common misunderstanding about artificial intelligence is that it will yield technology capable of independent super-human thought that will go on to either save the world or kill us all. As usual, in the face of tremendous problems, humans look to the gods. We hope for a deus ex machina…

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here’s a link for you to explore our portal, exposing a pre-trained language generation model you can play with. It’s really cool. If you’re curious to learn more, our next post explores the topic of language generation, GPT-3, and what this all means for the future of technology and our increasingly tech-ensnared lives.

Working with machine learning today feels like inching towards the edge of a very tall cliff. Peering over the edge towards our future feels vast, and rapid change feels imminent. Not only do we not know what’s at the bottom of the cliff, but any day now, we’ll be cast…

To continue my chain of quotes that disrupt your productivity and hopefully make you go, “hmmm”, or maybe even “ughh”, I present you with a wildly insightful quote from my friend Kurt, on the dangerous surety and solipsism that comes with ignorance: “If you only have one watch, you always know what time it is.” Listen to one another.

I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a few months ago and expected it to be a drug-fueled romp of cheap thrills and little depth. I was surprised and delighted to find it to be a poignant and scathing critique of American culture — where puritan tyranny mixes with consumerist manipulation to create a woefully disempowered mass of people utterly disconnected from themselves. One of my favorite quotes:

Machine learning is essentially just a way of teaching something how to learn. It’s the method of programming a system how to not just perform a rote task but to actually make human determinations. …

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also got us to the moon. Curiosity is that nagging need to understand why. …

This is one of my favorite newsletters and websites. Louis Pereira explains complex things in simplified ways. Some people speak in a way that seems designed to impress others by pushing them away. Others speak in a way that connects with others by inviting them in. I always support the latter. NFTs explained in exactly 500 words In 2017, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci sold for $450 million. Five days ago, an artwork by Beeple sold for $69…www.complexitycondensed.com

What is the difference between self-knowledge and self-obsession? One encourages a defeat of the ego, the other encourages a feeding of the ego. One, a deeper experience of connection to ourselves, which enables a more nourishing connection to others. The other, disdain for the deeper needs of the self, which leads to disdain for others. Kae Tempest, “On Connection” We’re seeing a lot of disdain for others these days. While opposition is always warranted in discourse, disdain is never helpful. So this point strikes me as particularly important in our age of solipsism, navel-gazing, echo chambers and the complete rule of the ego.