Monthly Archives: May 2023

Another bogeyman has arrived to keep us awake and in fear of Armageddon. This time it is artificial intelligence.

The threat it poses exploded suddenly without warning onto media circuits as an existential threat to humanity, joining the growing list of other apocalyptic practices and forces we are asked to worry about.

Ironically, this time the looming end of everything human came from those directly responsible for creating it. Could it be what the poet Yeats called the rough beast, its time come round at last, (that) slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.

More surprisingly, its creators and once most vocal advocates have urgently called for a pause in its development. What must have happened in the Amazon, Microsoft, Google or IBM labs to motivate such a warning? What suddenly changed that merits such a request? We may never know, but there is much we do know about AI and its potential.

The first question about this sudden new threat is why was no one listening in the 1930s and every decade since as philosophers and a small cadre of scientists and engineers alerted the world to its potential. The second is whether the inability of humans to control it will be true.

Regardless it is here. Already broadly used in health care, data analytics and warfighting, it has demonstrated its remarkable power to find patterns in data, i.e., words, images and numbers. It can process information beyond speeds the human mind can never match. As such, it is safe to say it is here to stay, its advantages so powerful it cannot be resisted by economists, politicians or warriors. It will persist in these applications and quickly metastasize into most human activities, whether work, play, economics, etc.

The potential of AI to increase productivity is beyond our present ability to comprehend, and so is our imagination too limited to envision how it will change our world? It is not going away, and no fear-mongering or legislation can stop its effects on human civilization. It will change us and do so swiftly. We may as well brace ourselves for the shock to society at the door and make the most of it. Like the weeds that once found a niche in my lawn and replaced the grass, it will spread into every dimension of life. We must learn how to live with it, control its adverse effects and maximize its ability to improve the stability and sustainability of our species.

Technological innovations have always brought with them risks and tragedies as well as increases in our material comfort. Consider fire, gunpowder, electricity, the wheel, the internal combustion engine not to mention atomic energy. All contributed to positive transformations but always with adverse effects and even the possible to end of human autonomy; just as we fear AI will do.

Our relationship with AI will take many forms. Some will be symbiotic, as in parents to a child or as fuel to the fire. Others include subservience: us to it and it to us if we plan well. It will change how we work. Still, its development will come from our minds and hands, a human product. In that sense, at least, it will be subservient to us. It will eliminate the necessity for many types of work and free our species from the drudgery some work entails, but that will be at the cost of the contributions workers make to the stability and health of society. Without work, what will be the function of men and women other than servicing the machines and the AI code that drives them? This is just one fundamental question we should be examining.

There are many problematic possibilities, but none need to bring about the end of civilization or the replacement of homo sapiens with intelligent machines. Just as we have adapted to every other technologically driven change in our constructed world, we can adjust to AI and be the better for it. How we react, and the wisdom of our choices will depend on whether we remain in charge. Since we cant turn it off and it has already assumed transformative powers, we can no longer do without; what courses of action are needed?

The first step is to realize what AI is and isnt. It may come as a shock, but machine intelligence is an extension of human intelligence, and depending on your definitions is neither artificial nor intelligent. At this stage of its evolution, it can process sensory data faster than our brains. Still, the range of functions it is capable of is far from matching the power of the brain, and, for many reasons, it never can be. You can forget the notion of a looming singularity when your consciousness can be copied and uploaded into some cyber storage facility giving you immortality. Digital technologies cannot replicate the human brain and human consciousness. The brain is reported to be the most complex entity in the universe, so far as science can tell.

The human brain and mind deal with knowledge, and AI deals with data. They are not the same thing. Knowledge is a human construct and can exist only in a functioning human being. Everything else is data, objective in nature. Knowledge is subjective and a product of organic processes and that enable perception. Knowledge as experienced by humans is something a machine can never possess. Humans have capabilities machines will never acquire, i.e., feelings, imagination, anticipation, joy, pain and the genetically acquired cognitive mechanisms our species has developed over millennia to store and process what we experience. These capabilities give us a different kind of information resource that will enable us to maintain dominance over machines, personal knowledge.

Personal knowledge is more necessary than objective data collected by scientific inquiry in all of science. Personal knowledge is the engine that enables the brain to use objective data from observation, measurement and hypothesis testing to create understanding and insights. AI can never have such knowledge because it lacks those human qualities.

Great minds have explained all of this in the past: Kant, Whitehead and most famously, Michael Polanyi in his book Personal Knowledge: Towards ad Post-Critical Philosophy. My point is that humankind will prevail in the interaction with AI because our intelligence is of a different quality and more powerful than AI can ever be. That is not to say that our prevalence will come without consequence and loss. Much will be lost as well as gained. What comes out in the balance will depend on how we develop, manage, and use the power our minds have created.

Technology has frequently proven how disruptive it is to existing processes and patterns of life. Social media, a dumb application compared to AI, has adversely affected the traditional bases of how human autonomy develops. We have lost much control over the variables that shape our relationship with others and the world. We have allowed ourselves to become manipulated and shaped and allowed our values to be influenced by corporations and politicians. We have not learned how to manage these simple applications or even accepted the necessity to do so. Recognizing the deleterious effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, we insist on warning labels, have laws governing their use and availability, and punish those agencies that do not follow laws governing their use. In a sense, we regulate. We can and will regulate artificial intelligence.

It is absurd to ask that nations pause in their development of AI. That is akin to asking the tides to pause while we prepare for the oceans to rise. The sudden push to pause is but another example of how government fails to protect society. AI has existed since 1951 when Christopher Stachy released the first AI program at Oxford University. Even earlier, Alan Turing described the process in 1935 and used it effectively to defeat the Nazis in World War II. As always, it is too late for the government to deal proactively with possible existential threats. It is time to examine how they will threaten us, and the logical steps needed to manage and control them. We have done so many times in the past; failure to do so now is the real existential threat; one bound up in bureaucratic, akratic government. The storm is coming. Prepare yourself by understanding its power and how to shield yourself and hope someone in Washington takes notice.

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COMMUNITY VOICE: Another bogeyman to keep you awake at night - YourGV.com

For the first time in my life, I was seen.

With these words, AMCs Interview with the Vampire thrusts us into the gothic, twisted romance of vampire husbands Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis de Point du Lacone of the worlds most iconic, queer vampire relationships.

Interview with the Vampire is the first book in the Vampire Chronicles, a thirteen book (yes, you read that correctly) series by Anne Rice, which began in 1976. The novel follows Louis, a vampire who inflicts his life story upon a young journalist called the boy, later named as Daniel Molloy. Louis recalls a life spanning long, distraught decades, filled with loving and losing the famous French vampire named Lestat, adopting Claudia, a young girl who they bring into cursed immortality with them, and eventually finding his way to Paris, where things go from bad to worse. It is an emotional, sensual gothic horror novel that looks deeply into what it means to be a monster, what it means to be human, and is deliciously queer.

Despite being a major title in the gothic horror genre, theres been some argument as to whether Interview with the Vampire can truly be considered a quintessential queer gothic horror novel. This is probably because blatant declarations of queerness occur later in the series, after Interview with the Vampireafter many modern readers gave up and decried that subtext was not enough for them.

The 1994 adaptation certainly did not help. It never defines the nature of Lestat and Louiss relationship, nor Louis and Armands. Its representation of race is no better: after Louis dramatically frees his slaves, we never see another Black person again.

When AMC announced their plans for a TV show, I assumed their adaptation would remain as close to the book as the 1994 film had. Imagine my surprise when I learned that AMCs show was not only set in the early 20th century, but that Louis and Claudia were being played by Black actors.

As a Black, queer fan of the book, I was skeptical about this. Interview with the Vampire is many thingsgothic, haunting, lyrical, emotionalbut conscientious about race is not one of them. In the novel, Louis is a slave owner, and all the Black characters are enslaved, preyed upon by Lestat, and completely disappear after the characters leave the plantation.

I was skeptical about the production teams ability to portray a faithful queer relationship, and even less hopeful about their ability to portray a Black, queer man in a toxic, abusive romance with a white, queer man with substantially more power than him. The issue of being seen is one deeply entrenched in every queer person of color I know. It is so incredibly rare to see the experience of the double bind of racism and homophobia portrayed well.

Ironically, it is this very topicthe topic of sightthat lies so centrally to AMCs Interview with the Vampire. It is truly an adaptation in every sense, as it expands on the themes and relationships in the novel with new, modern insight. It cannot be divorced from its queerness (unlike the film) nor its Blackness (unlike the novel). Despite this, it manages to remain in conversation with both because, here, it is the power of being seen that matters most.

Screenshot: AMC

This adaptation does not fear the blatant queerness of its source material. Any fan of the Vampire Chronicles will tell you that the queer relationships are the beating heart of the series. AMCs Interview is spiritually in keeping with this: it is Louis and Lestats love story, embracing all of its yearning, vampiric coffin sex, and messy, tragic violence.

Framed as a response to both the film and the novelthe first episode establishes that this is Daniels second time interviewing Louis, which parallels the fans experience, since its our second time watching an adaptationyou can feel the conversation the adaptation is having with both the novel and the 1994 film.

AMCs Interview is the story of Louis coming to terms with his sexuality, of tryingand failingto build a family for himself after losing his own, something that is so resonant for many queer viewers. Even the source of Louis and Daniels relationship is queer, as the two met while flirting in a gay bar in the 1970s (in keeping with the original short story Anne Rice wrote about Interview, before she expanded it into a novel).

Instead of being enslaved, here the Black characters are given center stage. The season follows Louiss pushing back against rich white men who exploit his labor, with his grieving family, with raising Claudia as a young Black woman, and even with Lestat. Claudia, too, learns to navigate the world as she comes-of-age, both as a Black woman and as a vampire. The Black characters are no longer a negligible part of the story, they are the story.

In this Bridgerton-era of colorblind casting, the relevance of Louis and Claudias experience as Black peopleand Louiss experience as a queer Black manis refreshing. Never has the power imbalance between Louis and Lestat been more textual. Louiss struggle to find himself in a world where he knows one other queer, Black man, is one that is intimately familiar to queer people of color, especially queer Black people. The pilot episode sees him rushing headfirst into a relationship with Lestat, who sees him for the man that he istrapped in the double bind of racism and homophobia alike, forced to play a palatable role to survive the expectations of a white, heteronormative world. This is the double bind that Lestat frees Louis from. It is seductive, it is rich. It will be his undoing.

Louis and Claudias Blackness alienates them from Lestat, while deepening their bond to each other. Louiss newfound power as a vampire directly informs the way he pushes back to racism. This isnt the colorblind casting that has become so popular within recent diverse worksthis is an adaptation that genuinely wants to explore the Black queer experience, adding a new complexity to the power struggles between the trio that makes up this strange, toxic vampire family.

Screenshot: AMC

While Claudias own voice leaves much to be desired, with her own words in her diary often being ripped out, it is clear that the series wants to dig into these questions of power and of voice. Who decides who gets to be seen? How do we decide how much of another is seen? Is it another persons place to decide how much of another person can be seen by the world?

To see, to truly see, is to know. And to be seen, to truly be seen, is to be known. And what is more beautifully tragic than the mortifying ordeal of being known? To be seen and loved in tandemwhat more can any of us desire? What violence would we forgive to be seen and, in that same moment, to be loved?

Ultimately, I see AMCs adaptation as more than a modernization. It is in direct conversation with the novel and the 1994 adaptation. More importantly, its daring to go where its predecessors did not. It expands and modernizes the themes of the novelquestions of desire, power, intimacy, what it means to love and be loved in return.

I read Interview with the Vampire for the first time when I was thirteen, and Ive been in love with the series ever since. I was a grieving, depressed, queer girl and, ironically, the books made me feel seen. These are the themes I am so glad to see presented in AMCs adaptation, so gloriously explored and given the weight and power they deserve.

Interview with the Vampire will always be the perfect gothic horror love story. It is beautifully messy, it is brilliantly horrificbecause isnt love, at its core, always a little terrifying?

Interview with the Vampire will always have my heart. It understands, so intimately, the dangerous ordeal of being known.

Ashia Monet is a novelist and essayist from Pennsylvania. As a lifelong fan of myth and poetry (especially Sappho), her fantasy novels explore various forms of magic and monsters. Online, shes @ashiamonet on Twitter and @ashiawrites on Instagram and Tiktok. Her website isashiamonet.com.

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The Power of Sight in AMC's Interview with the Vampire - tor.com

Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Literacy Partners

Does a movie star ever really die? Not if Tom Hanks can help it. The Forest Gump actor wants to be the first human to cheat death by continuing his career long after his physical body fails him, in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Is he crazy? Is it any crazier than the fact that were hurtling through space on a rock?

David S. Pumpkins himself appeared on an episode of The Adam Buxton Podcast and shared his thoughts on the possibility of digital immortality.

If I wanted to, I could get together and pitch a series of seven movies that would star me in them in which I would be 32 years old from now until kingdom come, he said.

Hes not wrong. First used 17 years ago in X-Men: The Last Stand on Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in a flashback, using AI and de-aging an actor is practically standard practice now. Even Martin Scorsese used it on Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, specifically in the 2019 snoozefest The Irishman.

The technology has also been used on Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, and Carrie Fisher, in their respective blockbusters. Do we even need new movie stars, or will we be stuck with the batch we have now forever? Hanks said thats only going to get more prevalent.

Outside of the understanding that its been done by AI or deep fake, therell be nothing to tell you that its not me and me alone and its going to have some degree of lifelike quality.

Hanks said he knows that his AI ghost wouldnt be able to quite nail a performance like he can now, but he doesnt think anyone would really mind.

Without a doubt, people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care? he said. There are some people that wont care, that wont make that delineation. Considering his likeness was recorded for perpetuity in the 2004 animated movie The Polar Express, theres already a digital copy of Hanks on some server somewhere.

That was the first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer, he said. There are some legal issues to iron out, however, in terms of using someones likeness and making sure its protected.

I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms in order to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice and everybody elses being our intellectual property, he said. The future looks bright, on a movie screen anyway.

Hanks is currently on a press tour for his new book The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, which also sounds very boring but hey, who knows. Reviews arent great, but Hanks can dry his tears with $100 bills, so hell be fine.

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'I could be hit by a bus tomorrow': Tom Hanks plans to continue his ... - We Got This Covered

Warning: contains spoilers for FCBD 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1A prelude to the upcoming reboot of Uncanny Avengers, which debuted in FCBD 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1, depicted Deadpool's mutant daughter Ellie and her adoptive mother Emily Preston being threatened by Feilong's new Stark Sentinels, a threat of violence that will make Wade go into a murderous rage like few times in his life.

Uncanny Avengers will follow a group of mutant and human heroes, led by Captain America, as they attempt to hunt and capture the illegitimate Captain Krakoa while dealing with the ongoing ramifications of the X-Men's Fall of X. Deadpool will join the team, fighting for mutantkind in the name of his daughter, who possesses the X-Gene.

The FCBD 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1 'Uncanny Avengers' story - from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Javier Garron - shows the anti-mutant hate group Orchis escalating their attacks against Krakoa, including a terrifying Stark Sentinel and apparent SHIELD agent approaching Preston's house to threaten Ellie, something that Orchis will most likely deeply regret, given Deadpool's history with his daughter.

Eleanor Camacho first debuted in 2013's Deadpool #19, daughter of Carmelita Camacho and Wade Wilson, although it was revealed that Wade heartbreakingly rejected his daughter when first introduced to her, thinking she was too beautiful for someone like him to have created. Slowly though, Deadpool and Ellie's lives became intertwined, and upon meeting again Ellie instinctively knew that Wade was her father, and since then she has become a central figure in Wade's life and an integral part of his growth into an antihero. Wade has had a lot of horrible things happen to him throughout his life, but both his daughter Ellie and his friendship with former SHIELD agent Emily Preston have been major highlights, with Deadpool placing Ellie in Emily's care permanently.

When Deadpool finds out that Orchis is threatening his daughter, he is going to absolutely lose it, and kill anyone in his way to protect Ellie and get her home safe. While the SHIELD agent who appears at Preston's home is wearing a SHEILD uniform, it is tinted red, a sign that this is an Orchis agent coming to round up Ellie. Deadpool has done some really brutal things to people who have threatened or hurt Ellie, like slaughtering every single member of the U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. organization after they tried to kill Ellie and the Prestons, and even giving up his costumed identity to keep them safe. Protecting Ellie brings out Deadpool's dark side like nothing else, and is one of the few times fans saw who he really is under the jokes - a stone-cold killer.

It was revealed in Deadpool vol. 5 #34 that Ellie has an X-Gene and is a mutant, and while her powers have not activated on Earth-616, a version of Ellie in the Marvel 2099 timeline showed that Deadpool's daughter has the powerful healing factor of "resurrective immortality," which causes her to resurrect as her teenage self whenever she dies. On Earth-616 this has not been canonically confirmed, so while Wade knows she is a mutant, her powers have not manifested and she is an incredibly vulnerable young woman, who he has fought tooth and nail to protect. It's likely that Cap doesn't know what he's doing inviting Deadpool into the Uncanny Avengers, as there's very little chance Wade will leave anyone who threatened Ellie alive.

While Deadpool treats most everything as a joke, the safety and happiness of Ellie are something that he takes incredibly seriously, since she is the best thing in his life. While slaughtering U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. was extreme, that organization didn't have the membership or funds of Orchis, and this time Deadpool will truly have to burn a SHIELD-sized organization to the ground to guarantee Ellie's safety. Wade's daughter being violently threatened by Orchis and Feilong's Stark Sentinels is going to go very badly for Orchis, as Deadpool will explode with rage when he discovers that Ellie is being hunted - and fans will have a ringside seat.

FCBD 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1 from Marvel Comics is available now, with Uncanny Avengers #1 coming August 16.

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Deadpool Is About to Lose His Mind Like Never in Marvel History - Screen Rant

In a remarkable feat of birdwatching prowess, Kenya proudly holds the prestigious Guinness World Record for the highest number of bird species spotted within a single day.

This extraordinary achievement took place in November 1986 during the renowned Birdwatch Kenya 86 event.

To this day, Kenya proudly holds the Guinness World Record, a testament to the country's rich natural heritage and the remarkable dedication of its birdwatching community.

The record serves as an inspiration for future generations of bird enthusiasts and underscores the importance of preserving Kenya's diverse ecosystems for the countless bird species that call it home.

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge

In a remarkable chapter of human perseverance and lifelong learning, Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge etched his name into the prestigious Guinness Book of Records in 2004.

At the astounding age of 84 years, Maruge became the oldest person to ever embark on the journey of primary education.

Undeterred by the passing years, Maruge fearlessly walked through the doors of Kapkenduiyo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya, ready to embrace the transformative power of knowledge.

With an unwavering determination, he enrolled in Class 1, igniting a journey that would inspire generations to come.

Tragically, Maruge's dream of completing Class 8 was cut short when he passed away in 2009.

Maliha Mohammed

In the world of gastronomy, where flavors dance and dishes delight, Maliha Mohammed stands tall as a remarkable chef who has etched her name into the prestigious Guinness Book of Records.

With an unwavering passion for the culinary arts, she embarked on a remarkable journey, breaking the record for the longest continuous cooking sessiona staggering 75 hours.

Throughout the marathon cooking session, Maliha demonstrated her versatility, creativity, and mastery of diverse cuisines.

Eliud Kipchoge: Fastest marathon distance

With unparalleled speed, unwavering determination, and an unyielding spirit, Kipchoge has etched his name in the annals of sporting greatness.

His astonishing achievements have pushed the boundaries of human potential and redefined what was once thought impossible.

On that momentous day of September 16, 2018, at the Berlin Marathon, Kipchoge shattered records and propelled himself into the realm of legends.

With every stride, he propelled himself closer to immortality, crossing the finish line in a mind-boggling time of 2:01:39, earning him the title of the fastest marathoner in history.

But Kipchoge's relentless pursuit of greatness did not stop there. On October 12, 2019, in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria, he embarked on a quest that would forever change the course of marathon history.

In a breathtaking display of determination and sheer human resilience, Kipchoge accomplished what was once deemed impossible, he became the first human to run a sub-2 hour marathon.

As the clock ticked, Kipchoge defied the limits of human endurance, covering the 26.2-mile distance in an astonishing time of 1:59:40.

Although his remarkable achievement did not qualify as an official IAAF record due to certain criteria, his sub-2 hour marathon will forever stand as a testament to human potential and the indomitable spirit of a true champion.

Largest desert lake

Nestled in the captivating landscapes of Northwest Kenya, Lake Turkana stands as a true marvel of nature, proudly claiming the title of the largest desert lake in the world.

Lake Turkana, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, has a surface area of 6,405 km2 and an average depth of 30.2 m.

It is the fourth largest salt lake in the world and is fed by the Omo, Turkwel and Kerio rivers. There is no outflow from Lake Turkana and the only method of water loss is by evaporation.

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5 Guinness World Records held by Kenya - Pulse Live Kenya

I titled this little essaywellyou know. But really? The battle today is about being not a dumber person. The forces of ignorance, in all their guises and forms, have us surrounded today. Encircled. Theyre laying siege to us. Our societies, our communities our minds. From ban the books!! to shades of burn the witch!! we live in an era that feels profoundly dislocating because something strangely unfamiliar is happening.

The world is getting stupider.

Now, that might sound funny, but only because its only a joke in the sense that its not. Think about history for a second. What was true, for a very long time? The world was getting smarter. I dont mean that in a linear way, or a universalizing way. But by and large, for most of parents, grandparents, even grandparents lifetimes a great trend in human civilization was that the world was getting smarter. Great systems of education were built, then advanced across gender and castes and races. Universities opened their doors to all. Science became a true public good, and anyone could access it, or at least enough of it. And sothe world got smarter.

This was an essential part of the story of human progress. But as now know, human progress has flatlined, and is going into reverse. And part of that Great Reversal in human progress is the facepalm-inducing fact that the world is getting stupider.

Theres a reason it feels as if all the people around you are getting dumber: They are. A study published in the journal Intelligence found that American IQs are dropping for the first time in ages. An analysis of 394,378 scores on intelligence tests taken between 2006 and 2018 showed that IQs had fallen in every category except for spatial reasoning. In logic and vocabulary, computation and mathematics, and visual problem-solving and analogies, scores dropped.

Now think about howweird everything feels. How everything feels so bewildering, unfamiliar, dislocating, strange, even sinister. Its not everything. Its justpeople. Scientists are still out there making advances, thinkers thinking, writers writing, artists arting (can I say that?).

But these days? You dont know. Youre sitting at the cafe, in line at the store, walking down the street. Hey, is that person amaniacwho believes that climate change is a hoaxand wants to wipe out the nearest girls school, gay bar, or library, with an AR-15? Maybe theyre just an everyday Trumpist or DeSatanist (can I call them that?), and are on a human hair trigger, ready to turn you in forreading a book with a gay character in it. Maybe they deeply, genuinely believe in the Satanic conspiracy to rule the world with microchips that are in vaccines so that Hillary Clinton and the Illuminati can gain immortality by drinking kids blood (thats Qanon, folks.)

Why do you have that creepy feeling when you dare to venture outside the door? Thats the feeling of the world getting stupider.

So the fight today isnt just to get smarter. That parts easy, actually. Here, let me tell you the secrets. Read. A lot. Real books, not bestsellers, and while they can overlap a bit, its rare they do often. Pick a favorite academic journal or three. Read those, too. Find a favorite mind, and read everything theyve every written. Do that for the living and the dead. Make an hour every day, without fail, at least, to reflect on what youre learning. Choose an activity that helps your mind do it lets it just tick away without even really thinking explicitly running, having a bath, making music. Turn off Netflix, Twitter, Facebook for all that time. Be uninterrupted. And finally, take some personal tuition reach out to people for coaching, advice, lessons, learning, whatever the subject is.

Got all that? The problem isnt that, really, though. Its the forces of ignorance encircling us, and laying siege to our societies and minds. So that far too few of us are capable of ever doing much of that. So lets begin with the meat of the subject. How to become a smarter as in less stupid person.

Number one. Dont politicize science. You know whats odd about today? Sciences claim to truth has been unseated socioculturally. Let me put that in plain English. Go on YouTube, and there, presented to you as equals, will be videos saying that climate change is a hoax!!and it actually exists. Therell be plenty more of those saying its a hoax, or it doesnt matter, or so forth, in fact, because, well, theres more money to be made that way. And for that reason, writ larger both-sidesing its now become a social norm to politicize science.

And this norm has come to dominate our societies. Its now perfectly acceptable to take some kind of flagrantly anti-scientific, anti-reality stance. To play the contrarian. And youll get plenty of time, in newspapers and on cable news and so forth, because for them, controversy sells. Demagogues license all this, by not just politicizing science, but actively legislating against it. Think of how many American states have a climate change plan LOL. Meanwhile, an impoverished country like Pakistan has a Climate Change Minister.

Think of Ron DeSantiss Florida. Why do demagogues attack science? Precisely because they need to unseat truth, so they can claim the throne for themselves. Only if science has been delegitimized can their Big Lies have room to grow, spread, multiply, proliferate. Demagogues need to claim their own big mouths as the one truth, gospel, objectivity, the final word thats how you exert authoritarian control over a society.

It wasnt always like this, by the way. Science and I use the term broadly here, to include everything down to social science was respected, once upon a time. In the 50s, 60s, 70s? Nobody was crying that the moon landing was a hoax. Even in the 70s when abilities like ESP or telekinesis go ahead and chuckle were a fad, they were scientifically investigated, even by, LOL, the CIA. Science had a legitimacy it doesnt enjoy today, and were all the stupider for it.

How did that happen? Well, decades of disinformation took their toll. People lost trust in institutions and systems as they got poorer, as downward mobility bit. And the watershed moment was probably Covid, where far too many even intelligent people, whole societies fell prey to incredibly foolish myths, like herd immunity. Even today, Covids been declared over whileitsstill one of our leading causes of death. LOL. And you expect people to believe in science when youre giving them that kind of free pass not to? When leaders treat truth with contempt, in order to claim its mantle for themselves we can hardly expect the average person to have much respect for it.

Two. Dont idealize philosophy. Treating science with contempt instead of reading it, engaging with it, learning from it, from climate change to biology to physics to sociology to economics is the first step in a process of radicalization. The next step is that person getting radicalized is told that their opinions count more than objectively established truths as long as they have the backing of some usually ancient philosopher.

You can see this happening on YouTube, too. Philosophys all the rage. Hey! I believe women and minorities arent really people, because this guy said so! And he said it because, hey, didnt someone say that human nature is cruel, and were only here for powers sake! And didnt the guy before him say that tradition and ritual is all there is? Or else were just animals!

LOL. Look philosophys just that. Its not meant to be idealized. When we begin to treat it as gospel, we make a serious mistake. Lets take a pretty simple example. Once upon a time, there were plenty of guys who said that democracy wasnt a worthy pursuit. People couldnt do it! Even if they did, what point was there! And over the last several centuries or so, something remarkable happened. The world became more democratic, and an explosion in living standards and human progress went hand-in-hand with that. What do we learn from this?

Philosophy is just ideas. Ideas meet the real world, and they can be road-tested. Every philosophy we encounter should pass a certain set of tests: hey, has this old beater been taken out on the road yet? How did it do? Did itgo anywhere? If not, that philosophys a failure. The second one goes like this: does this philosophy comport with what we know to be true? Plenty of philosophers have said and still do that some people are superior to others. What do we know from, wait for it, science? Thats not remotely true. Were all profoundly the same. Plenty of philosophers have said that human beings are innately cruel, selfish, etcetera. What do we know? Were all born profoundly empathic, giving, curious, and relational.

Dont idealize philosophy. Any philosophy. Life is here to be lived. Not according to the dictates of anyone, really, but you. You already know everything you need to know to live a fulfilling and sane and moral life thats the part about being born empathic, loving, curious. The rest is really just acting on it. In that respect, it was probably Aristotle, amongst philosophers, who got it right.

This drama has become a charade. Lets go back to radicalisation or as I call it, watching some poor soul get stupider. First they learn to hate knowledge itself, treating science with contempt. Then, theyre told their opinions not really theirs, the ones disinformation puts in their heads are bigger and better, because This Ancient Philosopher Agreed. And that makes a certain kind of person feel Very Smart. Wow, look at me! ImImDiogenes over here! Why, Im goddamned Pythagoras in the bathtub, shouting Eureka!!

No, youre not. And of those great, ancient minds? If they were alive today, you know what theyd be doing? Theyd be marveling at how much we know. Learning it, voraciously. And then philosophizing. About what it all meant, said, taught us. In moral, human, social, civilizational terms. About who we are, why were here, what were made for, etcetera. See the lesson? You have to know before you philosophize. Otherwise youre just engaging insophistry.

Do you want to know what one of the big problems with our world today is? The rise of modern day sophists. Whats a sophist?

In the second half of the 5th century BC, particularly in Athens, sophist came to denote a class of mostly itinerant intellectuals who taught courses in various subjects, speculated about the nature of language and culture, and employed rhetoric to achieve their purposes, generally to persuade or convince othersSophists did, however, have one important thing in common: whatever else they did or did not claim to know, they characteristically had a great understanding of what words would entertain or impress or persuade an audience.

The boldings mine. See the parallel? Make you chuckle for a second? Todays sophists are called pundits. Influencers. All these crackpot, wackjob figures that surround us. Who dont actually know much of anything but will opine on subjects they dont know about for hourson podcasts, videos, cable news, bestsellers, newspaper columns. And like the sophists of old, there they are, pretending to teach young people, who are dazzled, often, by their seeming display of intellect. But its mostly just rhetoric. Plus a change. Sophistry surrounds us because we have a sophist industry now, thanks to YouTube, Instagram, CNN, etcetera and its making the world painfully, shatteringly stupider.

That brings me to point number three. Dont devalue the arts. I mean that as an act. In the way you live your life. How do you.read? Listen to music? Do you ever evenI dont knowwatchdance? Ballet? Opera? How about music from around the world? Ever tried to learn another language?

You see, we live in a world now where the arts have little to no value, and I mean that almost in a literal economic way. Theyre fields which have imploded. Streaming pays so little that your favorite bands cant earn a living from it. Writing, such a meager income your favorite writers are perpetually struggling, unless theyre basically CEOs of their own industries, like, say James Patterson.

We can all stream, download, collecteverything and anything now. And yet precisely for that reason, the arts have no value, and its making us stupider. We have now a model of shallow engagement with a trillion things and depth with none. You listen to a song for 3.5 seconds, over and over again, and appreciate almost none. You put Netflix on in the background, surf the internet, barely pay any attention to both, and your brain is numb by the end of it. We need to choose depth over shallowness when it comes to our own attention and thinking if we want to be smarteror not just get dumber.

Let me give you an example from my own life, which is always risky, but its an interesting one. I make music. Disco. One of my favourite singers is French. I asked her to do a song with me. She said yes. I was thrilled. I went back to my song, and had a thought: wouldnt it becoolif half of this was in French? Problem: my French isrusty. LOL. Its definitely not up to lyrical standards. So I had to improve it. And it wasa marvelous and beautiful thing to experience. Writing lyrics in another language? Like poetry. And now I could see why French poets swore by the language. Write lyrically in it, compared to English, and its on another dimension of expressivity, beauty, purity, truth. The song was way better for it, but thats not the point the point is that I didnt want to devalue the art, and I challenged myself to learn something instead.

Art is there for a reason. Sure, therell be four guys, grad school freshman nerds, wholl want to dispute that Im sure your professor would love to. But in a real sense? Art is there for a reason. It teaches us. About ourselves. What it means to be us. Human, finite, frail. Tiny things, on a spinning ball of dust, in an endless universe of light. The struggle. You see it another person, a character, a protagonist. Whichever one it is, theyre all the same struggle and this is arts secret. Love. Grief. Longing. Death. Existence.

Art teaches us how to exist in this world. And when we devalue it as our systems almost force us to do these days, downloading it, streaming it, in quantities more fit for databanks than human engagement, intellect, thoughtour lives are diminished. We grow stupider, in the deepest way. Morally, socially, emotionally. We dont even recognize our pain as pain anymore, and then it becomes hate, spite, violence. The cycle of human folly repeats itself. Demagogues laugh. Sound like the world today? Yup, as in getting stupider.

Me? Theres a thought that runs through my head these days. I dont know how to exist in this world anymore. Its not just the spite, hate, ugliness, resentment, cruelty, lies. Not just the demagogues, their flocks of the fanatical, their legions of the murderously virtuous. Itsmore than that. How do you live in a world getting stupider? And isnt that a pretty good starting definition of dark age, anyways?

I guess, in the end, you fight em or you join em. Me? Im weary of the fight. Against human folly. Ignorance. All its names, from violence to war to cruelty to spite. But here I am. Because I cant join em, either. And that leaves me right here. I dont know how to live in this world anymore.

Good thing we have all that knowledge, all that art, all that philosophy, all that science, isnt it?

UmairMay 2023

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Three Ways to Be a Smarter Person | by umair haque | May, 2023 - Eudaimonia and Co

Joe Pavelski is going to be front and center in the Western Conference finals.

Forget the narrative of the old guy without a Stanley Cup victory, joyfully along for the ride. Pavelski is the old guy who could lead the Stars to a Cup.

Against the Seattle Kraken, he scored eight goals, three of them game-winners. For good measure, the clinching goal in the decisive Game 7 came from Wyatt Johnston, the 20-year-old tenant who since September has lived with the Pavelskis to learn what it means to be a pro.

When the Stars are in focus, Pavelski will be in focus. He is hockeys Benjamin Button, destroying aging curves and tipping pucks past goalies in the process.

If the Stars pull it all off, win the eight more games required for immortality, the Cup pass to the 38-year-old Pavelski will be shown in NHL commercials in perpetuity. Move over Ray Bourque. There would be a new standard for playoff excellence by an aging hockey star.

It would be a remarkable story. It also would overshadow the other old guy without a Cup, the one who would be completing the first pass.

Jamie Benn is 33. Thats young by human standards, but ancient by hockey standards because of the rigors of a physical game he plays, which had him in the discussion as one of the top five players in the world at his peak.

For years he lived in the spotlight. It was the Jamie Benn Show, co-starring, well, the rest of the Stars. But it was never enough to deliver the long-awaited championship. When Benn was at his peak, his teammates were mediocre. When they had true Cup potential in 2016, the goaltending faltered and Tyler Seguin went down with a slashed Achilles.

In 2020, when the Stars went on an improbable run through the COVID-induced bubble in Edmonton, injuries robbed them of a fighting chance against the Tampa Bay Lightning. What if Seguin wasnt playing on two bum hips? What if Ben Bishop was healthy enough to play? Sure, Tampa Bay was the favorite, but the deck was stacked against Dallas.

Benn took the series-ending Game 6 loss the hardest. In a clip that went viral, Benn sat in full gear even after all of his teammates had filtered out. Later, through a clunky Zoom interaction with the media, he struggled to find the words to explain what the run had meant.

Benn was only 31, but with his play seemingly diminishing and the Stars staring at the injury fallout from the bubble run, his silence in the postgame press conference spoke volumes about a player who deep down realized he may have just been the closest hed ever come to winning the Stanley Cup.

The next two seasons were tough for the Stars. They really never threatened to make the playoffs in 2021, and only Jake Oettingers heroics made last seasons first-round series against the Calgary Flames feel competitive.

Heading into the 2022-23 season the Stars needed a change, a refresh. And part of new coach Pete DeBoers deliverance on that mandate was allowing Benn to move into the shadows. His ice time dropped, his name was replaced on the marquee, and big stories out of Dallas no longer focused on No. 14.

And in the shadows, Benn thrived.

Micro-load management by DeBoer revitalized Benns game-to-game energy. His minutes dropped, but he was more effective in the time he was on the ice. Pavelskis line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz took top billing, drove the stories, grabbed everyones attention. But behind them, Benn quietly finished with 78 points, 32 more than he had the previous season and his most since he had 79 in the 2017-18 campaign. He played a full 82 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since his mid-20s. He set a career-high with a plus-23 and a career mark for face-off wins, taking more than 60 percent.

He hadnt found Pavelskis fountain of youth, but the Bennasaince is real.

The Stars are partly in the Western Conference final because Benn allowed himself to be overshadowed. He embraced the supporting role on the ice, but he never relinquished the leadership responsibilities off of it.

Players who have left Dallas, and Ive spoken to many, often talk about Benn as one of the best captains theyve ever played for. Hes an everymanhis nickname is Chubbs for both his physique and the way he carries himself. Benn, even in his superstar days, has never asked a teammate to do something he wouldnt.

When the Stars have needed a scapegoat, Benn has taken the public blame. As much as he dislikes any interaction with the media, he is often the one available when the team is at its lowest. He says little, but by wearing it each and every time, he often shifts the focus away from teammates who have been struggling, those who need to be protected. At his core, Benn believes the Stars are like a family; hes Dom Toretto on skates, sans the catchy one-liners.

But unlike Fast and Furious, the Stars never jumped the shark. For a time, Benns career aged poorly, and he was exposed as a human instead of the indestructible machine he seemed to be in his twenties. Instead of being forced into a starring role, he took a step back and embraced his position in the background. He thrived in a new standard of excellence, individual attention be damned.

As the Stars prep for Game 1 against the Golden Knights on Friday night, Benn will primarily be an afterthought. Even on his own line, Johnston and Evgenii Dadonov will be larger storylines. Johnston is the new stud, like Benn once was, and Dadonov will face the franchise that tried multiple times to trade him during the 2021-22 season, even violating his no-trade clause in the process.

Benn likes it that way. Its when he does his best work.

Be the first to know about Dallas' best events, contests, giveaways, and happenings each month.

Sean Shapiro covers the Stars for StrongSide. He is a national NHL reporter and writer who previously covered the Dallas

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Jamie Benn Is Still Here - D Magazine

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Published: 2023-05-17T08:39:51

Updated: 2023-05-17T08:40:00

Despite being a dark Shonen full of brutal fights, Hells Paradise manga has a surprisingly perfect ending. Heres what happens at the end of the series.

Hells Paradise is a popular ongoing Shonen series that follows the story of Gabimaru the Hollow. The stellar animation, intriguing soundtrack, and varying powers are enough to draw viewers in.

However, the mysterious island of Shinsenkyo is just as deadly as it is beautiful. The Shogun sends ten criminals on an expedition to acquire the Elixir of Life that can grant him immortality.

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He also assigns one Yamada Asaemon to each criminal. Their search starts with countless characters getting killed in a dangerous place. However, despite all the gory themes and tragedy, Hells Paradise surprisingly has one of the most wholesome manga endings in the Shonen genre.

The manga is only 127 chapters long, but it thoroughly explores all the characters and their backstories. The expedition to find the Elixir was just a wild goose chase. There was no source of immortality, to begin with. And yet, the Shogun was selfish enough to sacrifice countless lives for his greed.

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In the end, Gabimaru and his team do find the so-called Elixir of Life, but theres a catch. Only one criminal will be pardoned, but they acquire it with the combined efforts of Gabimaru, Yuzuriha, Tamiya Gantetsusai, Nurugai, and even the Yamada Asaemon.

They all agree that Gantetsusai will take credit for it while the other two will live the rest of their lives hiding their identities. As for the Elixir, those who consume it will be turned into trees just the Hoko people.

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However, Jikka, a high-ranking Yamada Asaemon, manipulates the Shoguns subject into believing that trees live for centuries. He further adds that if the Shogun were to consume it, he would act as a symbol for his people, overlooking them for eternity.

In the end, all the surviving characters each go their own way, but the bonds they share still remain. Sagriri and Yuzuriha also visit Gabimaru and Yui at their home. The other characters carry on with new lives, happier than ever.

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The manga ending of Hells Paradise explores the new lives of the characters where every surviving character gets their own version of a happy ending.

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Characters such as Chobei, Gui Fa, Ju Fa, and Tao Fa arent necessarily evil but can be considered antagonists because of their actions. However, they get a second chance at life with the miracle of Tao.

Chobei loses his human self, but his life is spared because of the transition by Arborification. He and Toma move to Hong Kong and terrorize the underworld.Tamiya opens a dojo that specializes in medicine and swordsmanship to honour Fuichis memory.

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Gui Fa lives with Mei, and decades after the entire ordeal, they find a new way to revive Ju Fa and Tao Fa. Moreover, Shion leaves the Yamada Clan and moves far away with Nurugai. The Village Chief turns into a tree by forcibly swallowing the Elixir for betraying the Shogun.

With this, Gabimaru and Yui from him, and they continue to live together. Yui appears later in the series, hinting that Yuzurihas doubt of her being imaginary must be true. However, Yui is real, and shes the same as Gabimarus memories.

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Hells Paradise can currently be streamed onCrunchyroll. In the meantime, check out our other anime coverage below:

Genyas abilities in Demon Slayer|Muzan Kibutsuji abilities in Demon Slayer|Demon Slayers The Infinity Castle|Kagaya Ubuyashiki abilities in Demon Slayer|Demon Slayer Thunder Breathing 7th form|Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 7|Hells Paradise Episode 8|The real villain in Hells Paradise|Hells Paradises Elixir of Life|One Pieces Empty Throne|One Piece creator|One Piece manga hiatuses|One Piece Red Hair Pirates|One Piece Shanks twin theory|Bleach vs Naruto|Narutos Talk no Jutsu problem

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Why Hells Paradise manga has the perfect ending? - Dexerto

The following contains spoilers for Hell's Paradise Episode 5, "The Samurai and the Woman," now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Hell's Paradise is a stunningly brutal anime that delivers on all fronts -- from its jaw-dropping fight scenes to its intricate worldbuilding. The first few episodes of the anime are proof of that. After all, each episode showcases multiple characters being mutilated in various ways. However, Hell's Paradise isn't just an action-packed franchise. It also offers interesting interaction between the characters, especially the ones between the Yamada Asaemons and their respective prisoners. And this is only made possible because they have granted the executioners the liberty of choosing their criminals.

There are two major groups of human fighters in Hell's Paradise. The first one is the group of criminals who have been sentenced to death. Given that their crimes have a wide range, they have different fighting styles and abilities. The other is the Yamada Asaemon, the executioners assigned to eliminate the criminals should they have any weird thoughts. Their goal is to find the Elixir of Life, which is said to grant immortality. The criminal who succeeds in finding it is then granted a pardon for their crimes. This dangling prize and the Asaemon's choices are what make their respective relationships compelling.

RELATED:Hell's Paradise Just Added the Perfect New Ally to Gabimaru's Team

The show's narrative benefits from the Asaemons' ability to choose their prisoners because it creates more opportunities for character development and exploration. This allows a dynamic and diverse set of relationships between characters, further adding depth to the otherwise shallow motivation of simply wanting a pardon.

As Hell's Paradise main characters, Gabimaru and Sagiri obviously benefit from this treatment. Sagiri has personally sought Gabimaru after hearing of his remarkable feats of survival. She experiences them firsthand and confirms Gabimaru's extraordinary abilities. After confirming and affirming his will to live, she extends the offer for a pardon. She tells him the mission of going to Shinsenkyo and fetching the Elixir of Life. However, that is not necessarily how Sagiri is saving Gabimaru.

The main reason Gabimaru can't accept death is his wife, who has taught him how to be human. He originally trained to be a stoic assassin incapable of feeling emotions, but ever since he met his wife, he slowly learns what it means to be human. However, his training isn't something to be completely forgotten. There are still instances where his dark persona comes out, and the one who reliably manages to reel him back to his senses is Sagiri. Similarly, Sagiri's choice isn't a mere act of goodwill. She chooses him in order to prove herself as an executioner and clear herself from her doubts. Albeit mostly unconsciously, Gabimaru offers her wisdom that clears Sagiri's doubts and also strengthens her resolve.

RELATED:Why Some of My Hero Academia's Anime Scenes Appear to Be Darkened

Another pair who has benefitted from this setup is the bandit leader Aza Chobei and his executioner Aza Toma. While their relationship at present is that of a death row criminal and his executioner, the two shares a long history. The two are actually brothers who eventually became bandits. Unfortunately, Chobei is eventually captured. He sacrifices himself so that his brother can escape. Even so, he hasn't lost hope yet. He has instructed his brother to do his best to rescue him from captivity just as he is being captured -- and that's what Toma did.

Toma infiltrates the esteemed Yamada Clan and hones himself to become a fine executioner. Interestingly, he does so in just a mere one month. Toma is then eventually allowed to do an execution, and he chose his brother Chobei as his subject. However, it isn't a mere execution. He shows him the pardon that is being offered by the shogun to whoever finds the Elixir of Life. Naturally, that equates to Chobei being freed. And after eliminating other criminals, Chobei ultimately gains the right to head toward Shinsenkyo.

Chobei and Toma's greatest edge over the other pairing is their shared history. They have not only gone through numerous hardships together, but they are also blood brothers. Needless to say, they have each other's backs, which is definitely a very important asset as they traverse the dangerous island of Shinsenkyo. Even still, that's not all they have to offer. Toma is shown to have some sort of overdependence on Chobei as well as a hint of envy. Chobei, on the other hand, is headstrong but caring. This combination opens the path to numerous possibilities, like tests of brotherhood, sacrifices, and perhaps betrayal.

RELATED:These Anime Are Perfect for People Interested in Money and Economics

One partnership that is arguably one of the most interesting ones -- even more than Gabimaru and Sagiri -- is Tenza and Nurugai. They have just been introduced in Episode 5, yet their stories already offer a new perspective on the show's narrative. While the show has already established a clear hierarchy of power between the Yamada Asaemons and the death-row prisoners, Tenza and Nurugai's introduction sheds light on the societal injustices that exist beyond that system. After all, Tenza doesn't just see Nurugai as a criminal he ought to slaughter. He actually wants to save the death row prisoner. And he has a good reason for it.

Nurugai is the last member of the Sanka, a peaceful group of people living in the mountains. But since the Sanka don't pledge their allegiance to the shogun, they are labeled as criminals. The shogun's samurai set out to massacre them, and without knowing any better, Nurugai is the one who pointed them to their settlement. The samurai then massacre her tribe, leaving her alive as a death row prisoner in the hopes of her leading them to the other Sanka settlements. But before she does get executed, Tenza appears and shows her an out to her execution.

Given Tenza's adamance and perseverance to save Nurugai, it is likely that he knows the unfortunate lass' backstory. As to how he has come to such knowledge is yet to be known. Nonetheless, their relationship offers a breath of fresh air from the others' past, as they are not bound by the usual power dynamics between Asaemons and prisoners. Instead, they share a common enemy in the corrupt government that labels innocent people as criminals and uses their power to oppress them. With their dynamics, they may also be the rare shippable relationship among Hell's Paradise's rowdy cast.

The rest is here:

Hell's Paradise: The Criminal Asaemon Pair With Deepens the Story - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed below belong solely to the author.

Much of the talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact is revolving around consequences it may have for jobs, with some predicting millions of people may be made redundant by ever improving digital bots.

Historically speaking, I think the odds are still on our side, given how we made it through several technological revolutions, becoming more prosperous than ever in the process.

However, for the first time, were up against a technology that isnt just good at doing a specific task, but one which can accurately mimic human behaviour to the point of near-perfect replication of someones appearance or voice.

An American influencer, Caryn Marjorie (boasting 1.8 million followers on Snapchat) put the capabilities of current AI tech to the test and ordered creation of a replica of herself or at least, her voice for the time being), which she then started selling as a virtual girlfriend lonely men can chat with via Telegram, paying US$1 per minute of interaction.

In the first week in business, her revenue hit over US$72,000.

The service was created by an AI training company with hours of videos and had them create a realistic audio chatbot, leveraging ChatGPT 4.0, that you can send your own voice messages and receive an audio reply on any topic.

Heres how it works:

While it seems to be a clever PR stunt, that benefits both the influencer and the company, Forever Voices, which also promotes its own chatbot allowing you to have a conversation with celebrities (and, I assume, may offer services that would preserve the voices of your loved ones), the bot itself is real and theres no reason why it should not continue to exist as a product, given the demand.

The question is, however, what impact is technology like this going to have on human interaction?

Caryn makes some bold claims here, but do they really make sense? How likely is it to be a harmful rather than useful service?

How many people are going to sink into the fantasy world of hyper-realistic, virtual AI partners, who never complain and are always available and supportive?

They dont age, never have headaches or bad moods, and if youre bored of them, you can just close the app.

Its going to take a few years before generative video is mastered to make the experience even more realistic (which can become very immersive when coupled with a VR headset), but should already be technologically possible for such a virtual persona to send you AI-generated selfies of whatever it pretends to be doing.

And while Caryns AI was programmed not to engage in sexually explicit talk (although it reportedly did when prompted), what stops any other company from offering just about anything that springs to mind?

Are we soon going to witness the birth of AI-commerce, with online storefronts displaying thousands of generated faces of partners of both genders and any combination of features, to keep us company whenever were lonely, bored or horny?

After all, how many times have your friends been unavailable when you wanted to chat about something? How many friendships have ended when your buddies moved, started families or became too busy with work?

But that hot bot is always there for you, like a faultless companion who always has your back, motivates you to do better, is a shoulder to cry on, or keeps you company without you having to even leave your couch.

While it can perhaps never attain the same directness of interaction as we experience between living humans, the barriers of entry are so low (compared to making new friends in real life) and benefits so huge, that I cant see how it would not become a multibillion dollar market very, very soon.

If not overnight, then at least a few years down the road.

After all, OnlyFans, the controversial, largely pornographic site where anybody can post explicit content for money, generated close to US$5 billion in revenue by the end of 2021, and likely more in 2022 (the numbers arent in yet).

But why rely on human creators, if you can generate thousands of realistic human avatars that will do whatever the audience wants at any time they want it (and pocket all the money yourself, without having to split it with anyone)?

Besides that, most of our social interactions even with living humans are already digital anyway so, if you cant really tell the difference, would that matter?

A knife is a very useful utensil, allowing us to prepare meals and cut things were about to eat. It can also, however, be used to stab someone to death.

The problem is hardly ever with the tool, but with how it is used and AI is no different.

The same technology that can further cement your status as a lifelong loser unable to speak to girls, resorting to virtual self-pleasure with an AI bot, could be used to immortalise your family: parents, grandparents, siblings and yourself for future generations.

Its the digital immortality I wrote about two months ago a remarkable way of not only dealing with grief over death of your loved ones, whose digital clones will remain with you forever, but also an immersive archive of humanity for centuries to come.

Someone from the year 3268 may be able to speak to anybody from year 2020 to learn about the Covid pandemic, Donald Trumps presidency, or how good a football player Lionel Messi was.

If used correctly, it can, indeed, help us heal trauma, improve our well-being, ease some of the loneliness and give us quasi-immortality, so we are never forgotten by our successors.

But stray just a little, and it might just as well become a schizophrenic nightmare where separating reality from fantasy becomes more and more difficult where your best friends are pay-per-voice chatbots and your family exists only on video, since you never got round to starting your own.

And if thats the case, there might not be anybody left around to ask our virtual clones anything in the future.

Featured Image Credit: Caryn Marjorie

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Forget jobs will AI replace us? AI girlfriend you can speak with makes US$72,000 in a week - Vulcan Post