Morning Update: 08/03/24
The AI Edition
Having finished the first week of school, everyone is exhausted this morning. I’m the only one awake at 8:00 and even I slept until 7:00, The cats have been fed, the dogs taken outside and fed, and it occurs to me that, to a limited extent, taking care of them isn’t that much different than working with a small herd of cattle and a couple of horses. The biggest difference is that I don’t have to trudge all the way out to the barn and shovel shit. The kids are still adapting to going back on their meds for school. Kat never gets enough sleep. I know she was up in the middle of the night, around 4:00. We’ll let them rest as I focus on other things.
I don’t know what to do about the lawn. It’s still too wet this morning, thanks to last night’s rains. The East side is growing so thick it’s going to be tough to get the lawnmower through it. I’m not much help, either. If I get much weaker, I’m going to have trouble sitting upright. As it is now, I’m leaning on the armrest to help keep me steady as I sit here and type. I thought we were getting better, but this past week has been a major setback. I’m wanting to go to the fair next week but I’m not sure I should risk it. Even if someone goes with me, I can’t be sure that I’ll make it past the first row of buildings. Knowing that Travis Little has a new art piece on display requires that I at least make an attempt to go see it.
I don’t know if it was an act of collusion or what, but AI seems to be on everyone’s mind this morning. Reuters is leading with a story about how lawsuits filed by major recording labels to stop AI platforms from stealing opens up some severe holes in Copyright Law. Reuters starts the story by telling how easy it was to create a song “in the style of (country star) Tift Merritt) on the Udio platform. You can hear the song here. While Merritt said the AI-generated song would “never make the cut” on one of her albums, it underlines the danger of a world of AI-generated sound as the technology continues to grow. We’ve long known that there’s a strong relationship between math and music. That relationship makes it pretty much just a matter of time before AI can generate music faster and better than any human. I gotta tell you, that hurts my feelings.
This new story comes as video game actors have been on strike all week saying that AI endangers their jobs. “The models that they’re using have been trained on our voices without our consent at all, with no compensation,” “Persona 5 Tactica” voice actor and video game strike captain, Leeanna Albanese, told Reuters on the picket line. This is just the latest AI-related work stoppage. You’ll remember that union actors and writers went on strike last fall for similar reasons. Anyone in any creative field is concerned about the degree to which AI is going to endanger their jobs.
The NY Times is asking if AI is going to take over “meaningless” jobs and, if so, is that really a bad thing. They’re looking specifically at jobs in areas where rote copy/paste bores workers to tears, or software development that’s ultimately never used. One might see an argument for letting AI take the pain away, but where, then, do those workers look for more substantial employment? We’ve been talking on Facebook about a WRTV story romanticizing the days when local teens spent their summers detasseling corn. The general assumption is that modern equipment, most likely AI-based, would do that job now. After hearing one friend talk about how he sprained both wrists in that job, it’s difficult to see any AI development there as a negative.
But at the same time, there’s the story of Sabrina Javellana, a young Florida woman whose political career has been upended by deep fake AI-generated porn that uses her face. Trolls and political enemies have made her life a living nightmare. After talking with attorneys that specialize in revenge porn cases, she was told that there was little she could do that would stop anyone from continuing to produce material that was ruining her career. It’s impossible to defend AI producers in situations such as this.
Good solutions? They don’t exist. Music AI startups Suno and Udio slammed record label lawsuits in court filings and it seems likely that courts could find some merit in their arguments. AI is popping up everywhere. Even as I sit here typing, there is a prompt on the right-hand side of the page offering to “help” me write. Or re-write. I don’t use it primarily because AI doesn’t tend to curse about really bad situations and I like having the ability to say “fuck” whenever it feels appropriate. But does that mean that one day in the future AI could save me a couple of hours’ worth of time? Probably so. We’re going to have to keep working out the kinks and finding some common ground on this issue. AI is not going away, so we have to find ways to work with it.
Moving on, I want to wade into the international argument about Olympic boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan. A lot of people are upset because the Russian-led International Boxing Association, which has been banished from the Olympics by the IOC in a yearslong dispute, banned the two boxers claiming that their unproven and unspecified gender-based tests disqualified both women. Allegations have been flying around social media claiming that Khelif is trans and that her short-lived fight yesterday against Italian competitor Angela Carini was unfair. Some of the most ridiculous comments have come from known transphobes such as J.K. Rowling and the Orange Felon, neither of which should ever be taken seriously ever again. IOC President Thomas Bach came to the girls’ defense last night, saying that the comments were unacceptable, but then the IBA announced that it was awarding the promised $100,000 prize to Carini. This Olympics has really brought out the worst in conservatives worldwide and friends, we’ve gotta call them out on it. Both Khelif and Lin were born women. End of story. To suggest otherwise is nothing short of ignorance and stupidity that doesn’t deserve an audience.
Okay, it’s after 9:00. Here are some other things worth noting. Children of freed sleeper agents learned they were Russians on the flight to Moscow. Seriously. They thought they were Argentinian. Imagine the culture shock the poor kids have coming to them, and the conversations around the dinner table now that they know their parents were Russian spies. Aerosmith retires from touring, citing permanent damage to Steven Tyler’s voice last year. Are we surprised? No, but there’s still this nostalgic feeling of loss as we deal with the fact that the musicians we love are … old. Some Yankee Stadium bleachers fans chant `U-S-A!’ during `O Canada’ before the game against the Blue Jays. This is just stupid. The Jays have been a part of MLB for over 50 years. Such distasteful displays of nationalism need to stop. A Florida attorney has pleaded guilty to using a rifle to try to detonate explosives outside the Chinese embassy last year in Washington, D.C. Why? Because Florida breeds insanity. That’s the only logical reason. I think it’s something in the water down there.
Lastly, you may remember the fuss I made a couple of days ago about the three inmates at Guantanamo getting a plea deal. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked plea deals agreed to earlier this week. Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court, was relieved of her authority to enter into plea deals. Austin says he’s handling the matter personally now. Goddammit, we finally do something sane and this fool gives in to conservative backlash and cancels it. At the same time, President Biden is reiterating his intention to close the facility at Guantanamo before he leaves office. Something’s going to have to give somewhere.
Okay, we both need to move on with our days, you and I. There’s still other news, but perhaps we’ll cover that tomorrow.
Morning Update: 08/04/24
Sunday Morning Lite
Music from the 1973 Disney animated feature, “Robin Hood” is running through my head this morning, and has been pretty much all night, after hearing a young woman cover Roger Miller’s original song. The lyrics, “Robin Hood and Little John, walking through the forest, Laughing back and forth at what the other’n has to say. Reminiscing this and that and having such a good time. Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day.” That verse summons an image of an idyllic summer stroll through animated woods, wandering along without a care, enjoying time with a best friend. When you think about it, isn’t that pretty much what all of us want from summer? If only we could make it happen. Unfortunately, for too many of us, there’s a Sheriff of Nottingham lurking in the shadows waiting to spoil everything.
Yesterday was just kind of there and I see no good reason to dwell on it. I was in bed. The kids were doing their own things. Even local news is rather boring. The biggest thing to happen is that Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, almost spun out as he took a corner too fast just now. He seems largely unaffected by the near mishap. I’ve told the kids we have to mow today and they’ve both agreed, but we’ll see how much actually gets done.
Much of the world news is a continuation of previous topics. Taiwan’s Yu-ting beats Staneva to ensure medal amid boxing gender debate. And then, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif clinches a medal at the Olympics after an outcry fueled by gender misconceptions. Remember, the IBA is a Russian-backed machine and probably doesn’t need to exist anymore.
The Orange Felon is still lying. VP Harris is still flexing her muscles. I don’t think anyone is surprised by either of those statements. The Felon is trying to claim “home turf” for a September debate, The VP is saying, “Nope.”
Tropical Storm Debby is looking to give most of West Florida and Cuba a hard time today. The storm hasn’t been able to maintain hurricane-force strength, but it could still cause a lot of damage and upset lives and vacation plans.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff acknowledges affair contributed to the breakup for his first marriage, but is this even an issue when the Orange Felon has cheated on all his wives, including the present one while she was pregnant and no one seems to give a fuck. Open this can of worms and the Felon takes the most heat.
There are a couple of good reads if you have the time. The Associated Press takes a look at how adult children in India are abandoning their aging parents. This isn’t a pretty picture and yeah, I think we have to worry about the concept spreading.
Then, the New York Times has a really interesting story about the intersection of commercial development, segregation, and Islamaphobia … in Minnesota, of all places. Yeah, you’ll need a subscription to read it, but damn, this is a captivating story. In the end, we see how legitimate concerns too easily dissolve into dirty politics and name-calling. It’s definitely worth the subscription price.
While you’re at the Times, there’s also an interesting story about how abandoned church buildings are being converted into commercial space. The vaulted ceilings are a big draw. This isn’t just a New York thing. I know we’ve seen similar conversions to downtown church buildings here in Indy. The allure of religion may be fading, but the architecture is pretty cool.
Everything else hasn’t dramatically shifted all that much since yesterday. If anything, some of it is becoming a bit of an eye roll. Today’s a good day to sit back and catch up on some of that reading you keep saying you’ll get to “when you have the time.”
Pour another cup of coffee. There’s no rush.
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