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Musings
This is an archive of automation posts like the ones on the homepage. In each post, I share brief thoughts about a current automation or AI topic. I focus on insights that may be at odds with popular opinion. There are plenty of high-quality sources for automation news. My goal is not to cover every topic. My goal is to surface ideas you may not find elsewhere.
![Look Who’s Talking: Speech as a Modality](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1715883210977-WOVHFWAMVLKYZUYA0TG4/speaking.png)
Look Who’s Talking: Speech as a Modality
Adding speech as a modality to large language models is a bigger deal than most people realize.
![The Interns: AI in the Workplace](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1714150113370-OTJLO3Z0POGYR7MUE3IN/Interns.png)
The Interns: AI in the Workplace
Why are large organizations struggling to adopt the latest AI technologies? Perhaps AI has a lower tolerance for uninspiring managers.
![Gathering Dust: Why Hasn’t VR Taken Off?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1710250144745-1VARV72JBVHS7AYQ38DW/headset.png)
Gathering Dust: Why Hasn’t VR Taken Off?
I don’t think we’re having the right conversations about VR. The “killer features” have yet to be fully discovered.
![Paper Money: The OG Crypto](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1708554375615-S3BB1WLP9UW5E4B13UIY/1890+back.jpeg)
Paper Money: The OG Crypto
Is crypto the future of money? Perhaps we can learn something from the money of the past.
![AI Safety: Alignment Is Not Enough](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1703446073446-M2PKM04M39ZJZHL5ZSJX/Safety+Sign.png)
AI Safety: Alignment Is Not Enough
The commotion at OpenAI thrust the topic of AI safety into the spotlight. Engaging in philosophical debate over guardrails, bias, and human extinction is one thing. It’s quite another to nearly dismantle a 700+ person organization valued at almost $100 billion.
![Bridging the Achievement Gap with AI](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1699385354880-MX9YUMJ4D8ABCE2XPLK7/AI+Classroom.png)
Bridging the Achievement Gap with AI
Today, more than 50 million American children are sitting in K-12 classrooms. Most of them aren’t learning about the technologies that will have the most significant impact on their lives.
![Data Assets: Castles in the Air](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1696876438438-ZMPEH4DPG5AMJC8H0AOE/image-asset.jpeg)
Data Assets: Castles in the Air
Firms are investing billions of dollars in data assets. Is there value in tabular data, or are companies caught in a speculative bubble?
![Time: The Final Frontier?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1696646608355-PZ4EJ5WKSK37YBXGFM0Q/image-asset.jpeg)
Time: The Final Frontier?
GenAI has experts moving up their predictions for when we could achieve AGI. If we fail, it might be a matter of “time.”
![Footnote 189: A Copyright Story](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1691250595257-41JDIQJ1QGX5TCMM0DR8/image-asset.jpeg)
Footnote 189: A Copyright Story
On the first page of my book, Artificially Human, you’ll find an attestation: These words were written by me, a human. Machines helped with the footnotes.
![Uniquely Human: Reaching Our Full Potential](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1690906472936-C0QM08Z6S4S6GNS59LOT/image-asset.jpeg)
Uniquely Human: Reaching Our Full Potential
Think of the smartest person you know. What makes them more intelligent than the other people in your life? Do they have a photographic memory? Are they unbelievably creative? Can they perform complex calculations in their head? What makes that person so unique?
![Thinking Slow: Artificial Reasoning](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1682830427592-QZSSFQXNZMXD6GXZDDA7/dan-cristian-padure-h3kuhYUCE9A-unsplash.jpg)
Thinking Slow: Artificial Reasoning
The divide between human and machine intelligence is narrowing faster than we can invent stories to assert our supremacy.
![Mind Like a Sieve](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1679071407409-TW6DJSQ7N07XSJ17H0BT/Goldfish.jpg)
![Fighting Shadows](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1677179565526-C7A44VYWHNRHL0MFJ2XO/Frankensteins+Monster.jpg)
Fighting Shadows
Mechanical minds are making their debut on the world stage. Artificial intelligence, previously kept under wraps like Frankenstein’s monster, has entered popular culture. This is why I believe fighting the AI of today is a losing proposition.
![Context Beats Computation (For Now)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1674431582655-PRVT6HDAHBOG0ZFPYKJ0/unsplash-image-8qWK3p7oN1o.jpg)
Context Beats Computation (For Now)
My feeds are inundated with AI posts. People seem caught off-guard by the latest large language models (e.g., ChatGPT) and image generators (e.g., Midjourney). How did we progress in a few years from chatbots that could barely understand simple commands to know-it-all assistants capable of explaining string theory, drafting cover letters, and telling better dad jokes than me?
![Whose Line Is it Anyway?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1671410044527-7H8OLR55MP5OMAYOZTGQ/unsplash-image-V5vqWC9gyEU.jpg)
Whose Line Is it Anyway?
OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public on November 30, 2022. The powerful chatbot is based on the company’s 175 billion parameter large language model, GPT-3. While the underlying AI model has been around for since 2020, the combination of a friendly interface and open access has propelled ChatGPT to the forefront of the AI conversation.
![Bill(s) of Rights](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1671411548060-QNQQ3HD5YMVI2TGHC079/unsplash-image-5DDYHjk_KMU.jpg)
Bill(s) of Rights
Back in October, the White House unveiled an AI Bill of Rights. The document is a first step in establishing guidelines for the use of AI in the United States. It covers important topics like safety, discrimination, and privacy. My question is whether we also need a second Bill of Rights to govern how humans treat AI.
![Starving Artists](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639a90d181c56049c39034b5/1674431901410-EQ1RRYS8YM7SBDQK0NDM/unsplash-image-IDmD4iw9XvE.jpg)
Starving Artists
The introduction of DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion this year caught artists seemingly off-guard. For years, we were told that creativity would be the final frontier for human workers. Now, we are faced with the prospect that creativity might not be what we think it is.