Month: May 2024

A Grand Bargain?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have to admit, that sometimes I feel like we’ve waited long enough — let Trump win so we can sort out one way or another if we have the gumption to depose the motherfucker.

I don’t know how that would work out — and it wouldn’t in a way because it would cause a civil war — but I’m growing really frustrated with the idea that MAGA Nazis are always just one election away from turning us into a fascist state.

Having said that, imagine Trump loses.

There is a real chance that Trump will rant about the need for a National Divorce so he, specifically doesn’t go to prison. This raises the interesting issue of how we might placate him so the country doesn’t collapse into horrific violence.

I could imagine a situation where Trump rants about the need for a National Divorce and states like Texas begin to leave the Union. I could see that out of desperation the be a huge amount of pressure put on Biden to pardon Trump for the sake of saving the unity of the country.

But I don’t know. It seems as though that by definition if Trump loses and states begin to call up secessionist conventions it will be quaint to think you could stop that momentum by pardoning him. But I think there’s a chance we all might try in desperation if things got bad enough.

And I can’t predict the future. There is still a chance that somehow, someway, we will muddle through the 2024 election without any of the “hysterical doom shit” I keep worrying about coming true.

But I don’t know…..I’m worried.

Does The Rise Of Real-Time A.I. Language Translation Mark The End of ESL In Asia As A Profession?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The case could be made that with the rise of A.I., the ESL teaching economy in Asia is about to undergo a severe retrenchment. It could be that as A.I. gets better and better at real-time translation, the idea of actually learning English will become quaint in the eyes of South Korean parents who are already often strapped for education cash.

But, I don’t know.

It may not be as simple as that. There is a lot to be said for the simple cultural exchange that takes place when young Korean children — and Korean society as a whole — are exposed to people from outside the country.

So it’s possible that there will be a lot of hand wringing, but, in the end, nothing much will change. Maybe a lot of the poorer school districts, outside of the major cities in South Korea, will give up on ESL, but in big cities nothing will really change that much.

I feel like trying to write a column about this for The Korea Times.

Dare To Be ‘Done(?)’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I just don’t know what to tell you. I have reached a point with my first novel where….I’m pretty much done? Maybe? I’m not sure because I still need someone to read the whole thing all the way through and give me notes as to how to improve in on a macro basis.

But, in general, this is it. I’m content with the story enough that once I get past people reading it for me, I am going to seriously begin the process of querying. I have a lot of slack in the process at the moment — I probably won’t begin to query seriously until sometime in August or September.

Probably closer to September because I’m going to assume most agents don’t even open up to queries until after August. So. As such, I’m probably going to focus on my other projects while I prepare myself to get the main novel ready to query.

Barring something unexpected, I just won’t be able to afford a proper editor. I’m just going to get someone, anyone to read the novel and give me some general input.

Wish me luck.

The Fire Next Time: Will America’s Possible Collapse Into Civil War / Revolution Mark The First Use Of AI Soldiers?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

When it comes to AI and robotics, I generally think everything is going to suck because of human nature — just like generally, everything sucks with the Internet these days.

So. Lets combine my OTHER dystopian fears — the idea that the USA will soon collapse into civil war / revolution because of fucking Trump.

Wars usually are where a lot of “cutting edge” technology is first used. And, as such, it would make a lot of sense for the first use of “AI soldiers” might be in some sort of post-apocalyptic America where Red and Blue have finally decided to settle their political differences in the streets.

I don’t want anything like that to happen. I’m not advocating anything. I’m just…worried….that we really are totally, completely fucked and AI bots are only going to make a horrible situation even worse.

Slow Your Roll About The Advantages Of AI Tutors

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Do we have to go through THIS again? I remember when the Internet first became popular and mainstream in 1994 – 1995, people were spooging their pants about all the educational uses we could expect from it.

We all know, of course, that, in the end, the Internet simply became another flaw reflection of humanity and about 80% of it became devoted to sex and porn.

So, today, when people started to get way, way, way too excited about the latest update to ChatGPT, I rolled my eyes. I think we all know that if OpenAI goes through with its plans to give ChatGPT a personality, there is a real risk that young people — especially young men — will fall the fuck in love with their AI tutor and, well, there you go.

We’re all fucked.

On this particular front, I fear I’m becoming something of a “doomer.” We have to be extra careful whenever the minds and socialization of younger people are involved and I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea that generations of humans will be babsat by some future version of ChatGPT AND they will never make babies because they’ll be too busy fucking a personalized sexbot.

We have to admit to ourselves that human culture generally takes the path of least resistance and, as such, a lot — A LOT — of people will forgo going through the pain and emotional anguish required to find a mate and make babies in favor of simply fucking a sexbot.

I’m no sure I want to rely on the Amish for keeping humanity going. Ugh.

Humans May Go Extinct…Because Everyone Will Be Fucking Sexbots?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In the movie Children of Men, there haven’t been any children born in decades. Well, it seems possible that with advancements in AI and robotics that we will all collectively give up on having babies.

And maybe that’s why their are no aliens — apparently: the Great Filter is simply all advanced civilizations develop AI and robotics and then…stop having babies because raising kids is tough.

It’s all kind of sad.

It will be interesting to see if the hate of MAGA will piviot away from “scary brown people” and to “scary technology.”

But I don’t know. It MIGHT be that AI and robotics will pick up the slack of plummeting birthrates. Combine that with Universal Basic Income and…maybe we’ll muddle through?

Maybe?

ScarJo, Call Your Lawyer

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I understand why OpenAI was eager to use something akin to Scarlett Johansson’s voice when launching their voice-activated AI feature. They wanted to evoke in people’s mind Samantha from the movie Her.

BUT.

I’d like to know if ScarJo got a heads up that they were going to do it. And that doesn’t even begin to address the needs of other stakeholders like the producers of the movie Her.

But maybe I’m overthinking things. It could just a one off and in the future the female voice of ChatGPT won’t sound JUST LIKE ScarJo.

Who knows.

The Future Is Profound

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It is very possible that at some point between late 2024 and early 2025, humanity — because of Trump — could very well bomb itself into near-extinction.

But, let’s just suppose that we somehow avoid that fate. It definitely seems as though if we do avoid such a dire fate that within a decade, $10,000 humanoid robots will begin to enter the homes of the upper middle class and work their way downward from there.

That, not AI or robotics separately, is what we should be focused on — androids with near-human intelligence that begin to do everything around the home from wash dishes to build decks to babysit children to general home security. And it could happen far, far quicker than any of us are prepared to imagine.

We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what AI can do to the knowledge economy — just wait until AI-powered androids go after blue collar jobs. It will be the day the universe changes.

The Future Of AI & Robotics Is One & The Same

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It is clear to me that we’re all kind of missing the point about AI and robotics because they are actually one and the same. We only see them as two different projects because things are so primitive (in real terms.)

But the whole point of AI, in a sense, is to stick into a robot. Or, to be more specific — to give the AI the OPTION of being stuck in a physical robotic body if it needs / wants to be.

The implications of this are enormous. Because rather than thinking of AI as a disembodied voice or text prompt, we have to start thinking of AI as something that physically lives with us. Just as we can’t escape the Internet these days, there’s a chance we won’t be able to escape our new AI personal digital assistants.

They will be everywhere and nowhere to the point that wherever we are — they will be.

Who Knew Finding Someone To Read The Third Draft Of My First Novel Would Be So Difficult

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, here I am “done” at last with a version of my novel that I want someone to read before I begin the querying process. I have one person I hope will read the novel for me, but I really want to pay someone to read it. And I’m living in poverty, so it’s going to take time just to save up the money for that.

And that doesn’t even begin to address the possibility that my would-be editor won’t blanch at the part-time sex worker nature of my heroine. There IS a lot of sex in the novel, but, in general, I don’t think it’s gratuitous. It serves a point and makes the novel run at a nice little clip.

And, yet, we live in a hyper sensitive world where a lot of people apparently hate sex of any sort. So, I don’t know. I may never find *anyone* to edit this first novel and will just have to wing it.

I have a second, sequel novel I’m working on that seems as though it might be developed at a pretty fast clip. It’s essentially the rest of the novel that I split into two when I realized that was the best course of action. All I have to do is rework it some and I can start writing it pretty soon.

But at least the scifi novel I’m working on has little or no sex (in real terms) and, as such, if I find myself languishing in the querying trenches I can at least hearten myself with the knowledge that I can always use the scifi novel if need be. The scifi novel I’m come up with is really, really good.

I gives me the opportunity to use a lot of ideas that I’ve been formulating about AI and robotics for some time now. My only fear is, of course, that things are moving so fast that by the time the damn thing is published, some of my predictions will seem quaint.

But, if nothing else, it keeps me moving forward.