ChatGPT is a variant of the GPT-3 language model developed by OpenAI that is specifically designed for generating text in real-time chat environments. As a language model, ChatGPT is trained on a vast amount of text data and is able to generate human-like text by predicting the next word or phrase given a prompt.
In my opinion, ChatGPT represents a significant advancement in the field of natural language processing. Its ability to generate coherent and relevant text in real-time makes it a valuable tool for a wide range of applications, from customer service chatbots to language translation services.
One of the most impressive aspects of ChatGPT is its ability to adapt to different contexts and styles of conversation. This makes it a useful tool for generating text that is tailored to a specific audience or situation. For example, a customer service chatbot powered by ChatGPT could use the model to generate responses that are friendly and helpful, while a language translation service could use ChatGPT to generate translations that are fluent and accurate.
Of course, ChatGPT is not without its limitations. As with any language model, it is only as good as the data it was trained on, and it may produce biased or inappropriate output if the data it was trained on is biased or contains inappropriate content. Additionally, ChatGPT is not capable of understanding the meaning or context of the text it generates, so it is not a substitute for human intelligence or judgment.
Overall, ChatGPT is a powerful and versatile tool that has the potential to revolutionize the way we use natural language processing in a variety of applications. While it is not a replacement for human intelligence, it represents an important step forward in the development of artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
I didn’t write the above review of ChatGPT, one of the biggest AI phenomenon of 2022 (right up there with DALL-E 2 and digital art)… it’s what it said of itself with the prompt “write an opinion column about ChatGPT.” I’m definitely not the first nor will be the last to say that what it represents is huge for many aspects of our culture. And as has always been the case with tech like this, we will be years behind in knowing how to reign in its use. Good luck to the middle school/high school/college teachers out there for grading homework from now on, you’ll need it!
Groups of the rodents have been tearing up a fancy gated community in the wetlands of the Lujan River Delta near Buenos Aires
By Dharna Noor 8/24/21 3:20PM
Photo: Mark Metcalfe (Getty Images)
You know how capybaras always seem to have a slightly skeptical look on their faces? Turns out what theyāre skeptical of might be rich peopleās bullshit. Now, in Argentina, theyāre fighting back. Groups of the charismatic rodents have been causing a ruckus in the fancy-pants gated community of Nordelta, crapping in the streets and hacking up manicured lawns like magnificent little punk asses.
Naturally, the hoity-toity residents arenāt too thrilled about being the objects of the animalsā scorn. Capybaras, known locally as carpinchos, are the worldās largest rodents, measuring up to 3 feet (1 meter) in height and weighing as much as 175 pounds (79 kilograms). They can do some serious damage stomping around a garden, and theyāve also apparently bitten Nordelta residentsā dogs.
Some residents have reportedly brought out their guns to ward off the animals. But if weāre picking sides here, I stand with the capybara comrades. The rodents are native to the region where Nordelta now stands, in the wetlands of the Lujan River Delta near Buenos Aires. The fancy community was just erected there in 2000. Experts say that means this can hardly be considered an invasion. Instead, itās a reclamation project.
āItās the other way round: Nordelta invaded the ecosystem of the carpinchos,ā esteemed ecologist and activist Enrique Viale told the Guardian. āWealthy real estate developers with government backing have to destroy nature in order to sell clients the dream of living in the wildābecause the people who buy those homes want nature, but without the mosquitoes, snakes, or carpinchos.ā
Viale has been a prominent voice in a decade-long campaign demanding Argentina pass a law to protect wetland areas from developmentāperhaps not as flashy a strategy as the capybarasā guerilla campaign to take back the land, but a good idea nonetheless. By paving over land on which capybaras and other wildlife depend on, developers were essentially inviting trouble. There have been other devastating ecological implications of the Nordelta development, too, including building out vast stretches of impervious surfaces, which invites flooding. Destroying waterways has ushered in more forest fires as well. Paving over paradise hasnāt just affected the capybaras either, and itās not Nordeltaās rich residents who suffer most when these environmental disasters hit; itās thepoor.
So while this may at first blush seem like an infestation, itās really more like class warfare; a struggle for land justice. Ā”Entonces, solidaridad con los carpinchos!
Just wanted to do a post about the biggest news of the year, maybe even for the past decade — Coronavirus! Not going to add much, but just wanted to document a list of recent happenings. Someday (probably not for awhile!) it will be interesting to remember the start of 2020.
The virus started in Wuhan, China back in December. China (of course) tried to keep it on the down-low, and that only helped for it to spread quickly and wide. One main doctor there who tried to get the news out was shut down. Now he’s dead from the virus. And also now China is saying it’s “racist” to say it started there. -face palm-
The virus cases the disease, COVID-19
Most that have died are the elderly, not younger children or people who are moderately healthy. They say those 60 and older should really watch out.
SO MANY cancellations: major tech conferences over the past couple weeks, now cities are shutting down public gatherings for large groups of people. Keep hearing “out of an abundance of caution…”
Universities like Harvard and Princeton are closing their classes, also telling students to not come back after spring break
Big companies like Twitter, Google, Microsoft, others are telling their people (those who can) to work from home. Twitter’s telling ALL their workers.
Stock Market is absolutely TANKING the past few weeks. My Robinhood account is crying.
Travel companies like the airlines and cruise ship lines are majorly hurting
People are buying up ALL the toilet paper… WHY?! Of course cleaning supplies like Lysol and wipes are selling out rapidly.
Even new movie releases are getting postponed… It’s almost unimaginable how much money is being “lost” due to this thing.
One upside, emissions are down and cities (like Beijing) have clean air finally
New mantra: Cancel Everything!
As of just yesterday (3/11):
Tom Hanks and wife have contracted it
President Trump closed off flights from lots of EU countries
The NBA will suspend their season (no March Madness)
Capital closing off to visitors (Capital building in Jeff City did the same… protect the precious congresspeoples!)
As of today (3/12):
NHL, MLB, Major League Soccer will also suspend now
Disney’s sites closing this weekend, for a month or so
Here’s the advice:
Wash your hands with soap
Use hand sanitizer
Don’t touch your face
People who think they’re sick should self-isolate/self-quarantine, at least for two weeks
We’re not supposed to shake hands… I’m fine with that
Maintain social distancing… Also more than totally cool with that!
One great positive from all this, it’s a major boon for working from home!! At the office we had already started a WFH ‘program’ in the past couple months, and it’s looking like it will expand pretty quickly. Awesome!
Added in later days:
3/13 Biggest church in town cancelling services this weekend
3/14 Our church cancelled Sunday services (but will have online service to watch Sunday morning, nice!)
US trying to āflatten the curveā of the coronavirus outbreak (isolation slows down the outbreak so hospitals can keep up)
Pro: Everybody’s working from home (WFH) now, which is awesome!
Pro: Many more thousands of people are seeing how “homeschool” works… some will hopefully think long and hard about taking this on full-time, many will see just see it as too hard for getting along with their kids. š
3/17 Kansas is killing off kids’ school for rest of year
Hollywood is basically shutting down (boo hoo), movie production is off, live audiences for shows a no-go, movie releases are being delayed, movie theatres are staying closed. It’s too bad this affects real people and real jobs, but will greatly show us how much we don’t really need Hollywood at all.
3/21: Been a week of social distancing/WFH/not going anywhere reallyā¦. and I gotta say, I love it! This is an introverts dream! Being told by the gov’t, work, new media, etc to Stay At Home is awesome! Look, I realize that there’s bad stuff going around and many people’s lives are getting up-ended in a bad way, some are losing income and even their jobs, a few (extremely few compared to the total population) are getting COVID-19 and some have died. I really don’t appreciate the politicians who are cranking this up and creating fear with the lockdowns and closing businesses, and saying it could go on for months (it’s almost like they /want/ to cause panic). My thoughts and prayers are for the people of the U.S. and the world for healing and patience through these troubling times.
Butā¦ it’s been great working from home this week! My team still has our daily huddle, we are all still getting our jobs done, we are still collaborating via Slack and Zoomā¦. WFH WORKS!! When we get to the other side of these present troubles, I bet there are many (not just where I work but across the country/world) who will want to keep this going (not 100%, I know, but maybe like 20-50%??). My kids: Also I have at least a couple college kids who are home (might get the third one home too) and I love seeing them more! I’m sure they aren’t liking the social isolation but it’s been great having them around to talk to more than usual. My church: Last week they recorded the sermon and we got to watch it here at home, and tomorrow we will get to do the same and also have communion time, and our morning class is going to meet over Zoom! We can still be a church family, even as we have more time with just our own families.
What I am wanting to learn in the weeks ahead is what are the beneficial societal impacts of all this social isolating, and the news media has not attempted to address this yet:
What’s the nation’s murder rate? Suicide rate? I’d /have/ to think that those are going way down… less people are out and about (at all hours of the day and night) and everyone is spending more time at home as families. Of course, more time for people who are alone and suffer depression might have a factor, guess we’ll see.
What will kids feel like about going back to school after all this time at home? Sure there those that love being in school, but that can’t be the majority, right? Will at least some kids see that they can “do” school while in the comfort of their own home? And home schooling in general, will there be a rise in families who pull their kids from public school?
Less travel, less pollution: What do the freeways look like in major cities right now, esp. California? What do cities smog levels look like? We know Beijing’s air really cleared up at the height of their pandemic. Also, how much are people saving because they’re not commuting, not going to the store as much, not taking their kids to sports, etc.
Theft, other crimes: Are these incidents going up, going down, staying the same? Drunk driving? Vehicle accidents in general?
That’s about all I can think of at the momentā¦ might be adding some items later. This article by Matt Walsh (https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-lets-stay-self-quarantined-forever) is also dead-on at the present. It’s good to question how our society is built, and unfortunate as it is because of the circumstances, this can all turn out for our betterment.
3/23 It all puts new meaning on Bette Midler’s From A Distanceā¦ “God is watching usā¦ from a distance”! insert :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: emoji š
3/31 Many have lost jobs so far in the past two weeks (“Reduction In Force”), some are doing pay cuts, which became a little more poignant today. Still, for those what are just facing a Reduction In Pay, it’s better than that alternative.
4/2 Passed over 1,000,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide today sigh And this is only the beginning:
4/5 – It’s weird when you watch TV and see people all together in restaurants or at parties or stores, or see people hug, or shake hands (without then using sanitizer)ā¦
4/9 – 17 million people in the US have applied for unemployment just in the past three weeks! And this whole shutdown is being predicted for weeks to comeā¦
4/11 – Tired of all this getting called “home quarantine”ā¦ it’s not, that’s for people who have been sick or in a (possibly) exposed situation. THIS is a “government-issued stay-at-home order”, big difference. Also, quit calling it “homeschooling”, it’s more “Gov’t Sponsored Teaching-from-Home”, or “Emergency Remote Teaching”ā¦ there’s a big difference!
4/13 – Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog: “This is house arrest. Not quarantine. Quarantine is for sick people or people who are known to have been exposed to a contagion. Locking healthy people in their homes, even if you have no reason to think they’ve been exposed, is by definition something other than a quarantine.”
4/20 – Amazing! “May delivery for the U.S. benchmark crude, West Texas Intermediate, sank to a new low of minus $37.63 a barrel by the close of the oil market Monday, a staggering level that essentially means producers would be paying buyers to take oil off their hands.” They can’t find enough places to store all the oil!
4/22 – I think we rode out that ‘curve’ here in MO about a week and a half ago:
4/30 – Over 30million (1/5 of the US working force!) have applied for unemployment in past month or so.Ā Missouri to lift stay-at-home order this coming Monday (yes!).Ā And funny logos:
And most appropriate:
6/19 – Okay, last update on this stupidly overlong ‘pandemic’ā¦
-Still working from home pretty much full-time, only sharing going in each week with others in my group.
-The WHO might be full of smart scientist-y people but now they say they told people early on that masks did NOT workā¦ just so people wouldn’t rush out and buy up all the masks that the health professionals needed. I understand (kind of) the logic, but they basically LIED to the public and then we’re supposed to trust them going forward? Fat chance.
-Our state and county have opened back up for businesses, but our city is still being restrictive (ugh)
-Protesting early on was poo-poo’ed because they said it would cause another surge in COVID casesā¦. Then the whole Black Lives Matter thing happened and suddenly it’s “just fine to protestā¦ because it’s for a /good/ cause”. Brother.
-Vaccines are still many months, even years, away from being readily available. If they ever come up with effective ones, that is.
It’s time to get back to normal, the old normal. Yes, with people wearing masks when around others, and keeping hands clean and all. But a lot of things got overblown in the past few months. Yes, there will be another ‘surge’ in COVID cases as people get back out there. But really, EVERYone is going to be exposed at some point. We’ll deal with it.
I vehemently oppose this. That one comment, āIām not really concerned because I didnāt commit any crime or Iām not someone that is being wanted, Iām fine. Safety comes first,” is especially moronic.
It’s finally rolling from 2019 to 2020 (a real ‘vision’ year, hardee har), so there have already been a plethora of ‘end of the decade’ type articles being thrown out there. They’re the ‘Best ofā¦’ and ‘Worst ofā¦’ lists, of course, plus the usual year in review critiques for 2019. Interestingly, it seems most people thought 2019 really stank and are hoping it gets lost to history. My bet is that it’s mostly related to all the crappy things that our leaders in the federal government pulled off, which are way too numerous to go into.
I looked back and re-read a blog entry I made in January 2010 about ‘A Decade of Tech’ to get a little perspective about what I think has changed or stayed the same over these past ten years. The main things I listed then were: the DVR, BitTorrent, High speed internet, Smartphones, GPS, and MP3 players. I would say that all of these (except the MP3 player of course, and who uses a DVR anymore?) have become pretty ubiquitous and ingrained in our lives and we just don’t really ‘think’ about them anymore. We take our phones and high speed internet for granted now. So my next list for what was big over this past decade kind of feels like an iteration of a subset from 2010, starting withā¦
Smartphones
We are actually already now in the period of time when we just refer to them as just phonesā¦ no one just casually says ‘cell phone’ in normal conversation really anymore. Blackberries are gone, and only the few remaining Luddite hold-outs still carry a flip-phone or other style of ‘dumb’ phone. In 2010 35% of Americans had a smartphone (which was mostly the iPhone Iām sure, even being only a few years old at the time), and the Android species of that era were still fairly spartan compared to the iPhone. Windows Mobile phones were around then but would only last for a few more years (I nailed that prediction, for sure). Some are saying we’ve now hit ‘peak’ smartphoneā¦ they are about as big as they can functionally be to be hold-able in one hand, and also fit in our pants pockets. They have excellent cameras, lots of storage, and batteries that will last most people a full day without too much trouble. Phone makers are struggling now to find the next big thing, which for last year and at present is them trying to foist āfolding phonesā on the public (oh puhleease). Virtually everyone has a phone (just saw the stats, itās 81%), from the oldest to youngest, even down to grade-schoolers and younger. Premier phones are a lot more expensive these days and people are keeping their phones for multiple years. (In fact, I used to be a New Phone Every Year dude years ago, but my current phone –Samsung Galaxy S8+– has been good enough I’m into my third year with it!) We feel naked and vulnerable if we donāt have our phone on us or handily available. There are noticeable generational differences on phone usage, ranging from the 25 and younger set whose brains can barely function without their phones, to seniors who still see phones as mostly for phone calls or texting. Iām generalizing of course! Itās safe to say, no one can envision any future where we wonāt each have a phone of some sort. And maybe instead of getting bigger they will miniaturize and become almost invisible! So why are we so attached to our phones? Itās all becauseā¦
Apps Rule All
Apple coined the phrase āthereās an app for thatā way back, and it was prophetic. We love our phones because they integrate into about every area of life, augmenting almost all of our daily activities. Cameras are the biggest feature and apps take full advantage of them. Smartphones are, well, smart because of their internet connection; I would bet only a tiny fraction of apps are left which do not need at least a little bit of a tether to a server out thereā¦ maybe not over cellular data but at least via wifi. Streaming apps and services are where itās at. In 2010, streaming accounted for 7% of U.S. music market, compared to 80% today. Music (Spotify) and video (Netflix) are huge: in 2010, physical sales accounted for 52 percent of the US music market and digital sales 38 percent. Both are now down to a nine percent share. Thatās why phone batteries can barely keep up, everyone uses their phone all day long! So between phone technology and the software that runs on them, I donāt think itās wrong or a stretch to say that so far in this millennium, the smartphone is the number one invention. Ugh, well that makes it sound like the printing press or the gas engine in a car, maybe should just call it the number one technical development of this century. One other mention: sometimes we even use our phones to talk to other peopleā¦ lol
Smartwatches
I gave up a regular watch years ago, maybe 2011? My phone kept perfect time, of course, and I almost always had it on me. Then fitness bands and fitness-oriented watches came out, and the Apple Watch also hit the scene and that was when smartwatches took off in earnest. I tried a Pebble watch and got hooked! Of course, the Apple watch is THE most popular (because of all the iPhone users) and theyāre also not just for the fitness buffs. A plethora of other brands have been released that are mainly fitness-oriented, like Garmin, but most are just glorified Fitbits. The other variety of smartwatch runs the Google GearOS but it continues to flounder, and Samsung also has a few models to choose from (I used one for a while last year).
The main āfeatureā for the smartwatches is notifications, and yes weāre getting lazy about just pulling out our phones, but itās quite nice being able see at a quick glance if itās important or not (also seems more polite when with company). And itās SUPER convenient to screen an incoming call seeing how most calls are spam these days! Many people are tracking their steps and workouts via their watches so they’ve helped with people being overall bit more conscious of their health. The Apple watch also has ton of apps (imagine that) and integrates with music playback (wireless earbuds are also popular these days, especially Airpodsā¦ imagine that).
The main issue I find with all these watches is battery life. Apple watches I think have to be charged pretty much nightly, GearOS watches are a close second on that, and even the Samsung watch I had needed to be charged at least every other day. It’s a crappy experience to have your watch conk out mid-morning because you forgot to charge itā¦
Regardless though, the smartwatch is a sweet tech development in these recent years since they integrate with our phones, provide us with quick information, are relatively cheap enough for the average tech spender (or giftable), are easy to operate, and are a ‘drop-in’ replacement for an accessory everyone already had. Hopefully they will continue to upgrade in features, decrease in overall size, and learn to stretch out what little power they have in their super small batteries.
Online Gaming
I donāt game but enjoy watching the releases of new games and consoles and gear. Gaming drives many areas of computer tech, with GPUs, laptop design, virtual/augmented reality, and need for increasing wireless speeds and throughput. Professional gaming/E-sports is making and burning huge amounts of cash (Fortnite!). Besides video, I bet the second-most feature use for phones is gaming (gotta admit, a quick light game helps with all levels of boredom!). From the old Xbox Kinect to the imminent PS5, you canāt talk about computing without mentioning gaming.
I might mention a few other developments in the past decade:
Artificial Intelligence has really grown and is finding its way into niche areas like medical analysis, banking/insurance, data brokeragesā¦ basically anywhere there is a huge amount of data where patterns can be found. Nope, we are no closer to the Singularity and humans are quite safe. š Cloud computing/storage is also huge now and is in many ways tied to AI.
Robotics have become more advanced but are still incredibly niche, like AI, and some are pretty cool (looking at you, Atlas and Spot!). When will we get fresh robotic tech thatās affordable and for the average consumer? Doubtful it will be in the 2020ās.
Battery tech still basically sucks. Over time Iāve seen some interesting reports on energy storage research developmentsā¦ but until my PHONE can go for days with normal usage on a single charge, justā¦ (yawn)
Hey, things in robotics might be starting –starting- to finally show a little hope. Great video of a new robot out of China (therefore it’s suspect to actually be a real and true, and not fakery) called the INNFOS XR-1 with very precise movements:
I first saw this on FB back right before the big 2016 election, and there have been copies posted since then but this is the one I’ll use here since it is linked to FB and from October ’16. Can’t we all use this to keep a little perspective, please? Oh yeah, and in the past couple years how many of those blowhards actually DID leave the U.S.?
“Dear Hollywood celebrities, Some of you I really like, some of you I admire. But make no mistake, the only reason you exist is for my entertainment. Some of you are great eye candy. Some of you can deliver a line with such conviction that you bring tears to my eyes. Some of you can scare the crap out of me. Others make me laugh. Some of you sing the most heartfelt and emotionally moving songs. But you all have one thing in common, you only have a place in my world to entertain me. Thatās it. You make your living pretending to be someone else. Playing dress up like a 6 year old. Singing and dancing on stage. You live in a make believe world in front of a camera or microphone. And often when you are away from one too. Your entire existence depends on my patronage. Iāll crank the organ grinder; you dance. I donāt really care where you stand on issues. Honestly, your stance matters far less to me than that of my neighbor. You see, you arenāt real. I turn off my TV, change the radio station, or shut down my computer and you cease to exist in my world. Once I am done with you, I can put you back in your little box until I want you to entertain me again. I donāt care that you think the BP executives deserve the death penalty. But I bet you looked cute saying it. Seriously? Iām supposed to care what the director of fluffy tripe made for gullible people thinks about global warming or gun control ? You ask me to donate my hard earned money to your causes while you make millions and buy things that I could only dream of affording ? Seriously ? Get back into your bubble. Iāll let you know when Iām in the mood for something blue and shiny. And I’m also supposed to care that you will leave this great country if Trump becomes president ? Well, please don’t forget to close the door behind you. We’d like to reserve your seat for someone who loves this country and really wants to be here. Somebody who’s willing to help their neighbor, which you could easily afford to do yet choose not to. Make me laugh or cry. Give me a song to dance to. But realize that the only words of yours that matter are scripted. I might agree with some of you from time to time, but it doesnāt matter. In my world, you exist solely for my entertainment So, shut your pie hole and dance, cry, sing, make me laugh, and entertain me. That is, and always will be the ONLY thing you’re good for in my life. Remember this, because once enough people realize this, we can easily utterly destroy your careers. Your movies, music, TV shows, clothing, and everything else you do can be boycotted. Your projects can be pirated to the point where everyone you’ve ever worked with will blacklist you because anything you do will hemorrhage money.
PS The only, and I mean ONLY, way I’d ever consider actually listening to your opinions and views is if you refused to take part in any project that goes against them.”
And here are the top three reasons why employees said they actually quit, according to past worker surveys:
Bad bosses: Bad managers account for 75% of voluntary turnover. (Source: SHRM)
Lack of recognition: Only 1 in 3 employees strongly agree that they are properly recognized for their contributions. And people who routinely feel ignored are twice as likely to quit. (Source: Gallup)
Burnout: 50% of millennials, 40% of Gen X, and 35% of baby boomers said burnout makes them leave their jobs. (Source: Staples Workplace Study)”
Guess when you sit at the top it’s easier to live in denial.
