The Disruptor’s Dilemma

(What follows is ChatGPT’s response to my message: “Write a Story about Elon Musk suing Open AI.” Its written by ChatGPT 3.5. I’m still behind a paywall for GPT-4. The illustration is by Midjourney using the prompt: Elon Musk thinking deeply about suing OpenAi, the company he helped create, Elon is gladiator attire, getting ready for battle weird, accurate, chaos –ar 3:2 –v 6.0 –s 750)

In the heart of Silicon Valley, where innovation thrived and dreams soared, a storm was brewing. It was a clash between two titans of the tech world: Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur, and OpenAI, the bastion of artificial intelligence research.

It began with a whisper, a rumor that spread like wildfire through the corridors of power. Elon Musk, the former patron of OpenAI, was preparing to sue the very organization he had helped create. The news sent shockwaves through the tech community, igniting debates and speculation about the nature of the dispute.

As the story unfolded, it became clear that Musk’s grievances stemmed from a fundamental disagreement over the direction of AI development. Musk had long been a vocal critic of unchecked AI advancement, warning of the potential dangers posed by superintelligent machines. He had poured millions of dollars into OpenAI, hoping to steer its research towards safer, more ethical pathways.

However, tensions arose when OpenAI announced plans to release GPT-4, the latest iteration of its language model, without implementing the safeguards Musk had advocated for. Feeling betrayed and disillusioned, Musk decided to take legal action, accusing OpenAI of disregarding its ethical responsibilities and putting humanity at risk.

The lawsuit sent shockwaves through the tech industry, with pundits and analysts weighing in on both sides of the debate. Some hailed Musk as a champion of responsible AI development, applauding his efforts to hold OpenAI accountable. Others criticized him for betraying the very organization he had helped nurture, accusing him of hypocrisy and self-interest.

As the legal battle raged on, tensions between Musk and OpenAI reached a fever pitch. Both sides spared no expense in assembling teams of top lawyers and experts to argue their case. The courtroom became a battleground of ideas, as each side presented evidence and testimony to support their claims.

In the end, the outcome of the lawsuit remained uncertain. Both Musk and OpenAI were formidable opponents, and neither was willing to back down without a fight. As the trial dragged on, the tech world held its breath, anxiously awaiting the resolution of the dispute and its implications for the future of AI development.

Regardless of the outcome, one thing was clear: the clash between Elon Musk and OpenAI had laid bare the complex and contentious nature of AI ethics. It served as a stark reminder that the pursuit of innovation must always be tempered by a commitment to responsibility and accountability, lest we unleash forces beyond our control.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

A trail, path, walkway, sidewalk, roadway, any access way through trees and brush. All these say forward. I once had a dog who wanted to keep going, snuffing the ground, air, bushes. And I want to follow him forever forward, even now. Especially now.

The Snowstorm

By Ralph Walton Emerson

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

Come see the north wind’s masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer’s lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer’s sighs; and, at the gate,
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind’s night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

Why was a dolphin in the Gowanus Canal?

Why was a dolphin in the Gowanus Canal?

A bad place for a dolphin.

Johna and Vlad — I thought of you when I read this yesterday. Ever see dolphins in the canal?

Fear, Liminal Space and Lungleavin Day

Some of us fear the woods

Heather Von St. James knows fear. She is a mesothelioma survivor who had her left lung removed in order to save her life. That was back in 2005. The operation and treatment were successful and Heather is a “seven year cancer survivor.” I put that in quotes because that term must, at times, still frighten Heather. We all are survivors of whatever life has thrown at us, but most of us have not had the terror that a diagnosis of cancer creates.

So to ward off any residual or persistent fear, Heather has created a special holiday in tribute to the surgery that saved her life — Lungleavin Day. Here’s what she says about it:

“With Lungleavin Day coming up, the opportunity is here to write our fears on a plate and smash them into the fire, I’m going to once again take control of my emotions and overcome. I know I have the power to do it; sometimes it is just making the choice to do so.”

The date is February 2 and its a online event as well as one at Heather’s home with her friends, loved ones and supporters.
Here’s a link to Heather’s blog in case you’d like to know more about her story.

Fear might be the most corrosive of all passions, eating away our ability to be happy. Fear is one of our most troublesome pitfalls — no doubt about it. If you are dealing with a terrible illness or know someone who is Heather’s story might just be what you need to help you deal with fear and the uncertainty that creates it.

Thanks to Heather for helping us to understand that fear can be confronted and vanquished. We fear lots of things, after all we live in the liminal space allotted to us by our nature. What is linminal space? From the blog Liminal Space:

“The word “liminal” comes from the Latin word limens, meaning literally, “threshold.”

A liminal space, the place of transition, waiting, and not knowing is…

…a unique spiritual position where human beings hate to be but where the biblical God is always leading them. It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are finally out of the way. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer. If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will run…anything to flee this terrible cloud of unknowing.
– Richard Rohr”

A cloud of unknowing is created by every diagnosis of life threatening disease. Its also created when we get lost in a strange city or the woods. Job change, divorce, auto accident, fire, flood, etc — all these things put us in Liminal space. How we deal with this condition will determine how happy we can be from that point on.

Years ago Muhammad Ali explained what he did when he was knocked into liminal space — in other words almost knocked out. He said that in that state the boxer hallucinates, he might see a theatrical dressing room, with a magician’s top hat and cane, clown’s costume and makeup, a zebra and dancing girl. He said if you let this place freak you out you will be knocked out. But if you look around, put on the top hat, pick up the cane and say hi to the dancing girl you should be able to clear your head and leave liminal space getting back to the fight (hopefully the bell will end the round by then!).

I believe we exist in liminal space. Constantly. To survive on earth we need a very narrow set of conditions, temperature, humidity, availability of nutrients, biological balance so that our bodies are able to ward off bacteria. We are always between a rock and a hard place. I find it helpful to explore the space afforded to me but don’t feel a need to stretch beyond my comfort zone simply to test myself. Others want to explore the entire globe and ski where no one should be skiing, etc. Whatever it takes to help us deal with being in a place of transition. Learning what we can about our liminal space is a great help.

We came from a place unknown and are headed to another one. No matter how religious or spiritual a person might be no one knows where human consciousness is headed. We live in a cloud of unknowing; in liminal space. So we need to figure out how to deal with it. I’m with Ali — let’s look around and see what we find interesting, attractive — see what and where we can contribute what we do best. After all, our time in this frightening space is short no matter who we are — best to make the most of it and enjoy the journey to the other side. Smash plates, dance the tango, ski, pray, meditate, (I take photographs!) Enjoy your liminal space!

New Post On My New Blog

Power plant – the Mirant Canal Generating Plant on the Cape Cod canal

Maybe I need more power?

Looks like I’m off to a slow start with my new blog, not too many visitors so far. On this blog that you’re reading I have topics like Hawk Eating a Squirrel, and Lettuce Lichen; always attractive posts. I guess I need to review my camera equipment on my new photography blog — that’ll get attention — people always need help in deciding on new equipment. Meanwhile I just published a post today about a blog and an article that I found inspiring and how I plan to use my inspiration. Please go and read it if you’re interested. My posts that are largely about photography will be posted there — all attempts to solve the mysteries of life will continue to be posted here — so if you like my photos …. please take a look at my latest post in my photography blog.

New Blog

I started a new blog today to keep track of my online photography posts. The first post is here:

First Post in Winters Photography

Please take a look and let me know what you think. Many thanks!

Sunday Morning: Winters of My Life

Sunday Morning: Winters of My Life.

I thought this was well worth sharing — Thanks David. See — there’s beauty right in your backyard, especially this one.

Verrazano Bridge Bike Path Crumbling

Today I visited the bike trail we used to ride. It goes along the harbor under the Verrazano bridge. Windy morning and rough seas and I could see the damage Sandy did. I wonder how long it will take for the City to get around to fixing this.

Waiting

I’m the driver when we take Mom or Dad to see Doctors. Today it was Coney Island Hospital. Most of the campus is in disarray due to repairs of damage from hurricane Sandy. The Tower building, one of the newest one’s, wasn’t damaged.

These ladies were having a smoke and chat in front of the sign saying “no smoking within 15 feet of this sign.”

Street life on Ocean Parkway.