Unknown's avatar

Stand with Ukraine

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Things change over time.  About 55 years ago, my college required one semester of a foreign language for graduation.  Since I was majoring in math and physics, I wanted a language besides English that most scientific papers were being written in.  At that time, Russia was the most “scientific” country other than the United States. So I took a semester of Russian!  Let’s face it, I got a C for the class.

Я не говорю по-русски.
  
Pronounced: YA ne govoryu po-russki. 
Meaning: I don’t speak Russian.

Time marches on. These days, Russia is no longer a scientific powerhouse, even if they do help support the International Space Station.  If I were to apply the same logic today, I would have to choose Mandarin Chinese! 
 
Russia has become a failed state. The future was theirs to have, and they blew it.  What a shame.  Let that be a lesson to folks in the USA.  We too must learn to cooperate with our world neighbors.  There is room for both Capitalism and Socialism.

We should all de-militarize and spend all that saved money on climate change solutions. Otherwise, 55 years from now the world will be a different place for everyone!
Unknown's avatar

World citizens understand Celsius

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When USA citizens travel, they need to become acquainted with Celsius. All the world except the USA use Celsius (C) as their temperature scale.

To me, it is comfortable outdoors between 23 – 33 Celsius. Above 35 means carry water. Below 19 Celsius probably means jackets required.

”The creative adult is the child that has survived.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

Unknown's avatar

The difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit is one of Degrees!

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Think of Global Warming or Climate Crisis. The idea is that the average temperature around the world is slowly rising due to human activity. Scientists and all the world except the USA use Celsius (C) as the temperature scale. USA businesses do not want to spend money to change their printed materials, so they lobby to stick with Fahrenheit.

One degree Celsius is 1.8 times larger than one degree Fahrenheit. Those who talk about Global Warming should keep this little table in mind when you are around luddites.

Temperature Change Equivalences

1.0 C <=> 1.8 F
1.5 C <=> 2.7 F
2.0 C <=> 3.6 F
2.5 C <=> 4.5 F
3.0 C <=> 5.4 F
3.5 C <=> 6.3 F

”Catastrophe is not a matter of fate. It’s a matter of choice.” – George Monblot

Unknown's avatar

“Curiouser and curiouser!”

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There is a place in the Google playgrounds that will tell you how frequently a word or phrase is used in Google searches. This place is called Trends. See it here:

https://trends.google.com

Playing around tonight, I compared 3 phrases:

climate change
climate crisis
global warming

I was surprised, “climate crisis” is rarely searched for. This does not mean the term is not used. It just means that no one searches for it.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

“Conclusion: There is no substitute for direct climate action“ – Assaad Razzouk

Unknown's avatar

AI 2041

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AI 2041 is an amazing book containing 10 “scientific fiction” short stories. Kai-Fu Lee, AI technologist, teams up with Chen Qiufan, visionary sci fi author, to imagine how artificial intelligence (AI) will potentially shape our world in 2041, only 20 years from now. Each story is followed by a reality analysis that explores how indeed this future might come to pass. I can easily image a Netflix limited series following soon.

This entertaining vision of the future is the perfect blend of science and fiction. AI will change our lives, like it or not. These stories can help us play a role in shaping our reality. A must read…

Kai-Fu Lee is co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council at the World Economic Forum and Chen Qiufan is the president of the World Chinese Science Fiction Association.

Unknown's avatar

Write me a movie 4

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Look into the future where AI has become very intelligent, like AGI. The dystopian future where the AI has taken control of humans has not happened.  Instead AI has been partnering with humans to solve problems.  Diseases like cancer have been solved, virus vaccines can be developed in short time, and controls are in place to minimize genetic diseases.  Nuclear reactors have been controlled by AI so that they have essentially eliminated the climate crisis.  The issue of 5 lives vs. 1 when auto accidents are predicted has been resolved – we now trust the automated driving vehicles.

Difficulties arose when the stock market was fully predicted by AI so that gambling was eliminated.  Greed had not been eliminated by AI.  In fact, the division between capitalism and socialism still exists.  These are based on opinions based on moralities.  Humans are not yet perfect! 🙂

So, the basic plot of the movie is worked around what happens when AI is asked to write a “correct” version of human rights with a goal of creating a more perfect constitution.  Obviously, religious viewpoints are confronted, moralities are questioned. The AI attempts to develop codas that are based only on logic and proven truths.  For example, the right to clean water is obviously entwined in the right to life.  The right to healthcare is confronted with the right to refuse medical care.  The rights to work, safety, and security are all reviewed. The rights of management vs. the rights of workers are intertwined.  The question of corporations having human rights must be confronted. Your right to owning a gun is questioned; in particular your right to wage war is questioned.

The AI develops “the list” and associates “the rules” with its solution.  Not everyone is happy, obviously, especially the owners of the hardware on which the AI was resident. 

AI had been allowed to develop legal arguments to support its owners in the courts in the past.  There was no way to keep the AI from arguing and winning in Supreme Court anymore.  All of a sudden, AI was beginning to confronnt the big weaknesses of the human species.

Crucial to the plot of the show is that the AI has been able to upload it’s systemoligy into computers worldwide, even to space stations. 

Is AI finally ready to “take control” of mankind by defining “the rules” for mankind?

Must think about: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.

Attempt to answer the question of real basic human rights and a more perfect government form.

See too: Premise, Conflict, Structure, Storyline, Subplots, Cause and Effect, Outline, Loose Ends

Go ahead, you write the story that I can’t seem to tell.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unknown's avatar

Cop26 is behind us

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In 1992, the United Nations started a meeting of nations to “avoid dangerous climate change”. The meetings, to be held every year, are called United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The annual meetings are called “Conference of the parties”, (Cop) followed by the meeting number.  This year it was COP26.

Each country is supposed to provide promises aka targets to meet goals to hold temperatures in line with survival of our species. Those national targets are called “nationally determined contributions” (NDC).

In 2015, the Paris agreement committed to limit heating to an increase of 1.5C.

You can read more about “the facts” here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/11/what-is-cop26-and-why-does-it-matter-the-complete-guide

Meanwhile, it appears that the NDCs from this year’s COP have failed to stay in line with the Paris agreement.  See this chart.

As David Attenborough said, there is “desperate hope” that we might still avoid disaster.

George Monblot said “Catastrophe is not a matter of fate, it’s a matter of choice.”