A Day At Sea with A.I.

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I recently gave a talk on writing and a section of that talk was dedicated to tools of writing of which A.I. was one of those tools.

When mentioning the use of A.I. for writers, some immediately think, Cheating! Yes and No. If I am using A.I. to cut and paste into something I call my own, then I have gained nothing and I would not consider myself to be a writer. If I use A.I. as a tool (muse), then yes, I am a writer. I see using A.I. no differently than observing people on the streets or in a cafe to flesh out my characters or working on ideas with a spouse, partner, relative or friend, paid editor or agent. The way I use A.I. is to ask questions, feed in twists, elaborate on characters, solicit feedback and we go back and forth until ideas emerge. I take bits and pieces–mostly concepts and write from there.

Every profession requires practice to get good at something. I often practice writing treatments of fictitious novels I may or may not ever revisit. I do this to hone my writing skills and the use of A.I. has been a nice tool for improving my writing, without losing my voice. This is one of those treatments.

While at sea on a cruise steaming towards Singapore on calm seas with mysterious islands that slip by, I had an idea for a plot. What if our ship became disabled and ran aground on reef, far, far away from populated areas? And what if the surrounding waters were not what it appeared to be–somehow, by something alien… a sentient presence?

Text to image creation using Canva.com – DALL-E A.I. image generator

I needed an image to start with and from that image the words would flow. Using the (free) platform Canva.com, which in turn uses DALL-E as the text-2-image generator, I fed into it: A disabled cruise ship on a reef, rusted and encrusted with barnacles.

The image was a little bit worse for ware, but it will do. I could have taken more time getting the image I needed, but for this exercise it was a good start.

Now I had an image to work with, so scooting over to chatGPT I asked: “Please elaborate on this plot: A disabled drifting cruise ship wrecks on a reef three mile from an uninhabited island. Passengers are in high spirits knowing help will arrive. Volunteer officers, crew and passengers set out to reach the island. Days slip by and no help arrives. But before chaos sets in, an alien presence in the surrounding waters is discovered.” [Return].

I would love to have shown you the text chatGTP spits out and the new directives I command, but it would fill volumes.

Think of this plot as “Lord Of The Flies” meets “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”

We chatted back and forth on ideas for a good hour. When using a platform like this, you get better at syntax, for example: “be brief” or “rework that idea” or “replace that idea for this one: …… ” or “my protagonist is a marine biologist, slightly on the spectrum, and the antagonist is a lecturer onboard.

After awhile I forget I am using a machine and begin to believe there really is someone on a keyboard far away conversing with me.

Anyway, this is what we agreed upon as a treatment and not the result of a cut and paste. A.I. is good, but you begin to recognize the voice as not your own and the same for everything it spits out. There are clever parts to sentences and phrases I might use–no different as to what my editors suggest– but the concept and writing remain my own.

So here we go:

When a luxurious cruise ship becomes disabled by an unknown and mysterious origin, wrecking on a treacherous reef just three miles from an uninhabited island, initial optimism reigns among the passengers. With seemingly endless supplies of food, drink, and entertainment, the passengers and crew rally together, their situation as if merely on a prolonged vacation as festive as any hurricane party can be.

Days slip by without word from the scouting officers and crew who set out for the neighboring island and those days turn into weeks and months. Despite the lack of communication, the passengers maintain their optimism but as time drags on and no help arrives, the atmosphere aboard ship begins to ebb.

With resources squandered and basic amenities like electricity and plumbing rendered useless, factions form and individuals begin to vie for control and access to remaining supplies. 

Just when it seems that the passengers and staff are on the brink of turning against one another, a new threat emerges from the surrounding waters. The presence of sentient lifeforms seemingly capable of feeling positive and negative feelings grip the remaining passengers and crew. Are they friend or foe?

As credit to chatGPT, I let it write out the synopsis of my treatment entirely on its own. It even came up with a catchy title I think I would use.

“Sentient Waters” is a thrilling tale of survival, exploring the fragility of human nature in the face of adversity and the unknown. As the passengers grapple with internal strife and external threats, they must band together to unravel the mysteries that lurk beneath the waves.”

A robot in every pot!

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It was during the 1928 Presidential campaign, the slogan “A Chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” was coined.

I was reading a briefing from Goldman Sachs, this morning, of their analysis that the robotics industry may grow faster than expected—AI being a catalyst— and the need for humanoid robots are on the rise. They are predicting a world market value of $38B by 2035– a six-fold increase from previous projections!

Ameca generation 1 pictured in the lab at Engineered Arts Ltd

From personal experience, every prediction I have seen of where technology will be in five years has fallen short. I think the projection is low. Technological advancement happens exponentially and AI is now in a place to supplement programming— programmers who will work 24 x 7 x 365. I think the prediction world wide will be in the trillions.

Focusing on just the US, what I feel is has bot been fully explored is the genFactor. With influencers— now as a sanctioned career path in H.S. and college— that will leave a huge gap in the operations aspect of human maintenance needs. Someone has to fold laundry, sweep sidewalks, serve food products over counters, stack shelves, pick crops, drive trucks, handle hazardous waste… and the tasks are endless. Everyone can’t be home on a pane snapping selfies holding products no human is willing to manufacture.

Humanoids to the Rescue! Not so fast. There is now a significant population increase from immigration- 8 million additional humans if placed into a separate category would be the 12th most populated state in the US. Is this coincidence or a premeditated plan?

Will these new immigrants be unwillingly herded into labor?

There will be consequences, when robots compete for the same jobs—a subclass warfare between the two.

I can rattle off dozens of SciFi novels to serve as blueprints for how this will turn out. Science Fiction is fact about to happen.

If I’m elected President, I promise a robot in every kitchen and an EV in the garage!

In the mean time, my BOTZ holdings are up 27%.

SORA – Things just got a lot more complicated.

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Open AI’s new platform, SORA is mind bendingly crazy beautiful. The platform (model) was developed to create realistic… and I mean realistic… scenes from text. The current model can produce video up to one minute long, which is long enough to change reality. The SORA model was released to the RED TEAMERS, who will weigh in on the safety, risks & Harm aspects of releasing this to the wild. This, I think will be difficult to identify good vs. evil, for every mouse trap there is a smarter mouse.

Currently, the SORA platform has been handed out to a few artists, designers, filmographers, etc. Open AI is showing the public early work to give us a sense of the capabilities of what is on the horizon.

Click on the image below, but ONLY AFTER reading the prompt that was fed into the model to create this imagery. Crazy simple…..

Screenshot

Prompt: A stylish woman walks down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. She wears a black leather jacket, a long red dress, and black boots, and carries a black purse. She wears sunglasses and red lipstick. She walks confidently and casually. The street is damp and reflective, creating a mirror effect of the colorful lights. Many pedestrians walk about.

There are so many aspects of this video that you need to take in by watching this several times. My favorite… the skin detail and startling attention to detail in the reflection off her sunglasses.

There will be those who say, ‘Why would someone even develop these capabilities? It’s just going to lead to further chaos!”

Leave that question to rattle around for the binary talking heads. In the meantime, I commend OpenAI for sharing this, early. AI is already here–it’s not going away and I would hate to see a bit placed in the mouth of AI, catering to the least common denominator; we did not get to the moon without taking a risk.

I am betting that these developments in AI will provide a platform for humanity to advance–just like the calculators did in the 70’s, when the fear they would dumb down our engineering capabilities never happened. These are tools for humanity–time for humanity to stop staring at the glass for what is seen and see it for what it is. The medical, engineering, theatrical aspects, etc. are game changers.

Mystic Men

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It seems like OMD’s song “Maid of Orleans” and how it might have been overlooked is not uncommon; many significant events, whether in music, art, or other fields, can sometimes be overlooked or not receive the recognition they deserve in their time.

When I heard this song back in 1981, I was living in Noank, CT with my best friend, George (God rest his Soul). We were different in many ways but loved the same music. Whenever I listen to this song, I am transported back to that small town, living hand to mouth, opting to ride my bicycle to work to save on gas (~$1.35/gal) and spending what little we earned on music and drinking at Chucks until closing, failing miserably to pick up girls. But in our defense, I don’t think it was us, personally. You see, we smelled like fish 24×7, having worked at Mystic Aquarium. But wandering home from Chucks, four-sets of taillights in our vision, we left our “ducks” on the front porch, where even the stray cats stayed away from our boots. After a shower and change of clothes, one of us would slip on a white glove and remove an album from our collective stash then spin music finto the late morning (for medicinal reasons).

Excerpt from “Mystic Men” (WIP)

In memory of George “Gil” Lavigueur – Sept. 27, 1957 – May 13th, 2012

My best friend

The day everything began to unwind,the color of the water around Fort Wetherhill in Jamestown, RI was a Payne’s Grey.  I remember that because it was the same color as the sky and there was no horizon line for either.   To say it was cold that morning was an understatement.  The sky felt as heavy as lead and If the cove had remained still for even a minute it would have frozen over.  

I remember it being the first day of January because we had just celebrated 1981 the night before, closing Chucks as usual. Leaving alone as usual, not remembering how we got home, as usual.

Diving was a great way to work off a hangover and while the recreational diver was at home on a day like this, drinking their coffee in front of the fireplace and watching reruns of Jacque Cousteau, George and I were about to enter the water on the western side of the hill. We were the real deal; Marine Biologists making $10,000 a year before taxes.  We stopped off at a coffee shop on the way, ordering two black coffees, each; one for us the drink, the other to pour into our wetsuit just before we entered the water…..

A film that would make Yuri Gargarin Smile

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This is my most anticipated film of all time. The Challenge. A Russian made film (started in 2021) and the world’s first feature-length Science Fiction-Drama that was filmed (partially) in space with actors, by the professional filmmaker, Klim Alekseevich Shipenko. Although not the first film to ‘use’ scenes shot in space; this is exceptionally different. The actual footage presented in the movie is around 30-40 minutes. The rest of the film was shot on Earth. The film crew and actors were in orbit for approximately two weeks.

The film stars Yulia Peresild – A Russian Stage Actress, Singer and Cosmonaut– the first professional actress in Outer Space! The film also carries two well known actors:  Miloš Biković and Vladimir Mashkov.

The premiere was held on World Cosmonautics Day, (April 12th, 2023) which coincided with the 62nd anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, (April 12th 1961) at the State Kremlin Palace in the Moscow Kremlin.[8]

The viewing collected more than 1 Billion Rubles in 13 days (about 10.9 million) –– the most ever for an opening day, grossing over 2 billion Rubles on a 905 Million Ruble budget, which is to say… impressive.

The story is about a Earthbound Surgeon sent to the ISS to perform surgery on an injured Cosmonaut, too ill to return to Earth.

Santa is on Social Security, right?

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We hear the word Social Security as a single word (socialsecurity)–– a thing that provides a stipend for individuals who have left the workforce.  But the word is really–– Social, Security­–– two words separated by a comma, disguised as a clever pyramid scheme, paid into by those still working for those who are not.  It’s a beautiful thing, a thing that should be taught in schools that if you really study, apply yourself, work efficiently, gain skills, mentor others to take over your skills, you could then reap the benefits and a nice lifestyle while you still possess the mental faculties to enjoy it.  “Youth is wasted on the young,” George Bernard Shaw.

But there is a storm a’ com’in, and that storm is something I call, Protonaiche (The first artificially intelligent robots).  We are hearing more each and every day as the push for A.I. generated product is released. But before I delve into this, I’m going to take you down an unscientific, un-anthropological rabbit hole as to why kingdoms of the Middle Ages waned and withered away.  It is not the first time, nor will it be the last.

Picture a castle surrounded by curated fields nestled up against verdant mountains, where livestock roam, smoke from inns advertise for the weary traveler, wools and leathers are woven and stretched and goods are abundantly traded.  And at the center of it all, a castle to serve as a safe haven for subjects against warring neighbors, paid for by a mere tax to the lords, ensuring everything has a place and order is observed. This model worked well until enlightenment kicked in–– a movement that began in the 17th & 18th centuries that gave rise to ideas, innovation and individualism–– challenging the legitimacy of absolute monarchy. This was the beginning of automation–– the precursor of Protoniche–– the need to replicate the demands of goods by improving the process, And those who could generate a consistent product, more quickly, prospered.

I have listened to many brilliant futurists talk about how A.I. and Robotics will free us from the labors of work so we will be free to explore the consciousness of the universe to figure out what it is that we are. On one level, I am excited for this brave new world and what it promises on paper, but if Protonaiche frees us from the mundane, who is paying taxes and nourishing Social, Security?  A.I powered Robots do not need to be paid, given vacation, sick leave, child care, nor do they need a home to live in. Nor do they buy goods–they wear the same thing day in and day out; they work 24/7 and never complain.   When robots retire they get turned, off. 

Society has been lulled into complacency over the past century, but some of us have awakened our inner Winston Smith (protagonist of 1984) to realize we have been living in modern Kingdoms, where our Lords have been raising our taxes over and over, brainwashing us with hate & fear through their tentacles of social media to keep us inside the castle walls and focused on each other rather than the man in the high castle (Philip K. Dick).  

However, in addition to re-entering a new phase of enlightenment, unbeknownst to our Lords is that Protonaiche will accelerate decentralization–– the opening the gates to the castle.  I can’t help but think that Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel, Snow Crash, is the reality we will face, where nations dissolve and are replaced by entities, just like Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong with franchulates world-wide. Where society becomes a free-for-all of bartering and trade, of which there will be very little time for a person to enjoy the day-to-day freedoms of life.   We are well on our way for each drop of a Wal-Mart, Dollar General, McDonalds, or a US military base throughout the four corners of the world, we are establishing a franchulate, where once inside those walls the local laws are observed and adhered to.

What can I say? I love Sci-fi because it does not follow the laws of time we are familiar with.  It’s like how Santa can deliver gazillions of presents around the world, in one night.  To achieve this feat, he is obviously not traveling in the same dimension of time that we perceive.

“Please continue scanning or enter payment method now…. Hello? Anyone there?”

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The Spirit Well and Sensory Lounge, Stuart FL

It’s early Sunday morning and I ask Alexa about the weather and while she’s at it to open the garage door. I hop on my e-bike and tap the right pad of my headphones that connects me to a podcast. Technology is a beautiful thing, but not for everything.

When I arrive at the grocery the doors sense my presence and whoosh open, bringing with it the smell of baked goods and warm greetings from the employees. I check out the headlines of all the papers and grab the Sunday Times, then follow the scent which leads me to the fresh baked goods still warm in the bag that is handed to me. At this hour of the morning the store is empty as I watch my items slide along the conveyor towards the optical reader, where a bright eyed and smiling clerk will conduct the last mile of my transaction, asking me how I’m doing this morning and we continue to chat. This is also a great use of technology where two humans can have a conversation while automation updates the store’s inventory, totals are tallied, taxes are collected and the back-office tech is ready to reorder if item counts slips below their set trigger levels. With the transaction complete, my items are placed in my reusable canvas bag and we continue to chat, our voices separated out from the biophony of technology. But this last mile of human transaction is coming to an end as self-checkout technology gains a foothold.

I can understand the human replacement from a business model–let’s face it– machines show up on time, do exactly as they are instructed to do, work without pay, vacation or baggage. The business does not need to pay into workman’s compensation, social security or deal with all the issues HR handles with hiring, firing, vacation, sick days, safety or human social issues. It costs significantly less to hire a robot than it does a human. But job displacement is not the issue at hand here–– lack of human contact is.

Humans are highly social animals and we require social interaction to maintain emotional well-being. We can already see the erosion that smart devices have had upon society, especially in the young, but if this trend progresses, without balance, I fear we will be herded into isolation and loneliness with nothing to look forward to but depression and anxiety, which is great for dystopian sci-fi, but will have long-term negative effects on society as a whole.

So how do we balance this? We are not going to rewind technology–– the cat is long gone from the bag–– technology is a rising tide that will never ebb unless a CME comes along and rewinds it for us. Pray for the big one, but you better practice your fire starting skills.

I am a true lover of Sci-Fi, robots and advanced tech, and while machines can perform quick and efficient tasks, they currently lack the empathy and personal touch that their human counterparts perform so well.

With change comes casualty— we know this— but to limit this casualty there is something we can do now and that is to reestablish the idea of social clubs and places offering a stimulation of our senses; at least until advances in tech (A.I.) catch up and provide humanity with measurable benefits. The 50’s were filled with social clubs of every sort. I truly think there is a link there which led to society being so forward thinking.

I recently stumbled upon an oasis–– The Spirit Well and Sensory Lounge in downtown Stuart FL. I had been curious of this place so one day I pulled into the parking lot and explored. Opening the door to ringing bells, I felt the calm of this space. The Co-owners, Stephaie and Tracy are a delight to talk to, intelligent and are way ahead of the industry–they are in the right place at the right time. Their services offer everything from relaxation to yoga and nightly events for everyone’s interest. I am already a fan of the VibroAcoustic Chair with Red Light Therapy. As for social stimulation, there is the Scotch and Science group. The idea of sipping a scotch and talking about what I love, Science Fiction and technology… well, bring on the silence of machines.

I see this cottage industry booming in the years ahead and The Spirit Well and Sensory Lounge is already there offing a blueprint for those to follow.

Time Travel – one paradox solved – Bootstrapping

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“The bootstrap paradox. This occurs “when something is created out of nothing or something is causing itself”, says Barak Shoshany. Suppose, he suggests, that a time machine appears in your room right now. An older version of you steps out, announces they are from 10 years in the future, and gives you the plans for the time machine. You spend the next decade building the time machine, then use it to go back to today to give yourself the plans. The question is, says Barak Shoshany: “Who made the plans for the time machine?” Read the full article on BBC.com/future

Here is a youtube video on bootstrapping.

What I like about this particular paradox is that it solves the equation, neatly.

If you are a reader of SciFi, then undoubtedly you have come across time travel. In SciFi, this is solved quite easily and there are a plethora of great novels, movies and streaming series to that solve this issue. I am currently using something called the Necker Cube in my upcoming novel (series) Silversides.

Here is my list of some SciFi media where Time Travel and/or Parallel Universes are the theme, but by no means is this a definitive list of the best– only those I have read or viewed, which I thought introduced an interesting twist on these subjects.

BOOK Form:

MOVIES/STREAMING SERIES (more recent). When it comes to movies, there are just too many to list–and truly some classics that I fail to mention here. These are the more recent, which I thought viewers may have missed.

Feel free to drop a comment of your favorite reads/views that you thought had a twist on time travel/parallel universes.

Blinkist… and it’s gone.

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I have seen the bombardment of adTrolling of the APP, Blinkist.  The message seems to be that if you are not using this APP then you will fall behind of those who do.

In a nutshell, it is the digital, cleverly updated, version of CliffsNotes (I’m surprised the APP Icon is not yellow and black stripped).  I downloaded the APP on a trial basis and tried it out.  I also searched reviews on YouTube and there are some very comprehensive reviews of this APP (I was hoping to find a Blinkist version on the review of Blinkist, but no.).

I can see this working for a lot of Self-Help books, since so many of these books seem to have the same message and all these books have a few good ideas, but glued together with a lot of filler, so why not pick out the good ideas and remove the filler.

There are some very cool features of this APP, such as music background, friend sharing, digital offline downloads, speed dial of listening, note taking, etc.  and it is worth checking it out to see if it works for you.

I do not see it working well with Fiction–– I love reading every word of a novel and too much of the author’s prose are lost, and being an author, knowing how much time and brain power can be applied to a single page, the reader is missing out, and the platform only throws gasoline on an ADHD society already burning.

I am wondering if AI is being used to construct a shortened, condensed version of books to fill the shelves of Blinkist, and what subliminal message can be constructed and fed to the listener?  Who decides what pieces should be highlighted and what parts discarded?

This brings to mind an idea for a novel about the cultural brainwashing of society by Blinkist! But read the full version, please.