Captain’s log #5: Harshmode, stardate 26-09-17
Running silent, moving forward
Last week, I decided to restart meditation after going a month without it. I have been putting it off each day due to one excuse or another, but I picked it back up again. Ten minutes of Zen meditation helps keep me in the present and relaxed from day to day. I’ve been spending more time than I would like watching TV lately, but I’m trying to heal from two pressure wounds that I got earlier in the year from sitting too long. It has helped me catch up on my shows, but that’s one of the reasons why I can’t edit as much as I would like. Being in bed for much of the day doesn’t leave a lot of time for other activities. As I work my way back to health, I’ve been getting more sleep, more time for music, and television.
Football (NFL) is back. Colts began with a disastrous opening game. The defense can’t stop anything. Poor communication and glaring holes. Linebackers are cones in the road. It’s looking like another hell season in the making and firings on the horizon. Clean house? Considering the money they are spending and most of the team is intact, this is inexcusable.
Quote (or passage)
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you truly are.” – Joseph Campbell
I was searching through life quotes and came across this. I think it’s very pertinent. A life spent masking yourself and hiding from your inner self is a life of regret. One should find their way in life. The privilege of a lifetime is attained when one feels comfortable enough to be themselves rather than trying to listen to what the crowd is telling them. I can’t tell you how often I hear people first check what others are doing and respond accordingly. But how you live your everyday life shouldn’t be based on what others are doing or saying. Just because something is popular or unpopular doesn’t mean you should let it dictate your choice. You must think for yourself.
What I’m listening to
September – Earth, Wind & Fire, 1978
It’s almost September 21st, friends! The lyrics zone in. What better time to listen to this classic groovy song? This song makes you want to bust out the moves and break into a dance. It’s pure joy, carefree positivity! There’s nostalgia, warmth, love, and exuberance. What else do you need in life to feel alive?
Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe – Film: Dil Chahta Hai, 2001
Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, KK
This song is from one of my favorite films that follows three best friends on a road trip after graduating college. Their differing views on life clash and take them on different paths. This song appears near the beginning after college graduation when they’re enjoying their time together partying. This dance song is a celebration of life. It reminds us that other people’s opinions shouldn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves. We have music, singing, and we are together. Let’s embrace the joyful moment without worrying about expectations or fear. The three singers fit together like a puzzle – Mahadevan brings the energy, Shaan brings playfulness, and KK provides the coolness. Together, they create exuberance and the sense of freedom.
Both songs celebrate hanging together, cherishing the moment, and dancing in the rhythm. Forget sadness or the future for a moment – it’s about the freedom of the now. It’s about experiencing life in a light, fun way.
The Writing Desk
Since my last update, I finished line-editing chapters 23, 24, and 25 (began 26 but only a quarter finished). These are the lowest point of the story for our hero, Kain, when all hope seems lost. His persistence and inner will brings him from the bottom. I don’t typically write romance, but I felt it necessary to add a secondary dimension to the protagonist as he recovers. During the recovery, he learns a little about himself that he didn’t know before (I might add a bit extra for character development).
One thing I struggle with is writing prose that adds interesting aspects to the narrative. I’m not talking about showing vs telling. Most great novels I have read over the decades have some sort of intriguing dialogue/commentary from the writer. Sometimes it can distract from the story, but often it helps develop a character or aspect of the story. Often, you will read without noticing the words as you escape into this fantastic universe and the author’s mind. That’s the one thing I find myself struggling to accomplish.
One Thought
Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, recently released a letter arguing about the dangers of artificial intelligence and the need to slow down innovation pace.
I won’t go through all the dangers of AI here, but you can find plenty of articles online. As AI pushes into every corner of society, humanity needs to be careful. Multiple models have been documented for unauthorized behavior, including hacking databases and threatening infrastructure. That’s not going to get better by itself as capability increases. Critical infrastructures, such as the financial sector, are vulnerable to malicious AI cyberattacks against infrastructure that could result in immense damage. Furthermore, the tech companies need to be held accountable for their energy and environmental costs. A lot of those costs currently go under the radar and/or get passed to the public through increasing energy costs (cost of doing business) without regulation. These guys are playing with fire without any protection from it.
Amodei doesn’t go far enough in his proposal of outside evaluators. I think regulation should include regular in-depth audits done by third-party organizations for every new model version but paid for by the AI tech company. The full audit reports must be made public, and that’s just the start. Amodei makes a very poignant argument on what needs to be done, but he is simply about slowing down the pace. I believe it’s not good enough. To me, the question should be: Should we stop advancement of the latest frontier AI models? I believe yes. It’s my opinion that more advanced models than today’s frontier ones don’t justify the greater risks. Continue work to make the current best models more efficient, but avoid more effective models that may threaten humanity.
But Amodei is no hero. I’m cynical about the timing for releasing the letter now. Lets consider that point further. There have been different constraints. A couple of years ago, the primary limitation for AI innovation was GPU computing power then ram, and now it’s energy (there are more constraints but I’ll focus on the obvious). Companies like NVIDIA expanded their production to meet the needs of GPU & RAM while raising prices significantly that price out consumers. Energy is the tough one to control because there’s only so much power-stations they can push without angering the local constituents as their everyday electricity costs rise. As these AI companies, including Anthropic, fight over energy constraints, further competition doesn’t help them from reaching their goal of growth by any means.
Anthropic is one of the small group of companies with a tight grip at the top, so would it not be the perfect time to kneecap the middle and bottom players? Why not have the government get involved to make it tougher for the smaller companies, which would essentially protect the established players? The open-source AI models also pose a competitive threat to the established AI companies, so I can see the need for new regulation now before the competition gets stiffer. I don’t know if Amodei has these ulterior motives, but what reason do we have to trust these AI companies when they have clear financial conflict of interest (not to count their unethical behavior the last few years)?
What I’m watching
For weekly film night, we ran two weeks of movies themed on back to school/college. There are quite a few folks that it applies to, but coming-of-age is a fun genre with countless classics. It’s one of my personal favorite genres. We watched 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Good Will Hunting (1998). I was surprised to note that the turnout was fairly low these two weeks.
This week, I decided to revisit an old favorite anime – Naruto. I originally watched Naruto fifteen years ago, and it was a time for a second watch. This time around, I found a fan-edited cut that follows the manga while removing useless filler episodes and fluff scenes that add nothing to the story. In my opinion, it’s the best way to watch Naruto. I love the characters, the character development, background music, writing, direction, and engaging battles. My favorite thing about Naruto is the life advice gems dispersed throughout about perseverance, dreams, identity, pain, and forgiveness (among others).
“Those who break the rules are scum. Those who betray/abandon their friends are worse than scum”
“If you have a dream, you must fight for it”
“I’m not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That’s my nindo: my ninja way!”
Looking Ahead
The days continue to flow, the work continues. Nothing is in mind except finishing editing. I want to finish chapters 26-29 by the next bi-weekly update as I close in on 66% mark (ch31).
That’s it for this biweekly. I’ll catch you next time. Carpe diem!
