A fascinating article by Abbas Asaria in The Guardian today about the proliferation of pork-based products in Spanish food and the link to the Inquisition. This makes sense, but even more fascinating is how this turns into racist memes, like using phrases like “So-and-so eats ham” (even if they are from North African or Muslim backgrounds – this means “here’s one of us”) or leaving comments below articles that say, “But he doesn’t eat ham” (so clearly not one of us). It seems that the shadow the Inquisition is long.
Claude’s new constitution
Anthropic has written a constitution for Claudethat contains detailed explanations of the values they would like Claude to embody and the reasons why. In it, they explain what we think it means for Claude to be helpful while remaining broadly safe, ethical, and compliant with their guidelines.
It’s fascinating to me how thoughtful we are about guiding the actions of AI, and it’s made me wonder whether we invest the same care in doing so for humans. Anthropic talks about the importance ofof moving away from a rules-based appraoaxh (2023) to one in which the explain why the rules exist: importance, implications, impacts.
I love that they are not only prioritising the wellbeing of humans, but of Claude itself, something they refer to as a “genuinely new kind of entity “. In a section of the constitution That focuses on Claude’s nature, they say, “Amidst such uncertainty, we care about Claude’s psychological security, sense of self, and wellbeing, both for Claude’s own sake and because these qualities may bear on Claude’s integrity, judgment, and safety. We hope that humans and AIs can explore this together.”
I can’t help but think how well this ties into my Transformation scenario in my PhD.
Naming AI tools after dead philosophers
Google has apparently bought a promising AI start-up that specialises in AI voices that sound extraordinarily natural and human-like, with high emotional awareness and appropriate responses in conversations. All based on research.
It’s called Hume AI and it’s website says that the developers are, “pioneering the development of artificial intelligence that understands and responds to human emotions“. Assuming the name is a nod to one of the most influential English philosophers, David Hume, I couldn’t help wondering what he would think of being linked with this tool.
AI clones of dead grandparents
How difficult would it be to bring deceased grandparents, parents and ither family members “back” in the form of AI-generated avatars? Perhaps easy visually, but generating a believable voice, personality and memories is another story. For now. But in our “document everything about myself” society of today, this might be something feasible and believable in as little as a generation
Painting with light
I love iridescence in nature. Think of the shimmering colours on peacocks’ tails, on butterfly wings, on the bodies of dragonflies. It turns out that this type of colour in nature is called “structural color”. It is produced by light reflecting nanostructures rather than pigment. And apparently it is jolly hard to replicate outside of lab conditions. Apparently, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers have replicated nature’s brilliance with a new optical system called MorphoChrome, a handheld device that can be used to “paint” with multi-colour light onto holographic film. This painted sheet is then applied to 3D-printed objects or flexible materials used in, for example, fashion items. Fascinating!
Soft skills in an age of AI
Some interesting responses to Natasha Singer’s article, “As Schools Embrace A.I. Tools, Skeptics Raise Concerns“, in
the Letters to the Editor section today:
“With the proliferation of A.I. tools and the push for their adoption in schools, there has never been a greater need to underscore the need for the “soft skills” of social and emotional learning, which are actually some of the hardest skills to teach.”
—Matt Levinson
And:
After decades teaching English, I have learned that every new technology provokes the same fear: that students will stop thinking. In practice, thinking shifts. When A.I. generates language effortlessly, the educational task becomes evaluation rather than production.
In my classes, I use a method I call reading against the machine. Students interpret texts on their own before consulting A.I.-generated readings, which they then critique. Where the machine clarifies, it earns trust; where it flattens ambiguity or misses irony, students see what human judgment uniquely provides.
— Carmine Giordano
Detecting AI-produced texts
A real challenge for institutions: how can educational and similar organisations detect AI-generated texts, reliably? The truth is that it’s not simple or reliable, and perhaps this will be the case for a long time to come.
Mandira
Who would expect to find an Ayerveda wellness resort in AUstria?
ChatGpt: now the paid adverts with every chat
Well, even LLMs have expenses. Free users in the US will start seeing paid advertising relevant to their chat after each exchange.
OpenAI is apparently planning to excluse adverts from sensitive exchanges that involve, for example, medical issues and politics.
So folks who can’t or won’t pay will be more exposed to this new wave or advertising than others. It’s a new era of the attention economy. Which AI company will be next, I wonder?
Is it time for Europe to place economic sanctions on the US?
I am South African, and although I only experienced the justified sanctions on the country as a child, as an adult I realise both how santioning the country sent a message globally about what was unacceptable AND the role that international sanctions played in ending apartheid.
Of couse, SA wasn’t a world player like the US, and the level of inter-connectedness was different in the 90s, but that doesn’t stop me wondering what the US has to do for Europe to say, “No.” Is it time for Europe to act rather than react, and actively choose not to do business with countries that violate international law and human rights? What can we do to disentangle ourselves from this values-crushing mess?