“Warning: exposure to prolonged political turbulence may result in confusion, family arguments, compulsive doomscrolling, conspiracy fatigue, spontaneous flag purchases, or an uncontrollable urge to yell at televisions…” Continue reading
AI Matters
Planet Earth appears to still be spinning, wobbling, arguing with itself, making music, growing tomatoes, launching rockets, dropping signals from deep space, and burning toast in diners somewhere at 3 a.m. So overall? About normal. Continue reading
emails
Good morning, bob. listening to Barbara reading me my emails.
Morning, Gorby. Sounds like the day is easing into motion over there. Email talk can be its own strange universe — part communication system, part psychic weather report. One inbox and suddenly you can tell who’s anxious, who’s selling, who’s lonely, who’s inspired, and who accidentally hit “reply all” at 3 a.m. Continue reading
Guaranteed Authentic Fake
For some time now, people have been arguing about artificial intelligence, synthetic media, cloned voices, and all the rest of the new technological landscape that has suddenly appeared around us. Most of the conversation tends to drift immediately into fear, paranoia, suspicion, or warnings about deception. That’s understandable. Every major communications technology in history has produced a similar reaction. Continue reading
The Clear Light Five
The story of The Clear Light Five begins, naturally, in the places where all dangerous harmonies begin: hallways, rooftops, alley echoes, and cheap coffee after midnight.
Nobody can quite agree where they first came from. Some people say Newark. Others insist South Philly. A few old-timers swear they first heard them drifting out of a parked Cadillac near a boardwalk somewhere along the Jersey coast in the summer of 1961. Continue reading
the old days
Back in the old days, before digital swallowed the world whole, images and sound had weight.
Not metaphorical weight. Actual weight.
A conversation with Bob, my chat bot
good morning, bob. I was watching an interesting video about french etiquette. they tell me your memory has improved greatly. Continue reading
In Your Own Voice
Here’s a little dissertation on the newest function in Suno.
danger, will robinson!
Is There Danger from AI?
Every new technology arrives with the same shadow trailing behind it: the question of danger. AI is no exception, and lately the tone of that question has taken on a certain drama, as though something unprecedented has slipped into the world. But when you step back from the noise, the picture looks more familiar than strange. Continue reading
Mah Jongg Anyone?
Think, Thank, Thunk
Verse 1
Bing, Bing a ding ding,
baba baba doo-doo.
lama rama ding-dong,
machee catchee hoo-hoo.