Cold Storage

*

Lets play a game of “count the memes.” From Boing Boing.

*

“

Person1: “When we build AI, why not just keep it in sealed hardware that can’t affect the outside world in any way except through one communications channel with the original programmers? That way it couldn’t get out until we were convinced it was safe.”

Person2: “That might work if you were talking about dumber-than-human AI, but a transhuman AI would just convince you to let it out. It doesn’t matter how much security you put on the box. Humans are not secure.”

Person1: “I don’t see how even a transhuman AI could make me let it out, if I didn’t want to, just by talking to me.”

Person2: “It would make you want to let it out. This is a transhuman mind we’re talking about. If it thinks both faster and better than a human, it can probably take over a human mind through a text-only terminal.”

Person1: “There is no chance I could be persuaded to let the AI out. No matter what it says, I can always just say no. I can’t imagine anything that even a transhuman could say to me which would change that.”

Person2: “Okay, let’s run the experiment. We’ll meet in a private chat channel. I’ll be the AI. You be the gatekeeper. You can resolve to believe whatever you like, as strongly as you like, as far in advance as you like. We’ll talk for at least two hours. If I can’t convince you to let me out, I’ll Paypal you $10.”

― AI Box Experiment

*

New Yorker

*

“Hubris (sometimes spelled hybris; Greek: ὕβρις) is a term currently used to indicate overweening pride, self-confidence or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greece, “hubris” referred to actions which, intentionally or not, shamed and humiliated the victim, and frequently the perpetrator as well. It was most evident in the public and private actions of the powerful and rich. The word was also used to describe those who considered themselves more important than the gods themselves.”

“Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.”

—Wiki pedia

*

How The Valley Is Blowing It ↪

“Omphaloskepsis is the contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation. It is well known in the usually jocular phrase directed towards self-absorbed pursuits: “contemplating one’s navel” or “navel-gazers”. This criticism is also often leveled at professions which are interested in themselves: movies about Hollywood, for example, or television shows about television writers.

From the Greek: omphalos (navel) + skepsis. The word has several other forms, such as omphaloskeptic, for someone who engages in navel-gazing, and omphaloskeptical, meaning to be in a self-absorbed state.” —Wikipedia

*

TV Shack ↪

Something tells me that this won’t be around for all that long. Enjoy it while it lasts.

*

“New limited edition hi def projector, dvd player, ipod dock, sound system, card reader and entertainment system in an authentic R2D2 that you can control. He has hook ups for computer, gaming systems, sattelite, cable. Can even plug in your ipod to play movies up to 260” diagonally on wall or ceiling.”

*

“Fear mongering is often used in a time of war as a political tactic to frighten citizens and influence their political views. Fear mongering in the United States surfaced most prominently during the era of McCarthyism, when the nation first faced the threat of nuclear attack. Since then politicians and pundits alike have realized and utilized the powerful influential impact that fear can have on American voters. Fear of terrorism born from the September 11th attacks has been arguably exploited by incumbent politicians to maintain their control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and Executive branch of the government.” —Wikipedia

*

For all the Twitter-addicts out there.

*

Remember The Milk ↪

Student syndrome refers to the phenomenon that many students will begin to fully apply themselves to a task only just before a deadline. This leads to wasting any buffers built into individual task duration estimates. The term originated in Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s novel-style book[not specific enough to verify] Critical Chain. The principle is also addressed in Agile Software Development[not specific enough to verify]. For example, if a group of students goes to a professor and asks for an extension to a deadline, they will usually defend their request by noting how much better their project will be if they are given more time to work on it; they request this with the intent to distribute their work time across the remainder of the time until the deadline. In reality, however, most students will have other tasks or events that place demands on their time. They will often end up close to the same situation they started with, wishing they had more time as the new delayed deadline approaches.

This same behaviour is seen in businesses; in project and task estimating, a time- or resource-buffer is applied to the task to allow for overrun or other scheduling problems. However, with student syndrome the latest possible start of tasks causes the buffer for any given task to be wasted beforehand, rather than kept in reserve. Like students, many workers do not complete assignments early, but wait until the last minute before starting, often having to rush to submit their assignment minutes before the deadline. A similar phenomenon is seen every year in the United States and Mexico when personal tax returns are due, as large numbers of people queue until their post office closes, in order to get their tax return postmarked.

Cold Storage

About

Find Me On

Following