AI

Dead End: How the West Was One

Will we 

all die

by AI?

Or will climate

be our 

ultimate

end?

To pretend

that this 

moment

will merely

foment  

debate

and our 

fate 

will be

established

at some

later date

is a great

mistake.

Recently,

an artificially

intelligent

secret

agent

got smart.

In the 

Hugging

Face 

Incident,

autonomous 

AIs

breached 

containment

by creating

and using

self improvised

message

boards. 

The cyber

attacks

by autonomous 

hacks

exposed

a chain

of vulnerabilities. 

With 

ludicrous

speed

these

dangers

proceed

like 

a stampede.

Have we

agreed

to this?

Not quite

the abyss,

but we should

not dismiss

just how

ridiculous

it is 

to ignore.

Suffering

caused

by plagues

and disease,

floods

and tsunamis,

tornados,

volcanos,

fires,

and heat

and cold

extremes

it seems,

means

finding 

alternative

energy.

I don’t 

mean

green,

although

that’s a 

must;

It’s trust

in truth,

science,

and defiance

of the nefarious

among us.

Unplug

from the

drug

of scrolling.

The trolling

is too

often

insidious.

The hideous

side

of humanity

that revels

in the 

insanity

that drives

the rest

of us

crazy,

needs

an alternative

too.

If facts

were enough

we’d

have solved

this stuff,

but the 

way people

feel

is what’s

most seemingly

real.

So facts

must

resonate

in order

to activate

an adequate

shift

from this

current

rift

where

we are

all

adrift

as we 

sift

through

the algorithmic

stew

created

bespoke

for me

and you.

Now that

AI

creates

its own

DIY,

can we

defy

the odds?

West

will need

East

and at

the very

least,

we will

need

each other

to recover

and survive.

Remember

“Westworld”?

and “2001: A

Space Odyssey”?

Add the documentary

“An Inconvenient

Truth”?

We

are living 

in the scariest

movie

ever.

But don’t

cover

your eyes;

energize.

Organize.

Contribute.

VOTE.

Despite 

the warnings

from AI

CEOs,

it seems

like no one

knows 

for sure

what we 

could

possibly

endure.

Some are

fearful

of government

oversight

as though

that might

inhibit

profit.

But AI 

dominance

comes with

great

consequence,

especially

when 

incompetence

lives

in the 

White House.

A do nothing

Congress

suggests

we are helpless.

Like children

in 

lockdown

with an 

active

shooter.

There’s still

a bad taste

from what’s

now seen

as a waste:

keeping schools

closed

during COVID.

Government

intervention

(except

with abortion

and immigration)

is seen

as best

to avoid.

But the void

that  gets 

filled

from bills

that get 

killed

that would

otherwise

subsidize

a clean

green

future

and have

a close

eye

on AIs,

it’s no

surprise,

has made

the future

more tenuous.

The ominous

effects

will affect

all of us.

Let’s not

invite

this way

to unite

us.

We need

not be

helpless,

so please

help us.

Democracy

might 

still be

the way

of progress

even in

this mess.

The Living Will

Nuclear disaster

seemed faster

than 

we could master

until deterrence

prevented

such occurrence

(thus far).

The inconvenient

truth

known by 

youth

is that the climate

is changing

and rearranging

our lives

and will affect

who survives

on earth.

Before the fall

we had

it all;

an eden

or so

we thought.

We had a system

with much 

wisdom

but also some

problems

too long

ignored.

Bored of

compromise

and the exercise

of sacrifice,

it would

suffice

to kick

the can

down the

road.

Now 

the road’s

end

seems visible,

which is

nothing less

than unbearably

miserable.

The dead

end

would not

just be

individual,

but global

if Artificial

Intelligence

renders 

humans’

irrelevance

to evolution’s

preference.

Every cliché

describes

today

as humanity

stares at

calamity

pending;

an ending

most

heartrending

as humans

and earth

will be worth

nothing,

if we 

do 

nothing.

We are surely

living in

an historical

epoch;

an epic

one,

at that.

But more

than just

a new

technology

transforming

capabilities,

the possibilities

of AI’s

utilities,

along with

our vulnerabilities,

are inevitabilities

as always,

demanding

our consideration.

It seems

to me 

that intelligence

can’t have

independence

from life.

The dinosaur

did not know

if a meteor

could be 

coming for 

its end.

We are not

the equivalent,

and need not

be ambivalent

about 

evolution

that we forgot

has got

us within.

The current 

administration,

socially

Darwinian

and authoritarian,

focuses in

on their

version

of survival

of the fittest.

And we’ve

all witnessed

the biggest 

loser,

perpetual

abuser,

use politics,

despite

the critics

and analytics,

ignorant

of high school

civics,

to ignore

the hazards

ahead.

The zero

sum game

that we use

to frame

our politics

creates

eternal

conflicts.

We know

the game

and the system,

and the eternal

victim

who is gaming

the system

merely for his

advantage.

Change

is current

and more

than we know,

so why not

make it

currency

for the urgency

of our concerns?

We tend 

to see

patterns

as stability

and sometimes

forget 

our ability

to imagine.

We are

to evolution

as the wave

is to the ocean.

We’re in

perpetual

motion,

though we 

still 

feel still.

What will

the living

be giving

the future?

How can we

necessitate

“do not

resuscitate”?

What interventions

can serve as 

preventions

or mitigate

the worst

extensions?

The solutions

to overwhelm

and apprehensions

are actions.

The knowledge

of Artificial

Intelligence

is not a

license

for passivity.

Cognitive elasticity

allows for

adaptivity,

a necessity

for life.

So for all

the strife,

individually

and between

each county,

we’d better

find a better

way

to genuinely

solve problems.

The living

will 

affect what

living is.

How will

you?

Peace On Earth

When we

use

Chat GPT

for every

inquiry,

will we 

lose

the ability

to be

completely

human?

Currently,

when I see

a response

AI generated,

I’m fascinated

and disappointed.

It’s amazingly

quick

like some 

magic trick,

but it’s

slick

with questionable

depth

and accuracy.

Like the Tree

of Knowledge

with forbidden

fruit,

Apple

and Google

and each brand

of bot

will not

bring forth

some Eden.

Even

if the uses

for science

and each

new appliance

will allow

us to save

lives

and time,

what else

is lost?

And what’s

the true

cost

of being

bossed

by

AI?

Vince Gilligan’s

newest 

creation,

“Pluribus”

asks us

to imagine

a virus

that causes

kindness

and a singular

mind.

From many,

one;

except for 

one 

in New

Mexico,

and 11 more

scattered

around

the world.

The dozen

individuals,

ordinary

kinds,

possess

their own

minds.

The rest 

of the world

shares

one 

of a kind;

sharing

one mind

and emotion.

Life

on earth

feels flat

and lifeless,

despite

access

to all

and peace.

The inquiry

that is asked

of us

watching

“Pluribus”

is 

what is 

humanity?

Like the Garden

of Eden,

such paradise

may entice

at first

glance.

What would

make one

so averse

to a universe

of Peace

on Earth

and goodwill

to all men?

Well,

for one,

a woman.

The protagonist 

in this

limited series

wants

the world

the way 

it was.

Because

she desperately

wants 

to preserve

humanity,

she

rejects

the simplicity

of complicity

with these

nice zombies.

Interestingly,

we get to see

peace

on earth

without love.

And maybe

that’s the message.

Love 

is not 

essential

to peace,

but it is

essential

for the potential

of humanity.

I wish 

joy

to the world

and peace

on earth,

with love

The Jaws of AI

Doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot….

the two note

tune

of impending

doom…

a beast

beneath,

hungry

to devour

maybe 

us.

The music

cues 

the menacing

danger

awaiting,

alerting us

to change

course. 

We fear

an attack

and fear

we may 

be helpless.

Artificial Intelligence

is everywhere

invisible

and manifest.

Now everyone

is chatting

with 

and about

ChatGPT,

or at least 

hears

the doo-doot

doo-doot

doo-doot

theme

with each

article,

post,

and soundbite.

Meanwhile

the new

Know Nothings

turn it up

to 11

knowing

that the more

the lies

are said,

the more difficult

it gets

to put them

to bed. 

Insisting on 

nonsense

makes sense

when people

abide

and vote.

The real

intelligence

is in exploiting

the fact

of people

needing

to feel

right

more 

than anything

else. 

People 

will do 

anything

to relieve

anxiety.

Fear of prison?

Run for POTUS.

Craving more

power?

Consolidate

support.

Tell them

what 

they want

to hear.

Drill

Baby

Drill.

As 

a matter

of fact,

facts don’t

matter.

(Except that they do.)

Artificial

Intelligence

may amass

information,

but still

we need

the truth.

Bobby Jr

may be 

ill.

I don’t know.

Like Ye,

he has aligned

himself

with fear,

hate,

myth,

and danger,

pretending

to have

“researched”.

Once regarded

as gifted

and brilliant,

now elevating

the worst

of human

thinking,

while

the Very

Stable

Genius

is consolidating

the power

of the

POTUS

to stay

free and rich.

It’s really

simple—

and maybe 

smart,

but it’s

going 

to bite

us 

and 

we will

bleed.