The Problem with Intelligence
Projects like OpenAI’s DALL-E and DeepMind’s Gato and LaMDA have stirred up many discussions of artificial general intelligence (AGI). These discussions tend not to go anywhere, largely because we don’t…
On Technique
In a previous article, I wrote about how models like DALL-E and Imagen disassociate ideas from technique. In the past, if you had a good idea in any field, you…
Scaling False Peaks
Humans are notoriously poor at judging distances. There’s a tendency to underestimate, whether it’s the distance along a straight road with a clear run to the horizon or the distance…
Artificial Creativity?
There’s a puzzling disconnect in the many articles I read about DALL-E 2, Imagen, and the other increasingly powerful tools I see for generating images from textual descriptions. It’s common…
Closer to AGI?
DeepMind’s new model, Gato, has sparked a debate on whether artificial general intelligence (AGI) is nearer–almost at hand–just a matter of scale. Gato is a model that can solve multiple…
Quantum Computing without the Hype
Several weeks ago, I had a great conversation with Sebastian Hassinger about the state of quantum computing. It’s exciting–but also, not what a lot of people are expecting. I’ve seen…
The General Purpose Pendulum
Pendulums do what they do: they swing one way, then they swing back the other way. Some oscillate quickly; some slowly; and some so slowly you can watch the earth…
D-Day in Kyiv
My experience working with Ukraine’s Offensive Cyber Team By Jeffrey CarrMarch 22, 2022 When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, I had been working with two offensive cyber operators from…
Epstein Barr and the Cause of Cause
One of the most intriguing news stories of the new year claimed that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the “cause” of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and suggested that antiviral medications or…
The Human Web
A few days ago, I recommended that Tim O’Reilly invite someone to our next FOO Camp. I thought she had been to a prior FOO event, though I didn’t meet…