John Healy's Tech Blog

Author: jph

  • Meet Bard – an early experiment by Google

    Comments

    3

    Today, via email, I received an invitation to try Google’s new Bard Chatbot. After a limited, cautious demonstration in 2020, there’s now a limited public beta test. Because that protocol is the way to collect “valuable data” – at public scale. Sort of like a large clinical trial of a new medicine, eh [1]. Meet

    Read more

  • AI tech and society’s slippery slope

    Comments

    7

    Steven Levy commented this week on those heralding a “worst-case scenario” for AI – “how artificial intelligence might wipe out humanity.” At a gathering in New York City organized by the Center for Humane Technology (CHT) [1], a “doom-time presentation” evoked an apocalyptic tone: We were told that this gathering was historic, one we would

    Read more

  • Chatbot redux – synthetic coherent ‘Stochastic Parrots’

    Comments

    2

    [List of articles in progress] Here’s a bunch of recent articles re AI-powered chatbots: ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Microsoft’s Bing, … Here’s a useful context by Wired’s Steven Levy. • Wired > email Newsletter > Steven Levy > Plaintext (Feb 17, 2023) Hi, folks. Are your news feeds, like mine, loaded with “stories” consisting of reporters

    Read more

  • ChatGPT – an illusion of understanding?

    Comments

    12

    [Update: February 8, 2023 – see comments as well] Following the company’s investment in OpenAI, Microsft has released OpenAI-infused new versions of Bing and Edge. • LA Times > “Microsoft unveils Bing and Edge with OpenAI technology” by Dina Bass (Feb 8, 2023) – Tech giant upgraded its search engine and browser in hopes of

    Read more

  • When your Mac or MacBook won’t turn on?

    Comments

    0

    As premium devices, Apple computers generally are reliable and last for years. But there can be times – hopefully rare – when your MacBook, for example, won’t power on. Or at least not bootup. This Macworld article is a useful recap of troubleshooting tips. And, yes, it can be humbling to realize that the problem

    Read more