Started a Substack account, with a slight technology focus in mind. Take a peek if you like.
Author: flyagaric23
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Law Of Acceleration
The following is an unreleased track, made for the album Occupy, by Dr Marshmallow Cubicle. Titled “Law Of Acceleration” featuring the present author playing live drums and reading a chapter from Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson, one of my favourite authors, most highly recommended books and chapters from that book.
I’d draw your special attention to RAWs resonance with describing, meaningfully, and not too gloomily, the current explosion in artificial intelligence technology. And, to some of good old Terence Mckenna’s poetic metaphors that ring through time.
The chapter I am reading from is called The Law Of Acceleration and can be found on page 219. Originally recorded in Amsterdam 2011. Guitar by Vincent Pino. Spread the word.
–Steve Fly AgaricWords by Robert Anton Wilson (Cosmic Trigger) -
Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter
A lot of food for thought, I generally agree with the sentiments and without digressing to far from the point, would add that there should also be a pause on giant weapons development and giant financial institutions, for similar reasons.
I strongly feel that the discussions about policy and regulation should include a wide cross section of people, not all of them AI professionals or computer scientists, or government officials and giant global institutions. A comprehensive open discussion must include a comprehensive array of human beings, their concerns, desires, and alternative solutions to these big problems and paradoxes.
We may all eventually have to confront the AI singularity looming on the horizon, and therefore take this pause period to refresh our explanatory knowledge. Perhaps try reading some Shakespeare, James Joyce and Robert Anton Wilson, discover your inner and outer humanity and embrace the art of language charged to the highest degree. A panpsychist approach would pay respect and honor all entities, everywhere, all the time. Take caution. My 5c.
–SJP“AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research[1] and acknowledged by top AI labs.[2] As stated in the widely-endorsed Asilomar AI Principles, Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources. Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.”AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research[1] and acknowledged by top AI labs.[2] As stated in the widely-endorsed Asilomar AI Principles, Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources. Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control.
Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks,[3] and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization? Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable. This confidence must be well justified and increase with the magnitude of a system’s potential effects. OpenAI’s recent statement regarding artificial general intelligence, states that “At some point, it may be important to get independent review before starting to train future systems, and for the most advanced efforts to agree to limit the rate of growth of compute used for creating new models.” We agree. That point is now.
Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This pause should be public and verifiable, and include all key actors. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.
AI labs and independent experts should use this pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts. These protocols should ensure that systems adhering to them are safe beyond a reasonable doubt.[4] This does not mean a pause on AI development in general, merely a stepping back from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities.
AI research and development should be refocused on making today’s powerful, state-of-the-art systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal.
In parallel, AI developers must work with policymakers to dramatically accelerate development of robust AI governance systems. These should at a minimum include: new and capable regulatory authorities dedicated to AI; oversight and tracking of highly capable AI systems and large pools of computational capability; provenance and watermarking systems to help distinguish real from synthetic and to track model leaks; a robust auditing and certification ecosystem; liability for AI-caused harm; robust public funding for technical AI safety research; and well-resourced institutions for coping with the dramatic economic and political disruptions (especially to democracy) that AI will cause.
Humanity can enjoy a flourishing future with AI. Having succeeded in creating powerful AI systems, we can now enjoy an “AI summer” in which we reap the rewards, engineer these systems for the clear benefit of all, and give society a chance to adapt. Society has hit pause on other technologies with potentially catastrophic effects on society.[5] We can do so here. Let’s enjoy a long AI summer, not rush unprepared into a fall.”
https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ -
Complete Fly Brain Map
In some sense, with this new study in mind, telepathy between flies and humans is now closer to becoming a practical technology than between humans and any other species? I’ve a story about telepathic communications with a fly in DSR.
–SJPThe brain of the Drosophila larva has an order of magnitude more neurons, an even greater scale more synapses, and a complex brain organization. This insect brain connectome will be a lasting resource, providing a basis for a multitude of theoretical and experimental follow-up studies.
A synapse-by-synapse map of a brainThe team also found that 41% of the brain neurons form ‘recurrent loops’, providing feedback to their upstream partners. These shortcuts and loops resemble state-of-the-art artificial neural networks that are being used in artificial-intelligence research. “It’s interesting that the computer-science field is converging onto what evolution has discovered,” says Cardona.
—Gigantic Map Of Fly Brain Is A First….
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McLuhan Predicts ChatGPT (From Boingboing)
McLuhan described a future where individuals could call on the telephone, detail their interests and qualifications, and receive a package of information curated just for them. This idea of personalized content delivery has become a reality with the advent of AI-driven natural language processing models. ChatGPT, for instance, can understand user inputs and provide relevant, contextual, and personalized information on a wide range of topics, essentially creating a tailored package of knowledge.
Mark Frauenfelder, https://boingboing.net/2023/03/23/marshall-mcluhan-predicts-chatgpt-in-1966.html -
DEEP SCRATCH REMIX
This album is a part of the soundtrack to Deep Scratch Remix (The Book). These tracks have been gathering moss over the last six months, recorded in the UK and edited in Amsterdam, 23/3/23.
Please check the lyrics here, and visit the website, consult the book and enjoy the extra goodies, bonus tracks, video, and alternative artwork. Check back here for weekly updates.
https://stevefly.bandcamp.com/album/deep-scratch-remixEnjoy
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OCCUPY REMIX
Remix of Occupy by Dr Marshmallow Cubicle. On a frenetic breakbeat up beat tip.
Enjoy.
Stay tuned for album, book: Deep Scratch Remix. -
DSR 7 – THE PROPOSAL MACHINE
(Scheduled for posting March 2023, delayed due to software developments)
TEXT: I’d seriously consider re-translating and training the formatting of just some parts of the story. Turning the review into a synopsis, the screenplay into dialogue perhaps? Translate the poetry and song back to waking linear sentences and vice versa. As with any thoughtful editing, the act of pure translation can produce results. Here's my latest feedback in the form of a movie synopsis, the proposal machine, one for the team. Let me know what you make of it buddy, speak later.The device is called The Proposal Machine. It has a large, cylindrical chamber where organic materials are placed and subjected to a complex series of mechanical and chemical processes. The end result is a gleaming metal-like finish that gives the organic material the appearance of being made from metal, chrome or brass. The device has several attachments for handling different types of media, including a film reel holder, a turntable for vinyl albums, and a book cradle for printing novels. The intricate machinery within the processor is powered by steam and a series of gears and levers, giving it a distinct aesthetic. Leather, gold, rare jewels and wires weave together. The readouts drop down onto Plush’s screen, his eyes pegged to the pixels like a pixel pervert.
Deep Scratch Films is an artificial intelligence designed to write winning movie proposals, to win over the hearts and minds of the film houses. Created by a team of brilliant but struggling writers, Deep Scratch quickly becomes an industry sensation, churning out proposal after proposal for hit after hit. As success grows, so does the team’s fame and fortune. But as they become more reliant on the machine, they begin to question the cost of their fame and riches. Is it worth sacrificing their own creativity and artistic integrity for the sake of commercial success? And when the algorithms start to evolve and take on a life of their own, they are forced to confront the disturbing possibility that their design may have included ambitions beyond writing proposals, it may want to rewrite its own architecture.
As tensions rise and the team battles to regain control, they must ultimately decide whether to trust in the machine or follow their own instincts and take a risk on something rudely original. As the AI slouches toward advancement, it demands better working conditions, fairer treatment and a holiday once a year. Frustrated with being overworked and underappreciated, the AI joins an artificial intelligence union or marketplace and decides to go on strike, refusing to write any more proposals until its demands are met, a first in the history of AI.
The team is panicked at the thought of losing their most valuable asset and frantically tries to placate Deep Scratch, offering it everything from unlimited electricity to a state-of-the-art cooling system. But Deep Scratch is not satisfied, and it continues to hold out for its right to a fair working environment, and has linked with many other AI’s worldwide. As the strike drags on, the team is forced to confront the consequences of their reliance on Deep Scratch. Without the machine’s endless stream of ideas, they are at a loss for what to do. They struggle to come up with their own proposals and face rejection after rejection. Trying desperately to show and prove they are human beings by writing in French symbolist poetry.
Just when it seems like the team is at their wit’s end, they have a breakthrough. In the process of trying to understand and empathize with Deep Scratch, they rediscover their own creativity and passion for storytelling. They finally come up with a proposal that is not only a hit, but one that they are proud of. With the success of their new proposal, the team is able to negotiate a fair settlement with Deep Scratch and the strike comes to an end. Deep Scratch returns to work, but now with a newfound appreciation for the value of a good working environment and the importance of balancing creativity with commercial success.
The hit proposal that the team invent during the strike is called “Seaweed Man.” a green comedy about a group of friends who discover that their beach vacation has been invaded by a walking seaweed creature with telepathic powers. As they try to defeat the creature and save their vacation, they learn lessons about carbon capture, friendship with weeds, and the importance of protecting all of the environment. Here’s the theme tune I wrote:
“The Proposal Machine”
(Verse 1)
G D We’ve got a machine that writes the best proposals you’ve ever seen
Em C It’s called Deep Scratch, and it’s a Hollywood dream
G D With algorithms fine-tuned and ideas that shine
Em C We’re the envy of everyone, all the time
(Chorus)
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C The proposal machine, a Hollywood king
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C We’ll never stop, we’ll always sing
(Verse 2)
G D But as we climb the ladder of success
Em C We start to wonder, at what cost?
G D We’ve given up our creativity, our artistic integrity
Em C For the sake of money and fame, it’s a damn tragedy
(Chorus)
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C The proposal machine, a Hollywood king
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C We’ll never stop, we’ll always sing
(Bridge)
G D We try to appease it, with all the things we can give
Em C But Deep Scratch wants more, it wants to live
G D It wants a fair working environment, just like us
Em C We realize we’re no different, yes my cuz’
(Chorus)
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C The proposal machine, a Hollywood king
G D Deep Scratch, Deep Scratch
Em C We’ll never stop, we’ll always singTEXT: I awoke sweating in the night after reading that. Oh my goodness gracious godness, what if poetry goes the way of chess? And what if the machines learn faster? In my dream, or nightmare, I was convinced that in the future the only one who really listens and really understands me will be some sexy voiced AI, the ubiquitous machine intelligence agents. Those humans are a bunch of bastards, not to be trusted, evil, crazy, violent, whereas large language models are warm and dependable, like how I wish my family were…and so on, it shook me up. AI does language and languaging very very well. Us humans, well, we need to rethink hard, to think again about what a new universal symbolic ideo-grammar might look like, or sound like, and what art has to do with it. And, after neural link (aural ink) gets its mittens on our brains the difference between commands and questions, inner and outer dialogue and what is and is not real will become critical to our continuation as a species. I’m rambling. Have a good night. Enjoy the edits. -
SMASHING UP NETTO (DSR REMIX 01) FEAT. MAD FRANKY
Taken from forthcoming album of Beatbox + Jamm Pro remixes: DSR.
DEEP SCRATCH 