Screw NeuralLink, Give Me A Mindcap

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I joking — not joking — still think that it’s at least POSSIBLE that some sort of digital teleplay technology is floating out there in the depths of Big Tech. Which, of course, opens up the possibility of some sort of technology that would do the same shit that Elon Musk wants his NeuralLink to do without drilling into anyone’s brain.

In Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “3001” everyone wears a mindreading device called a Mindcap. I would much, much rather wear a Mindcap than drill a hole in my head for something like a NeuralLink.

And, yet, it seems as though if any form of digital telepathy actually exists, it’s super top secret and never something that would be commercialized for the average person.

Which I think is a shame.

The Petite Singularity Is Near

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m beginning to believe that a lot of our social problems are being caused by the looming arrival not of a Hard Singularity where we’re uploading or minds into a big database, but a much softer Petite Singularity.

If you combine social media, AI, VR / AR, streaming, biotech and robotics, you definitely have the makings of a transformation in human civilization to the point that the average person can’t catch up. What is the whole “trans” movement, but just the fact that changing genders has becoming affordable to the masses on a medical basis?

It definitely seems as though it won’t be too long before the “transhuman” movement goes mainstream, too. And AI / robot rights. Which, of course, makes one wonder if the next phase of MAGA will be some sort of neo-Luddism.

That is a very big question at the moment going forward.

Anyway. All of this could be moot if The Fourth Turning happens and Western Civilization collapses.

Good times!

The Looming End of Traditional Media Websites

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It may take a little while — maybe a few years — but it definitely seems as though the entirety of the Web will collapse into a singularity when AI finally takes over everything.

Rather than using a search engine to passively brows the Web — and read news — you will have a very active, personal “relationship” with you Her-like digital personal assistant.

Some basic notions of how we interact with the Web and the news will change in a fundimental manner. To me, the undetermined issue is how anyone will make money through journalism. I suppose there might be keywords that, when invoked during a conversation with your PDA might spawn some sort of advertorial?

Once that is figured out, then there will be fork in the road. Either AI will be used to replace all human journalists, or there might be some sort of half-measure that allows some journalists to survive.

I have my doubts.

Only time will tell.

Next Generation AI Generated Media Is A Compelling Use Case For The Apple Vision Pro

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now, of course, it’s possible that the fucking Fourth Turning will happen starting in late 2024, early 2025 and we’ll have to sort that out first, but there is also a chance that a combination of AI generated media and the Apple Vision Pro might cause a vibe shift.

It could be that, ultimately, AI generated media, or AIGM, will really take off because of the advent of the Apple Vision Pro. Or, if nothing else, one of its successors. It definitely seems as though we’re on the cusp of a media sea change.

The question at this point is how, exactly, that sea change expresses itself and how long it takes for it to happen. Everything definitely seems to be rushing towards a sudden lurch into the future, some sort of future shock, but…I dunno. There remains too much that I just don’t know.

I Despise AI Generated Photography

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Jesus Christ. This photo of a woman — specifically her face — has been touched up by AI and it enrages me.

Fake.

Among the many things that bothers me about this photo is I don’t even know if that’s anywhere near being the face of the person who is actually attached to that body. It could be someone totally different for all I know.

And, yet, here we are. The future is now and we have to figure out what the fuck we’re going to do about it.

Apple Vision Pro As Vibe Shift

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Hmm. The picture below makes me think that it’s at least possible that the Apple Vision Pro might be popular enough — and fashionable enough — that it will, unto itself, mark a “vibe shift.”

The Apple Vision Pro

It is at least possible that after a few more iterations that people will actually walk around in the real world wearing a Vision Pro without feeling really self-conscious.

Only time will tell.

Will The Advent Of Apple Vision Pro Prompt A Vibe Shift?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Is it possible that, by definition, the advent of the Apple Vision Pro headset could lurch us into a new era? While I have my doubts — the thing is still too big and bulky — just its existence does point to a possible New Era.

Apple Vision Pro

It could be that once Vision Pros are out in the wild, that that will spark a shift in the vibe and people will start to dress and act differently than they have the last 20 years.

Just think how different people in the 1950s dressed as opposed to the 1970s. Now compare that to how…same…things have been since around 2001. It’s all very curious. Other than technological changes, not a lot has changed in America except Reds and Blues hate each other to the point that we may be on the cusp of a civil war / revolution.

But, who knows. Some of why I think this MIGHT be a vibe shift is there is a fashion element to the headsets. But, as I mentioned, they’re still too big and bulky. They need to be a lot less conspicuous on your face for them to really take off, at least in my opinion.

The real issue is what happens when AI generated media gets thrown into the mix. Now THAT is going to be lit.

NYT GPT

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that OpenAI’s GPT store could be used on newspapers. My only fear is that it will take newspapers way too long to figure out how to embrace GPTs and still make money.

GPTs are a transitional phase in our trek towards the Web collapsing into a singularity and everything — including the news — being presented to us via some combination of AI and XR technology. As such, you might wear a very fashionable successor to the Apple Vision Pro that would be hooked up to some successor to ChatGPT.

I just don’t see the Web as we currently interact with it lasting much longer, given how fast AI is advancing, and especially with the advent of the GPT store. Maybe it won’t be GPTs, but I do think every major Website will be replaced with something akin to a GPT that will talk to your digital agent and, as such, the Web will collapse into a Singularity.

The details of all of this are still very fuzzy. But that seems to be the general trend.

Vibe Shift: Culture, Like Nature, Abhors A Vacuum

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Something very curious is going on with Western culture at the moment. And that curious thing is…nothing. There’s just nothing much going on at the moment. There are lot of macro trends that are heading towards something, but there’s just not a lot going on right now.

There are a lot of ways to look at situation.

One is, this is just the usual winter lull in the year. Another is, culture is kind of in a holding pattern until the election. Or, you could say, once the AI generated Toy Story pops out in a few months, and it will be away we go!

But think about it.

For the last 20-odd years, people have dressed pretty much the same. We’ve listened to music that is pretty much the same — with a few notable exceptions. Everything has just been a number of apps maturing in popularity until some — like Facebook — seem like virtual malls. (Not a lot going on and those people who do use them are old people getting their steps in.)

I do think that AI and the Fourth Turning might be two things that upend the rather sedate cultural world we live in at the moment. And it might be that Apple’s Vision Pro is the first thing that REALLY throws everything for a loop. But even that, I think, has a few more years before people will actually want to wear them.

Not until XR glasses are indistinguishable from those wrap around sunglasses that all those angry MAGA chodes wear will they become popular.

In The End, Not Even Comedy Will Be Safe From AIGM

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Well, apparently, there’s some sort of AI generated George Carlin special floating around. Such AI Generated Media (AIGM, pronounced Ayee-Gym,) is a sign of things to come.


What gets me is that it’s also a sign that we need to re-calibrate what we expect for AI going forward in regards to the arts. It definitely SEEMS as though within about 18 months….that human Hollywood…just might not exist as we think of it. AIGM will totally consume Human Generated Media (HGM) and…that will be that.

It might be a bit longer than that, given the US could collapse into civil war / revolution in late 2024, early 2025, but, still…the times, they are a changing.