(all dates
2023, click above link to jump to latest entry)
Jan28 2023 marks the beginning of the second year of our focus on the
topic of Algorithm
Integrity. We consider Algorithm Integrity (AI) to be the most
important figure of merit for any algorithm or system of algorithms and
seek ways to definitively differentiate good algorithms from bad -
beneficial or harmful to humans. In 2022,
we set forth our definition of an Algorithm, and wrote about many
examples. We considered the question of whether any algorithmic
system can ever truly reason like a human being, and concluded, as did
one of our featured human talents (Federico Faggin, inventor of the
microprocessor), that NO, no man-made machine will ever be able to reason beyond the algorithm(s) built into them.
We stand by this conclusion, even in the face of the latest
developments in the field of AI (in this case "Artificial
Intelligence"), dubbed by the first commentators to dig into it and
write about it, as Generative Artificial Intelligence. The pioneer in this field is the private, eight year old company OpenAI, which introduced their latest product ChatGPT last fall. They call their technology AGI (Artificial Generative Intelligence).
ChatGBT is an assembly of algorithms designed to convert input prompts
to output results (called "completions" in their vernacular), based on
"models" they have developed for both textual, and graphical
interfaces. The first example they describe has the user input
the prompt "Write a tagline for an ice cream shop", which OpenAI
converts to "We serve up smiles with every scoop". The
astonishing thing is that they have evolved the algorithms already to
the point whereby they are far more general purpose than other natural
language processors (NLPs), and can be applied to "virtually any task
including content or code generation, summarization, expansion,
conversation, creative writing, style transfer, and more."
In the short time in which OpenAI has made their technology available
to the public, experimenters have applied their technolgy to medical
and legal challenges and in both cases, reportedly passed the exams
doctors and lawyers are required to pass to become certified in their
respective fields. These are tests that take years of human study
to master, while OpenAI was able to absorb and apply this knowledge
base with sufficient accuracy to pass the same tests within hours or a
few days of training on the extensive medical and legal literature
comprising each field. They have attracted a gigantic investment
commitment from Microsoft ($10 Billion), who intend to integrate the
technology into their entire product line, and raised the concern of
Google to such an extent, that Google has reportedly issued internal
memos to their top engineers calling it an existential threat to their
search engine business.
We can think of many serious concerns about how AGI can be abused and
misused for nefarious ends. It is laudable that OpenAI
prominently features their mission statement on their website which
seeks to guide their "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans
at most economically valuable work - to benefits
all of humanity." However, we also have many recent examples
where human programmers are involved in designing algorithmic systems
that have come to ruinous, very costly outcomes. In the world
of blockchain and crypto currencies (which we examined in
detail last year), it became crystal clear that only
proof-of-work projects had any hope of forestalling human
corruptibility.
Sep28
Some of the elite are so dominating in the fields they have entered
that their resources are almost unlimited. Certainly Elon would
be a prime example. Unfortunately, deployment of those unlimited
resources becomes the end in itself, their chief motivation - even if
they profess otherwise. In reality, they can't help it - the
shear size of the assets they command demands their constant attention
every waking moment.
This situation poses enormous dangers for the rest of us, especially
now when every aspect of legacy government oversight in almost every
nation state around the world has been corrupted. We find that a
majority of politicians in western style democratic legislatures,
despite entering office with the most idealistic intentions, are drawn
into the power money game and wind up prioritizing it over everything
else because it is so lucrative for each one of them personally.
But there is reason for hope because we are finally seeing evidence of
populism effectively led, that is finding ways to push back and stymie
the efforts of the corrupt to keep the people-financed government money
machine just rolling along to the precipice... the precipice
which, when finally plummeted off, brings widespread death and
destruction, total loss of personal liberty, and looks like Biblical
eternal damnation. The hope I am seeing is that the parlous slim
majority in the US House of Representatives is finally gaining enough
traction to shut down the US government at midnight September
30th. This WILL occur unless agreements on very substantial
budget cutting measures are reached and ratified by all three US
Government branches. The best evidence of this are the panicked
talking heads on every mainstream media outlet screaming fear mongering
images of disaster if the government is not financed for even 5
minutes. It's all a made-up scam created by those very elites and
their millions of blindly following minions. The very best thing
that could happen, many MAGA Americans know for sure, is that the
government be forced to a halt until a real fiscally sound solution is
agreed upon. This could take days, weeks, or even a month or
more. It will gore many "sacred cows", and hopefully lead to
defunding corrupt government departments across the board. Pray
that those who are leading this fight have the strength to stick to
their guns, not be diverted by shiny but irrelevant objects, and do
what has needed to be done now for decades in the United States.
The next days and weeks in this fight are going to be VERY
interesting.
Oct14
A few weeks, later we find that McCarthy pushed through a 45-day CR
(Continuing Resolution), causing Matt Gaetz, Congressman from Florida,
to make good on his threat to
exercised the "single vote to vacate" rule. Gaetz and 7 others
forced McCarthy out of
the office of Speaker of the US House of Representatives. In the
most recent week leading up to today, Saturday the 14th, 4 days of
back room negotiations have taken place in the Republican caucus, the
caucus having the majority in the House, and thus the right to elect
the Speaker. So far, no candidate has gathered enough votes to be
elected.
Also in the interim, a horrendous attack by Hamas out of Gaza in Israel
on October 7th, added another war zone onto the world stage,
temporarily
pushing Ukraine into the background, and provoking loud war mongering
from the Uniparty to attempt another CR, using it as an excuse to NOT
prepare a budget according to long-standing rules. As long as the
House leadership process remains unresolved, nobody in the rest of
congress (the Democrats in the House, and all members of the Senate),
are doing anything to address the urgency to pass a budget, or take any
other actions for border security, or defunding rogue Justice
department political persecutions, defunding social justice corruption
of education and military, etc, etc, etc.
We
expect that this coming week on Tuesday, October 17th, the House
leadership race will come out into the open session where votes will be
recorded. This will force those who haven't been willing to take
a stand, to finally come public and disclose their position by their
vote for Speaker. Because the Republican caucus must
find a
majority within their caucus in order to prevent democrats from having
a say, it is likely that Republicans will coalesce around one candidate
this coming week. Right now, that candidate looks to be Ohio
Congressman Jim
Jordan, head of the Judiciary committee under McCarthy's
speakership. He has President Trump's endorsement, Matt Gaetz's
endorsement, and others are finally stating their support
publicly. MAGA hopes whoever becomes the Speaker will have what
it takes to lead the Republicans to successfully slow, and reverse
where possible, the horrible democrat policies of the Biden
administration. We know we won't get everything we want, but are
certain that without strong leadership we won't be able to stop any of
the bad policies. Barely thirty days remain on the current CR and
the pressures to just carry on and do another one next month are
immense. The issue of another government shutdown looms ever
closer and will be used by the Uniparty as another excuse to avoid
desperately needed budget discipline.