There is a growing body of evidence hinting that the conversational AI systems—aka chats—are unreliable, unsecure, and unsafe. The general conclusion, expressed in only one word, would be that AI systems are untrustworthy. It is based on the demonstration that AI hallucinates, produces deceptive behaviors, and self-poisons/self-pollutes its originating model.
Continue reading On Trustworthiness of Conversational AI SystemsCategory Archives: Technology
The Bathtub: Extraordinary ordinary things
Ubiquity is dedicated to helping professionals (computer scientists) and informed laymen better imagine and understand the future of computing. “Extraordinary Ordinary Things” is dedicated to bringing to mind truly world-transforming things that have become so embedded in daily life that we scarcely even notice them. These two ideas may seem to be rather far apart, if not incongruous. In reality, they are quite close together, almost like conjoined twins. Computers today underly virtually everything that makes up the modern world, either directly, but most often indirectly, by how they permit commercial, cultural, and scientific ideas to be converted into life-altering products and services.
Extraordinary!
One of my fondest memories of childhood (I was born in 1942) was taking a bath. I loved snuggling down in the bathtub, being completely covered with water and imagining swimming in the Pacific Ocean just a few blocks away from where I lived in Los Angeles. However, as I grew, this pleasure became denied to me because the bathtub was too small for me as an 11- or 12-year-old child to fully immerse myself. The bathtub had become too short for me to comfortably stretch out and the sides were too low to fully immerse myself without water overflowing the side.
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Plastic: Extraordinary Ordinary Things
Ubiquity is dedicated to helping professionals and informed laymen better imagine and understand the future of computing. Extraordinary Ordinary Things (EOT) is dedicated to bringing to mind truly world-transforming things that have become so embedded in daily life that we scarcely even notice them. These two ideas may seem rather far apart, if not incongruous. In reality, they are quite close together, almost like conjoined twins. Computers today underly virtually everything that makes up the modern world, directly, but most often indirectly, by how they permit commercial, cultural, and scientific ideas to be converted into life-altering products and services. Extraordinary!
Author’s NoteContinue reading Plastic: Extraordinary Ordinary Things
I had certain trepidations about undertaking this topic for fear of being branded an apologist for the plastics industry. I am not an apologist; I am a reporter. However, in recent years, plastics and their uses have become so controversial that no matter what one says about them, it can be—and will be—construed as taking a position for or against them. No matter how hard one tries to be dispassionate.
Please bear this in mind as you read the following text.
Eyeglasses: Extraordinary Ordinary Things
Ubiquity is dedicated to helping professionals and informed laymen better imagine and understand the future of computing. Extraordinary Ordinary Things (EOT) is dedicated to bringing to mind truly world-transforming things that have become so embedded in daily life that we scarcely even notice them. These two ideas may seem rather far apart, if not incongruous. In reality, they are quite close together, almost like conjoined twins. Computers today underly virtually everything that makes up the modern world, directly, but most often indirectly, by how they permit commercial, cultural, and scientific ideas to be converted into life-altering products and services. Extraordinary!
If you don’t have to wear eyeglasses, chances are you don’t fully realize the panic some people feel when they mislay them or leave them somewhere with little chance of recovering them. I know, because I have worn eyeglasses since the age of 10 to compensate for a serious case of myopia (U.K. = short-sightedness; U.S. = near-sightedness). Without my eyeglasses, I would be virtually helpless. Likewise for people with presbyopia (U.K. = long-sightedness; U.S. = far-sightedness).
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