by John Macdonald | May 5, 2023 | AI, The250
I love the discussion about whether art is creation or discovery. Artists use both mechanisms to describe their process, how a particular piece came together, or how the arc of a character’s story played out. They’ll use words like find, seek, imagination,... by John Macdonald | May 4, 2023 | AI, The250
Will AI machines think freely? Well, do humans think freely? If someone asks you to describe a chair, how would you do it? You and I might describe it differently, but we’d know what each was talking about. AI can also describe a chair, and it does a... by John Macdonald | May 3, 2023 | AI, The250
Your dishwasher doesn’t know how to wash dishes. Even if you have a smart dishwasher, it still knows nothing about washing dishes. All your dishwasher knows how to do is blast heated water and soap around the inside of its box and then drain it at all... by John Macdonald | May 2, 2023 | AI, The250
Does or will AI have free will? Your level of fear about AI likely corresponds with your belief in free will. I don’t mean the fear of AI supplanting humans in jobs, or creating deep fakes, or being used to manipulate and influence us. Those are... by John Macdonald | Apr 30, 2023 | AI, The250
An exercise in perspective. Picture a field. Place a farm building in that field. It’s a familiar setting. You know this field and this building. A fence meanders around. You see a bird. Pause for 30 seconds. See the details in your mind’s eye.... by John Macdonald | Apr 18, 2023 | AI, The250
I grew up in the ’80s, and in the ’80s, we knew who was smart. They were the guys and girls who knew the answers, remembered the details, and could recite the formulas. They studied, asked questions in class, and stayed late to talk with the teacher. If I...