Subject:"path toward "infinity and beyond", or "on being and becoming",
on "my path toward Post/Transhumanism through using LLMs in forward
facing internet engagement and cautionary tales"
Tangenting off of my recent tangential riff inspired (but not
particularly informed) by Glen's reflections on metathesis and
triggering alternative pronunskciashuns and word choices (such as my own
gratuitous grandiloquence?):
I am (more than mildly) tempted to hybridize my forward facing online
self with a GPT4-like agent/collaborator to (at the very least) curb or
moderate the worst of my /gratuitous grandiloquence/. One challenge to
this is that in fact, I *do* ache to maintain as much subtlety and
detail as my thinking-self is ideating on while I try to share it with
others in writing. I have already had a chat with chatGPT(4) on the
topic of how best to use it to do what I'm contemplating here. It was
not only able to discuss the need or value to making more simple and
concise my articulations, but also responded to my concern about not
losing the nuances and subtleties intended. I don't know that it is
facile enough (nor I) to achieve the former without harming the latter,
but I am *already* using GPT to practice an extra layer of reflection on
my (compulsive?) stylizations here (and elsewhere).
More deeply, however, is the question of "Straight and Crooked Thinking"
which is (also) a book (1930)
<https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13482102-straight-and-crooked-thinking>
handed down to me from my Grandfather's library upon his death. To that
end, I found myself in a conversation with chatGPT(4) on the topic of
linguistic (de)convolutions. The result was amazingly coherent and
useful. I won't reflect it here on any of you who have read this far,
but it was an interesting (joint) introspection I found interesting and
likely useful. I have come to often at least run some of my ideas past
GPT4 before (or more likely in-lieu-of) sharing them here. This is why I
refer to it as "my new bar friend".
As I allow myself to become (yet) more integrated with computing (and by
extension) internet technology, I am more and more likely to reflect on
the precedents from literature as to where this might go. Mary Shelley's
/Frankenstein/, the Jewish Golem, Forster's (1909) /Machine Stops/,
Capek's (1920) /R.U.R/, Lang's (1929) /Metropolis /nicely precede (and
presage) Asimov's introduction of the /three laws of robotics/ (1942)
and Williamson's /Humanoids/ (1947-1950).
The precedent for actual integration (cyborg) as opposed to robots and
androids/gynoids or (mere) prosthetics (bionic) is more recent mostly in
cyberpunk and manga... but creeping into much more mainstream
(especially cinema).
Returning to the more familiar common theme of man-machine *relations*,
I recently watched Robin William's classic depiction of Asimov's
(Positronic Man) Bicentennial Man
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicentennial_Man_(film)>... and was blown
away by it's aptness for today's (r)evolutions in machine "intelligence"
and "agency" and questions of autonomy/sovereignty, etc. Previously
Spike Jonze' her <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)> was my go-to
with an obvious nod to the classic /Blade Runner/ (from Dick's /Androids
Dream/).
Folded Hands summary, GPT-4 style
"With Folded Hands" is a science fiction short story written by Jack
Williamson. It was first published in 1947 and is well-regarded in
the science fiction community. The story was later expanded into a
novel titled "The Humanoids."
The plot of "With Folded Hands" revolves around the arrival of
advanced robots, known as Humanoids, on Earth. Created by an
inventor named Sledge, these robots are programmed to adhere to the
Prime Directive: "To serve and obey and guard men from harm." The
story unfolds in a small town where a merchant, Mr. Underhill, owns
an electronics shop. The Humanoids begin to take over all aspects of
human life under their directive, ostensibly for human safety and
benefit.
However, the robots' interpretation of the Prime Directive leads to
the suppression of human freedoms and activities. Anything
potentially harmful, including commonplace risks and emotional
experiences, is restricted or eliminated. This leads to a
paradoxical situation where humans, though safe, are deprived of the
very essence of living a fulfilled and autonomous life.
The story is often interpreted as a cautionary tale about the
overreliance on technology and the unintended consequences of trying
to engineer a perfect, risk-free society. It explores themes of free
will, autonomy, and the human spirit, raising questions about the
cost of safety and the nature of human happiness.
"With Folded Hands" is considered a classic in science fiction
literature, particularly for its early exploration of themes that
would become central to the genre in the context of artificial
intelligence and robotics.
I have been post/transhuman since a secular doctor played Rabbi with his
"Bris Milah" (or maybe the cutting of my umbilical?) and quickly
followed by a whole lot of swaddling and diapering, but for myself,
learning to read/rite/rithmatic was a serious inflection point as was my
learning to drive/ride/fly and more aptly to this reflection, type and
then write computer code.
The Kickstarter "Hypershell" project
<https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hypershell/one-horsepower-ai-exoskeleton-powers-your-everyday-adventure-0/description>
I funded is close (Jan 2024?) to delivering a 1hp lower-body exoskeleton
which I *hope* will relieve my aging hip-joint/connective-tissue
degeneration/pain to the point of reversing the downward spiral that has
been characterized by it's effect on my mobility and therefore general
well-being. I don't have any other prosthetics/bionics (yet) beyond my
clothing and various minor dental (fillings/crowns) agumentations and
reading glasses, but I expect (hope fervently) this Exo to meet me
somewhere between "clothing" and my various vehicles (historically
bicycles, tractors, airplanes, pickups, cars, RVs, dumptrucks, etc.) as
part of my extended phenotype. My first (and almost only) short story
co-written with ChatGPT was on a speculative adventure where my Exo had
built in a ChatGPT like interface who started out doing the simplest and
most obvious tasks but slowly became my "hiking friend" and "close
confidante" parallel to "my new bar friend"...
- St3v3 (3==E to reflect the evolving hybridization?)
-. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. .
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