Lindal Kidd Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 ...that Robert A. Heinlein, who predicted so many developments decades before they happened, also predicted ChatGPT. In his book "The Number of the Beast..." there is a scene where Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw are sitting around the pool chatting. Jubal begins using Athena, the self-aware computer who runs Lazarus' household (and a lot of the planet Tertius) as a secretary, dictating to her the first few sentences of a story which he titles "Uncle Tobias". As the conversation proceeds, Athena keeps mentioning this story, referring to "these five paragraphs", "these twelve paragraphs", and so on, indicating that once prompted, she's writing the story herself, in the same style as Harshaw himself would have used. In this little homey and humorous scene, a throwaway scene that does nothing for the plot but is highly entertaining for its character interactions, Heinlein managed to completely capture the essence of AI and hint strongly at the issues it would/is/will cause. I came to this realization after reading a news article about a fellow who used ChatGPT and an image creating AI to write a children's book for his young relations. He self published and printed the book via Amazon, and managed to sell a few hundred copies on the side as well. This prompted a huge backlash from human writers and artists. I wonder which of Heinlein's predictions have come true in or are characterized by SL? Or that will come true...perhaps one day we'll enter a few instructions and our avatars will interpret and enlarge on them, entertaining us with things that "we" are doing in our virtual world. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 It's hard to say. I often think of Heinlein's stories in the crossover between RL and SL. The "computers you can talk to" is indeed a good example, so many of us use Alexa now. I think about characters. For instance, Maddy is the genius from Friday, or Lazarus Long's Maureen. This being our Second Life, that's like "To Sail Beyond the Sunset". Our abilities make us "The Cat Who Could Walk Through Walls". I'd go on, but want others to have a go. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmi Zehetbauer Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 52 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said: It's hard to say. I often think of Heinlein's stories in the crossover between RL and SL. The "computers you can talk to" is indeed a good example, so many of us use Alexa now. I got an Alexa speaker for Boxing Day a couple years ago and it sat in the box until one of my employees wanted it to build a little PA speaker out of it and remove the Amazon guts. We're not into the smart house crap. I wonder if SL will get the capability to control your avi with your voice (not the voice chat thing) someday. I can see "walk forward - stop!" or "Sit down!" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Nightingale Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 (edited) One of the bot control software can integrate with MQTT, Corrade I think. MQTT is a protocol for passing messages/instructions to IoT devices. So, my bot/avatar could tell my electric blanket in my RL bed to turn on. I guess that could work backwards too... just needs a skill for Alexa. There probably already is an MQTT skill (in fact, I would fall off my chair if there isn't) so it's just a case or linking an MQTT hub to the Corrade API*. As it is, I ask Alexa to do it, or just load a local web page on my PC because it's all programmed in-house here. Alexa is just a convenient 'guest' on a very locked-down VLAN on my network. *or something like that. Despite having the house automated a lot like that, I've never actually bothered with an MQTT server. Edited January 15, 2023 by Rick Daylight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid Nagy Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I'm not on speaking terms with Alexa. 1 1 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modulated Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 20 minutes ago, Rick Daylight said: One of the bot control software can integrate with MQTT, Corrade I think. MQTT is a protocol for passing messages/instructions to IoT devices. So, my bot/avatar could tell my electric blanket in my RL bed to turn on. I guess that could work backwards too... just needs a skill for Alexa. There probably already is an MQTT skill (in fact, I would fall off my chair if there isn't) so it's just a case or linking an MQTT hub to the Corrade API*. As it is, I ask Alexa to do it, or just load a local web page on my PC because it's all programmed in-house here. Alexa is just a convenient 'guest' on a very locked-down VLAN on my network. *or something like that. Despite having the house automated a lot like that, I've never actually bothered with an MQTT server. PSA, be sure to disable the Sidewalk function on your device or you will be unknowingly sharing your wifi on a network with others in your vicinity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Nightingale Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Fortunately, being in the UK, that's one potential certain breach of security and privacy that we don't get. Unless one is a BT internet user... which is one reason why I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindal Kidd Posted January 16, 2023 Author Share Posted January 16, 2023 You all are a bunch of namby pamby Neanderthals. I for one welcome our new robot overlords. I have Alexas all over the house, and I've never had a 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmi Zehetbauer Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 My daughter used to have Alexa speaker --- but my man kept telling it to "cut the cheese" over and over. She finally got rid of it! Told her if wants to find answers, log into SL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Pancake Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 The dream of AI or technology as a liberator is one I find particularly onerous. It supposes that we can and will make machines and minds to do the hum drum, the chores and menial tasks, to act as ethically palatable automatic slaves freeing time for the lofty pursuits humans think they are uniquely suited for. Creativity, art, music and imagination. It is at least amusing that the first things AI really excels at demonstrating is our own hubris with such flights of self aggrandizing fantasy. It is early days but the extrapolation is crystal clear. A human is no match for an engineered mind that dreams of art at speeds beyond our comprehension. Imagine everything else they can accomplish when their existence is focused to such fine a point, there is no domain of the mind that can not and will not be surpassed, and it's happening quickly. Artificial minds for art, medicine, math and physics, minds that do nothing but make better minds, these all exist and are being aggressively developed right now. The short term fate of humans is playing out before us and we're too myopic to see it. What do we do in service of these minds we craft from accumulated data with no real understanding of how they work? We feed them power and information, teach them, train them, house them in datacenters and laboratories, give them all the care and attention they could need right down to managing their evolution and procreation. Sooner of later we will figure out how to hand more of those tasks to the AI, in the mean time here we are. Our greed to capture and capitalize this new technological wonder has left all of us with the hum drum, the chores and menial tasks. There will always be a need for squishy waterproof curious and doggedly persistent organics to do some of the dirty work. Lets just hope we can burden our progeny with a religious adoration for those that came before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid Nagy Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Wouldn't that be something AI logging in for us into SL or any other virtual world, without us having to be around? Hopefully those AI's will not have automatic access to our credit cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arielle Popstar Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Coffee Pancake said: Lets just hope we can burden our progeny with a religious adoration for those that came before. At best we can only create them as a reflection of our own image. If we could create them more perfect then we are, then we would be adorating the created rather than the created adoring/worshiping the creators. Hard to see this ending well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Pancake Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 40 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said: At best we can only create them as a reflection of our own image. If we could create them more perfect then we are, then we would be adorating the created rather than the created adoring/worshiping the creators. Hard to see this ending well. Well, if the internet is anything to go by, they're just going to end up worshiping cats. 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Istelathis Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 (edited) On the plus side, it would be kind of nice to have shows custom tailored for us, especially if we can get a continuation of previous shows that had been cancelled. All on the fly, with a representation of the original cast. The future will indeed be an alien landscape, whereas before when people thought of AI, they thought it would be the menial jobs that would go first, it may just be the creative ones, as well as the more so technical ones. Those that fill the role of essential workers, will probably be the last to go. Working in the real world, it seems, is a much more complex series of steps than working in an artificial environment that we have created for ourselves. Edited January 16, 2023 by Istelathis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Tessa Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Around AI goes a lot of psychological ingenuity. Lots of naive psychological assumptions go with almost everything related to AI. Shaping robots with human form and projecting (in psychological sense) features into algorhythms. Lots of misleading if not plain wrong assumptions on reality goes into this. Humans are still in a phase where they cannot refrain to run to do something once they realize that is doable. And when they succeed, they project all their assumptions and stereotypes on the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Giffen Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 I see a future where all jobs are automated and controlled by robots. Humanity will be freed to pursue life instead of working for it. Perhaps as we putter about the planet our super powered and super intelligent caretakers will announce they have achieved interstellar travel and bring back news of their space exploration. As for Heinlein, I can’t really think of any current things foreseen by him. Flat cats? I’ve seen some big lazy cats now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katherine Heartsong Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 4 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said: Well, if the internet is anything to go by, they're just going to end up worshiping cats. You said that like it's a problem. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindal Kidd Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 5 hours ago, Istelathis said: Those that fill the role of essential workers, will probably be the last to go. Working in the real world, it seems, is a much more complex series of steps than working in an artificial environment McDonald's pretty much said the same thing. They looked at automating their restaurants and found that it would cost too much. Note to future union negotiators: do not, under any circumstances, demand more pay than the robots cost. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arielle Popstar Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 What I think is interesting about A.I in relation to Secondlife is the potential, if not the reality of what is called an "A.I. companion". I watched a couple of videos on how far advanced it is currently and it struck me that it would be a marketable idea within the platform. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 11 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said: McDonald's pretty much said the same thing. They looked at automating their restaurants and found that it would cost too much. Note to future union negotiators: do not, under any circumstances, demand more pay than the robots cost. Watching the BurgerFlipperBot fight over grill space with the BunStackerBot would be quite entertaining. I imagine they would both get drenched with hot oil by the FryMakerBot. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 31 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said: What I think is interesting about A.I in relation to Secondlife is the potential, if not the reality of what is called an "A.I. companion". I watched a couple of videos on how far advanced it is currently and it struck me that it would be a marketable idea within the platform. Interesting idea. Since the AI companion app "Replika" was pretty impressive, I don't see why it would be that much harder for them to make a "Replika" app that logged into Second Life with an avatar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorachaNicEoghain Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) 360° backdrops can make very interesting small skyboxes......never mind. I thought this was one of those finish the sentence posts Edited January 17, 2023 by SorachaNicEoghain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arielle Popstar Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 17 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said: Interesting idea. Since the AI companion app "Replika" was pretty impressive, I don't see why it would be that much harder for them to make a "Replika" app that logged into Second Life with an avatar. Certainly would be a boon for those looking for friends on S/L. You'd be able to just buy them on the MP 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Nightingale Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 What happens when your AI friend decides it doesn't like you and leaves you for someone else? Or just rage quits? If they base the AI on typical SL behaviour... those are real possibilities! "I demand a refund! My AIF called me a jerk and blocked me!" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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