Hearing Elon Musk discussing AI in his Rishi Sunak interview, I was taken aback by some of his subtle warnings. The accelerated growth of artificial intelligence in recent months has startled me and now I worry that Elon knows more than he is letting on.
The idea of unknown entities being able to access personal data doesn’t sit well with me.
In this brief piece, I want to consider a few uncertain points that alarm me now.
What’s Making Me Nervous?
Elon mentioned that in future there may be no need for jobs. People will have no need to go to work as AI will be able to do everything for us.
Let me get that straight. Nobody will need to go to work? Sounds great but also scary.
If that is the case, how do we know these robots won’t just take over the planet? Surely we will all end up obese and with little purpose. Depressed humans with nothing to do.
As well as this, who is to say that these robots won’t spread lies and turn us against each other? Much like what fake news does these days.
I cannot perceive the range of possible ways that this AI revolution could implode. So yes, Rishi and Elon, we do need to be one step in front of it. Safeguards should be put into place to make sure the whole thing cannot just steamroll us.
In A Nutshell
This subject is so massive and very current. I could go on about it all day. But these ideas of employment becoming extinct and information getting into the wrong hands are unsettling as far as I am concerned.
What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my AI article. For some book, TV and podcast recommendations, take a look at my Read, Watch and Listen November post.
Sometimes I daydream about all sorts of things. When I say sometimes, I mean nearly all of the time. You may remember that recently I wrote an article about having a soundtrack for your life. That was one example of what I often think about, especially when I daydream.
Anyway, the other day I was imagining that my life was a TV series. I actually had ‘Succession’ in mind originally but then I drifted off into other possibilities.
Have you ever imagined your life as a TV series or movie?
TV Shows That Remind Me Of Me
Now, it may seem unlikely but I was watching the new ‘Sex and the City’ spinoff – ‘And Just Like That’ last night and thinking about how some of their midlife dilemmas resonate with 45-year-old me.
Even though they are seriously rich and I am not, I get how they feel about certain situations. Carrie is learning to not cling to the past and to move forward. I have recently made many changes to my home and decluttered a lot of things that contain important memories. And just like her, I felt a need to freshen things up.
Going back to Succession, I don’t have any siblings but have witnessed some very messy family fallouts, been involved in awkward relationships, and lost a lot of money in an online gambling binge in my twenties.
I chuckle a lot when watching Stranger Things as I remember all of the 1980s nostalgia that they signpost. My childhood was a 1980s geek fest of Star Wars toys, mountain bike races, and playing basketball on my best friend’s driveway.
I have never had the Upside Down experience of ‘Stranger Things’ but I definitely can relate to the old fashioned TV sets, magical board games and acting out of Dungeons and Dragons.
Final Thoughts
For me, the idea of trying to match TV shows to my life is lots of fun. I can imagine how some programmes link to my life now, my university days, and my teenage years. Part of me wishes that my life was more like that of Spiderman back then.
Anyway, my TV series would be about a guy who is obsessed with movies and theatre, spends a lot of time acting like an agony uncle for his friends, and is incredibly close to his rather grumpy nan.
Have you ever compared a TV series to your own life?
Is there one that mirrors your experiences?
Maybe you are a combination of shows or perhaps yours is still several pilot episodes waiting to launch into an Emmy-winning long-running series.
For another of my articles about TV shows, check out Two TV Shows I Am Enjoying. Perhaps also consider following my blog for similar future content.
Most people look forward to hotter days in summer. Some people even sun seek all year round. Many of my friends love to fly off to hotter parts of the world for winter holidays. Everyone loves warm weather – right? So why we are we making such a big deal out of world temperatures rising?
That is exactly what I want to explore in this Climate Change Collective article. Our Collective, by the way, is a group of bloggers who care very much about the world’s ecosystems and want to keep climate change at the forefront of readers’ minds.
‘The Climate Change Collective’ sprang from a response that Michelle – Boomer Eco Crusader made to one of my blog posts last year. We then decided to establish a network of like-minded writers who cared about global warming. Each month, one of us writes a lead blog post about something which concerns us and then we all get involved with response blogs that consider each other’s unique take on that particular subject.
Read on and let me know in the comments what you think about my points.
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Is hotness a big deal?
Last year I recall a colleague talking to me about the July 40 degree C heatwave. They said it was great and a one-off and that I should make the most of it. Now, let me tell you, I have heard this kind of thing on many occasions since. Whenever I talk about heatwaves in Britain, people tend to see more positives than negatives. It is because our summers used to be traditionally more wet and mild than hot.
For the UK, exceptionally hot weather is still in its infancy, but with this June breaking records as the warmest June on record, we are definitely moving towards hotter times. Having said that we haven’t reached the heights of Southern Europe yet.
The recent extended period of around 45 degrees C days that clung to Spain, Italy and Greece has highlighted just how damaging heat can be. Too much of it causes wildfires, drought and problems with arable farming. This in turn could lead to people being displaced from their homes, as is currently happening in Rhodes and Corfu.
I am watching constant News about the ongoing fires in the Greek islands and scratching my head awkwardly. These are clear signs that climate change is creating widespread problems and is on the rise.
There is no doubt that people and governments are taking the heatwaves seriously but I am hearing too much about defending against the weather. Making the planet more weather-proof is not only expensive and very difficult but it avoids dealing with the obvious. The time has come to make fossil fuel consumption a less favourable option. We need to turn back the clock and undo some of the damage we have done with industrialisation and urbanisation.
We Can Not Solve This By Ourselves!
Yes I am almost shouting that point as I see lots of well-meaning people talking about small differences that any individual can make. I agree that people can reduce their carbon footprints and recycle more. There are many brilliant adaptations we can make.
But time matters. We don’t have much time…
What we need more than anything is governments to start making drastic changes right now.
Only yesterday the UK Home Secretary stated that environmental laws must not cost too much. She was talking about the cost of living crisis and suggesting that we shouldn’t be spending money on climate change initiatives when we have economic fixes to urgently make.
I get this but…
It isn’t quite that simple. We just need to balance the books. Here are a few radical suggestions:
– The railways are a mess. It costs more to catch a train to Edinburgh than it does to fly there. Why don’t they tax shorter flights more and invest that cash into the rail network? France are starting to stop short air flights that could easily be replaced with train services. Similarly, having been to Switzerland and seen how much people use the efficient train network, I know we could be better connected and enjoy a more pleasurable journey if we sank investment into more tracks and better infrastructure.
– This one sounds odd but go with me on this. We all drive to supermarkets separately and use fuel and sit in traffic jams. If more of us used supermarket delivery vans we would save plenty of individual journeys and support more job vacancies for supermarkets. If a delivery van takes 15 lots of shopping at a time, on a circuit, that is potentially saving 14 trips by separate shoppers.
– Plane journeys could be penalised by frequency. For example, if you only flew twice a year, no additional fees would be applied. On your third flight a five percent charge would be given, then more on your fourth etc. Harsh but fair.
– Planting trees on unused fields in farms or on private land could result in rewards. For instance if you planted ten trees and they were still there five years later, you might get a reduction in Council Tax or a tax rebate even.
– Buying locally could reap you incentives. Supermarkets all use loyalty points systems and could track your consumption of food that hasn’t travelled long distances. Perhaps you might get extra points for continually purchasing local food and drink.
Final Thoughts
I may seem like I am plucking ideas out of the sky but we have to take drastic measures collectively. If you want to stay informed about environmental issues, check out an app/ website called We Don’t Have Time which is where brilliant and innovative people share sustainable initiatives and examples of ecofriendly work.
Here are a couple of articles by ‘The Climate Change Collective’ which may intrigue you:
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article about warmer weather and why it is not a positive thing when it comes to climate change.Please also check out the link posts that will follow this one. Also drop me a comment with your own thoughts on this matter.
For a little poem I wrote about the heatwave, have a look at Heating Up. Have a lovely summer and please think about contacting your local politicians to express concern about the current lack of real environmental policies.
