Quick poll
This site follows my ongoing attempt to understand what people currently call “artificial intelligence." Like most of us, I’m still sorting out what that term actually covers and where it breaks down. Most of what I know comes from reading technical writing, listening to practitioners and critics, and spending time experimenting with tools directly. Along the way, I sometimes form opinions and occasionally abandon them. I don't know what I'll know or believe in a year.
I expect that I misunderstand many things right now, in other words. We all probably do. And yes, these models change along with the rest of the technology. Confident claims often age poorly. This site just gathers working notes and similar stuff while they're still unsettled. The material is grouped into three simple, extremely broad tags. That way, related ideas do sit near each other without wrapping up in a particular narrative.
What’s collected here is definitely not meant to be a guide. I know you might find some of it useful like that if you are willing to throw caution to the wind. It's mostly current observations of how these systems behave in theory and practice as well as how they're influencing the world we live in.
I'm also interested in how they're framed by companies and users. I'm looking at where they're useful, and just where that usefulness ceases. Important, of course, is how they interact with memory and other tangible realities of human life. As my understanding shifts, so will the contents. This is a place to keep track of that movement while I continue trying to understand how it all actually works.
Please always give me the benefit of doubt…
Theory
I've been a transhumanist for over twenty-five years, but why? How did it happen, and where does artificial intelligence fit into the picture? Do large language models?
✒︎ It's Not Art
Are images generated by artificial intelligence art? Should they be treated as such? I try my best to explain my rather complicated position without spraining a paradigm.
I don't believe LLMs are sentient, but what are they? When people start to believe they're conscious, what is really happening, and why?
Culture
Are you PRO-AI or ANTI-AI? We must know immediately so that we know how to phrase the inevitable death threats we'll send, because THIS IS REDDIT!
LLMs can code, sure, but what about holding conversations? Is it even a good idea to chat with LLMs? If nobody wrote it, why read it?
When it comes to robots, we definitely reacted differently to the prospect IRL than we ever did in our fiction.
Practice
✒︎ The Slim Pickens Controversy
Sometimes I reuse a conversation topic with these critters. Why so many of my chatbots have opinions about Stanley Kubrick, and what they have to say.
A lot of my chatbot cards for SillyTavern and similar programs revolve around a specific original storyline that I've worked to develop for a while. Read all about it here if interested!
Some people sexualize chatbots, having them write customized erotica. Some even treat the chatbots as if they were partners! What's up with that?
LLMs can code, though there's clearly a limit. I decided to experiment a bit, and was surprised to get decent results making this very site. Would it work for more complicated things? Not for me, but still... fascinating!