A.I. Yi Yi!
Joe Ozier & the F-104 Starfighter
I become emotional when fighter jets flyover…partially out of awe of what humanity can achieve, and partly as my father was a Test Pilot (F-104) for Lockheed, was passionate about flying and died doing the thing he loved…
Watching this video - about halfway through, I found those same emotions rising…having the historical road from tech to tech laid out so, seeing the faces of those boymen (AND Hedy Lamarr - lest she be overlooked - a piece of the story I only recently came to know) as their own fantastical dreams materialized…
I wonder/ed…watching and listening to the New Kids on the Block in this video navigating the current path into and through medicine, education, new technologies, agriculture…if the trajectory is maintaining its inherent integrity, or am I imbibing the Kool Aid (and those of you who don’t know the origin of that term would do well to google and learn)…?
I rather think that there will always be a “downside” to technological advance - from nuclear bombs and rampant viruses at the critical downside end of the pendulum-swing to medicines, education, transportation, agriculture, art expression, music and the more human and humane, daily and even mundane, humanitarian uses and applications as positive “magic.”
I have to believe that - though so many SciFi writers and thinkers predicted dystopian futures…factors of which do manifest before our eyes - that ultimately, Good Shall Prevail.
We already know there are enough resources on the planet to feed, clothe and shelter every living being. The impediment to the redistribution of this wealth are factors of human greed and corruption (I love that Billie Eilish asked all them Rich Boys “…Why are you a Billionaire…?” Pointing out in five simple words the practical and useless, selfish ridiculousness of amassing great wealth and doing nothing with it.)
I do, though - and sometimes against my instincts, given some of the wealthy with whom I have worked - believe that along with the responsible development and application of new technologies; there may ultimately be no more hunger, no more sickness, no deformed babies…there will be access to education for all (whether or not that advantage is embraced by every voter, well…), exposure to music, art, cultural expression may well all become universally available and, as such, inspire thousands if not millions to conceive and create even more unforeseen wonders in areas and practices they may otherwise never have known exist.
So. As I watch and witness, marvel and quake at possible futures predicted by the Chicken Little alarmists to the blithe Pollyannas and many in between…I’m thinking that we just may be about to do okay.
We do seem to be seeing so much more evil, greed and self-interest in today’s world than we may have thought existed; and that can be scary. Especially the acutely raw and base quality of evil that seems rampant, inhabiting places of critical influence.
But I think we may just scrape through this.
Y’know, it wasn’t so long ago that there were no Gays in the world; and now, they’re EVERYWHERE…and see how good we all look!
But I digress.
I don’t think AI is going to destroy us or art or movies or anything. There’ll likely be some changes or evolutions in the methods and methodologies applied to the Experiences we experience, or how Creativity in any form or arena is expressed, how beautiful music is composed, compelling books are written or even how and how many of what kind of movies are made.
And there will be crap out there. But already I’m hearing anecdotes of 8-year olds calling out AI as bullshit. And remember CINERAMA?!! We survived THAT with films and movies intact; we’ll survive this, too.
The kids’re gonna do all right.
Meanwhile, Let’s us do something about this ridiculous attack on Venezuela, shall we? The price of steak is gonna skyrocket if we don’t separate this wacko from the Trigger; and for what?
