WINTERFELL - - - -THE SENTIENT MACHINE

----one hundred leagues southeast of Deep Wood Motte."

 Halfway and looking up the driveway

Looking down the driveway to the position where the top photo was taken.

Both photos taken by my son Tuesday morning with a Samsung S7 cell phone. He titled the sending of these to our home email as "WINTERFELL", a reference to "Game of Thrones".

He was headed our way to help with some snow removal and found this wonderful winter sight greeting him as he headed up our driveway.  Notice the orange driveway edge marker on the bottom photo. 

The young birch trees are easily bowed with a little heavy snow. With a heavier and wetter snow fall the night before, they seemed to be taking a respectful knee to Mother Nature. 

Had it not been for the availability of always having a camera with us everywhere we go with a cell phone,  this morning winter treat would have gone by the way side. 

These deeply bowing winter trees are a first for us here in the past 18 years. 

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THE SENTIENT MACHINE: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence

I found this book in my quest to find something of interest to read this winter. AI interests me and scares me. From initial readings, I am not alone. Regardless, this ".....genie is out of the bottle."  It makes no difference of any emotion or notion any of us apply to what is coming. "It" is coming and life as we know it is going to change profoundly. Profoundly!!

I have been in the book now for a few days. Easy reading and material that is out of my easy understanding is being presented in a fashion that holds my interest and curiosity while helping me with terminology and insights of current and future AI. 

You and I (worldwide) are already in the AI program. Some folks are diving in taking hook, line and sinker, while folks like me - the low end of this technological food chain - are  testing these 0s and 1s from a distance. I will also take a wild guess that anyone reading my blog is light years ahead of me in dabbling and understanding of this new technological world and everyday usage of current developments. 

"OK Google", what am I trying to say here?

An example. I have lived my life and been used to making lists. Shopping, reminders and things to make sure I get done on any given day, no matter what. That is the way it has always been. Habits deeply ingrained inside of my human 0s and 1s. It works, is cumbersome and time consuming. Forget the list and I have to rely on memory and therein lies the reason for list-making. 

I have noted here of past that I have a new S7 phone. New tech, connectivity and new stuff that wants to be more of a part of my everyday living. I can do many things with this phone that I feel are beyond my scope of full understanding. Download an interesting App and within minutes, there are hints of wanting more personal information from me to fully be allowed to use all that the App is. So I delete it as best I can. I do not believe we can delete anything anymore, but I try and when in the company of a good friend and geek, get more help on these kinds of things. 

My phone has a memo app and I have just started to use it. The phone is always with me, thus the "list" is now always with me. Even the voice recording has promise. See how far behind I am? 

I wrote the titles and authors of three AI books I want to read. I typed in; The Sentient Machine by Amir Husain. Hit save. I found a very nice young lady at the big book store. Pulled up my memo information and while looking at the memo information, read to her, "The Sentient Machine by Amir Husain."

There it was, new technology at work in my everyday life. A wow moment for me. Proud of myself! The  young lady took my phone, set it by her computer and typed in "The Sentiment Machine" while saying the title out loud. I said no, "The Sentient Machine." I looked at my phone memo and sure enough it said "The Sentiment Machine." And there it was, AI "helping" me because I do not know what I am doing and the phone knows better what I want. Made the decision for me. "Always read the fine print" came to mind. 

I have seen the phone trying to help me write notes and text. I have not paid attention and that has now changed. (I think I have disabled it, but really do not know for sure) This ranks right up there with someone else finishing my sentences because I pause in the completion of the thought or statement. 

I did not know what that program was. How do I ask Bing how to disable if I do not even know what it is that is typing for me. So I asked Bing the question and sure enough, "Auto Correct or Auto Fill." Are they the same? I do not know. I recently purposely made a spelling error only to see that it is still correcting for me. I need a geek.  

The author talks of three phases of "IoT", the Internet of Things. Phase one, Measuring and Tracking. These are embedded sensors inside technology. Example on the personal side might be information on our daily walking activity. On the business side might be sensors embedded into flight control systems giving pilots warnings.

Phase two. Modeling and Predicting. The author says we are "on the cusp of entering this phase." I think that Auto Correct or Auto Fill just might be a good entry example of this phase. This program is trying to predict what I want to say or spell ahead of my typing and thinking activity. 

My mind is always ahead of my fingers and writing for me is a constant fluctuation of starting, stopping, re-reading, re-thinking and searching for grammar that best fits. I would like to ask my S7 to stop using this program. Just stop it. 

Phase three. A Trillion Fully Autonomous Devices. "This is where the human starts to leave the loop." 

Having lived a life, I do not think I will cope well in Phase Three.

**Nearing the end of the book this morning as I prepare to publish. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in how AI will continue to impact all facets of human life on earth. And sooner than you might think. 

I have tried to open a few conversations with my wife on some of the ideas presented in this book and have tried to conceive how life is going to change. But she stands steadfast to the point of cutting me off mid-sentence. "It is going to kill us in our sleep." With a wave of her hand - - end of story!! 

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I will be back to the book store with memo cell phone in hand to look for Our Final Invention by James Barret and the series of three books by Kurt Schlichter: Peoples Republic, Indian Country and Wildfire.  

Did you know that there is a whole new world out there in books? Who knew? Spread the word!!

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Friend sent a couple photos from the last snow fall taken with her iPhone. Looking through a small apple orchard and a sunrise and sunset. 

Days start getting longer in a few weeks.

Her is mixing meat loaf for dinner tonight and then will be working Christmas cookies for the remainder of the day. I am here for her to taste and perform any and all quality check requirements.

Some ugly wet snow outside this morning. Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by.

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Her will never know one is missing!!