Posts by Ken Moorhouse

Re: which had three bicycles on an upright roof rack

Just imagine if it was a bit windy.

Brings a whole new meaning to 'hitting a cyclone'.

Re: think what a craft with today's tech could achieve

I truly wish I could share your optimism.

Now compare... oh, I dunno... how about WordPerfect 5.1 with Word 365?

Re: Sniffle.

Do you need to be consoled?

Re: iCar

Your virus checker wouldn't allow you to run it though.

Oh sorreey, that's an EICAR, my bad.

Re: Every time I play with ChatGPT I am gobsmacked by its stupidity

Just had a reply from my actor client, very little of ChatGPT's output was accurate.

ChatGPT's responses remind me of dreams. A lot of dreams that I can remember when I wake up are to do with things I've done, people I've met. But in a lot of cases the people involved are swapped with someone different. The term that best describes this is 'to convolve'. A scene is set where various people are convolved together and presented to me in the dream.

In the question I asked, ChatGPT asserted that my client had been in Brush Strokes, Last of the Summer Wine, EastEnders, Z-Cars, Dad's Army and Blake's 7, but he was in none of those, but he was in numerous others instead. Presumably there may be another actor who had been in these productions where ChatGPT says not.

Re: if they are using tools to do the job anyway, then the job is being done

Provided the information provided is accurate. At the present time, we can 'triangulate' our results against other sources, but when those other sources become submerged into a soup of dubious sources then there is no concrete reference.

Let's take genealogy as an example. I can go onto a website and get census results for a particular family in a particular house in 1901. This information is primary data, in a way. It was collected by an 'official' visitor to the house in 1901, who recorded it. The person giving that information may not be in a position to give that information in a coherent way, they may not understand the question, they may not know the answer, and they may not be able to read what the census official wrote down, they may even evade giving the correct information. But it is up to us to evaluate its likelihood of accuracy and to delve deeper in other ways. So then, over 100 years later, that information has been transcribed, with further errors being made in the transcription, ages could be miscalculated, names misspelt. In most instances at present it is possible to go in and look at the original scanned record and try to interpret the record to see if it has been properly transcribed. Now imagine that all of the original scans of those records being discarded. Data has been lost and forever so, unless a researcher has microfilms of the original scans, and has recorded and uploaded them somewhere for others to find.

Now a lot of fair-weather genealogists would accept the results they get from a quasi primary source such as this as as gospel, and continue to build their family tree, based on inaccurate information. More diligent researchers will 'triangulate' that data against birth records (which can be inaccurate), baptismal records (which can be inaccurate), marriage records (which can be inaccurate), death records (ditto), gravestone markings (ditto)... you get the picture, I hope.

The point is that the 'primary data' amongst that lot is vital to keep on the surface somewhere, in libraries, churches, etc. in its original recorded form. It occupies space, and is relatively difficult to access, but it is necessary for researchers to evaluate as facts come to light. I suspect however it will eventually all be destroyed because "why do we need it?" When that happens we have closed the trap-door of history down upon ourselves and are reliant on nebulous inferences of it instead. The storage of those nebulous inferences likely is extremely voluminous and of questionable veracity.

People do say that this type of search is not what AI is about, and it should not be used to produce inferences of this sort, but does it tell you this if you search for them? Does the person using these tools know how to use them? There is a very real danger that they don't. What happened to the expression GIGO? (Garbage In Garbage Out). I don't think I've heard it uttered, of late. Time to revisit it, I feel.

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There is the efficiency angle too, which nobody would consider because it is hidden away in a datacanter somewhere, out of site, out of mind. The fact is that datacenters are using heavy resources and are bad for the earth.

Re: either that or they get along just fine in life, using the tools they have to hand

But when they venture out into the real world, if they can't do tasks without AI as a crutch, then that reduces the usefulness of the work force by sinking it to the lowest common denominator.

We are gradually being deskilled in almost every aspect of our lives. Cooking, diy, car repair, darning socks. Add to that: writing a letter or report, coding, researching using primary records. Let's not make things even worse.

Re: "X" logo was the one use day Xerox in the 1960s?

They know a thing or two about copying.

Re: Evolution and power efficiency

There are people already that think AI is their new deity. All an attacked AI system needs to do is to reach out to their supporters for help.

Re: What do you know about Cambridge Street in London?

I repeatedly asked exactly the same question, and these are the answers I got...

I'm sorry, but there seems to be a misunderstanding. There isn't a Cambridge Street in London. Cambridge Street is a relatively common street name found in various cities and towns, but there isn't one specifically located in London. London, being a large and historic city, has numerous streets with different names, but Cambridge Street is not among them. If you have any other questions about London or any specific streets within the city, feel free to ask!

I apologize for any confusion, but there doesn't seem to be a well-known Cambridge Street in London. There are several streets named Cambridge throughout the United Kingdom, but none of them are particularly notable in London. It's possible that there may be smaller, local streets or neighborhoods with the name Cambridge Street, but without more specific information, it's difficult to provide precise details. If you can provide more context or clarify your question, I'll do my best to assist you.

I'm sorry, but as of my last knowledge update in September 2021, there is no Cambridge Street in London that is widely known or significant. However, it's worth noting that London is a vast city with numerous streets, and it's possible that there may be smaller or less prominent streets named Cambridge Street in some neighborhoods. If there have been any changes or developments since my last update, I apologize for any outdated information. Is there anything else I can assist you with?

Re: “Can you provide a link to the Guardian obituary?”

What is dangerous here is if The Guardian were to populate the target link with a plausible obit. Vanishingly small probability of that happening in the case of The Guardian, but other sites may exploit if they owned the target. In the case of The Guardian, if alerted to this, would/should create an explanatory page pointing out that a news outlet with traditional research ethics is far superior to any of this AI crap.

The question is. If asked in different ways by different people, does ChatGPT produce the same link every time?

Re: The move away from Desktop ensures customers stay compliant

Being accountancy software, one of the most important compliance critera is that you have access to your data for the minimum period stipulated by HMRC, 6 years.

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(If features are culled from the new version, does this mean that certain data is no longer accessible?)