Cats, good books, AI, and religious walking in the city of Sofia
Back in the late 90s, this brand Koop was a symbol of change. We saw the cooperative was some kind of incorporation, a private structure instead of the nearly 100% government-owned everything from that era. The outside A/C unit doesn’t fit though, I don’t remember seeing a single A/C unit in Bulgaria before 1989.
The pavement is from the same period.
I had no idea orchids exist in the wild in Bulgaria.
First customer since the last reset of the kiosks for the shift or the day. 11:30 is a bit early for lunch but still. I was first 🏆🏅✅
McDonald’s is not known to be the best food, it is expensive and is slow these days. We are high on the Big Mac Index, higher than the USA. It has a special place in my hard despite all of that. My generation grew up with a French comic called Pif that advertised McDonald’s. I had no idea that it was a fast food chain or what a fast food chain was until the 90s when they came to Bulgaria and opened their first restaurant. I still grew up with the logo. Their Pif ads paid off. Here we are, 35 years after the fall of communism, I still occasionally eat McD and remember the long-gone comic.
I’m interested in using AI to optimize things and got the nudge to read this book because of my interests. I find this book quite depressing.
A team of engineers in the Google-sized company Avogadro Corp implements a software called ELOPe. It optimizes emails based on the desired outcome. ELOPe has access to everyone’s main communication channel, which gives it instant and infinite power. It quickly takes over the company by sending bogus emails. The software is good enough to self-improve, manipulate, and survive.
Although very unrealistic from an engineering point of view, the book is a good warning of what could happen one day if AI is trusted. I find Skynet or the Matrix more likely scenarios than this but it should be kept in mind that although it may not play out this way, we can achieve the result in some other way.
4/5 – it’s a good warning, and a great idea, but unpleasant to read due to its unrealistic characters. I’m not sure if I’ll dare to touch the follow-ups.
Janet Evanovich’s number fifteen is the first book in the series with a name that makes at least some sense. Stephanie will be food-colored because of a cooking competition. The tiny issue with the competition is that nobody can cook and some heads are rolling. There will be explosions and some occasional edible food, hence the title.
I’m not sure why Stephanie doesn’t shave her hair. The curls are great for the storytelling but it’s so painful with all the paint, food, and other substances that end up there. I feel sorry for her.
Number 14 is 5/5, and Number 15 is 4/5. Both are enjoyable reads and the series is going strong.
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