Author Archives: Steve Mays
“So what next?”
“The first step is to tone down the prophecies of doom and switch from panic mode to bewilderment. Panic is a form of hubris. It comes from the smug feeling that one knows exactly where the world is heading: down. Bewilderment is more humble and therefore more clearsighted. Do you feel like running down the street crying “The apocalypse is upon us”? Try tellng yourself, “No, it’s not that. Truth is, I just don’t understand what’s going on in the world.”
— 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Yuval Noah Harari)
“A stream of wisecracks”
“Blogging is akin to stand-up comedy — it’s not coherent drama, it’s a stream of wisecracks. It’s also like street art — just sort of there, stuck in the by-way, begging attention, then crumbling rapidly.”
Sunday morning (2020)
Seven Stages of Robot Replacement
- A robot/computer cannot possibly do the tasks I do.
- [Later] OK, it can do a lot of this tasks, but it can’d do everything I do.
- [Later] Okay, it can do everything I do, except it needs me when it breaks down, which is often.
- [Later] OK, it operates flawlessly on routine stuff, but I need to train it for new tasks.
- [Later] OK,OK, it can have my old boring job, because it’s obvious that was not a job that humans were meant to do.
- [Later] Wow, now that robots are doing my old job, my new job is much more interesting and pays more!
- [Later] I am so glad a robot/computer cannot possible do what I do now.
[Repeat]
The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly (2016)