Discussing a book with something that hasn’t read it

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I couldn’t find authoritative data but  I assume millions of copies of William Gibson’s novel, The Peripheral have been sold. And many more millions share my interest in Eastern spiritual traditions (specifically the illusory nature of the self). And the subset of those who fall into both groups is probably large… I just don’t happen to know any of those people. So I fired up my ChatGPT app fully aware of the bullshit risk.

“I’d like to get your take on one of the plot elements in William Gibson’s novel, The Peripheral. Before I get to that, I’m curious about how you know what you know. For example, were you trained on the full text of that novel or would your “understanding” be based on reviews or other sources?”

The rest of the conversation (PDF) was pretty interesting.

1969 Pontiac Catalina

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[Perplexity] “The 1969 Pontiac Catalina was a full-size car produced by Pontiac, a division of General Motors, as part of its long-running Catalina line that spanned from 1950 to 1981. By 1969, the Catalina had established itself as Pontiac’s most popular and accessible full-size model, serving as the entry point to the brand’s big-car lineup. It was available in a wide range of body styles, including sedans, two- and four-door hardtops, convertibles, and both six- and nine-passenger station wagons.” (more below)

Paul’s latest acquisition. Not sure what he has plans for this beauty but to my untrained eye it is in very good condition for a fifty-year-old car. This had to be popular with Mafia button men because you can comfortably fit three bodies in the trunk with room for a spare.

1958 Ford F100 Custom Cab radio

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Paul hasn’t found a home for this pickup and plans to keep it around for now. Check out this radio.

The circular dial is the AM frequency band controlled (I think) by the knob to the right of the dial. The knob to the left controls on-off and volume. There’s a tone control but I’m not sure how that works. Or even if the radio works. I’ll take another look and update this post.

Top Ten Songs in the US in 1958 (I was ten years old):

  1. Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu) – Domenico Modugno
  2. All I Have to Do Is Dream – The Everly Brothers
  3. Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) – Dean Martin
  4. Don’t – Elvis Presley
  5. Witch Doctor – David Seville
  6. Patricia – Pérez Prado
  7. Catch a Falling Star – Perry Como
  8. Tequila – The Champs
  9. It’s All in the Game – Tommy Edwards
  10. Return to Me – Dean Martin

AI does my searching these days

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For years, websites were designed to present help: FAQ pages; Customer forums; Step-by-step tutorials; Support articles. But now? Those are often incomplete, out-of-date, buried under SEO sludge, or shaped more to reduce support costs than to actually help.

When I have a software question –even for an app that I’m familiar with– I go straight to an AI assistant. It’s changing how the web works (PDF)

Empire of AI

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Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI is a book by Karen Hao released on May 20, 2025. It focuses on the history of OpenAI and its culture of secrecy and devotion to the promise of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The book includes interviews with around 260 people, correspondence, and relevant documents. The title makes reference to colonial empires of the 1800s.

Hao visited OpenAI’s offices and covered the company for the MIT Technology Review two years before ChatGPT was released. Her experience there and reporting on topics of AI for seven years led her to write Empire Of AI. (Wikipedia)

Given how much time I spent “conversing” with —and gushing about— OpenAI’s famous chat bot (ChatGPT) this seemed like a book I should read. About half way through and not sure how much of the book I will share here. Continue reading →

What might AI do for Apple apps

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Following is a list of Apple apps that I use on a regular basis: Files, Notes, Mail, Photos, Numbers, Reminders, Weather, Maps, Contacts, Music, Journal, iMovie, Health, Calculator, and Voice Memos.

My prompt to ChatGPT: Assuming Apple develops and/or acquires state-of-the-art AI to run on all Apple devices… and every Apple app is able to access and understand the data contained in all of the other apps… give me five useful scenarios that AI will make possible. Continue reading →

ChatGPT: “confidently explanatory mode”

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Also known as, “Bullshit Mode.”

ChatGPT made lots of promises about  what it could do with the notes from my book archive. (See “bellyflop” post) I gave it another little test yesterday.

Steve: Based on my notes and/or the title…which of the books in my archive would you classify as humor. A simple bulleted list of titles will be sufficient.

I’ve tagged 19 of the books in my library with “Humor.” Most of which are obvious from the title (and the cover!). ChatGPT found five and only one of those might be considered humor. When I pointed this out the bullshit started flowing… Continue reading →