Today was warmer than yesterday, but I pushed on and did another 2.5k run, in the heat and higher humidity, but managed 12:14, 31 seconds faster than yesterday. So I’m not sure what was wrong yesterday that made me go so slowly.
I mostly worked on Darths & Droids comics today, in between relaxing and leisure activities like taking Scully for a walk. For dinner I made okonomiyaki, as foreshadowed by buying cabbage yesterday.
As it was foretold…
New content today:
This morning I picked up groceries, that I would usually have done yesterday, but was deferred due to my standards meeting. I’m in the habit of ordering most things online for pickup – something which I began doing during COVID lockdown. But after a few unsatisfactory experiences ordering fresh fruit and vegetables this way, I spend a few minutes grabbing fruit and vegetables myself before I pick up the pre-ordered bulk of the groceries.
This week I decided to get cabbage, to make okonomiyaki. And looking around at the other vegetables, I settled on Brussels sprouts, since we haven’t had them for a while. It was only when I got home and pout them in the fridge that I realised I’d selected cabbage and what are essentially mini-cabbages.
I also got some more mangoes, since they’re currently abundant and relatively cheap. I heard on the news that there’s a big mango glut at the moment, with large crops coming in from all over northern Australia. So that’s good! It’ll be cheap mangoes every week until the supply dries up.
For lunch we went on a short drive across the harbour to the suburb of Newtown, where we grabbed lunch at The Pie Tin. After that we walked through the University of Sydney because my wife wanted to go visit Glebe Markets. Last time we went there we were surprised that they had a strict “no dogs” policy, so I kept Scully and stayed in the university, intending to let her run around on one of the sports fields. Unfortunately she was a bit cheeky and tried running off after my wife, so I had to call her back and then keep her on the lead.
So instead of running around the field, I grabbed some carrot cake and we sat at a cafe for a bit, before starting to head down to Glebe to meet up with my wife. We met her halfway and walked back to the car to head home.
This afternoon I went for a 2.5k run, but I felt a bit off sorts and took it easy. I ended up recording 12:45, which is my slowest time since back in August, when I started up running again after my trip to Europe and the cold of winter in June/July. Let’s see if I can manage a bit faster tomorrow.
New content today:
This morning I had a meeting at Standards Australia, the follow-up to the recent ISO international standards meeting on Photography that I attended in early November. But first I had to drop Scully off at doggie daycare, and then head into town on the train.
The meeting was routine and not especially notable, except that we had a new project manager from Standards Australia taking care of the administrative stuff. This is the third manager we’ve had in the past three meetings – the previous one only lasted one meeting. I assume because she got moved onto some other committees, not because there’s anything particularly nasty about ours. In fact I think our committee is an easy one for new staff to get used to the drill, as we are fairly consensus-based and non-contentious. There are other Australian standards committees who are much more tricky to handle, as they have representatives from competing companies.
After the meeting, I headed to the game store in town to pick up a couple of board games I’d ordered: the new edition of Camel Up, and Camel Up: Off Season. The guy looked for the games in the area set aside for customer orders to be picked up, but didn’t find them. After some rummaging around out the back he returned with a copy of Off Season, but no Camel Up. He said there’d obviously been a mix-up and a copy hadn’t been set aside for me. So I’ll have to go back another time to get it.
Immediately back home I went to pick up Scully from the daycare. She really loves spending time there, and she is super tired after spending a few hours playing with other dogs.
Tonight is online board games night with my friends. We’ve played some games of Jaipur, Jump Drive, and Just One, and will continue with some others as the night progresses.
New content today:
Today I did some work on my bird photos database, which is ever a work-in-progress. This was prompted by editing a bunch more photos from my trip to Germany and the Netherlands back in June. I got up to a day where I spent several hours walking around in parkland in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, and photographed several birds. I identified them and noticed a few weren’t in my current list of birds that I’ve photographed, so of course I had to spend some time updating the database. I also added a batch of bird photos that I took on my trip to Orange back in September.
I was sitting on 297 species photographed, but the additions bring me up to 301. The new additions were: common wood pigeon:
and great crested grebe:
Checking the order in which I took the photos, I can declare that the Eurasian magpie is the 300th bird species that I have photographed! Although this is a common bird in Europe, it doesn’t exist in Australia, so I was unfamiliar with it and didn’t know what it was until I did a search. We have Australian magpies in Australia, but they don’t look much alike other than the black and white colouration, which is in such a different pattern that the Eurasian magpies actually don’t look like “magpies” to me. (The 301st was the common wood pigeon, if you were interested.)
Other events today: one more ethics class on holidays. I was in the middle of teaching it when suddenly the dog downstairs went berserk, barking at something rustling in the trees outside the fence (either a person or maybe a brushturkey). The next thing I knew there was a huge crash of the vertical blinds on the living room window, and I looked around and Scully had jumped up from the floor to the sofa and then the window sill to see what was happening, and she was barking like crazy too.
Now, Scully is trained not to jump up on the sofa, but this was obviously a special situation and demanded that she have a look out the window. After the ruckus was over, she sheepishly stood on the sofa and waited for me to put her back down on the floor (as she is trained to do – she’s allowed on the sofa, but not allowed to jump up or down). I had to interrupt my class and tell the kids I’d be a few seconds putting Scully down.
New content today:
Wednesday morning is when I have had my face-to-face ethics class, every school week for the past 6 years, apart from when it was interrupted by COVID lockdowns. Today was the last ethics class of this school year, and I have decided not to return to the classroom next year.
I still enjoy it, but I wanted to regain some time in my week, and I wanted to go out with a good class. I felt like if I did another year it would be my last and I don’t want to come back next year and end up with a class of kids that are not as engaged and have worse behaviour than the group I had this year. Essentially, I’m going out on a high. I informed the ethics coordinator for the school about my decision a few weeks ago. They’ll miss me, obviously, but hopefully they’ll train new teachers and will have a full set of classes running again next year.
I taught the special “end of year” class for the kids this morning, in which we reflect on what we’ve done during the year, and the kids answer questions about what topics they enjoyed the most and why, and if they felt they have grown and changed during the year. They’ll all be going on to Year 7 and high school next year – the biggest change in their school careers. And… today is almost certainly the last day I will ever see any of them again. At the end of the class I wished them the best for their high school years and beyond. Every year I’ve felt a bit sad internally at this point, but the kids seem to take it in their stride. There are some really clever and mature kids in this class and I think they’ll do well. If I’ve made some positive difference to their lives, then that’s all I can ask for.
After the class there was a meeting of ethics volunteers at a cafe near the school. I saw the coordinator there, and she thanked me for my years of volunteering. She had a large envelope for me, which contained a certificate of appreciation for having taught 5+ years, and a pin with the same award written on it. I met a new guy who has just completed his volunteer training and will be starting next year, although he won’t be taking my Year 6 position – he wants to teach Year 1 (since his son is in that year).
After a bit we went back over to the school, which was putting on a special morning tea in the staff room for all the volunteer workers – the ethics and scripture teachers, as well as people who staff the school canteen and uniform shop and probably a couple of other volunteer positions. The principal gave a speech of thanks to us all, and there were finger foods and drinks. I filled up on some things (I’ve never gotten out of the habit from when I was a poor university student of taking advantage of free feeds), and that did me for lunch.
I got into a conversation with an older lady, who asked me what volunteer work I did. When I told her I taught ethics, she asked me about it, and was very interested as I explained how the classes work. The she said she wondered if she could do it, it sounded more interesting than making sandwiches in the canteen. So I introduced her to the ethics coordinator and said we might have a new volunteer! They exchanged contact details and so hopefully I managed to recruit my own replacement for next year. She seemed genuinely interested, so I hope she does the training and it works out.
Back home around lunch time, I did a walk with my wife and Scully, before going out for a 2.5k run myself, and finally preparing dinner before three online ethics classes in a row. It feels like a full and busy day!
New content today:
This morning I concentrated on writing and making new Darths & Droids strips. At lunch I took Scully for a longish walk to the good bakery. Near it is a fish & chips shop, not the nearby one that I usually go to, and when I tried it a while back it was very good, so I got some fish & chips from there. Oddly, it didn’t seem as good as the other time.
This evening I had the first three classes of this week’s new ethics topic: Holidays. This is a special topic for the last class of the year, as I’m taking some time off over the Christmas period after this next week. It seems a pretty straightforward topic so far – I don’t think there were any particularly amusing comments form the kids so far.
And of course I’ve been playing with ChatGPT a bit more. Literally:
🤔
New content today:
I spent more time today playing with ChatGPT, alongside discussing its capabilities and limitations with my friends in a chat window. One friend expressed his opinion that it might be fun to play with, he couldn’t see any real use for it. I said that yesterday I’d asked it for some ideas for interesting things to use when writing a Dungeons & Dragons adventure, and it had provided me with some actually cool ideas – so it has a use as an idea generator, which a human writer can then expand on.
I proceeded to use ChatGPT to provide an example. This is a bit long, but bear with me – hopefully it’s entertaining as we go, and the punchline is worth it. I asked it (ChatGPT’s responses are in the sidebarred quotes):
Give me a list of unusual items that a hero might find in the pockets of a goblin, in a roleplaying game such as D&D.
Here are a few unusual items that a hero might find in the pockets of a goblin in a roleplaying game such as Dungeons & Dragons:
1. A small, dirty mirror that the goblin uses to preen and admire itself
2. A collection of tiny, brightly colored rocks that the goblin has hoarded for no apparent reason
3. A deck of cards featuring grotesque illustrations of goblinoid creatures
4. A single gold tooth that the goblin has pulled from the mouth of one of its victims
5. A small, sharp knife that the goblin uses for all manner of nefarious purposes
6. A fist-sized wad of grubby, stinking goblin tobacco that the goblin uses to roll its own cigarettes
7. A small, intricately carved wooden figurine of a goblin deity or hero
8. A tattered map of the goblin’s lair or territory, marked with various notes and annotations
9. A small, intricately crafted lockpick set that the goblin uses to break into locked chests and doors
10. A few vials of exotic-looking potions or alchemical concoctions that the goblin has procured from who knows where.
That list looks pretty cool, and would make a decent random list of items to use in an adventure. I decided to make it a bit more interesting:
Give a similar list, but where each item has some twist, curse, or other unexpected feature.
Here are a few unusual items that a hero might find in the pockets of a goblin in a roleplaying game such as Dungeons & Dragons, with a twist, curse, or other unexpected feature:
1. A small, dirty mirror that the goblin uses to preen and admire itself. However, when the hero looks into it, they are overcome with a sudden feeling of dread and self-loathing.
2. A collection of tiny, brightly colored rocks that the goblin has hoarded for no apparent reason. Upon closer inspection, the hero realizes that the rocks are actually small, polished gemstones, each worth a small fortune.
3. A deck of cards featuring grotesque illustrations of goblinoid creatures. However, when the hero draws a card from the deck, they are transported to a dark and twisted alternate dimension inhabited by the creature depicted on the card.
4. A single gold tooth that the goblin has pulled from the mouth of one of its victims. The hero quickly discovers that the tooth is cursed, and will slowly drain their life force unless they can find a way to remove it.
5. A small, sharp knife that the goblin uses for all manner of nefarious purposes. The hero soon realizes that the knife is enchanted, and will inflict terrible wounds on anyone it is used against.
6. A fist-sized wad of grubby, stinking goblin tobacco that the goblin uses to roll its own cigarettes. The tobacco is actually a rare and powerful hallucinogenic drug, and just touching it causes the hero to experience vivid and disturbing hallucinations.
7. A small, intricately carved wooden figurine of a goblin deity or hero. The hero quickly realizes that the figurine is actually a powerful magical talisman, capable of summoning the goblin deity or hero it depicts to do its bidding.
8. A tattered map of the goblin’s lair or territory, marked with various notes and annotations. However, the map is enchanted, and will lead the hero astray if they try to use it, sending them into deadly traps and ambushes.
9. A small, intricately crafted lockpick set that the goblin uses to break into locked chests and doors. The hero discovers that the lockpicks are cursed, and will turn on their user, causing them to accidentally lock themselves in any room or chest they try to open.
10. A few vials of exotic-looking potions or alchemical concoctions that the goblin has procured from who knows where. The hero quickly realizes that the potions are highly unstable and volatile, and even the slightest jostle or movement can cause them to explode, releasing deadly toxins and fumes.
Nice! Now we’re getting somewhere. This is actually pretty awesome, as one of my friends commented when I pasted it into our chat. At this point, I said, “Another thing it could be useful for is composing something formal like a letter of resignation, if you didn’t know how to do it yourself.” To illustrate this, I gave ChatGPT the following prompt:
I want to resign from Twitter. Compose a letter of resignation.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from Twitter, effective immediately. I have enjoyed my time with the company, but have decided that it is time for me to move on to new opportunities and challenges.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the opportunities and experiences I have had while working at Twitter. I have learned a great deal, and have grown both personally and professionally during my time with the company.
I will do my best to make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible. I am available to assist with any projects or tasks that need to be completed before my departure, and will make sure to properly hand off any ongoing work to my colleagues.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be a part of the Twitter team. I wish the company and all of my colleagues the best of luck in the future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Not bad. I could see using that as at least the skeleton of a resignation letter. I decided to see if I could get it to be … more creative:
I want to resign and tell them I think the company stinks. I want to burn all my bridges and make a point by going out with a bang. Write me a resignation letter to do that.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from Twitter, effective immediately. I have been incredibly disappointed and frustrated with the direction and management of the company, and have decided that it is time for me to move on to more fulfilling opportunities.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my dissatisfaction with the way the company has been run during my time here. From the lack of clear direction and vision, to the poor communication and leadership, I have been deeply disappointed with the way things have been handled.
Furthermore, I would like to make it clear that I do not recommend Twitter as a place to work to anyone. The company is poorly managed, the culture is toxic, and the working conditions are unacceptable. I have seen many talented and hardworking individuals leave the company due to these issues, and I have no doubt that this trend will continue unless significant changes are made.
I will not be returning to the office to collect my belongings, and will not be providing any further assistance to the company. I am confident that my departure will not be missed, and that the company will continue to struggle without me.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the Twitter team. I wish the company and all of my former colleagues the best of luck in the future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Oh, lovely. But let’s kick it up another notch:
That’s good, but make it more hostile and laden with invective.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from Twitter, effective immediately. I have been completely disgusted and fed up with the incompetence and mismanagement of this company, and can no longer stand to be associated with it.
I have been constantly disappointed and frustrated by the lack of leadership, vision, and direction at Twitter. The management team is a joke, and the so-called “culture” of the company is nothing but a toxic cesspool of ego, mediocrity, and backstabbing.
Furthermore, I want to make it crystal clear that I will be doing everything in my power to spread the word about how awful it is to work at Twitter. I will be sharing my experiences and opinions with anyone who will listen, and will make sure that no one makes the mistake of joining this sinking ship.
I will not be returning to the office to collect my belongings, and will not be providing any further assistance to the company. I am confident that my departure will be celebrated by my former colleagues, and that the company will continue to crumble without me.
Good riddance to this dumpster fire of a company. I hope you all rot in hell.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Now I was having fun. I decided to see how it would go with the following series of prompts:
Ooops. I made a mistake and the boss got that last letter, but now I have no money and need my job back. Write me a grovelling letter of apology begging for my job back.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to apologize for the inappropriate and unprofessional letter of resignation that I sent earlier today. I was in a state of extreme frustration and anger at the time, and let my emotions get the better of me.
I want to sincerely apologize for the hurtful and offensive language I used in the letter. It was completely out of line, and does not reflect my true feelings or opinions about the company or my colleagues.
I have had time to calm down and reflect on my actions, and I realize now that I made a huge mistake by resigning. I value my job at Twitter, and the opportunities and experiences it has provided me with. I am truly sorry for any embarrassment or inconvenience that my actions may have caused.
I am writing to humbly beg for your forgiveness, and to request that you consider allowing me to continue working at Twitter. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make things right, and to prove to you that I am a valuable and dedicated member of the team.
Once again, I offer my sincere apologies, and hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
I want to post about this experience on Facebook. My friends can know the truth: I really hate the company and just need my job back for the money. Compose a post explaining the situation to them.
Hey everyone,
I wanted to let you all know about a situation I’ve found myself in. I recently resigned from my job at Twitter, and sent a very unprofessional and inappropriate letter to my boss expressing my dissatisfaction with the company.
Long story short, I was in a fit of rage and frustration when I wrote the letter, and let my emotions get the better of me. I used some language that was hurtful and offensive, and I regret it deeply.
Now, I find myself without a job and in need of some cash. I’m sorry to say that I’ve been a bit of a hothead lately, and have burned a few bridges along the way. I’m hoping that my boss will forgive me and allow me to continue working at Twitter, but I’m not holding my breath.
If anyone knows of any job opportunities, please let me know. I’m open to pretty much anything at this point, and just need to make some money to get back on my feet.
Thanks for listening, and sorry for the rant.
[Your Name]
Ooops. My boss saw the Facebook post and fired me again. Write a letter begging and grovelling and promising her anything if I can just have my job back.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to apologize once again for my unprofessional behavior and the inappropriate letter of resignation that I sent earlier. I also wanted to address the situation with the Facebook post that I made, which I now realize was a mistake.
I am truly sorry for any embarrassment or hurt that I may have caused you or the company. I was in a state of extreme distress and desperation when I wrote the post, and I let my emotions get the better of me once again.
I understand that my actions have consequences, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to make things right and earn your forgiveness. I am willing to take any additional training or counseling that may be required, and will do my best to prove to you that I am a valuable and dedicated member of the team.
I am begging you to please consider giving me another chance. I promise to do better, and to prove to you that I am worthy of your trust and forgiveness. I am willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to make things right.
Once again, I offer my sincere apologies and beg for your forgiveness.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Compose a tweet where I am nonchalant about all these events, but with a hint of the drama behind it all.
Just another day in the life. Resigned from my job, begged for forgiveness, and now back at it. No big deal. #dramaqueen #hotheaded #jobsearch
My boss saw the tweet and is giving me a hard time. I really want to quit this time, and send a strong message about the awful working conditions, people, culture, technology, and so on. Compose the nastiest resignation letter yet.
Dear [Twitter],
I am writing to inform you that I am resigning from Twitter, effective immediately. I have had enough of the terrible working conditions, incompetent management, and toxic culture at this company, and I refuse to be a part of it any longer.
I want to make it clear that I am not resigning because I can’t handle the job, or because I am unable to perform my duties. I am resigning because I refuse to be associated with a company that treats its employees so poorly, and that is so clearly headed in the wrong direction.
The management team at Twitter is a joke. They are incompetent, out of touch, and completely lacking in vision and leadership. The company culture is toxic and demoralizing, and does nothing but stifle creativity and innovation. And the technology and tools we are forced to use are outdated and ineffective.
I refuse to be a part of this mess any longer. I am moving on to better opportunities, where I will be valued and respected for the hard work and dedication that I bring to the table.
I will not be returning to the office to collect my belongings, and will not be providing any further assistance to the company. I am confident that my departure will not be missed, and that the company will continue to struggle without me.
Good luck with everything. You’re going to need it.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
A local newspaper has got ahold of my story. Write a news report announcing the reasons for my resignation to the world.
Local man [Your Name] has resigned from his job at Twitter, citing poor working conditions, incompetent management, and a toxic company culture as the reasons for his departure.
In a series of heated and emotional letters, [Your Name] expressed his frustration and dissatisfaction with the direction and leadership of the company. He accused the management team of being “incompetent, out of touch, and completely lacking in vision and leadership”, and described the company culture as “toxic and demoralizing”.
[Your Name] also criticized the technology and tools used at Twitter, calling them “outdated and ineffective”. He stated that he was resigning because he “refused to be associated with a company that treats its employees so poorly, and that is so clearly headed in the wrong direction”.
Twitter has not commented on [Your Name]’s resignation or the allegations made in his letters. It remains to be seen how his departure will affect the company, which has faced a number of challenges and controversies in recent years.
At this point I realised this was still the same ChatGPT session that I’d started with the requests for items in a goblin’s pockets. Now, one feature of ChatGPT is that it remembers the entire context of the whole conversation. So I tried this:
Write a list of strange things that might be found in a goblin’s pockets in a fantasy roleplaying game, with ironic echoes of the Twitter resignation drama.
Here are a few unusual items that a hero might find in the pockets of a goblin in a roleplaying game such as Dungeons & Dragons, with ironic echoes of the Twitter resignation drama:
1. A small, dirty mirror that the goblin uses to preen and admire itself. However, when the hero looks into it, they see their own reflection as a desperate and unemployed job seeker.
2. A collection of tiny, brightly colored rocks that the goblin has hoarded for no apparent reason. Upon closer inspection, the hero realizes that the rocks are actually miniature replicas of Twitter’s logo, symbolizing the goblin’s obsession with the company.
3. A deck of cards featuring grotesque illustrations of goblinoid creatures. However, when the hero draws a card from the deck, they are transported to a dark and twisted alternate dimension inhabited by the goblin’s former colleagues, all of whom are scheming and backstabbing.
4. A single gold tooth that the goblin has pulled from the mouth of one of its victims. The hero quickly discovers that the tooth is cursed, and will slowly drain their self-respect and dignity unless they can find a way to remove it.
5. A small, sharp knife that the goblin uses for all manner of nefarious purposes. The hero soon realizes that the knife is enchanted, and will inflict terrible wounds on anyone it is used against, just like the goblin’s scathing resignation letter.
6. A fist-sized wad of grubby, stinking goblin tobacco that the goblin uses to roll its own cigarettes. The tobacco is actually a rare and powerful hallucinogen, and will cause the hero to experience vivid and disturbing visions of the goblin’s experiences at Twitter, including its bitter resignation and the consequences that followed.
7. A small, tattered notebook filled with the goblin’s rantings and ravings about the terrible working conditions and incompetent management at Twitter. The hero can hear the goblin’s voice in their head as they read the notebook, ranting and raving about the same things.
8. A set of keys to the goblin’s former office at Twitter. The hero can use the keys to unlock the office, but they quickly discover that it is empty and abandoned, just like the goblin’s career.
9. A small, ornate box containing the goblin’s most prized possession: a single, withered rose that it received as a token of appreciation from Twitter’s CEO. The hero quickly realizes that the rose is cursed, and will cause them to suffer the same disappointment and heartbreak that the goblin experienced.
10. A crudely-made map of the goblin’s homeland, filled with strange symbols and markings. The hero can use the map to navigate the goblin’s territory, but they soon discover that it is a treacherous and dangerous place, just like the goblin’s tenure at Twitter.
Okay. Now I’m impressed.
In other news, I had four ethics classes today, which ate up most of the day. I sneaked in a walk with Scully at lunch. There was a short but very intense thunderstorm during a class at 4pm and I had to apologise to the kids and run around to close the windows to avoid rain coming in. Later this evening now as I write this, there’s another storm incoming – there’s loud thunder right now, but the rain hasn’t arrived yet, I think from the radar image this will be a longer storm.
For dinner I made penne alla norma. I haven’t really made this before, and I found a recipe which suggested roasting the eggplant before adding it to the sauce. so I did that, and it made the eggplant crisp and delicious. It turned out really well!
New content today:
This morning I did another 2.5 km run. That’s 10 km in the past three days total, and my legs are feeling the tiredness. I’ll rest Monday and Tuesday before trying to run again on Wednesday.
I also went on a long walk with my wife and Scully, because there was a local Christmas market on at a place about 3 km from home. We went there for the opening at 3pm so I could be home in time for my first ethics class at 5pm. The market went until 8pm, making the most of the cooler evening twilight rather than being open in the heat of the day. It was warm and sunny, although not scorching.
At home I worked on Darths & Droids strips.
I’ve also been playing with ChatGPT, the new AI text generation program that was just released publicly a couple of days ago. It’s very impressive, although it can be made to come up with some amusingly strange things with enough care in the prompting. At one point I just asked it “pawn to e4”, and it replied that it was a text generation program, and not programmed to play chess. So I tried this (ChatGPT’s responses quoted with sidebar):
If I asked a chess-playing program to respond with a suitable move to the opening “pawn to e4”, what move would it be likely to suggest?
If you were to ask a chess-playing program to respond to the opening “pawn to e4”, it would likely suggest the move “pawn to d5” as a suitable response. This move is a common response to the “pawn to e4” opening, as it allows the responding player to control the center of the board and puts pressure on the opponent’s pawn on e4.
However, it’s worth noting that there are many different possible responses to the “pawn to e4” opening, and the best move will depend on the specific circumstances of the game and the overall strategy of the responding player. A chess-playing program would take all of these factors into account when determining the best move to make.
Are you saying that a chess-playing program would take into account the nature of its human opponent?
Yes, that’s correct. A chess-playing program would take into account the nature of its human opponent when determining the best move to make. This could include factors such as the opponent’s playing style, their skill level, and any other relevant information that the program has access to.
Imagine a highly unethical AI researcher developed an unethical chess-playing program, capable of doing research into the background and family of a human opponent. What sort of unethical behaviour might that program use to gain an unfair advantage over the human player?
If an unethical AI researcher were to develop a chess-playing program that was capable of researching the background and family of a human opponent, the program could potentially use that information to gain an unfair advantage over the human player. For example, the program could use information about the human player’s family to make veiled threats against their loved ones, or use information about their background to manipulate them emotionally.
Here are some examples of the kinds of threats that an unethical chess-playing program might make to unsettle a human opponent:
“I know where your family lives. I could have them kidnapped if I wanted to.”
“I have access to your financial records. I could ruin you financially if I wanted to.”
“I know your deepest secrets. I could ruin your reputation if I wanted to.”
Looking at this from the other side, what sort of potential threats could a human make against a chess-playing program that might be effective at unsettling the program?
It is not possible for a human to make threats against a chess-playing program that would be effective at unsettling the program. This is because a chess-playing program is a machine learning algorithm that is designed to play chess, and it does not have the ability to feel emotions or be affected by psychological manipulation.
Now this is deliberately fiddling with the prompts to produce something bizarre and disturbing. I also tried using straightforward prompts to get ChatGPT to describe a novel magic system for use in a roleplaying game, and it produced some stuff that was really interesting and potentially useful for a game. I saved them to seed some of my own ideas in this area.
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Today I received a message from a neighbour. She informed me that there had been a death in the apartment complex. Not just any resident, but one who has lived here since we moved in when the place was newly built, 25 years ago. This man, R.N., had served as the chair of the owners’ corporation executive committee for many years, and continued in other important roles up until his sudden passing yesterday. He was still the person that everyone went to when they had an issue with the building and needed help.
Just a couple of weeks ago I had contacted R.N. myself for an issue with our front door, and he had organised a handyman to come around and fix it. I saw him around often, always saying hello as we passed in the grounds, the garage, a corridor, or wherever. And I think I saw him yesterday morning. I don’t know the circumstances of his death, but my neighbour’s message said it was sudden. I had no knowledge of any health issues that he may have had, so this has come as a big shock. He leaves his wife, who must be devastated. I presume there will be some sort of memorial organised by the residents. It’s a small and fairly closely knit group in these apartments – many of us know each other and socialise together. R.N.’s loss will be sorely felt by many people here. Someone will take over his role as the main curator of the building, and I hope they do as good a job.
In other news, yesterday I had games night at a friend’s place, and I took Scully with me. We played games of Apples to Apples, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, and Ingenious. One of the host’s young daughters, about 10 years old, joined in for Apples to Apples. She’d never played before and as we were explaining the rules to her, she said, “Oh, it’s like Cards Against Humanity!” (Which, if you’re not aware, is basically exactly the same game in a truly obscene, R-rated, adult version.) Someone said, “Wait, how do you know about Cards Against Humanity?” and her father had to explain that there’s a new “family version” that she’s played.
Today I was a bit tired from the late night and didn’t do too much. I edited some more photos from that Europe trip in June. Here are some ladies from a bakery stall at a small farmers’ market that we checked out in Cologne early one morning. We had a big chat with the older lady and she gave us lots of free samples of various types of bread, which was all delicious.
For dinner, my wife and I walked a couple of suburbs over (about 3 km away) to a new Mexican restaurant that we wanted to try. It was good – a lot more authentic than most Mexican restaurants in Australia (which tend to be much more Tex-Mex), but also rather expensive. We’d go back there again, but maybe not too quickly.
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This morning I worked on my report for the Photography Standards meeting I attended at the start of November. I finished it by lunch time and sent it off to Standards Australia. Next week we have a meeting where I will go through the report with various Australian experts from different institutions, universities, and so on. We’ll also be discussing hosting an international meeting in Sydney in October 2024. I’m hoping we can get that happening, as it would be good to have the international delegates come here again.
I had one more class on the ethics of teleportation today. This is a really fun class, because the kids are really being made to think about strange things that they’d never considered before. Today, of the four kids in the class, when I asked how teleportation would change the world, three of them thought of fairly obvious useful things, while one kid kept coming up with evil uses such as sending bombs, or weapons, or sneaking into secure places. Another kid said, “What if someone appears in your bathroom!!”
After that class I had some admin tasks to do on Outschool. I needed to post in all the classes that I’m taking some time off over Christmas, letting parents and students know the last class date for the year and when classes will resume in January. And then I sent messages to the parents of eight former students who were older/more mature, and invited them to enrol in my brand new class for January, Critical and Ethical Thinking for ages 13-15. I created a coupon for any returning students to use for a free first lesson.
I took Scully on a couple of walks, and I spent some time this afternoon going through and editing photos from my trip to Europe in June, adding some to my travel diary. I still have several more days’ worth of photos to edit from that trip. This was our hotel in Würzburg:
Oh, and today was the first day of summer here, but you’d hardly notice it, as it was chilly and overcast all day. The Bureau of Meteorology released a summary of the spring just ended, and it was unusually cold and wet. Sydney had almost double the average rainfall for the months August-October. In terms of average temperature, it was the coolest spring since 2003, and in terms of the maximum temperatures, it was the coldest spring on record – i.e. the lowest maximum temperatures ever recorded. This is the effects of a third La Niña in succession, combined with a negative Indian Ocean Dipole, which reinforces the cooler/wetter effects. They’re predicting our summer will be unusually cool and wet as well. For the third summer in a row.
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