Random Thoughts 7

[dlgoff]

At 67°F here at my home in Kansas, all the Robins think it's spring.

 

[WWGD]

At 67°F here at my home in Kansas, all the Robins think it's spring.

Yes, Robin Leach famously agreed.

 

[BillTre]

Saw a license plate frame today.

It said:
"This car glows blue,
in the presence of Orcs.

 

[Borg]

Was it glowing?

 

[BillTre]

Was it glowing?

Not at that time.

 

[Borg]

Was it a police car?

 

[Ibix]

Was it glowing?

Would have been orcward if it was.

 

[WWGD]

Don't know if it was intended as a joke, but there was this guy complaining about having been named Joseph Ian( " Josephine") , rather than Ian Joseph.

 

[WWGD]

How about a #$% Nobel Prize for the inventor of a pen that will continue writing a week after new, which won't fully squirt itself empty on your shirt/pant pocket? Even the fancy/expensive Parker pen I got as a gift once broke down after just a few weeks.

 

[fresh_42]

I have an expensive Pelikan set and it works perfectly.

 

[WWGD]

I have an expensive Pelikan set and it works perfectly.

Thanks, will give it a try. Were you Ian or Joseph ;).

 

[WWGD]

In my incredibly boring quest for better coffee, I microwave ready-made coffee and milk separately. Now I'm considering putting the sugar in the milk before heating the milk
I tried putting sugar on the coffee before heating the coffee, but the combination of warmed up coffee+ sugar ended up bitter.

I won't try Stevia , it's had some, erm uncomfortable side effects.

 

[Borg]

I recently read an article in the Oct. issue of Scientific American that talks about how researchers are training Large Language Models on animal sounds (birds, whales, etc.). The expectation is that they'll eventually be able to communicate with them in their own language.

I think that this is great. We'll finally know the answer to "Who's a good boy?".

 

[WWGD]

Singing Lessons ad:
Immanuel Kant but Chakha Khan, and so can you.

 

[WWGD]

I recently read an article in the Oct. issue of Scientific American that talks about how researchers are training Large Language Models on animal sounds (birds, whales, etc.). The expectation is that they'll eventually be able to communicate with them in their own language.

I think that this is great. We'll finally know the answer to "Who's a good boy?".

Is Willy free? Put out an APB.

 

[Astronuc]

ChatGPT maker OpenAI ousts CEO Sam Altman
https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-ceo-sam-altman-step-down-2023-11-17/

Nov 17 (Reuters) - The board of the company behind ChatGPT on Friday fired OpenAI CEO Sam Altman - to many, the human face of generative AI - sending shock waves across the tech industry.

OpenAI's Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO, the company said, adding that it will conduct a formal search for a permanent CEO.

"Altman's departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities," OpenAI said in the blog without elaborating.

So how candid has OpenAI been to the public?

Greg Brockman, OpenAI president and co-founder, who stepped down from the board as chairman as part of the management shuffle, quit the company, he announced on messaging platform X late on Friday. "Based on today's news, i quit," he wrote.

The departures blindsided many employees who discovered the abrupt management change from an internal message and the company's public facing blog. It came as a surprise to Altman and Brockman as well, who learned the board's decision within minutes of the announcement, Brockman said.

Despite investing billions of $ in non-profit OpenAI, Microsoft does not have a seat on the board. So, who is making the decisions about the direction of OpenAI and more importantly about ChatGPT and AI products?

The now four-person board consists of three independent directors holding no equity in OpenAI and its Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever.

The company said its board consists of OpenAI's chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, and three non-employees: Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213892587/chatgpt-open-ai-ceo-sam-altman-ousted

 

[Borg]

Fun and games in the coding world - trying to run a code example that uses the latest and greatest python version but a very old version of the software that I'm trying to understand. It's using python tricks that aren't supported by my version and the examples for their software are no longer supported in the current version. Add to this the numerous examples that I managed to get working right up to the last step and then find out that one package doesn't support my OS.

 

[Borg]

ChatGPT maker OpenAI ousts CEO Sam Altman
https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-ceo-sam-altman-step-down-2023-11-17/

OpenAI investors push to bring Altman back as CEO one day after he was ousted by board

Microsoft, Tiger Global and venture firm Thrive Capital are among several of OpenAI’s top backers that are part of an effort to reinstate Altman, said a source, who asked not to be named because discussions are confidential.

EDIT: I guess he won't be back:
Sam Altman joins Microsoft to lead new AI project after OpenAI ouster

 

[fresh_42]

I just received a message: "Hello Dad! This is my new number ... Can you save the number and send me a message on WhatsApp?"

Heck. I didn't even know I am a father!

 

[Ibix]

I just received a message: "Hello Dad! This is my new number ... Can you save the number and send me a message on WhatsApp?"

Heck. I didn't even know I am a father!

It's a scam, if that wasn't obvious. The followup is "hey dad, I'm short for the rent - can you lend me some money?"

 

[fresh_42]

It's a scam, if that wasn't obvious. The followup is "hey dad, I'm short for the rent - can you lend me some money?"

I always tend to see the best in people. I thought it was just a case of a mistyped number.

Reminds me of the "I love you" virus. We had an internal competition who had the most such emails.

 

[WWGD]

I always tend to see the best in people. I thought it was just a case of a mistyped number.

Reminds me of the "I love you" virus. We had an internal competition who had the most such emails.

I've received my 10th or so blackmail attempt email. They used to use somewhat-random email addresses. Not anymore, last one was by dcheek@hoflink.com
More bizarre, the email gave me the option of unsubscribing.

 

[Borg]

I just received a message: "Hello Dad! This is my new number ... Can you save the number and send me a message on WhatsApp?"

Heck. I didn't even know I am a father!

Maybe this guy decided to start sending emails:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/collection-of-lame-jokes.25301/post-6968153

 

[Astronuc]

OpenAI investors push to bring Altman back as CEO one day after he was ousted by boardEDIT: I guess he won't be back:
Sam Altman joins Microsoft to lead new AI project after OpenAI ouster

OpenAI appoints new boss as Sam Altman joins Microsoft in Silicon Valley twist
https://www.reuters.com/technology/...adquarters-sunday-the-information-2023-11-19/

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman is set to join backer Microsoft (MSFT.O) in a surprise turn of events for the startup at the heart of an artificial intelligence boom.

The appointments, settled late at night on Sunday, followed Altman's abrupt departure just days earlier as CEO of the ChatGPT maker, and ended speculation that he could return.

Apparently Brockman will being joining Altman at Microsoft to lead their AI development.

Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in posts on X that Altman would become CEO of a new research group inside the software maker, along with other departing OpenAI colleagues such as outgoing President Greg Brockman who quit following Altman's ouster.

"We've got here is failure to communicate" - Captain in Cool Hand Luke

 

[Borg]

Makes you wonder if Altman will eventually end up holding the purse strings for OpenAI since Microsoft has been backing them for some time now.

 

[Astronuc]

Way to blow up a company/enterprise - OpenAI Employees Threaten to Quit Unless Board Resigns
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/f613314b-abe3-366d-b39d-ca2e66ae75bc/openai-employees-threaten-to.html

I had read that OpenAI employees threatened to quit en masse.

 

[fresh_42]

Way to blow up a company/enterprise - OpenAI Employees Threaten to Quit Unless Board Resigns
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/f613314b-abe3-366d-b39d-ca2e66ae75bc/openai-employees-threaten-to.html

I had read that OpenAI employees threatened to quit en masse.

It is always politics and fight for might! This is the real tragedy: one would expect that humans who make scientific or economic decisions would not act like a bunch of chimps, but they do.

 

[Astronuc]

OpenAI’s venture capital investors keeping legal action on the table if Sam Altman isn’t reinstated, sources say
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-venture-capital-investors-keeping-223926019.html

Venture capital firms that have backed OpenAI are still fighting to reinstate Sam Altman as the CEO, hoping to preserve investments in the startup that may become worthless with Altman's move to Microsoft. And as the day wears on and no more board members seem to be budging on reversing course, investors are looking at all their options.

Some of the VC firms continue to explore legal action against OpenAI’s board of directors, following Microsoft’s surprise move to hire Altman and former President Greg Brockman on Sunday night, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Fortune on Monday.

Looks like OpenAI will become a textbook case.

OpenAI made 5 huge governance missteps—here’s what boards can learn from its error
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-made-5-huge-governance-200942348.html

The board structure was weird to begin with

A small board with little or no experience, that didn't bother to inform key investors.

. . . . The Altman implosion has proven to be a “massive wake-up call” about the importance of corporate governance in the tech world, according to Evan Epstein, executive director of the Center for Business Law and an adjunct professor of law at UC Law San Francisco.

“In Silicon Valley, people don't tend to focus on governance,” he told Fortune. But “bad governance can destroy a company.” . . . .

 

[kyphysics]

What a mess!

Altman isn't coming back after that, so I guess it's lawsuit time?

 

[WWGD]

If auto( inco)rrect is part of AI, I won't be investing in AI.( There, AI, a full $5 you won't be getting from me!).