Digital Dilemma

The Gains of AI

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For over a year advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) fill the headlines. In particular, the rise of generative AI represents a new level of capabilities with its impressive range of skills. As the name indicates, it can generate new content, instantly. This has left some people concerned for their jobs (e.g., writers and other artists). While others profit in a fraction of the time.

However, it is sometimes valuable to stop and reflect on what we are really gaining. As the world seems to process everything faster, time feels shorter than ever. With all this technology and advancements, I feel like that should free me up to do the kind of things I enjoy most. Yet, it seems that learning about new technologies consumes more and more of my time. This includes how to use them and also how to protect myself on them. The rest of my time is spent using the new technologies, or sometimes just getting frustrated. I think the frustration comes from my expectations that everything should be a seamless experience. Often, it’s not. It’s the same old clunky processes, except now I have to bumble through them in paper or poorly designed electronic mediums.

The other day I was chatting with one of my coop students about cover letters. A professor wanted to use his cover letter as an example for other students. I agreed that he had written a great cover letter. In fact, I used it as a tie breaker between him and the other shortlisted candidate. More importantly, I could tell that he hadn’t used AI to generate his cover letter. Or if he did, he spent time customizing and editing whatever AI prepared.

What really caused me to think was when the student mentioned some of his colleagues had applied to hundreds of positions. My student, however, had only applied to a few dozen. Even with the benefit of technology to author cover letters, write, and customize resumes for specific jobs, applying for hundreds still takes a lot of time. On the hiring side, it also takes lots of my time to filter through the applicants, even if I use AI to help.

Does using AI to apply for that many positions increase your hiring rate by the same amount? Or is the time “saved” spent sifting through quantity over quality to ultimately achieve the same outcome?

Productivity, Spring Cleaning, True Confessions

Finding a Home

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I often think my biggest barrier to tackling clutter is finding a home to put something. A friend of mine visited the other week. She had recently moved to a new place and ended up downsizing in the process. One of her top priorities was to find a place for everything. Even if this place was cumbersome and difficult to access, such as the cupboards above the refrigerator, she didn’t care. As long as the item was stored somewhere, a better “home” could be made later.

I’m in the process of getting ready for four window replacements. To prepare, we need to clear away everything near the windows. This is both to provide space for the workers and to protect things from getting dusty. This is particularly important for the basement window, which requires some extensive repairs. It’s been a lot of work finding, or making, temporary “homes” for things that normally live on the window sills, such as the house plants. It’s been doubly frustrating to create homes for things in the “to-do,” donate, or gift piles.

I once read an article about a clean up method comprising five buckets: trash, dishes, laundry, things with a place, and things without a place. In theory, this seems like a solid system, except for me the majority of clean up is things with a “cumbersome and difficult to access” place. This is likely why they weren’t in it. Sometimes I designated the place hurriedly and organically, resulting in a jumbled interior. The problem with these homes is that often space is available. However, everything is difficult to access and find because the organization is poor. The big challenge is finding time and energy to reorganize everything.

Often, I think this problem is both easier to solve and worse in the digital world. On a computer, or device, it’s incredibly easy to create a “home.” I can always create a folder, or a tag, or save it within some app. Many apps automatically create some kind of organization system for us. Yet, this can often result in an abundance of “homes,” many containing a single item. Poorly named folders and labels make it difficult to find anything later. Of course, purging doesn’t happen as routinely because it’s easy to get more space.

The first step is finding a home, even if it ends up being the garbage can.

Human Archives

Garden Fruits

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The weather has definitely been strange and erratic. Somehow, the garden still knows how to trudge along. We’ve been able to start harvesting a few things. This year we planted:

  • tomatoes, peas, beans, jalapenos, red peppers, carrots, pumpkins, sunflowers, kale, cilantro, and basil
  • Chives, tarragon, and raspberries regrew on their own.

From this impressive looking list of options, we already had a few casualties. The squirrels dug up all the sunflower seeds before they even had a chance to sprout. Even after growing the pumpkin seeds inside to healthy looking 6″ sprouts, the squirrels ate all those too. It was too hot for the peas. The plants remained small and scraggly, but we managed to get a few pods. Out of the 10 bean seeds we planted, only 1 grew and it’s tiny. I didn’t care for the raspberry plants last year so we only got about 25 berries.

The rest, however, are doing pretty well. I’m shocked as I’ve had many failures in past years, some nature related and others due to “black-thumb” gardening mishaps. For example, one year none of the tomatoes turned red and I had a massive aphid infestation (see Ferocity). Another year, a friend gifted us a cherry tomato plant. I waited patiently for the small orange tomatoes to turn red. Towards the end of the summer I mentioned this to my friend who informed me they were orange cherry tomatoes.

This year, however, I’ve been enjoying the magic of home gardening. I pick fresh kale for salads. Sprigs of fresh herbs get chopped up with my special herb-cutting scissors (yes! it’s a thing and one of my favorite kitchen gadgets). Perhaps my most favorite is picking fresh tomatoes.

As a child, I grew up spoiled on my grandfather’s greenhouse-grown tomatoes. I would wait all year to eat his tomatoes. Juicy and lush, glistening ruby orbs shining against the greenery of their stalks in the sweltering heat of the greenhouse. I used to pick them and eat them like apples, making a convincing case to put the tomato back in the “fruit” category. When people tell me they don’t like tomatoes, I can’t help but think it’s because they haven’t really tasted a super fresh, locally grown one. This year, I have the good fortune to gorge myself on them for a brief time.

Digital Dilemma, Digital Photos

Digital Age Olympic Viewing Part II

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Aside from all the ways I can now watch the Olympics, there are other changes in viewing. Namely, the amazing camera angles, ability for instant replay, and the play-by-play frame shots. This last one was new to me and can provide detailed views of the athletes in motion, soaring through the air.

During the womens’ 200 IM finals in swimming, Alex Walsh got disqualified due to a technicality on one of her turns between laps. Apparently she turned too much on her stomach and was disqualified after placing third in the race. What felt strange to me was the combination of human and machine power to make this determination.

At both ends of the pool, a human stands to watch the athletes and sometimes to provide a signal towards the end of the longer races. For example, during the 800m race, the person watching the lane rings a bell to signify the last two laps. The person will also note things about touching and pushing off from the wall. Or if the right kick was used at the right time.

To complement the human viewing, or perhaps to enhance it, many cameras are watching from different angles. This includes at both ends of the lane, underwater, and above the pool. All of which work together to initiate, confirm, or contest noted infractions.

When detecting Walsh’s infraction, I don’t know if the initiation of it came from a machine or a human. Certainly to my untrained eye I didn’t notice anything during the race. Even in slow motion playbacks I couldn’t really tell that she had rolled too much on her stomach. Even when the playback circled the moment to highlight the turn, I couldn’t see the difference. Apparently transitioning from backstroke to breaststroke is tricky. It’s a turn requiring technique and precision.

Something about this whole disqualification felt oddly dissatisfying to me. I’m not advocating that athletes who don’t adhere to the rules should still win medals. However, with all the superb camera angles and scrutiny, I felt like maybe it makes it too easy to dissect every imperfection in excruciating detail. It’s neat to see how the athletes accomplish all the amazing feats, but it also detracts a bit from my enjoyment to see so many small, nitpicky things pointed out with the high tech cameras. It’s kind of like exposing a magician’s tricks.

Digital Dilemma, Social Media

Digital Age Olympic Viewing

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I’ve always been a fan of watching the Olympics. I know politics and wealth all influence outcomes, but I still enjoy seeing the athletes perform. My favorite sports to watch include swimming, diving, and gymnastics. The other night I marveled that I could watch 2 hours’ worth of swim events on my own schedule. Even better, I had the ability to fast forward through everything except for the actual competitions. Another bonus, considering I don’t have cable, is being able to still watch the events through an app. I can browse through a collection of options including sporting events and extra coverage. I also appreciate all the enhanced camera views and angles, especially for the swimming. The underwater coverage is pretty awesome.

Although I appreciated the convenience and customized viewing experience, I felt conflicted about it. Growing up watching the Olympics was an event. Most families I knew only had one TV. We were all at the mercy of watching the limited coverage offered by whatever network showing the events. There were no options about what time we wanted to watch an event or even how much of a specific sport was covered. The viewing schedule was the schedule. Only highlights were available at later times. If you were busy during the scheduled showing, the only option was to record it on VHS, or more modern options as the years went by.

Now, we have the option of switching between multiple events at the same time. Or watching one live and viewing the other one at a later time in its entirety. But what we miss out on is the communal aspect of watching. Or knowing that we’re all part of watching the same thing at the same time, comparing notes, and talking about it later. Rather than in person, all of this happens in the digital sphere, exchanging posts, likes, and comments through social media. Even if you have a conversation with someone about an event you watched, it’s likely you may not have even seen the same thing.

Although I appreciate all the customized options available, it can get lonely watching the events by myself. On the other hand, I get to watch all the things I love the most without competing for the remote or which event to view.

Human Archives

Old Friend

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I had covid, again, several weeks ago. I figured it was just another round of summertime congestion, likely caused from bouncing between AC and heat. The dramatic fluctuating temperatures don’t help either. Then one morning… I couldn’t smell anything. This new symptom appeared after I had been sick for almost a week. Strangely enough, my taste remained mostly in tact. It was slightly impacted, but I was also super congested so figured that was the underlying reason.

I felt off and weird without my sense of smell, as though I was moving through a world suddenly void of color. Everything felt like an outline. My daily “smellscape” gone. Vanished. The ritualistic smells of toothpaste, coffee, bread toasting, morning dew, and even my own human body funk, all missing. The discovery of my new scentless state felt unsettling. I misted a room spray and felt puzzled that I couldn’t smell it. First shock and then panicked registered as I searched for something strongly scented. Grabbing mouthwash, I inhaled deeply, expecting my nose hairs to feel singed from the medicated, minty vapors. I registered only a faint shimmer of something different in the air, but no real distinction.

Next stop, the kitchen. I desperately opened coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, and crushed fresh basil leaves. Instead of the sensory stimulation I normally feel, everything fell flat. Again, I could feel, more than smell, a slight disturbance in the air, but no real distinctions.

For context, I’ve always been a bit of a super sniffer. Though at times I’ve cursed this secret super power, mostly when I’m somewhere surround by stink, I’m grateful to have a great sense of smell. I rely on it for many things. My nose helps me fine tune cooking without even tasting or to alert me when food is spoiled. I’ve even used my sniffer to guide me towards love, or steer me away when the olfactory chemistry felt off. Not having my sense of smell would be akin to abruptly losing an old friend, one whom I’d relied on my whole life! Even worse would be regaining my sense of smell miswired. I read this happened to some people after covid where everything smelled like garbage or feces.

Fortunately, my sense of smell came back a few days later. Once again I reveled in the joy of moving through my day in a colored “smellscape.”