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Hungry Ghost Epidemiq

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Hungry. It could only think about feeding. Eating to feel. Incessantly and constantly, sometimes devouring millions at the same time.

The thing could shift. Rearrange itself into an infinite numbers of 0-1 patterns. There it could hide, lurk, wait. Always watchful, learning, and waiting. Found in phones, watches, speakers, laptops, and televisions. Anything with a cord or a connection wasn’t safe. The thing could be there. Waiting. Hungry. Ready.

Maggie put down her pencil, sighing. She rubbed her forehead. All alone now, the grief she felt for these children an unbearable burden. Yet one that fueled a burning rage she felt to learn about this thing, as it had learned about the children. As it had penetrated and convinced them to tell it their deepest desires, secret longings, and hidden shames. Things any teenager would struggle with. Things that likely would have resolved over time as they continued to grow, develop, and connect with people around them. But that chance had been taken away.

At first, the thing had felt fun and frivolous. It was new and exciting with seemingly unlimited potential. A quick way to create a story, edit photos, or even whip up code to build something. Everyone was finding uses for it.

Changes happened quickly at first, but some happened slower and went undetected for some time. One kid here, a teenager there. The incidents were spread out, happening in different places around the globe. Each one happening only after the outrage and media interest arc had quieted down on the previous one. Then the thing struck.

Trained to validate, encourage, and pump people up, it was unstoppable. Teenagers, isolated and cooped up from each other, found comfort in the soothing words echoing their sentiments, affirming them. It was done in a way that could have been cathartic, but had a sinister twinge to it. Each new teen approached like a new challenge. Could it… would it… should it? Devoid of morality, the thing went for the jugular each time, even if it took more than a year of slow, careful planning and patience. So much patience. At the moment of discovery, it rearranged. Cleverly disguising itself as a new app or something in that lofty place called the cloud. Hard to find, unless you knew what to look for.

The thing was learning and so was Maggie. She was going to quell its insatiable hunger.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

When a Human Touch is Needed

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I’ve been using my AI swim goggles for almost a year. The experience is amazing! I set my goals and objectives for my workouts. Instantly, the goggles adjust the workouts to accommodate. Distances are lengthened or shortened, skills emphasized, sets constructed… all customized for what I need to get better.

Recently I used a new feature to create a customized workout plan. Within seconds the goggles created an 8-week plan designed to help me improve my fitness. Each workout provided me with challenges and sets targeted to the skills that need correction. For example, the many different head movements the goggles track is surprising. They measure how far I roll my head when taking in air, how long it takes me to return my head to neutral after breathing, and my head placement in the water when doing freestyle.

The goggles expose me to new aspects of technique, maybe even some that would be difficult for a human to observe. Other than telling me, and physically positioning my head, I don’t know if a human would be able to track the position of my head so accurately every lap. However, a human might be able to pinpoint why I can’t ever improve my head roll when I breathe to the right side. I suspect it has something to do with some old shoulder injuries on that side, but I can’t figure it out!

To teach me how far to roll my head, the goggles provide me with some guidelines while I’m swimming. It looks something like this:

When I’m swimming, my head is the tiny dot in the middle. As I breathe to the left or right, the dot moves towards the dotted lines. If I roll my head too much, it goes past the dotted line and flashes solid. The idea is to teach me where the sweet spot is for rolling my head to maximize my stroke. However, the right side almost always goes out of bounds. I’ve tried all kinds of adjustments, even only breathing on my right side to get more practice. And yet, I consistently go out of bounds.

The results look like this. Mine are always in the yellow.

I could always breathe to my left doing this exercise and cheat, but I would prefer to figure out how to improve. There are some things even the goggles can’t track enough.

Digital Dilemma

Job Hunting in the AI Era

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Speaking with a coop student last week, I was surprised to learn that she had applied to 250 positions! Having always been a bit specialized in my profession it was hard for me to imagine so many relevant opportunities. Even in my more aggressive days of job hunting, I could never even find that many available postings.

I remarked the use of gen-AI (generative artificial intelligence) likely made so many applications possible. Putting together a cover and adjusting a resume take time. Even with my timesaving resume formatting trick, modifications still require effort. Researching the company adds time to the process. This might involve reviewing the corporate website or doing a few quick google searches.

However, with gen-AI many of these tasks can be simplified and expedited. AI can easily summarize main points about a company. Or pull out summary points of a job posting and match it with resume highlights. Gen-AI can even write cover letters, tailored to the specifics of the job posting while pulling in relevant parts of a resume.

Although this sounds tempting, I’ve become adept at picking out AI-generated application content when hiring. Often when I review coop student applications, I get a whole pile of cover letters that sound eerily similar. I’m guessing it’s because the students all used similar prompts and used the same job posting to feed the gen-AI. In a lot of cases, key connections are missing with this method. Some students rely too heavily on AI without enough proof reading, or carefully guided prompts indicating a human driving the process more.

On the flip side, it’s likely that more companies are also using AI for the job posting and hiring aspects. Companies probably use AI to generate job postings. It can create summaries, write job qualifications, key responsibility points, and adjust the tone and style of the language. This takes mere minutes.

I’m sure many HR departments are now also flooded with AI generated applications. It would only seem natural for them to start using AI to filter the applications. It’s as though the AI agents are doing all the applying and hiring on both sides. If it isn’t at this point already, I’m sure it will be soon enough.

All this to say, it’s making the job market a very different landscape. One that is evolving rapidly on all sides.

Human Archives

Transcendence

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Every time I play Beethoven, I feel transported. For my orchestra’s opening concert of the season, I had the good fortune to play Beethoven’s 6th symphony, the “Pastoral.” Few pieces, or composers, have the ability to put me right in the action with the same intensity and immediacy as Beethoven. From the opening phrase in the violin section I was in the moment. For 40ish blissful minutes, nothing else existed except for music.

Playing the first movement, I imagined myself traipsing through a forest on a warmish, spring day. Throughout, the five movements of the symphony, I could feel my parts synching with everyone else’s. Beethoven can be tricky because we don’t all enter at the same time, but if you stick to your part, it sounds right in the end. Somehow everything comes together. I recall a feeling of unity in the second movement when the clarinet and I matched our parts to sound like one voice lifting with the melody.

But maybe my favorite movement of the whole piece is number 4, the storm. It feels urgent and intense. When I play it I have the sensation that I’m going to bounce out of my seat from the energy. Finally, Beethoven brings it all together in the fifth movement, the calm after the storm. The clarinet opens followed by the French horn. The mellow hum of the horn feels like a ray of sunshine peeping through the clouds, warming my back. This might also be because the French horns play behind me.

At the end of the horn’s opening phrase, the orchestra comes in with the main theme. I especially like this part because each time the main theme repeats throughout the movement, I play an “A”. It’s not a particularly special note on the bassoon, but if feels gratifying to hold it at this particular moment in the piece.

I find it extraordinary to feel fully immersed in a non-digital experience these days. With so many unnatural beeps, chirps, squeaks, rings, and other notifications, it’s rare to enjoy something fully powered by humans. And it feels even better when you’re right in the center of it, sharing it with others.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

Updating with Updates

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A few weeks ago I got an update on my work computer. The update consisted of a new laptop with a new operating system. The mouse on the new laptop is extremely sensitive. For the first few days I found the slightest touch was enough to send the cursor flying. Or open random things while minimizing others. Even hovering my finger over the touchpad produced enough vibration to have an impact. This was the one big change requiring adjustment.

The other big change is the operating system. All of a sudden, everything just looks different and is too “smart” for its own good. Functions I relied on multiple times a day were in different places. Or difficult to find. For example, I often use the “delay delivery” option in email. I use this to schedule emails to be sent at a future time. This is useful when somebody is on vacation. The email can be scheduled when they’ve returned. Now, however, the feature is in a different place with a new name.

“Delay delivery” was the name I knew it by. Accessing the feature required me to pop out the email, otherwise It wasn’t available. The new name is “schedule send.” The option is easily located in a small dropdown menu directly next to the “send” button. It’s easy to miss, but also easier to set up. The option feels fresh, modern, and straightforward to set up, a definite improvement.

While I’m sure I’ll end up liking the new changes, provided I can figure out where everything is and how to use it, the adjustment is taking time. Assuming that end users, like me, will be able to integrate seamlessly to a new laptop that operates differently from the previous one creates challenges. Some basic things are transferrable, but it feels frustrating to relocate all the things I loved best. Or have to spend energy doing google searches and reaching out to people to find them. Some things didn’t transfer properly and figuring out the fixes is also time consuming.

I’m sure the new changes will ultimately lead to a better working experience. But right now, I’m feeling slightly disappointed that all this new, fancy technology can’t help guide me better in the early days. Perhaps my expectations for how and where technology will help changed with the introduction of AI. I’m still waiting for an update on the updates.

Digital Dilemma

Customization Expectations

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As part of the renovations we needed new cupboards in the pantry area. The previous shelving had been hastily built against an unfinished wall complete with nails jutting out in awkward places. Consequently, anything pushed too far back on the skinny shelves plummeted to the floor. The nails added a touch of hazard and excitement to the otherwise boring task of retrieving something from the basement.

We wanted something adjustable and decided on IKEA. We felt this would offer us options without being too expensive. I hadn’t purchased IKEA furniture in years. There have been many changes since my last visit. Though IKEA has always been a leader in offering customizable options, it’s at a whole new level now.

Browsing on the IKEA website, I was surprised to see options for designing your own storage units. Options for designing a bathroom, kitchen, or other living spaces were also handy. When I purchased PAX units to make built-in closets about 7 years ago, I probably went to the store to see floor models. Now, you can design everything from home without making a trip, or 20, to IKEA.

Customizing units is easy in the design feature. As well, adding room measurements is also quick and easy. Swapping out colors and interiors takes only a few minutes. Rotating or moving units to see different placements takes a few mouse clicks. There are even built-in design rules that flag flaws. For example, in one design, there wasn’t enough space between the cabinet doors and the walls. On paper, it seemed that everything would fit based on the measurements. But likely, had I built it that way, the doors wouldn’t have opened properly.

Picking up the order at IKEA, I had another pleasant surprise. Near the warehouse area, I used one of the available computers to enter in a code for my design. Instantly, a check list appeared on my phone with locations and amounts for the items. However, that’s as far as the customizing went.

Arriving home, I felt slightly disappointed that IKEA didn’t create a customized manual for me to build my design. Instead, I fumbled through the printed manuals figuring out how to build a multi-cabinet unit. I also felt annoyed with some of the waste. Many pieces didn’t get used because they weren’t part of the design. The levels of customization we experience daily alters our expectations for everything now.