I folded myself back into the routine of work. I hadn’t billed a full 40 hours since last July, eight months. What did Lily mean when she said she disassociated? I sometimes got flickers of that and liked it. It… Read More ›
Technology
Before coffee got automated
Thirty years ago I joined Starbucks in Philadelphia as a manager-in-training, my fourth coffee shop job in four years. I’d work in downtown Philadelphia for a year, then transfer to a Starbucks on Mercer Island, near Seattle, the next summer…. Read More ›
Seeing through screens
In the middle of the night, from the other side of the room, I can hear the sound of the dog breathing. It is a deep, peaceful sound like a human’s breath. The cat, on the other hand, makes no… Read More ›
The chime of the city clock
I don’t mind having more of the bed to be on when Dawn is gone, and I’ve stopped feeling guilty about it. I spread out like a starfish and sink into a deep sleep. But when the clocks toll downstairs… Read More ›
Warnings from Shakespeare on AI
In case you missed it, last week I launched a new website called Words Matter. I’ll be posting essays about technology, potential impacts on society, with links to more information. This week’s piece reflects on the impact of AI through… Read More ›
The spring of our discontent
It’s spring again, so I bought a book called Global Catastrophic Risks. It’s not the right book for the season but I’m compelled to read it because it cost so much. It’s thick and scientific with a Bruegel painting on… Read More ›
‘A’ stands for ambiguous in AI
‘A’ stands for ambiguous in AI Check out my new WordPress site Words Matter for essays about today’s emerging technologies and how AI will impact all of us. Thanks to my good friends here who helped me create this first… Read More ›
Prompting debate
Surely there must be a scale that ranks our resistance to technology from fully resistant (1 – won’t use it) to no resistance (10 – fully embraced it). I think I’m now a “6,” techno curious.
I killed the crow
So why am I spending so much time on this game? Escapism, or another form of numbing? Is it because there’s an instant cause and effect happening in my brain, the dopamine hit gamblers get from ringing bells, instant rewards? Or is the appeal of the multiverse more of an existential desire to be somewhere else, somewhere better than here?
There and not
The same collection of poems, taking it slowly, reading it since fall, not wanting it to end. And if only I could get a pinch of Carver in my work, that was the stuff! Even a shake could transform me…. Read More ›
Bill Pearse 