Noam Chomsky takes on AI. From the New York Times.

Noam Chomsky: The False Promise of ChatGPT

I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about the early days of the semiconductor industry. A very, very good article from London Review of Books that covers a few of the aspects of the story I didn’t know about, particularly the military side. All of this is more important today than ever.

Putting the Silicon in Silicon Valley

Basically nobody is selling because they don’t want to lose their 3% mortgage and get a 7%. From A Wealth of Common Sense.

Why Aren’t Housing Prices Crashing?

Never sure what to make of these things. I think of wolves and sheep getting together to plan the future. Perhaps more like the hot dog guy. So American billionaires on the far right are finding common cause with non-billionaires on the far right. Contrary to what the article implies there doesn’t seem to be anyone resembling a liberal anywhere to be found. A cult of cults perhaps. By coincidence they are all converging in tonier parts of the American West. From Vanity Fair.

INSIDE THE DISSIDENT FRINGE, WHERE THE NEW RIGHT MEETS THE FAR LEFT, AND EVERYONE’S BRACING FOR APOCALYPSE

I have always been a big fan of Jimmy Carter. Robert Reich explains the pivot that too place circa 1980. Sometimes called the Reagan Revolution, it was the start of the corporate conquest of America.

Jimmy Carter and the End of Democratic Capitalism

I spent most of my career working from home. I used to joke it was my secret weapon. Not only did I not have to take time for a commute, but I was in better control of my environment. I had no real interruptions. This was important when I was developing software. I also came to realize that the social aspect of the office was important. I made it a point to send lots of emails and make lots of phone calls, most of them 1-1.

Perhaps the oddest part is I came to realize that the best use of my time when I was in the office was “socializing”. I eventually would spend 100% of my time meeting with people, formally in meetings, and informally at lunch, dinner and in hallways. So I’m not surprised that the return to the office results in frustrations, and lower productivity. From Fortune magazine.

The return to the office could be the real reason for the slump in productivity. Here’s the data to prove it

I am always surprised by the history of known toxic substances, especially heavy metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, in the US. I did not realize that there are exceptions to unleaded gasoline, in this case for small planes.

‘My kids are being poisoned’: How aviators escaped America’s war on lead

Are the more weather disasters? This graph of number of $1 billion or more weather disasters by year from climate.gov.

2021 U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in historical context

Just a bit of computer science history. The original chatBot goes back to the mid-1960s. I had a version on an early home computer in the late 1970s. It was impressive, but probably more impressive to non-programmers. The Wiki introduction is a good read and context for today’s AI chatBots.

ELIZA

From Austin Monthly. Yes, it’s feeling a bit dystopic around here lately.

Has Austin Hit an All-Time Low?