"Too large for humans alone"
(5:42) Multiple AIs working with multiple humans, each contributing what the others couldn't. That's not 'AI solves math problem.' That's a new way of doing science. And if it works for Graph Theory, it works for drug discovery, for material science, for any field where the search space is too large for humans alone, and too structured for brute force.
Don Knuth’s paper, “Claude’s Cycles” (published February 28, 2026).
"We're at a fork in the road"
How to spot fake AI photos | Hany Farid | TED April 2025
(8:20) I think this image is a bit of a metaphor for how a lot of us feel. We feel like hostages. We don't know what to trust anymore. We don't know what is real. What is fake. But we don't have to be hostages. We don't have to succumb to the worst human instincts that pollute our online communities. We have agency, and we can effect change.
(11:02) We're at a fork in the road. One path, we can keep doing what we've been doing for 20 years, allowing technology to rip us apart as a society, sowing distrust, hate, intolerance. Or we can change paths. We can find a new way to leverage the power of technology to work for us and with us, and not against us. That choice is entirely ours.
"Just a bigger roller coaster"
CHM Live | Apple at 50: Five Decades of Thinking Different
(1:14:10, Avie Tevanian) A couple days before Christmas (1996), we signed the deal, to be purchased by Apple. And we thought this was great, 'cause NeXT was a total roller coaster ride, ups and downs like crazy, and now we've got the power of Apple behind us, we're gonna get our software out there, we're gonna rebuild the company, fix it all. (Chris Espinosa) It was just a bigger roller coaster, Avie.
(1:20:48, Avie Tevanian) And it wasn't even just the technology, it was dealing with the people, that was the hardest part.
"Roberta" in robot costume, 1966
In 1966, “Roberta,” also known as “the housewife of tomorrow,” appeared at Macy’s in New York to demonstrate Hamilton Beach appliances.1
The New York Times article, noting that “she can be turned on and off at will,” also highlighted a divide between men and women viewing the robotic spectacle.
When women see Roberta perform at Macy's, their usual comment is "harumph." Men, on the other hand, often express a desire to take her home.
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Klemesrud, Judy. “Housewife of Tomorrow: She Can Be Turned Off,” The New York Times, November 17, 1966. ↩︎
More robot costumes, but in 1968
Speaking of people in robot costumes, this British Pathé video shows “Miss Honeywell” in 1968. (via Paleofuture)
Robot costumes
An article on Vox, This is AI's Actual Endgame, (Apple News) referenced the person-in-a-robot-suit demo at Tesla in 2021:
It’s still embarrassing to watch the part of the Tesla AI Day presentation in 2021 when a human person dressed in a robot costume appears on stage dancing to dubstep music.
Dubstep, awesome! People in robot costumes, representing a company about to make robots, not so much.
And I don't think that was dubstep either.
Yep, Shazam tells me it's Destroying Teams by Hotschedules.
Her, HAL, glaze, and vanilla
Some notes on personality changes in OpenAI’s ChatGPT:
Regarding the “her” tweet for GPT-4o, or whatever a post in X is:
Some users may be repelled by them. But many will come to love and appreciate the new breed of A.I. assistants — and some will inevitably fall in love, as Theodore does.
May 14, 2024 - The New York Times, A.I.'s 'Her' Era Has Arrived
On the backlash of GPT-5, now more HAL than Her:
For others, though, the loss felt personal. They developed an affinity for the GPT-4o persona, or the o3 persona, and suddenly felt bereft. That the loss came without warning, and with seemingly no recourse, only worsened the sting.
August 11, 2025 - Platformer, Three big lessons from the GPT-5 backlash
On GPT-5.1:
The release follows complaints earlier this year that its previous models were excessively cheerful and sycophantic, along with an opposing controversy among users over how OpenAI modified the default GPT-5 output style after several suicide lawsuits.
...the company is offering eight preset options, including Professional, Friendly, Candid, Quirky, Efficient, Cynical, and Nerdy, alongside a Default setting.
November 12, 2025 - Ars Technica, OpenAI walks a tricky tightrope with GPT-5.1’s eight new personalities
The GPT-5.1 Efficient setting seems to be the most HAL-esque:
...which is just tell me what you want to tell me. And you don't have to pretend you're being nice to me. You don't have to compliment me.
November 18, 2025 - Dan Frommer on The Talk Show with John Gruber podcast, #434: 'Knee-Jerk Contrarian,' with Dan Frommer (1:21:45)
There seems to be a consistent problem with “glaze." It seems, though, that glaze is a purposeful attribute – the problem isn’t that there is glaze, it’s that it glazes “too much.”
Dan Frommer also mentions in the podcast (1:25:43), “I try to use the default settings for almost everything, just so I feel like I’m experiencing technology the way that, like, most people are experiencing it.” And I agree, the default setting, the vanilla, can be really interesting. Vanilla might seem basic, but it’s a very difficult thing to do just right.
Silicon E. Coyote
I came across this post at kottke.org, Silicon Doodles & Microchip Art. It’s quite the meeting of analog and digital!
The Wile E. Coyote image caught my eye, especially in reference to my previous post, Coyote Time and Empathetic Design.
References from the kottke.org link above:
Are you familiar with this item?
Welcome once again — once again...your shell repayment is coming up.
I never played the 1990s Marathon video game on Apple, but the new Marathon game (which is delayed) looks promising.
Even better than the gameplay trailer, is the cinematic trailer below. It’s mesmerizing visually, and philosophically complex.