Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Heat Event
Daytime highs of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius, with humidex values of 35 to 40.
Overnight lows of 19 to 22 degrees Celsius.

The long-term perspective.

Jesus chatbots are on the rise. A philosopher puts them to the test

Why weather forecasters often get it wrong – or appear to

Netherlands Records
On 7 August 2025, Ancestry updated its collection of genealogical records from the Netherlands. The seven databases include indexes for civil and church marriages, births, deaths, baptisms, burials, and population registers. There are over 185 million records, from as early as 1524 to as late as 1973.

ChatGPT-5
In a special episode of the Family History AI Show recorded a couple of hours after the release of ChatGPT-5, Mark Thompson and Steve Little give a family history perspective on the new model. Mark reported on the analysis of a cabinet card, which he judged superior to those of previous models. I expect they will have more hands-on experience to report in the next episode. Other reactions are that it doesn’t live up to the hype, and isn’t as friendly as ChatGPT-4.0.

There’s an analogy between the search for artificial generalized intelligence (AGI) and the alchemists’ quest to turn lead into gold. Even though the Philosopher’s Stone was not found, much chemistry was learned in the search, and blind alleys were followed. Similarly, AGI may never be achieved, but discoveries along the way have had and will surely have many benefits.

Thanks to the following for comments and tips: Ann Burns, Anonymous, Christine Jackson, Gail, Lloyd de Vere Hunt, Teresa, and Unknown.

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