Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.
There is no conceivable way carbon capture and storage can work.
Don’t change lanes – the maths of holiday traffic jams
New from OGS
Early on Saturday, Patti Mordasewicz, Editor, issued the first version of OGS (or Ontario Ancestors if you will) eWeekly Update using new email distribution software. The format is slightly changed, the content remains substantial. Included was an announcement that TONI, The Ontario Name Index, has new content.
The Archive is Not a Toy: The Hidden Problems of a ‘Vintage’ AI
In the final post on the Active History blog before the summer break, Jacob Polay, Chloë Farr, and Jessica Jack review“talkie”—a pre-1930s large language model framed alternately as a forecasting experiment and a historical chatbot. It was trained on documentation from and pre-dating the era.
They blast “talkie” as automating the worst prejudices of the past and demand a complete foundation which includes un- or under-represented groups.
The complete foundation is a myth where records don’t exist. Falling short is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Vintage language models, such as “talkie”, offer an innovative approach to understanding the past, including societal prejudices. While model developers surely have an obligation to be open about the information base used, it is up to the user to appreciate the context.
Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips: Anonymous, Gail, Julia, Nick Moreau, Paul, Sunday Thompson, Teresa, and Unknown.
