Machine Learning

Machine Learning, Philosophy, Random Thoughts

A Brief Memory: Exploring the Loss and Rediscovery of Individuality

Each person is unique. Our bodies and brains are uniquely shaped to the inputs we are given (or give) them. Our minds are shaped by the information we consume, the people we listen to, the stories we tell ourselves as truth. Thoughts and beliefs are connected through neural pathways, which are reinforced and made stronger the more frequently we practice thinking a certain way. Over time, this neuroplasticity turns practice into routine; our inner voice becomes the narrator of our memory.

Reflecting on the way that my relationship to computers and the internet has changed over the past decade prompted me to download a complete archive of my Facebook history before I went on vacation.

I used a python script to iterate through every folder in my Facebook messages archive and generate a .csv file with message content. I then uploaded the .csv file to ChatGPT to query and interrogate the data, asking it questions about myself and my growth.

Read more
Development, Machine Learning, Philosophy

Chat-based Interfaces, Trust, and Guilt

Trust can be found between individuals, within organizations, and between an individual and an institution. When we consider the concept of trust, we might think about people we trust to be vulnerable around when we are going through a difficult time in our lives. We might think about the trust that we have with the institutions in our lives, such as trusting that we will be able to access medical care when it is needed. As of 2023, Generative AI was trusted more than any institution – which includes church, Congress, the military, businesses, and schools.

Read more
Business & Leadership, Machine Learning, Random Thoughts

I Finally Signed Up for ChatGPT – Here’s Why

I’m no stranger to being a contrarian – so when ChatGPT exploded onto the scene a few years back, I resisted the urge to start using it for everything and instead decided to go as long as possible without. At the one year mark, I wrote about how my non-use of ChatGPT was going. The TL;DR – the ethical concerns related to large-scale, hosted LLMs around copyright, labor in training, climate, and monopolization/market capture led

Read more
Development, Machine Learning

TIL: Writing a Custom AdBlocker Ultimate Filter to hide LinkedIn’s AI Feature Upsell

On the list of “things that annoy me about AI”, trying to upsell AI features as part of a service is close to the top. I’ve recently noticed that my LinkedIn feed has been shoving an AI icon and related “coaching prompts” into my feed, and my solution of hiding every post that had the icons on them wasn’t actually filtering the system the way that I wanted. Today I spent a few minutes learning

Read more
Machine Learning, Philosophy, Random Thoughts

One Year In – I Still Don’t Use ChatGPT. Here’s How it’s Going.

As an autistic and queer individual, the role that technology plays in identifying, surveilling, and categorizing acceptable behavior within society is not lost on me. Despite using machine learning technology since 2014, I have used ChatGPT one time. The challenge that has come from not using OpenAI products and ChatGPT has actually been in the way that it impacts my relationship with people more than anything else.

Read more
Business & Leadership, Machine Learning, Philosophy, Random Thoughts

Eigenvectors as a Representation of Nuance? (Or, How I’m Re-Visiting all of my Freshman Year Math Classes To Explain my Brain) – Pt. 1

One decision that many organizations may be making right now is how to develop a corporate policy about artificial intelligence. Could, perhaps, an eigenvalue be calculated against a matrix of perspectives within an organization, to represent a new form of communicating the nuance and fluid nature of these complex, multi-cellular entities in which we house business endeavors? To evaluate this idea, I took a small (9 person) survey of team members and asked them to share their perspectives on AI innovation.

Read more
Development, Machine Learning, Philosophy, Random Thoughts

Being a Pregnant Developer in the Age of AI is Weird

As I’m writing this, I’m wearing a green t-shirt with a giant eyeball over my rapidly growing stomach. It’s Halloween, and I’ve decided to dress up as Mike Wazowski – it feels like I’m all stomach these days, so it felt appropriate. My partner dressed up as Boo. Halloween is an especially interesting time of year to reflect on identity and persona: it’s a holiday that encourages people to step into a different character and

Read more
Machine Learning, Random Thoughts

Developing Artificial Intelligence while Developing Human Intelligence

I joke sometimes that my entire career to date has been about Learning How to Human – that I was drawn to social VR and metaverse platforms because my neurodivergent self wanted to experience a taste of a world that I could both understand, navigate, and flourish within. As it turns out, there’s a ton of overlap in the product domains of AI and metaverse, because while the core enabling technologies and their interaction modes look quite different from one another, the entire premise of the advancements and opportunities are grounded in emergent behaviors of computers simulating people and reality.

Read more