occasional reflections on culture & politics
"nie ma powrotu" = "there's no going back" Preface: Last night, I tried out the new ChatGBT bot available on https://chat.openai.com/chat. You need to register for free and then can assess whether we are already dealing with our electronic overlords. Today, questions of life and death were on my mind (after watching too much science… Continue reading #201: Adventures in Artificial Intelligence: An Evening with ChatGBT
In these depressing times, we seem to always be on the brink of the end of the world, the end of democracy, the end of a livable climate, the end of free speech, sanity, respect, fairness, justice, nuance, context, humanity, whatever – you name it. There is either too much or too little of wokeness… Continue reading #197: We Have Good Reasons for Hope
I have never been a cultural pessimist, nor have I ever been a Luddite. As soon as I was able to, I learned to use a computer in the pre-internet age (I still remember 5 ¼ inch disks and even data tapes), and as soon as the internet became available for private citizens, not just… Continue reading #181: Are We too Stupid for the Internet?
We seem to be more deeply entrenched in our positions than we ever have been. Nothing is really debated, all we do is to exchange unaltering positions, demand a no-compromise outcome and refuse to engage with each other. While there are some cases that are simply clear-cut and indefensible (like Putin’s war, for instance), we… Continue reading #177: Thinking Beyond Caricatures
The early internet was a time of wonder, discovery and the possibility for sometimes awkward but empowering self-expression. Web 1.0 required dedication, knowledge, skills and taught people that it was necessary to understand the tools they were using, but that once they were understood, you could actually join in. The much-maligned e-mail – one of… Continue reading #175: The Metaverse Is Not The Solution
The pandemic initially was seen as a chance to rethink our ways of over-consumption, just-in-time production, destruction of natural habitat, incessant and unnecessary commuting in the time of video conferencing, as well as cheap and ever-growing travel. Maybe we would be smarter in the future and realize that within all the death and suffering caused… Continue reading #174: Climate Change Can Only Be Countered With Technological Innovation
In a world dominated by climate change and a still deadly global pandemic, we sometimes seem puzzled, annoyed, frustrated, depressed, angry and utterly confused. What is happening? Why is it happening? How could this possibly be what is going on? Welcome to the world in denial. We have believed that we can create a world… Continue reading #139: Nature Demands Humility: Lessons from Jurassic Park World
I am old. If you don’t believe me, I am going to prove it to you with this text. Correction: I am not that old, mid-40s, but I am old enough to not quite fit in with this world anymore. I am no stranger to computers. While in East Germany, we could not easily get… Continue reading #132: My Tablet Told Me to Try a Bedtime Alarm to Get More Sleep
Erratic Attempts 