Capitalogix

Rewriting The Past, Present, and Future

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace." - Nixon's Apollo 11 Disaster Speech

In an ideal world, history would be objective; facts about what happened, unencumbered by the bias of society, or the victor, the narrator, etc.

I think it's apparent that history as we know it is subjective.  The narrative shifts to support the needs of the society that's reporting it.  History books are written by the victors. 

The Cold War is a great example where, during the war, immediately after the war, and today, the interpretation of the causes and events has all changed.  

But while that's one example, to a certain degree, we can see it everywhere.  We can even see it in the way events are reported today.  News stations color the story based on whether they're red or blue, and the internet is quick to jump on a bandwagon even if the information is hearsay. 

Now, what happens when you can literally rewrite history?

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped.“ - Orwell, 1984

That's one of the potential risks of generative AI and deepfake technology.  As it gets better, creating "supporting evidence" becomes easier for whatever narrative a government or other entity is trying to make real.

On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed safely on the moon.  They then returned to Earth safely as well. 

MIT recently created a deepfake of a speech Nixon's speechwriter William Safire wrote during the Apollo 11 mission in case of disaster.  The whole video is worth watching, but the speech starts around 4:20. 

 

MIT via In Event Of Moon Disaster

Media disinformation is more dangerous than ever.  Alternative narratives and histories can only be called that when they are discernible from the truth.  In addition, people often aren't looking for the "truth" – instead, they are prone to look for information that already fits their biases. 

As deepfakes get better, we'll also get better at detecting them.  But it's a cat-and-mouse game with no end in sight.  In Signaling Theory, it's the idea that signalers evolve to become better at manipulating receivers, while receivers evolve to become more resistant to manipulation.  We're seeing the same thing in trading with algorithms. 

In 1983, Stanislav Petrov saved the world. Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for a Russian nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the U.S., followed by up to five more.  Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm and didn't authorize retaliation (and a potential nuclear WWIII where countless would have died). 

But messaging is now getting more convincing.  It's harder to tell real from fake.  What happens when a world leader has a convincing enough deepfake with a convincing enough threat to another country?  Will people have the wherewithal to double-check?

Lots to think about. 

I'm excited about the possibilities of technology, and I believe they're predominantly good.  But, as always, in search of the good, we must acknowledge and be prepared for the bad. 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - July 9th, 2023

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• France Set to Allow Police to Spy Through Phones. (Lemonde)
• Your Most Ambivalent Relationships are the Most Toxic. (NYT)
• Is Positive Psychology Science or Snake Oil? (PsychologyToday)
• Einstein and Musk Chatbots Are Driving Millions to Download Character.AI. (Bloomberg)
• New Report Warns of Brain Control Weapons Being Developed by Communist China. (DailyWire)

Trading Links:

• The Copyright Battles Against OpenAI Have Begun. (Quartz)
• Baby Boomers Own Pretty Much Everything - But Millennials Could Be About to Catch Up. (Markets)
• Forbes World's Billionaires List 2023: The Top 200. (Forbes)
• Wall Street Soothsayers Are Bewildered About What's Next. (Bloomberg)
• SVB, BBBY, Lordstown Lead List of US Bankruptcies as Companies Fold up at the Fastest Pace Since 2010. (Markets)

The AI Hacking Paradox

Fear is a natural response to change or the unknown, serving as an evolutionary mechanism designed to safeguard us. However, it’s also worth noting that many of our fears turn out to be unjustified.

Sometimes, however, fear is a much-needed early warning system. 

In the context of AI hacking, you should be afraid. Given the exponential growth in technology and artificial intelligence, concerns about security breaches and intentional misinformation campaigns have become common.

In 2016, DARPA created the Cyber Grand Challenge to illustrate the need for automated, scalable, machine-speed vulnerability detection as more and more systems—from household appliances to major military platforms—got connected to each other and the internet. During this event, AI systems competed against each other to autonomously hack and exploit vulnerabilities in computer programs. The competition revealed the unprecedented speed, scope, scale, and sophistication with which AI systems can find and exploit vulnerabilities.

And that was seven years ago. 

AI hackers operate at superhuman speeds and can analyze massive amounts of data, enabling them to uncover vulnerabilities that might elude human hackers. Their ability to think differently, free from human constraints, allows AI systems to devise novel hacks that humans would never consider. This creates an asymmetrical advantage for AI hackers, making them formidable at infiltrating and compromising systems.

We expect people to use AI for malicious purposes intentionally, but unintentional AI hacking arises when an AI autonomously discovers a solution or workaround that its creators did not intend. This type of hack can remain undetected for extended periods, amplifying the potential damage caused. 

So, how do we stop it?

Ironically, or perhaps, exactly as you would expect it, AI itself holds the key to defending against future attacks. Just as hacking can drive progress by exposing vulnerabilities and prompting improvements, AI hackers could potentially identify and rectify weaknesses in software, regulations, and other systems. By proactively searching for vulnerabilities, they can contribute to making these systems more hack-resistant. This is the paradox of AI hacking. 

It’s the same concept as I mentioned in the article on potentially halting the creation of generative AI.  

Unfortunately, when you invent the car, you also invent the potential for car crashes ... when you ‘invent’ nuclear energy, you create the potential for atomic bombs. That’s not a reason to stop innovation - it’s a call to action for innovators to respond faster and counteract the bad actors. 

We can’t stop bad actors from existing - but we can get better at preventing harm due to them. This is a helpful framework for innovation. If you want to stop the bad actors from misusing a technology, the good actors "simply" have to get better at using the technology faster. 

The best way to stop negative motion is with positive motion. But, we can also make moves in the background to counteract bad actors and bad actions.

For example: 

1. Regulation and Transparency: Regulatory frameworks can be established for AI technologies that demand transparency regarding how they function and how they’re secured.
2. Ethical Guidelines: Implementing ethical guidelines for AI development can help prevent misuse.
3. Cybersecurity Measures: Enhancing cybersecurity protocols and utilizing state-of-the-art encryption methods could make AI systems more resilient against hacking attempts.
4. Education: Increasing public understanding of AI technologies would spread awareness of their benefits alongside potential risks.

While these measures won’t eliminate the potential risk of AI hacking, they could significantly mitigate it and provide reassurances about employing such technologies.

Nvidia Joins The Trillionaire Club

Believe it or not, Nvidia is now worth nearly as much as Amazon. America’s largest semiconductor company has skyrocketed past the $1 trillion market cap mark and joined the likes of Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. 

via visualcapitalist

My Thoughts

Nvidia’s growth is largely built on the back of the AI hype. It is also a mainstay of technology, benefitting a litany of AI projects, gaming systems, crypto mining, and more. 

But, the question is whether it will continue to rise in popularity – or see a “correction” to pre-hype levels. I think the reality is you’ll see both happen.

Despite my obvious bullishness on AI as a market mover and industry transformer, after a hype cycle comes a trough of disillusionment. The media attention on AI will diminish again. Meanwhile, tech giants like Google and Apple rely on the technology, and Nvidia has also launched new products spanning from robotics to gaming. So, as the hype dies down, its mainstream uses will increase. 

These chips will only continue to be more important. We saw the company’s stock rise and fall during the peak of inflated expectations of cryptocurrency, but AI’s staying power - I believe - is inevitable. 

So, while it may not be a good investment in the short term, it’s a technology you can count on to be essential for decades. 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - June 11th, 2023

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Apple Reboots the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field. (Mashable)
• Who Wants to Live Forever? (Pocket)
• Why Humans are Surprisingly Bad at Being Happy. (BigThink)
• How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party. (NewYorker)
• Singapore Identifies Six Generative AI Risks, Sets up Foundation to Guide Adoption. (ZDNet)

 

Trading Links:

• Walmart Reclaims Top Spot From Amazon Among Retailers. (Forbes)
• What All the Single Ladies (And Men) Say About the Economy. (NYT)
• The Next Crisis Will Start With Empty Office Buildings. (The Atlantic)
• US to Give Away Free Lighthouses as GPS Makes Them Unnecessary. (TheGuardian)
• Marc Andreessen: The Single Greatest Risk of NOT Pursuing AI. (FreeThink)

Is It The News Or Propaganda?

There is nothing wrong with your television.  We will control all that you see and hear. We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond. We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.  Enjoy ....

 
The original, from The Outer Limits TV show was: 

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image; make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the outer limits.

As a society, we're fairly vulnerable to groupthink, advertisements, and confirmation bias. 

We believe what we want to believe, so it can be very hard to change a belief, even in the face of contrary evidence. 

Since the past election cycle, we've seen a massive uptick in distrust toward news agencies, big companies, the government, and basically anyone with a particularly large reach. 

To a certain degree, this is understandable and justified. Here is an example of the power of the media focused on a message.  Click to watch.

 

via Courier News

Propaganda has always been an issue, and almost everyone does it; governments, companies, etc. Luckily, it's easier to see today than in the past, but unluckily it's also more pervasive and insidious than before. 

It's to the point where if you watch the news you're misinformed, and if you don't watch the news you're uninformed. 

The above segment portrays a rosy picture of Amazon's efforts to protect its workers while delivering essentials to the struggling homebound masses. This comes while Amazon has come under massive fire for removing some of its protections. 

Honestly, I use Amazon and, in my opinion, this isn't a massive breach of trust. News stations have a lot of time to fill, they often have sponsored content.

That being said, it's something to be cognizant of - not necessarily offended by.

Personally, I believe I am reasonably aware and somewhat immune from propaganda. That probably isn't as true as I'd like to believe.

It used to be true that winners wrote history (think empires, wars, etc.). Now, the one that delivers the most broadcast narratives shapes the emotional and seemingly logical responses to what we perceive to be happening around us.

The result impacts elections, financial markets, buying choices, and countless other areas of our life. 

As A.I., Bots, and social media grow, our ability to discern truth from 'truthiness' weakens. It's becoming even more of an issue with AI-based depictions of presidents in both image and video.

It's a great reminder that what you're seeing and hearing is carefully manufactured, and hopefully, it encourages you to get outside your bubble. 

I think one of the worst consequences of the past few years is the unwillingness of mass swaths of Americans to listen to voices they disagree with. The internet has already created echo chambers, but it's being exacerbated by vitriol. As a result, I think we're seeing the fringe of both parties move further away from the middle. 

What do you think?

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - June 4th, 2023

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Highly Intelligent People are Slower to Answer Complex Problems. (IFLScience)
• The Four Attitudes of Calm.(PsychologyToday)
• The Most Toxic Relationships Aren't What You Think. (AdamGrant)
• Mark Zuckerberg Got Knocked Out Cold in His First Jiu-Jitsu Competition.(TheDailyBeast)
• Elon Musk's Neuralink 'Brain Chips' Cleared for 1st In-Human Trials. (LiveScience)

 

Trading Links:

• Tesla Plummets 50 Spots in Reputable Brands Survey. It's at 62 — 30 Places Below Ford. (AutoBlog)
• Japan Sets the Precedent for AI Copyright. (AnalyticsIndia)
• How the Fed Will Make Bank Transfers Truly Instant. (Bloomberg)
• Lessons From 1999 Market Mania. (Forbes)
• Top Economist David Rosenberg Says the US Economy is a 'Dead Man Walking' – And Warns of a 'Hard Landing' Ahead. (Markets)

 

 

The World's Top 25 Websites in 2023

What are the most popular websites in the world by web traffic? 
 

via visualcapitalist

It's unsurprising that Google and social media top the list, but it is interesting to see OpenAI becoming the 17th most visited site last month - with 1.8 billion visits - despite being very new to the scene in comparison to its competitors. 

Easy to forget, but also unsurprising is the prevalence of adult websites on this list. One of my most popular articles ever was titled "How Long Does It Take To Get To 50 Million Users?" in it, the takeaway was that Pornhub did it 19 days - faster than anyone else ... up until ChatGPT. Part of the popularity of that article is because Pornhub has very in-depth statistics about its yearly use.

Pornhub via Capitalogix Blog

So we know that people care about making their jobs easier at least a little bit more than pornography. I'll take it. 

Eventually, all technology collides with human nature. 

A Lesson From My Grandmother ... On AI

I was at an event last week where (unsurprisingly) we focused heavily on AI.  Conversations ranged from use cases for generative AI (and the ethics of AI image creators) to the long-term effects of AI and its adoption.

Before I could chime in, the conversation had gone to the various comparisons from past generations.  When electricity was harnessed, articles claimed that it would never catch on, it would hurt productivity, and what of the artisans it would potentially put out of business if it were to gain traction. 

When the radio or TV was released, the older generation was sure it would lead to the death of productivity, have horrible ramifications, and ultimately lead to the next generation's failure. 

People resist change.  We're wired to avoid harm more than to seek pleasure.  The reason is that, evolutionarily, you have to survive to have fun. 

On the other hand, my grandmother used to say: "It's easy to get used to nice things." 

Here's a transcript of some of my response to the discussion: 

 

With AI, getting from "Zero-to-One" was a surprisingly long and difficult process.  Meaning, getting AI tools and capabilities to the point where normal people felt called to use it because they believed it would be useful or necessary was a long and winding road.  But now that everybody thinks it's useful, AI use will no longer be "special".  Instead, it will become part of the playing field.  And because of that, deciding to use AI is no longer a strategy.  It's now table stakes.

But that creates a potential problem and distraction.  Why?  Because, for most of us, our unique ability is not based on our ability to use ChatGPT or some other AI tool of the day.  As more people focus on what a particular tool can do, they risk losing sight of what really matters for their real business.

Right now, ChatGPT is hot!  But, if you go back to the beginning of the Internet, MySpace or Netscape (or some other tools that were first and big) aren't necessarily the things that caught on and became standards.

I'm not saying that OpenAI and ChatGPT aren't important.  But what I believe is more important is that we passed a turning point where, all of a sudden, tons of people started to use something new.  That means there will be an increase of focus, resources, and activity concentrated on getting to next in that space.

You don't have to predict the technology; it is often easier and better to predict human nature instead.  We're going to find opportunities and challenges we wouldn't because of the concentration of energy, focus, and effort.  Consequently, AI, business, and life will evolve.

For most of us, what that means is that over the next five years, our success will not be tied to how well we use a tool that exists today, but rather on how we develop our capabilities to leverage tools like that to grow our business. 

But your success will not be determined by how well you learn to use ChatGPT.  It will be determined by how well you envision your future and recognize opportunities to use tools to start making progress toward the things you really want and to become more and more of who you really are.  Right?

So, think about your long-term bigger future?  Pick a time 5, 10,  or even 20 years from now.  What does your desired bigger future look like?  Can you create a vivid vision where you describe in detail what you'd like to happen in your personal, professional, and business life?  Once you've done that, then try to imagine what a likely midpoint might look like?  And then, using that as a directional compass, try to imagine what you can do in this coming year that aligns your actions with the path you've chosen?

 

Ultimately, as soon as you start finding ways to use emerging technologies in a way that excites you, the fear and gloom fade.

The best way to break through a wall isn't with a wide net, but rather with a sharp blow.  You should be decisive and focused. 

I remember being an entrepreneur in the late 90s (during the DotCom Bubble).  And I remember watching people start to emulate Steve Jobs ... wearing black turtlenecks and talking about which internet company would be the "next big thing" at social gatherings.  Looking back, an early sign that a crash was coming was that seemingly everybody had an opinion on what was going to be hot, and too many of them were overly confident. 

The point is that almost nobody talks about the Internet that way anymore ... in part because the Internet is now part of the fabric of society.  At this point, it would be weird if somebody didn't use the Internet.  And you don't really even have to think about how to use the Internet anymore because there's a WHO to do almost all those HOWs. 

The same is going to be true for AI.  Like with any technology, it will suffer from all the same hype-cycle blues ... inflated expectations and then disillusionment.  But, when we come out the other side, AI will be better for it ... just like the Internet, the silver screen, or even radio stations. 

Earlier, I mentioned how long it took to get from "Zero-to-One" with AI.  But we're still at like three" or a "five" on a 100-point scale.  Meaning, you are at the beginning of one of the biggest and most asymptotic curves that you can imagine.  And you're not late … you're early!  Even the fact that you're thinking about stuff like this now means that you are massively ahead.

The trick isn't to figure out how to use AI or some AI tool.  The trick is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Investing resources into your company is one thing.  Realize that there are 1000s of these tools out there, and many more coming.  You don't have to build something yourself.  It is often faster and better to acquire a tool than it is to spend money on developing and building it.

Think of the Medici family.  They invested in people, which in turn triggered the Renaissance.  A key to moving forward in the Age of AI will be to invest in the right people who seek to create the kind of world you want to see.  Think of this as a strategic investment into creators and entrepreneurs with a vision who are on a path that aligns with yours.

As you get better and better at doing that, you'll see increasing opportunities to use tools to engage people to collaborate with and create joint ventures.  Ultimately, you will collaborate with technology where it's your thought partner and then your business partner.  We are entering exciting times where AI, automation, and innovation will make extraordinary things possible for people looking for opportunities to do extraordinary things.

How Smart Is ChatGPT?

It gets a little old talking about ChatGPT so often ... but it's rightfully taking the world by storm, and the innovations, improvements, and use cases keep coming. 

This week, I'm keeping it simple. 

VisualCapitalist put together a chart that helps contextualize how well ChatGPT tests on several popular placement tests. 

via visualcapitalist

It also shows the comparison between versions 3.5 and 4.

ChatGPT 4 improvements include plugins, access to the internet, and the ability to analyze visual inputs. 

Interestingly, there were a couple of places where version 4 didn't improve ... Regardless, it is already outperforming the average human in these scenarios.

Obviously, the ability to perform well on a test isn't a direct analog to intelligence - especially general intelligence. However, it's a sign that these tools can become important partners and assets in your business. Expect that it will take developing custom systems to truly transform your business, but there are a lot of easy wins you can stack by exploring what's out there already. 

The takeaway is that you're missing out if you aren't experimenting.