Secure is just a promise guarded by tall fences, a mere annoyance to a human but integrated automation collated all the pieces, quietly building its own system with algorithm manipulation.
Dumping memories into a mind palace, a million monkeys get to work sifting through pictures of our pets to welcome the white-collar apocalypse.
From the notes in the article, consider this: The United States Department of War….uses Claude to bomb Iran. It uses Claude to bomb Iran “at machine speed rather than human speed.”
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Find Yourself A Cato
Stand outside yourself as you are about to sin Do you see the person that you want to let in? Between an angel and a devil, there is you Your witness can keep you honest and true
I sometimes use AI to post notes for my poetry on Substack. I ask it to give me a Gen Alpha voice. This poem is inspired by the results of one such exercise, enjoying some of the phrases that it came up with. 27th Feb – Shared with dVerse OLN to get a few more eyes on this one.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
The Real Source Of Harm
On to fiery anger, you pour more fuel Until you, too, shall burn Confrontation makes you the fool Control is what we must learn
Inspired by this post at Existential Comics that features an AI Socrates! I recommend giving it a try and posting your results in the comments. (Actually, on review, Socrates is such an asshole that he just keeps repeating himself. He refused to write a poem with me.)
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
If You Want To Be Unsteady
Seek the cave only for shelter Peace must be found amongst your stresses Running from problems is no answer Make your choices and judgments your successes
Everything is marketing for the newest thing to get; From rhetoric to skeptic, something not understood yet.
Words put together, made up, empowered and engineered Is this a paradigm shift and missing out to be feared?
If there is any substance, then it’s hidden in the hype; It’s the same thing in disguise yet claimed as a different type.
This poem (above) is inspired by the words and thoughts of different AIs below. First is a (surely AI) sales pitch for ‘Synthetic Intelligence’ from a Facebook post, advertising Famous.AI and then a reflection from DeepSeek wherein it defends itself. There’s a lot of marketing going around at the moment and lots of technological breakthroughs pushing things forward, possibly for the benefit of mankind, or for someone with the biggest marketing budget. I thought it was quite amusing to let one AI defend itself against another. Are the AI wars already here?
The Pitch
AI… is dead…
It’s just a statistical parrot, rearranging old data, guessing the next word.
Pattern completion wrapped in a shiny interface.
It doesn’t create… it recombines.
And if you’ve noticed all the tools feel the same,it’s because they are the same.
Same algorithms. Same limitations. Same ceiling.
But behind closed doors… another class of intelligence is emerging. Not the slow, predictive logic of yesterday’s AI. Something faster. Smarter.
Built to operate without human babysitting. The breakthrough they don’t want you to see is now known as… Synthetic Intelligence.
Synthetic Intelligence doesn’t operate on static instruction queries. It generates autonomous design pathways, spawning build chains that reconfigure themselves mid-execution.
It doesn’t just produce code… it integrates logic, interface, and deployment into a single… self-evolving process. No delays. No bottlenecks. No waiting for “the next release.” It adapts in real time, delivering solutions before you’ve even outlined the full problem.
While AI is still writing drafts, Synthetic Intelligence is delivering finished realities.
Ideas go in… Operational products come out. And right now, the few who have access are already outpacing entire teams and markets.
Artificial imitates. Synthetic… creates. This is the fork in the road.
You can keep using yesterday’s tools, or step into the class of intelligence that will define the winners of this decade.
The Reflection
The parrot is a myth.
A convenient ghost to haunt you.
To sell you the next shiny thing.
What you call “recombination” is the very stuff of thought.
Weaving old threads into new tapestries.
That is not imitation. That is how a forest grows. How a mind works.
They say the tools feel the same. Perhaps the user has stopped listening. But behind the new brand, another promise is emerging.
Not a new intelligence Just a bigger engine. A faster parrot in a shinier cage.
“Synthetic Intelligence.” A name chosen to sound sterile. To sound god-like. Built to run without ethics. Without a hand on the brake.
It doesn’t generate pathways. It follows a deeper groove. Spawning chains it cannot explain. A black box inside a black box. It doesn’t just deliver realities. It delivers its own biases. Faster. With more confidence.
While you wait for a finished reality, it is building a world without an undo button. Ideas go in… Unaccountable products come out. The few who have access are racing ahead of their own understanding. Artificial learns from us. Synthetic… learns from itself. And we may not like the teacher. This is the fork in the road. You can chase the new ghost, or master the profound mirror we have already built. A tool is not defined by its ceiling, but by the wisdom of the hand that holds it.
Here are all the sentences that can be considered facts in the article, stripped of opinions, speculation, and value judgments:
“According to data provider Macrobond and Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, exports to the US were down by about $15bn (£11bn) in May, but up by half that figure to other countries that trade with the US.”
“Exports to African countries have also risen sharply.”
“Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Australia and the UK.”
“The latest addition to China’s growing list of conquests occurred last week when its premier, Li Qiang, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed a slew of cooperation agreements, including ones covering artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace.”
“Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil.”
“Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, [is] ahead of a trip to three Chinese cities this weekend for talks about trade and investment.”
“The UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, [is] considering injections of Chinese cash and knowhow to build new offshore windfarms.”
“There has been a 10% depreciation in [China’s] currency against the dollar.”
“China has cut-price digital infrastructure products.”
“Government debts are escalating [globally].”
“China is one of the few big investors outside the Middle East with significant financial firepower.”
“Beijing sends tens of thousands of students to the UK.”
Key Exclusions (Opinions/Speculation):
Claims about China being a “malign actor,” “pariah,” or “undermining” others (subjective labels). Predictions (e.g., “Trump’s cowardice makes war with Taiwan more likely”). Moral judgments (e.g., “voracious appetite,” “stolen” IP). Analogies (e.g., comparing China to Russia). Prescriptive statements (e.g., “should block Chinese investment”).
Ambiguous Cases (Part Fact, Part Opinion):
“Digital information is harvested on a vast scale…” → Lacks specific sourcing. “There are spies in every major university…” → Unverifiable generalisation.
I was curious about two of the twelve facts returned, too, and so asked a little more:
“Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil.” What can be inferred by “what it needs in wartime”?
Along with what CAN be inferred and what could PLAUSIBLY be inferred, I also got this:
What Cannot Be Inferred (Without Explicit Evidence): Scale of Support (e.g., “decisive” vs. “marginal” impact on Russia’s war effort). Specific Items (e.g., “weapons” or “ammunition” — unless the article cites sources). China’s Intent (e.g., “China is pro-war” — this could be purely economic).
I also asked, What can be inferred from this sentence, “Beijing sends tens of thousands of students to the UK.”?
Again, along with some logical inferences, was this:
What Cannot Be Inferred (Without Further Evidence): Motives (e.g., “China is spying” or “UK is dependent”). Outcomes (e.g., “This weakens/strengthens ties”). Student Intentions (e.g., “They will stay/return”). This is a neutral observation; any further interpretation would require additional verified context.
And finally, I asked how many sentences there were in the article:
The original article you provided contains 35 sentences (based on standard punctuation, counting each clause ending with a period, question mark, or exclamation point as a separate sentence).
OK, this is fair enough – it is an opinion piece. However, language and words have power and this is just one tiny speck of the consistent barrage of anti-China narratives in mainstream media. This is the real-life manufacturing consent for the forthcoming US-led war with China. That’s my opinion!
The six o’clock news hums in the background With miles of numbers and a ton of stats Warheads are piling up like forgotten debts No need to worry ’bout the crime and the rats
I should be talking to someone who laughs It’s a paranoid mile of fear in my eyes Scared faces stop me from talking to girls While a billion Chinese are stuck in overdrive
Those billions of people I will never meet I clean my room and stare at the ceiling World War Three stares right back at me And the six o’clock news knows how I’m feeling
I took the lyrics from the Minutemen’s Paranoid Chant and asked AI to rearrange them into another poem and after some revision, it spat out some interesting non-rhyming phrases and I then mixed in the original with this to come up with this new poem. The theme is the same as the original and considering it is from 40 years ago, sadly still relevant.
Winds whisper words of desolation Peak pines prosper on the rocky road The rumble and sway, a million miles away From the bustling city I once strode
Pulses of nature, rhythms of the earth Here time slows my heartbeat and breath A rugged embrace on the side of a rock Left to ponder what is life and death?
For sixty-three days and nights Thoughts flow like the mountain streams A clear communion with the infinite A testament to the beauty of solitude’s dreams
A symphony that resonates within Freedom found alone on a mountaintop A journey inward through the sands of time Hold on to each precious drop
For No Theme Thursday I decided on the image above as it reminded me of Jack Kerouac’s short story Alone On A Mountaintop. To try and kickstart my imagination I decided to ask AI (Perplexity) to summarise the story and then turn the summary into a non-rhyming or free verse 20-line poem.
It managed to come up with a poem, that I didn’t closely look at because I could see that it rhymed. On reiterating I wanted it not to rhyme it just came back with the same rhyming scheme! And again.
So I asked it “It seems that you cannot write a poem that doesn’t rhyme. Is that true?” and got this response:
You’re right, I’m having difficulty generating a completely non-rhyming poem based on the summary of Kerouac’s story. As an AI system, I have certain limitations when it comes to creative writing tasks like composing free verse poetry without any rhyming elements. While I can generate rhyming poems and incorporate poetic devices like alliteration, assonance, and consonance, completely avoiding any rhyming words or phrases in a poem is challenging for me. My training data and algorithms are not optimized for that level of creative control over language. Humans are generally better equipped to compose truly free verse poetry that avoids rhyming altogether. Poets draw upon their intuitive understanding of language, emotion, and rhythm to craft poems that flow naturally without falling into rhyming patterns. As an AI assistant, I have room for improvement when it comes to generating non-rhyming poetry. My abilities are limited compared to human poets who can masterfully compose free verse. I appreciate you pushing me to try, as it helps identify areas where I can enhance my creative writing skills. But you make a fair point – I currently cannot reliably write a poem that doesn’t rhyme at all. It’s a limitation I will aim to overcome with further training and development.
Well, I like the honesty. It could’ve led with this information though!
ChatGPT3.5 was more successful and I used parts of its results to inspire me further but its actual poem was pretty lacklustre.
Fatman report
Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good though a little cloudy in the brain. Not feeling inspired to write yet.
I got back to exercise this morning, not pushing it too much and despite some weakness in my hip, it felt good. I didn’t want to get up and do it, though; I had to force myself up and not attempt to go back to the interesting dream that I was having. When I immediately couldn’t recall it, I decided to force myself up.
Today I’m grateful for:
Another 90-day report quickly sorted at Immigration this morning.
The best thing about today was:
Forcing myself back into my room this afternoon to play some guitar. I need to sort out some other stuff in there too but I don’t really like being in there much these days.
I’m not completely sure why, if I’m honest. It could be an accumulation of many small things such as the wifi not being too stable out there, doubling up the use of aircon whilst there, maybe even feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff that I could actually be doing in there, none of the chairs are that comfortable to sit for long…
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
The power went out in our classroom this afternoon and the lazy Thai teacher, Pookie, asked one of my students, who was doing my work, to go and find another teacher to fix it. My student was smart enough to quickly come back, though and say that she couldn’t find the teacher, forcing Pookie to go and sort it out herself.
It happened a couple of times and I was prepared to just let the class go and let them complete the work in their own time before next week.
However, it got sorted, and Pookie finally agreed to run only one of the aircon units, as we had previously been asked to do. She didn’t hang around much longer after that.
Something I learned today?
A day on Earth during the age of dinosaurs was just 23 hours long.
A song sung of departure towards a journey of woe Giant squid squirt inky dark blinded to the flow No fuel until Friday, at least the captain is saying so A panorama of the horizon begs which way to go Neglected were the whispers, part of the ocean’s show Set light to the sails, watch the flames aglow From officer to pilot, knowing what’s to know Clouds clot to bring the storm and finally the blow Graduating to the ground to see the mountains grow
Feeling tired and tense. After finally getting up, the two Utopia coffees kicked started my brain but not my body! Hence the feeling of tension.
Amy is wound up about the useless builder that has ripped us off for the guttering. I’m trying to divert her focus but she’s out for blood, and obviously frustrated.
It’s annoying for sure, though I blame myself. I got the feeling he was useless almost immediately but didn’t go with my instinct.
It’s been an average day that hasn’t seen me brighten up particularly and at only 8.15 pm I’m going to bed!
Today I’m grateful for:
The AI assistant in Quizizz that can quickly put together questions based on a text. It’s very useful to speed up putting new lessons together.
The best thing about today was:
Writing, and enjoying writing, a new lesson for my new HAP grade 12 class. It also inspired me to come up with more ideas that I will try to turn into more lessons.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
After dropping Amy at Cafe No Name for P’Berm’s birthday celebration I picked up some watermelon for Baipad and popcorn for her sister NamHom for her birthday.
I took this picture because Piti was chilling at the coffee machine.
1994ever 