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.
Like I’m heading towards exhaustion. After pushing through exercise this morning I felt a bit better but I can feel that the extra energy I had last week from exercising is not here this week. It could just be that there are no students here to help me maintain a little anxious tension in my thoughts and body but I also need to think beyond that. To feel inspired regardless of what the rest of the day holds ahead.
Today I’m grateful for:
The new Quizizz AI that makes it easy to take a text and generate questions from it. Life is getting easier but does that mean it is getting better?
The best thing about today was:
Feeling inspired. I got lots done writing-wise at House this morning and then figured out some good lessons for my grade 10 kids and as I mentioned above, using the new AI tool has made it easier.
And despite my comment this morning about nearing exhaustion, I was still going, adding work to those lessons at 9 pm after a couple of hours of enjoyable guitaring that I had earlier contemplated skipping.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I had accidentally closed a file on my computer that was a document of quotes that I wanted to write about but can no longer find the document now that it’s been closed! It’s easy to find books of quotes but I obviously had this one open because they meant something to me but I can’t even remember where it had come from. A minor frustration in the scheme of things.
Something I learned today?
I noticed Momo was a little quiet yesterday and messaged her to see how she was doing. Scrolling back at previous messages I saw that she hasn’t been very happy this semester and is struggling to make friends in her new class. She said she missed Porpieng and Baitong since they moved schools and what I hadn’t considered was when she said that they had been in the same class for nine years and that she never practised making new friends in that time so she thought she was lacking some social skills. I always thought of her as a friendly outgoing person and I think this feeling caught her by surprise.
What skill would I like to learn?
I hope I’m not at the point of learning old-man skills yet. I don’t think I want to play chess or bridge. I still feel like I want to learn to surf. I loved bodyboarding back in my 30s and I know the thrill. I never progressed to surfing though. That time may have passed.
I’m still developing skills in guitar, Thai language, and classroom management amongst other things so I have plenty to be getting on with.
Growing magic mushrooms might be a cool skill to learn!
What’s one thing you made this year?
I made a ton of poetry but that is not something new. I made plenty of messes, but again, nothing new. I made some happy students, a lot of lessons and new student friends.
I made mistakes, though hopefully they are reducing each year.
But what did I make that is something new?
I think it was this year that I made a booklet with all the blog entries from 1979 and sent one to Hayden and another to Sharon.
I also made a notebook with a quote for every day of the year in 2022 that I sent to Hayden.
I made a grave for Kim Chi and as I write this it brings tears but at her grave, I feel pleasant as I pick out the grass to allow the other things to grow there.
One thing I didn’t make is any food. Shoving meals into the microwave or shoving potatoes into the oven does not count.
I took this picture because I found these flowers pretty, standing out against the stark green and the deep blue of the sky.
Today I experimented a little using AI. I took the five paragraphs individually in this post at Spinning Visions and asked AI to summarise each with a four-line poem:
A balcony that's hidden from the view
A door that's sealed with plaster and with lies
A neighbor who has seen what lies behind
A mind that's overgrown with ivy vines
They say our brains must prune the past
To make some room for what is new
But I don't want to lose the things
That made me who I am with you
I've closed so many doors inside
And left them in the dark
I've cut off ties that once were mine
And hid the broken parts
I saw him through the window pane
The one who broke my heart
I thought of all the words unsaid
And how we grew apart
I've left behind so many things
That once were part of me
But now they're hidden by the green
Of ivy's memory
I then asked AI to make these results more philosophical and ended up with this:
What is a balcony but a space
Between the inside and the out
A door that's closed can never face
The truth that lies beyond the doubt
What is a brain but a device
That stores and shapes our history
But when it prunes it pays a price
And loses parts of mystery
What is a heart but a vessel
That fills and spills with love and pain
A tie that binds or a trestle
That bridges gaps or breaks in twain
What is a memory but a shade
That fades and grows with time and light
A green that covers or a blade
That cuts and heals or stirs the night
Of course, I can’t really claim any credit for this beyond the fact that I took the time and effort to do it. I like Makenna’s writing at Spinning Visions and have found it quite inspiring to take her ideas and thoughts and consider them in my own contexts. This time I was just curious how AI would find summarising short texts into four-line poems.
Today I’m feeling:
Tired but positive, a little sleepy when I stop and sit. Need to keep moving. I pushed through two workouts again and feel good for that. After my first class is a four-hour break that I will hope to stay awake through. I don’t want to get caught sleeping at the cafe!
Kept myself going by getting right into some more lesson planning so ran out of time to even do much blog updating.
Today I’m grateful for:
The little plastic toe spacer that I hope will improve my sore big toe joint over time. I’ve tried a few different spacers but I find that they can get uncomfortable after an hour or so, even waking me from sleep. This one is smaller and simpler and just helps you keep the big toe straight in comparison with the second toe. It would be great if I could actually fix this painful foot that has bothered me on and off for most of my life. I’d also like to fix my hips which are out of balance and also contribute to the pain in my foot and other places such as knees, back and the hips themselves.
I can imagine a complete relief, like being pumped full of a relaxant but I think that will only come just before I die. A slow relief that completely overwhelms, until only your body is all that is left and you cease to exist.
The best thing about today was:
Listening to Nicha and Namkhing improve their reading skills, as I had been personally encouraging them last year with one-on-one lessons and whereas then, they struggled with even just two-letter words now they are able to make attempts at four-, five- and six-letter words. They still often fail but the fact that they are trying fills with happiness. I made sure they knew how happy I was too.
Something I learned today?
I rediscovered a website with some English lesson plans, quizzes and games and it inspired me to put together new lessons. Once I get into it I can imagine the work unfolding in the classroom, who will struggle and who will do well, deciding whether to push harder or pull back. Not every time is a hit and some days that happens can be frustrating for the students who then make it frustrating for me. I think I mixed things up well this week and kept my students occupied, learning (if they wanted to) and happy.
Where am I headed?
I’m just heading along. I feel like I’ve spent my life headed to here, where I am. I don’t have any other place I particularly need to be.
This could change in the future as I’m guessing at some point we will head back to Australia again. I don’t need to be thinking about that right now though.
What worries me the most currently?
I don’t tend to worry much about anything. Even things that might cause worry such as Amy being able to settle back here again, doesn’t really worry me that much. Whatever path life goes down I’m still on the path.
I took this picture because finally, something stood out to me that begged a photo to be taken. The sky was a little brighter today which seemed to open my eyes more to what is around.
All around is static A photo reel reflection I see myself, a boy, a man Open to inspection
Shadows passing in ceaseless flux A work in progression Destruction and evolution Are the cycles of obsession
Holding onto pain Until I learned to let it go Significance is impermanent As I’ve slowly come to know
People who cannot suffer can never grow up, never discover who they are.
James Baldwin
Today I’m feeling: Relaxed and average, not up, not down. Today I’m grateful for: Our machete, which I seem to blunt every time I use it but it helped me cut through the vines of the passionfruit. Do I need to buy an angle grinder now so that I can sharpen it again? Or perhaps I will go to auntie next door one day and challenge myself to communicate what I need. The best thing about today was: Pushing through my desire to sleep and motivate myself to finish pulling down all the passionfruit plants. I thought I would just let it go wild forever but after three months of constant collecting and juicing, then drinking I feel like I’ve had enough passionfruit now! The plant tangles up easily and even a couple of weeks after I chopped it off at the base it was still a pain in the ass to get it down from the frame it was wrapped around. What was out of your control today and how did you handle it? I got up a little later than usual so by the time I got to Utopia my usual spot was gone and I had to sit on the uncomfortable car seat. That’s ok, sometimes it’s good to see the same part of the world from a different angle (see yesterday). The coffee was good, the book was good. As it was uncomfortable to sit for long I didn’t hang around as long as I usually do so that was kinda good anyway, get home and get on with things. Something I learned today? Today I messed around with ChatGPT and then the full Invoke AI, to see what pictures it came up with. I’ll learn a little more about this to see if I can use it to generate images for my blog posts. Did you celebrate Christmas today? Write about it. Not particularly. Amy likes to put up a Christmas tree and lights and she gave a gift to Nut and Bruno before we went for a more upmarket-than-normal meal. Amy is getting her eyelashes done and I’m listening to Liars and The Feud at home.
I took this picture because Amy finally got to making her cinnamon buns for Utopia again. They sold out within a couple of hours. Doing this makes her happy though the return on investment, particularly time, is very low.
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