Responding to Generative AI
The headlines are rife with Artificial Intelligence updates. Some of the articles spell out concerns and fears. Justified concerns if you have ever seen any number of films set in a dystopian future. Others celebrate our inevitable march towards an all knowing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Most miss the nuance of what is general AI, compared to the demonstrated practical applications to date. All the exhibitions remain far from Artificial General Intelligence.
Technological Ghosts
I first thought about the idea of digital ghosts while listening to a podcast in which one of the guests on the show mentioned getting a voicemail from a deceased family member after that person died. The message had apparently been delayed by cellular network issues. That eery idea got me thinking about digital ghosts. The pictures, text messages, voicemails, documents, and more that could theoretically live on in perpetuity. I started to look around our house hunting down the sarcophaguses of the digital echos we have created. As I have been cultivating a minimalist practice over the years, I had already whittled down what little remained to a few devices. An external hard drive here and one or two other insignificant devices were all I could find.
Music Discovery
I am an audiophile but there are no more record stores. I don’t listen to the radio. I don’t drive a lot and do not want to give that little bit of time away to shock jocks and advertising breaks. I stream what I want, when I want over the Bluetooth audio. Convenient as this approach may be, it is a double edged sword because that instant gratification can get you stuck in musical rut. I am an audiophile and I want to discover new sounds. Being stuck at home during a pandemic did nothing for that love of audio discovery.
Building A Retention Model
Aristotle declared there to be three primary causes to outcomes. The Efficient (natural), the Formal (momentary, explainable), and the Final (root) cause. Every year countless students start and abandon a formal college education. Each case is unique and should be treated as such when working with an individual student. However, when attempting to design policies and retention tools across the broader student body, we need to find some pattern in the sea of disparate circumstances that cause students to leave and not return. This is one scenario in which data science can help, if used correctly.
Optimizing a Home Office
Work From Home has become what my wife calls, live at work. Each one of us adapting in our own way to a semi-permanent remote worker status. Dining room tables, closets, garages, and empty guest rooms have transformed into make shift offices and classrooms. My experience in working remotely for extended periods of time is not new. Having worked from home in some capacity since 2008. During that time it became clear to us the value of planning office space in your home in some capacity up front.
Differential Privacy & Ethics in ML
The dilemma we face in data privacy is determining how does the distribution of control over the models work and what is the correct balance of legislation and counter measures that can be used to control misuse? In a world where greed is the norm, we need to assume that the data of the lower classes will be used against and in favor of them.
Event Driven Design
Just applying technology to a problem is not a Silver Bullet towards a solution. Complexity is bound to arise. Essential Complexity is a requirement that, without it, the complete picture cannot be seen. Accidental Complexity happens when we introduce concepts that do not serve the overall design. Therefore, it is imperative to justify the complexity, by demonstrating where it fits into the big picture and how it helps accomplish the larger vision.
How I Work
This post is inspired by and modeled after the Lifehacker Series by the same name. I thought to create a similar post after a flurry of mentoring meetings with Colleagues and Graduate & Undergraduate Students. Many of the questions asking about my working approach reminding me of the Lifehacker posts. So, through the sincerest flattery, I will summarize here, my approach to productivity and work.
My Design Obsession
Great design can be applied to yourself as well. Every decision factors into how we design the experience of our lives. Whether we create or just consume. What are commute will be, or how our weekends will flow, or what our morning routine will be. We can sketch out truly meaningful and interesting lives when we apply careful reflection on past experiences and emotions and an eye on the bigger picture.