Because the future has just started
Sometimes I put a lot of effort into a software package, only to realize later that I was aiming in the wrong direction. This is not always a failure. That kind of experience often gives me useful insights about where I should have aimed in the first place. And then I have an opportunity to Continue reading "Successful failures"
Today I decided to turn my computer into a mirror. Webcams are great, but they do what video cameras usually do they show you the way others see you, rather than the way you see yourself in a mirror. Because a mirror does a back-front image reversal, it feels like it does a left-right Continue reading "Mirror mirror"
From time to time I find myself traveling around the world, yet still having regular meetings at NYU. Of course this is only possible because of on-line tools like Zoom. We all know that there is something missing when you are not meeting in person. But I wonder what might also be added to compensate. Continue reading "Remote versus in person meetings"
I ve been creating a lot of formal presentations recently. Between course notes, grant proposals, and prepared talks at conferences and workshops, it seems that a lot of my day is spent assembling and polishing material to talk through for other people. Which leads me to wonder which way the arrow of causality goes. Am I Continue reading "Formal presentations"
When we look back in the fullness of time There are certain moments we mainly recall We don t get to have many moments of grace But they are what let us make sense of it all
Continuing the general theme from yesterday Suppose, sometime in the near future, you are I are working on a project together, and you become unavailable for a while. Perhaps we are collaborating from opposite sides of the planet, and you need to catch some sleep. Suppose further that there is an A.I. that has been Continue reading "Ersatz"
I had a recent conversation at a conference about using A.I. agents for collaboration. We discussed many ideas, including what happens when one collaborator uses an A.I. proxy of the other collaborator. For example, if an invention comes out of that work, whose name(s) should be on the patent? We also discussed two people working Continue reading "In collaboration with A.I."
At a recent conference I saw a demo of an AI video-chat assistant, which appeared to participants as an on-screen cartoon character. The AI assistant would listen to the group discussion, and when it determined that the conversation was floundering, would jump in and try to refocus everyone, pointing out possible next directions based on Continue reading "A problem with AI conversation assistants"
I am going to be giving a talk at a workshop in a few hours. Right now I am putting together the final version of the talk, a combination of words, images and demos. It occurs to me that the talk itself and the preparation for the talk are actually two separate events. Sure, everyone Continue reading "Putting together a talk"
As I an giving people a Soma cube to play with, I might as well give them something to do with it. Today s post is a link to a more advanced version of my Soma cube visualizer. In this version you can move the pieces around independently. If you are clever, you can create all Continue reading "Soma cube, part 2"