AI is the new trend here on the blogosphere….both pro and con….I have been mostly con because I am old and set in my ways. I have written about the dangers, as I see them, of depending on AI too heavily.
So when I recently read something that made me think of AI in a positive vain I felt I had to post it to be fair.
A group of researchers have made the translation of cuneiform possible….
Translation isn’t simply a matter of swapping one word for a corresponding word in another language. A high-quality translation requires the translator to understand how both languages string thoughts together and then use that knowledge to create a translation that maintains the linguistic nuances of the original, which native speakers effortlessly understand.
As difficult as that process is, it’s nothing compared to the challenge of translating an ancient language into a modern tongue. These translators must not only resurrect extinct languages from written sources but also have intimate knowledge of how the cultures that produced those sources evolved over centuries. If that weren’t enough, their sources are often fragmented, leaving crucial context lost to the ages.
Because of this, the number of people capable of translating languages from antiquity is small, and their best efforts are often outpaced by the volume of texts unearthed by archeologists.
Take ancient Akkadian. This early Semitic language is one of the best attested from the ancient world. Hundreds of thousands, by some accounts more than a million, Akkadian texts have been discovered and today lie in museums and universities. Many have even been digitized online. Each one has the potential to teach us about the life, politics, and beliefs of the first civilizations, yet this knowledge remains locked behind the time and manpower necessary to translate them.
To help change that, a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and computer scientists has developed an artificial intelligence that can translate Akkadian almost instantly and unlock the historic record preserved in these 5,000-year-old tablets.
https://bigthink.com/the-future/ai-translates-cuneiform/
I believe this could be a boon for the history records….there is so much we do not know about this period of humanity that we might learn more about what it is to be human.
If this works out I shall tip my hat to AI for providing a valuable service to mankind.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Okay, it has some uses. But we should not ‘sleep-walk’ into AI without expressing some very serious concerns about how it is applied in the real world.
Seriously, it has the potential to take over everything!
Best wishes, Pete.
Oh I agree and I shall not….but I will tip my hat if this thing can translate the thousands of tablets on museums. chuq
I used ai to find this picture of a sample of cuneiform, but I could not transfer it to this comment so here is the address of where you are supposed to be able to see it:
https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-images/59d49f3cd291d060c46f04afdd89e75495ab4df6.jpg
I guess I still have a lot to learn about how to use the AI programs… but I am definitely learning. What kind of question would you like the AI to answer for you … I will look it up and see what happens …should be fun …we can test to see if the AI is subject to biases…
Does life create reality? chuq
I asked the question, “Does Life Create Reality” to the “Bard” AI program and here is the answer i got—
”
The question of whether life creates reality is a complex one that has been debated by philosophers and scientists for centuries. There is no easy answer, as it depends on how you define “reality” and “create.”
If you define reality as the physical world that exists independently of our minds, then it is clear that life does not create reality. The laws of physics and the structure of the universe existed long before life evolved, and they would continue to exist even if all life were to disappear.
However, if you define reality as our experience of the world, then it is possible that life does play a role in creating reality. Our brains are constantly processing information from the world around us, and our experiences shape the way we perceive reality. In this sense, we can say that life creates our reality by giving it meaning and significance.
There is also some evidence to suggest that life may have a more direct impact on reality. For example, the theory of quantum entanglement suggests that the actions of one observer can affect the state of another observer, even if they are separated by a great distance. This could mean that life, by its very existence, is helping to shape the reality that we experience.
Ultimately, the question of whether life creates reality is one that we may never be able to answer definitively. However, the evidence suggests that life does play a role in shaping our experience of reality, and it is possible that life may even have a more direct impact on reality itself.
Here are some additional thoughts on the matter:
The philosopher John Wheeler proposed the “participatory universe” theory, which suggests that reality is not fixed, but is constantly being created by the act of observation. This theory suggests that life, by its very act of observing the universe, is helping to create it.
The physicist Amit Goswami has proposed the “quantum-physical-consciousness” theory, which suggests that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, and that it plays a role in shaping reality. This theory suggests that life, by its very existence, is helping to create the universe.
These are just two of the many theories that have been proposed about the relationship between life and reality. The question of whether life creates reality is a complex one that is likely to continue to be debated for many years to come.
Just had to go into metaphysics…..good answer but as usual debatable….so it cannot think for itself it just gave me the cliff notes version….good answer. Thanx I wanted to see how it worked. chuq
jhu welcum
If only? LOL chuq
I have several reproduction tablets in my office. chuq
Are reproduction tablets the opposite of birth control pills?
If shoved properly they could do the job Damn that was bad. chuq
‘m i bad? LOL
LOL