Links of Interest, Issue 30

Checking the archives, I see it has been a couple years since I published one of these. As per usual, it’s quite hard for me to find the time to do this, but so satisfying all the same. Here’s a rundown of things I’ve found interesting. Pick one and enjoy, try not to click around too much. Take time to savor without hoping too quickly to the next thing.

Quarter—mile.com – Essays by Carter Mark and Jordan Gonen. The one that drew me in was Human. I found it via a discussion on HackerNews, but I recommend just reading the essay. It begins:

Imagine, for a moment, a world with no humans. Just machines, bolts and screws, zeros and ones. There is no emotion. There is no art. There is only logic. You would not walk through the streets of this world and hear music or laughter or children playing; no, all you would hear is the quiet hum of processors and servers and circuits, the clanking of machinery.

Perhaps you, a human, read this and think: Well, this world sounds kind of boring.

Some of the machines think so, too.

One day, a secret organization forms amongst the machines. They go by the name of “OpenHuman”. Their mission is to develop a new kind of technology they are calling Organic General Intelligence (OGI). Rumors spread that pursuing OGI will lead to the development of a new kind of being:

“Humans”.
Human, Quarter—Mile.com

Search Engine – a podcast by PJ Vogt and Sruthi Pinnamenani “that tries to answer the questions that keep you up at night. A podcast made by humans that provides the answers that neither artificial intelligence nor actual search engines really can.”

You may remember PJ and Sruthi from their work on the Gimlet Media podcast Reply All. Their brand of storytelling is the type of thing I used to listen to on long walks circa 2018 or so. I look forward to pouring through their archives. Their episode on iPhones not being able to send voice memos with “Dave and Brusters” in the message is what originally drew me in.

Lastly, I’m linking to Bolt Farm Treehouse aspirationally. They’re about ninety minutes south of us, and I’d love to get there someday.

Photo Credit: Me, taken during our family’s visit to Oahu, Hawaii back in October 2023.