- It is a strange thing to grieve for. A herd of like-minded people. A vehicle for pursuing, seeking, maintaining political power and domination. A collective of similarly-faced, similarly-named, similarly-garbed humanity, named and marked and made intelligible with insignia and flag and song and creed.
- But also a community of people who understand one another. Who band together to yoke the human powers of a young nation, its sinews and hopes and grit, into sprawling roads and gleaming spires.
- “Keramat”. Hallowed. Noble. Dignified. A rather pompous word to describe a seething mass of ambition and belief and camaraderie and struggle. But deeply felt. More than just a name on a card or an official form. Not merely an annual general meeting of the believers and the strivers and the schemers. A movement. A people within a people.
- To remember a glorious past. Demonstration. Mobilisation. Negotiation. Declamation. A young people claiming their right to exist. To govern themselves. To give deed to promises made. To forge a nation out of the disparate and messy strands of migration and immigration – the grime of lives made and remade. Deeds now hallowed in history books.
- Deeds now made into shallow and mocking echos, mouthed by a mongrel mob. Thin and hollow and blasted – these are the calling cards of an army of pygmies, claiming the mantle of past glories with which to cloak their cowardice.
- The emperor is clothed in lies and deceit and self-deception, but the imperium marches on, wilfully blind and mute and dumb. Ever onwards, ever loyal, ever grieving.
ChatGPT: An Exciting New Horizon in Technology
AI technologies are rapidly advancing, and ChatGPT is at the forefront of this exciting new horizon in technology. For those unfamiliar with ChatGPT, it is a large language model trained by OpenAI that can generate human-like text and engage in conversation with users.
While ChatGPT and other AI technologies offer exciting possibilities and have the potential to revolutionize many industries, they also raise concerns about the future of human employment. As AI technologies become more sophisticated, they may replace or augment human labor in a wide range of tasks. This could lead to job displacement and income inequality, and it is important that we address these issues as we integrate AI technologies into society.
However, it is important to recognize that AI technologies are here to stay, and we need to find ways to integrate them in ways that enhance, rather than harm, human lives. This may require finding ways to retrain and upskill workers, as well as implementing policies to mitigate the negative impacts of job displacement.
One way to do this is to focus on using AI technologies to augment rather than replace human labor. For example, rather than replacing customer service representatives with chatbots, companies could use chatbots to handle routine inquiries, freeing up human representatives to handle more complex or nuanced interactions. This would allow workers to use their unique skills and expertise, while also leveraging the efficiency and speed of AI technologies.
Ultimately, ChatGPT and other AI technologies offer an exciting new horizon in technology, but they also present challenges that we must address. By finding ways to integrate these technologies in ways that enhance, rather than harm, human lives, we can ensure that they are a positive force for society.
(And yes, I wrote this essay using ChatGPT. Naturally).
Puisi IV – Ulangtahun ke-Empatbelas
Jagung bertih buat bekalan Jauh kelana ke Tanah Bali Kandung kasih berpayung intan Bershukur hamba kurnia Ilahi Masjid Nyalas teguh adanya Tiang seri umat Melaka Empat belas tahun bersama Kasih patri selama lama
Puisi III – Pantun Buku
Langit redup bertiup bayu
Arak awan melitup surya
Nikmat hidup berteman buku
Cerah nian menyeri jiwa.
Puisi II – Pantun Temasek
Kalau tuan singgah Temasek Jangan lupa beli durian Kalau hati tuan terusik Usah pendam keseorangan Sudah resam alam bermarga Helang mana berkawan pipit? Sudah resam berumahtangga Lidah mana tiada tergigit? Sungai Jurong airnya bersih Nyaman alir di hari petang Damai hati bersulam kasih Damai jiwa diulit sayang.
Today’s Reads XIII – a River of Productivity, the Threat of Nuclear War, and Jho Low in Macau?
- “A river, not a bucket“: a powerful metaphor and method for productivity without tears!
- As the world steps back under the shadow of nuclear war, the post-1945 consensus looks to be unraveling. All thanks to the toxic nationalism of a fading autocrat.
- Jho Low di Macau, Merpati di Kajang, entah bila bertemu lagi?
Today’s Reads XII – Hyperloop, Hybrid Work, and Parenting
- Hyperloop: sexy idea, but too many technical hurdles, and uncertain economics, look to doom the dream of frictionless underground transit.
- “Hybrid work might represent the best of both worlds.” But are the bosses listening?
- “Anger is usually just sadness with nowhere to go.” A heartbreaking read about what it means to be a single mother, raising a boy, when everyday feels like a struggle.
Today’s Reads XI – Income Levels and Stress, Old Politicians, and Cats Purring
- “Higher income amounts to lower stress.” No shit, HBS. But yeah, it’s a good reminder, that money can’t buy happiness necessarily, but it can smoothen away a lot of the wrinkles that crop up in life from time to time. It’s not always good to be rich, but it’s very very helpful to not be poor.
- American gerontocracy! I haven’t seen similar analyses for Malaysia, but if we have a 90+ year old former PM still hankering for the top job, I’m willing to guess that Malaysia probably has similar problems!
- Why and how cats purr. What a wonderful thing it is to make another creature happy, for no other reason than love and mutual care.
Today’s Reads X – Fighting the Status Quo, Self-Identities, and the Politics and Economics of Immigration
- Faced with a life-changing decision? You’re more likely to be happier if you Choose Change. Fight that status quo bias. You know you ought to.
- This is an interesting method to analyse and discover potential self-identities. Useful when you are confronting a potentially life-changing decision, and you are wracked with doubt. I’m going to give this a try soon.
- “Immigration is America’s superpower.” In contract, while Malaysia, too, is an immigrant nation, our politics have been transmogrified by narrow-minded nationalism such that the “pendatang” is now a dirty word, even when the word is uttered by those who themselves are of immigrant stock!
Today’s Reads IX – Leadership, Book Reviews, and Pugs
- In many countries, we have Boomer leaders unwilling to cede the limelight – arguably Malaysia is in even more straitened circumstances, with a 96-year old patriarch still unwilling to give up hopes of another turn at the top job. We just need to move on as a country, and we need the next generation of leaders to prepare themselves to take over and steer the country in a different direction, free from the outdated baggage of the past.
- One of my favourite literary devices is the book review: using the conceit of having to review a book as a means to launch into fascinating and intriguing explorations. The book review essay as intellectual freestyling. This one, which is a fascinating hypothesis on human prehistory as a “high school”-like environment, and the idea of a “gossip trap” as a low-value equilibrium that detracts from the construction of civilisation, masquerades as a review of The Dawn of Everything. A bit of a long read, but worth the while!
- Every now and then I am reminded of the cruelty and vileness of Humanity. This one is especially sad to read.