Intleacht Shaorga Ghiniúnach!

Generative Artificial Intelligence

by | 2023/01/18 | Current Affairs, Science and Technology, International News, Opinion

Generative Artificial Intelligence

According to experts on the subject, artificial intelligence (AI) will reach a point, soon enough, where the machines will be more powerful than their creators. Undoubtedly, the power of AI is increasing faster and faster and the technology is just starting out! Like it or not, AI will play a central role in our lives before long.

When we think of IS, it seems that we think of robots and machines. Although we are correct, it is essentially software. When you run AI software on the distributed computing system called the Cloud, that forms a very powerful platform. AI software uses algorithms to process data located on the internet, to make decisions without any human intervention. The AI branch called Generative AI generates images, text - including poetry, music and artwork.

As a new field of AI, Generative AI is developing rapidly. There are now products online that allow users to try Generative AI for themselves, for free. One organization is responsible for that – OpenAI.

OpenAI

OpenAI was started in San Francisco in 2015 as a non-profit organization. In 2019, however, OpenAI partnered with Microsoft. Microsoft invested $1 billion in it at that time, and they are thinking of investing 10 billion soon. Microsoft intends to integrate Generative AI with their search engine, Bing (similar to Google).

In 2020, OpenAI announced GPT-3, a language model trained on trillions of words from the internet. In 2021, OpenAI released DALL-E, a deep learning neural network that can generate digital images from textual descriptions.

Around December 2022, OpenAI received widespread media coverage after they launched a free preview of ChatGPT, their new chat bot. According to OpenAI, over a million people logged in in the first week.

DALL-E and ChatGPT

You can create images with DALL-E and create text with ChatGPT.

I asked DALL-E to create a picture of 'a clock in the desert in the style of the artist Salvador Dali', and DALL-E drew some amazing computer generated images that were all very interesting. I recommend you try DALL-E. There is an app available for your smartphone, and you will have a lot of fun playing with it.

When I asked the question "do many people speak Irish?" on ChatGPT, part of its response was as follows (with a few corrections):

"Many people speak Irish in this country, where the language was a living language before. Irish is the official language in this country and it is also being used as a language of education in some schools and as a spoken language in some areas of the country, including the Gaeltacht areas."

I suggest you try ChatGPT as well. Go to the site https://chat.openai.com/chat and you will be able to use it for free!

Advantages and Disadvantages

We need to discuss the pros and cons of Generative AI. Undoubtedly, it is a controversial topic. On the one hand, this technology puts powerful new tools in our hands, to help us in new ways that were not available before. Writers, artists, musicians and the like will be able to quickly create comprehensive frameworks using Generative AI, and will be able to spend more time in creative thinking!

On the other hand, there are great challenges to be solved because of important issues. It will be difficult for the law to keep up with the rapid pace of technology. Because Generative AI relies on the data available on the internet – data of all kinds both good and bad, the system is fundamentally biased as a result. Basically, this system is unable to distinguish between high quality and poor quality data. There are also issues of copyright, intellectual property and plagiarism of other people's work. Perhaps even worse, cybercriminals will be able to use technology to commit more sophisticated cybercrime online.

Conclusion

Whether we like it or not, there is no stopping the development of this revolutionary technology. We need to reduce any negative impact as much as possible. We will have to implement new rules and regulations to do that, both nationally and internationally.

In my opinion, when Generative AI is used correctly, new miraculous abilities are placed in our hands, abilities that will improve year after year.

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Tuartha 2023!

Predictions for 2023!

by | 2023/01/11 | Personal, Opinion

Predictions for 2023!

 Ag deireadh na bliana, bíonn go leor daoine agus eagraíochtaí ag déanamh tuartha agus tairngreachtaí don bhliain nua. Táthar ann a chreideann cuid acu, ach ní áirím mé féin ina measc siúd. Ina ainneoin sin, tá na tuartha céanna an-suimiúil agus is ábhar machnaimh iad den chuid is mó. Ar a laghad, feiceann tú cruinneshamhail duine eile, agus uaireanta bainfidh sé sin geit asat, toisc go bhfuil sé go hiomlán éagsúil le do chruinneshamhail féin. Seo dhá shraith de thuartha, ceann amháin foilsithe san almanag dar teideal ‘Old Moore’s Almanac’ (foilsíodh é den chéad uair in 1764), agus an ceann eile fógartha ag iar-Uachtarán na Rúise, Dmitry Medvedev.

 

 

Predictions from Old Moore's Almanac

 

 

Here are some of the predictions in the Almanac for the year 2023.

 

 

• There will be a "big reset" of the financial system in 2023. It's hard for me to go from the general thing to the specific things that could happen as a result.
• An "Atlantic event" will affect the west coast of Ireland next year. It is a big event, according to this prediction. It is not mentioned what kind of incident it is.
• The increases in house prices here will be slower, but still increasing. I don't agree with that, because I think we're going to see a significant drop in house prices.
• Limerick will win in Hurling, and Kerry in Football. What about Kilkenny? What kind of prediction is this?
• There will be a "serious health warning" for Donald Trump. He is not in good health, and there is a good chance that something will happen to him in the coming year, I think.
• The internet will suffer a global outage. I do not agree with that, because it is a distributed system and it would be very difficult to imagine how the whole system can be broken - pieces of it, maybe.
• Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have "marriage and money problems". I don't care about them!
• We will have a new Pope. There is a decent chance of that, because he's not in good health and he's also getting old!

 

 

Predictions from Dmitry Medvedev

 

 

"On New Year's Eve, everyone is making predictions," Medvedev tweeted. "Many come up with wild predictions, as if they were competing with the craziest and even the most absurd ones," Medvedev said adding to such predictions.

 

 

• Part of Ukraine will be held by Poland and Hungary. The "Fourth Reich" will be created, which will include the territory of Germany and its satellites - Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and a few other places as well. Then, there will be war between France and the "Fourth Reich" and, in the process, Europe will be divided. This prediction makes no sense or reason. Poland and Hungary are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (ECAT), which is allied with Ukraine. Germany has no ambition to establish an empire either, due to its shameful history.
• Northern Ireland will separate from the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland. As we all know, this is an absurd prediction, as Irish reunification is a complex process, and a majority in the North needs to be in favor of reunification before anything else. The majority isn't there right now, and that won't change for the foreseeable future.
• Civil war breaks out in the United States, and California and Texas become independent states as a result. Texas and Mexico will be allied states. Although there are political problems in the United States, there is no sign that civil war will break out anytime soon. Texas and Mexico don't like each other, and it's hard to imagine them ever being allies!
• Elon Musk will win the presidential election in the states that, after the end of the civil war, side with the Republican Party. This is the most absurd prediction! No doubt Musk thought Medvedev's predictions (and especially this one) were hilarious, as he responded with his own tweet, saying: "Epic Tweet!"

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

The difference between those two sets of predictions is night and day, and while 'Old Moore's Almanac' predictions are kind of believable, Dmitry Medvedev's predictions are laughable. The difference? In my opinion, Medvedev does not know the trade secret. Here's the secret: 'Use vague expressions in your predictions, and then no matter what happens, there's a good chance that your prophecy will come true!

 

 

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Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh – Cuid a Dó!

Happy New Year to You - Part 2!

by | 2023/01/04 | Personal, Opinion

Happy New Year to You - Part 2!

Last week, I was looking back at some of the highlights of 2022. It is now time for us to say goodbye to 2022. Alfred Tennyson said goodbye to the old year like this:

“Ring out wild bells to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty lights;

The year is dying in the night,

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

It is time for us too to welcome the new year. In the same poem, Tennyson welcomed the new year like this:

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true…”

It is a great poem, written by Tennyson in 1850. In almost every verse, we bid farewell to the bad things that happened in the old year and we welcome the opportunities we will have in the new year to do positive things instead. In this way, the new year is seen as an opportunity for us to make improvements in our lives and in society itself. Isn't that a great idea!

New Year's Resolutions

Around this time I tend to make new year's resolutions, trying to improve myself and do things that have been on the long finger. Years ago, I used to break my resolutions before long. But, gradually, I learned how to formulate realistic resolutions, and then how to implement them. If you are interested in learning more about that approach, I recommend you read this book: 'Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything', written by behavioral scientist BJ Fogg.

In that book, the author advises us to make only small changes at first, but to make them regularly. For example, if I'm trying to get fitter, I might start with a short walk (one kilometer) every day. After a while when I was happy with that, I would go for longer walks every day. I would continue like that, until I was satisfied with the amount of exercise I was doing. If you set out to achieve a big goal at first, it's all too easy to lose heart and give up on the goal.

My New Year's Resolutions

Here are my resolutions regarding the Irish language, because I intend to improve my Irish. The following activities will be carried out through the medium of Irish.

• Listening. I will listen every day – at least half an hour. I have apps on my phone, and I have both live television and radio and podcasts available in Irish.
• Reading. I will read every day – at least half an hour. I already have both e-books and regular books. For example, I recently received the book 'Madame Lazare' from the site siopaleabhar.com, and I intend to read it this year. I also love Tuairisc.ie, and I read at least one or two articles every day.
• Speaking. This is a difficult one, because people (or at least one person) need to be available, who speak Irish. Pop-up Gaeltachts both live and virtual (Zoom) are available and many people like them. Unfortunately, they don't suit me well, and because I'm not comfortable in them so I'm reluctant to say anything. Although my wife and I are reluctant to speak Irish, we will reserve half an hour every week, to speak Irish together.
• Writing. I will continue to write these pieces, for the Kilkenny People, as long as the learned Editor of this great newspaper is willing to give me space, and add to that, that I am now determined to speak out more boldly and forcefully than as I did, up till now. A government reshuffle is in place with Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach and the new Minister of State for the Gaeltacht Patrick O'Sullivan in office. Therefore, I have decided to keep a close eye on language matters, and on political matters, together, in the coming year.
• New website. I will be launching my website in Irish and making this article available online for my readers!

Parting Shot

All I have to do now is to wish you all a very happy New Year, and many happy returns.

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Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh!

Happy New Year to You!

by | 2022/12/28 | Personal, Opinion

Happy New Year to You!

Isn't it hard to believe that the year of our Lord 2022 is on the way out, but it is! It is a time of reflection and remembrance as we look back on the year that is passing, and at the same time look forward to the new year that is now stretching ahead of us. It's a sort of threshold and we're in between. It is also a time of commemoration and celebration, as we say goodbye to the past year and welcome the new year.

2022 was an eventful year, in which many important things happened around the world. I don't have the room to write a lot in the space I have, so I'll mention a few things that really impressed me, and especially ones that I haven't written much about during the year. Although many things that happened in 2022 were on the negative side, there were also many positive things that happened. I decided to focus my attention today exclusively on art and sports, because aren't those mostly positive things? This is not the time to be negative - so, no mention of politics, wars, inflation, global warming and more! Without further ado, here are a few highlights in the arts and sports that really impressed me in 2022.

Great Films

A number of films came out with directors and actors from Ireland - including 'An Cailín Ciúin' (in Irish) and 'The Banshees of Inisherin' (in English). I wrote reviews about them during the year in this column. I love 'The Quiet Girl', based on the wonderful book 'Foster' by Claire Keegan.   

Books

A number of great books by Irish authors were published in 2022, both in Irish and English. I can't mention them all here, but I've started reading a few of them and they've been great so far. I will no doubt enjoy them. Which books? English books: 'We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland', by Fintan O'Toole and 'Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story', by Bono. Irish books: 'Madame Lazarre', by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin. I will write reviews about these books after I finish them myself.

Sports

It was a great year from a sporting point of view. Finally, the impact of the pandemic was greatly reduced, so that we were able to attend sporting events again. In this column, I don't have space to mention all the highlights, and I have chosen a piece of national news and a piece of international news that had a big impact on me.

National Sports - Hurling

Brian Cody resigned as Kilkenny hurling manager. He dedicated 24 years to the task and his teams won 11 All-Ireland championships. Unfortunately, Limerick defeated Kilkenny in the 2022 final, Brian's last final. The Cats did their best in that game, and although they fought with passion and heart, Limerick was better on the day! 

In ainneoin sin, níl aon dabht faoi ach gurb é Brian Cody an bainisteoir is rathúla agus is fearr i stair na hiomána.  Caithfimid a oidhreacht a cheiliúradh agus is rud dearfach é sin.  Go maire tú an céad, a Bhrian Cody!

International Sports - Soccer/Football

The 2022 Soccer World Cup in Qatar initially attracted a lot of controversy from a human rights perspective, but as soon as the games started, people forgot about those matters, and focused entirely on soccer. No wonder - It was a great Cup - maybe the best ever. Although we were surprised by many results, the crowning highlight was the final, with Argentina against France. The game was almost over with Argentina leading 2 to 0, when Argentina conceded a penalty kick with almost 20 minutes left on the clock. Kylian Mbappé flicked the ball into the back of the net, and then the game really started! There was a sharp conflict in the game from then on, with Messi from Argentina against Mbappé from France, from a scoring point of view. The game went to penalty kicks, and Messi and Mbappé scored first for their teams. But then Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a brilliant save, and France could not catch up with Argentina again. Argentina and its national hero, Lionel Messi, won.

Happy New Year to all our readers!!

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Nollaig Shona Daoibh Uilig

Merry Christmas to You All

by | 2022/12/20 | Poetry, Literature

Merry Christmas to You All

This is a Christmas article my father wrote several years ago. Peter actually passed away just before Christmas 2019 - may God bless him.

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Yes, that time of the year has come to us again, that time that gives us all the opportunity to show peace and good will to the great world which is outside of ourselves. Yes, and it is a time too which gives us the opportunity to revisit memories, back to those days long ago, when we stood looking in wonder at the beautiful Bethlehem, which was arranged nicely and peacefully, in the village Guest House , and even further back, to the first Manger in Royal Bethlehem in the Holy Land itself, at the beginning of the Christian era, when Jesus was born in the Stable, because there was nowhere to be found for his mother, Mary, or Joseph, in the Guest House of the town, that blessed night.

Christmas Night

Look how the poet, Máire Mhac an tSaoi, put it, in her poem "Oíche Nollag", when she said that the moneyed folk found shelter in that same Guest House that night, but that the Virgin and her husband were left with nowhere inside available to them, save and old stable for the animals.

                    The lights were all lighting in that little hostel,

                    There were generous servings of victuals and wine,

                    For merchants of silk, for merchants of woollens,

                    But Jesus will lie in this household tonight. an tigh seo anocht.

The poet is referring to the custom that was alive, among Gaels, at that time, that the Holy Family used to wander around that night, trying to get inside a strange house, and that was the reason the door would be left open, the Christmas candle burning, and a place set ready for them at the table, hoping that they would come to visit them, that blessed night. See again how Máire Mhac an tSaoi puts it, in another verse, in that same poem:

                    Leave the door open before her,

                    The Virgin who’ll come with the child on her breast,

                    Deonaigh do shuaimhneas a ligint a Mhuire,

                    Luíodh Mac Dé ins an tigh seo anocht.

There is no doubt in the world, but that the poet managed to understand and express the attitude and beliefs of the common people, in the verses of that beautiful poem, "Oíche Nollag".

A Vigil kept

It was not the custom of the western people to go overboard, that night, with food or drink, as they were waiting for the arrival of the Holy Family to visit them. They used to have a normal supper, potatoes and fish, perhaps, or something similar, for wouldn’t they have a big Christmas dinner to prepare the next morning, that is, after Mass, as on that morning, every priest was in the habit of saying three Masses, and as a result, they would start very early in the morning, at half past eight, perhaps, and those people would be at home again, around ten, and then they would start preparing dinner. Yes, my soul, and remember that they didn't have modern cooking devices at that time, indeed! They only had a three-legged oven and a pot, and they had to work those devices on the open fire. Big change in the times between then and now!

How about toys then?

What about the boys and girls then? You can bet it wouldn't take them long to open their Christmas treats, nor would it take two people to load them onto a cart! I'm talking about my own district, west of Erris, in County Mayo, of course, and the lads used to get nothing but a wee toy gun maybe, and a wee toy car, or the likes, yes, and a handful of sweets and fruit, to fill the stocking. And what about the girls? Well, they would usually get dolls, and maybe sweets and fruit too. We used to play with those Christmas treats, and then some of us would go out in search of the wren, as we were getting ready for Wren Day, since it was the day after Christmas Day. If we didn't manage to find a wren that day, and I promise you, those same wrens would know that we were looking for them that particular day, as they would clear out of our way very early that morning. Well, if we didn't manage to find one of them, what would we do then was to wait until nightfall, and then, it wouldn't be too difficult to find a sleepy sparrow in the gutter, and that would do it for us the next day, as long as we didn’t let anyone get too close to the bird which was well covered in a cage we had!

Memories

There is no doubt in the world, but that a flood of memories returns to me, at this time of year, as I go back that distressing, complicated, interesting, memory lane. Here is how I spoke about some of those thoughts, in a poem I composed myself last year:

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A treasure of accumulated memories

In the cupboard of bundled memories,

Going out with a Wren, early Mass,

Angels and Shepherds visiting,

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Sharing nice things generously,

Roasting delicious foods,

Christmas treats given with heart,

And Jesus’ birthday being celebrated.

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They Chose a Goose.

They were not roasting a turkey for the occasion, at that time,no indeed, but a goose. Yes, a beautiful, plucky, Irish goose, for Christmas, and wouldn’t we get the gravy and meat, and finally, when we had cleverly and carefully worked down to the bones, we would not discard those bones carelessly either, no we would not indeed! As in fact the wing bones were very popular with us, as by cutting them carefully, we were able to make goose guns from them, and then, we only had to put a small bit of wood through the heart of the bone, and a potato, in order to start shooting bullets at everyone around the house. Didn’t we have fun! I can promise you that we had as much fun with those same goose guns as youngsters today would have with their PlayStations and the like! Yes – big difference between then and now.

But to add a fitting end to this week's piece, it might not be a bad idea to wish each and every one of my readers a merry Christmas, and may each of you be seven times better, a year from tonight. And yes, many happy returns!

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Birth in the Stable

The Christmas season is upon us,

And white flakes coming down

As a bright, holy, shining flag,

Hiding grime and dirt for us.

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But inside my heart, with enthusiasm,

I will prepare a manger, with effort,

and I will clear away the grime of the years

From the old stable of my hard soul.

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The Christmas season is upon us,

And the holy, Heavenly Infant, coming down,

Is washing, and saving the Clan of Eve,

And hiding sin and trouble for us.

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