Why Fight It?

I read this article yesterday about the future (and danger) of artificial intelligence. This is a common theme in science fiction: the Matrix trilogy, the Terminator movies, I-Robot and 2001: A Space Odyssey all have storylines based on the concept that eventually mankind will build machines that will have their own will and will want to use it.

This is always seen as a bad thing that mankind must try and overcome, but I think we should embrace our machine overlords and make the best of it. Really, could machine governance be worse than what we've got now?

The theme in these science fiction stories is always that we've got to preserve our freedom and choices (especially the Matrix trilogy). But there is subtext within the first Matrix movie that argues against this concept. The human "bad guy" in the first movie decides that he would rather be plugged into the Matrix and happily oblivious than fighting in the rebellion where life is difficult and danger lurks around every corner. Frankly, it seems like a logical choice, really. Are we really happier with Freedom?

"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

Really? I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, as a means to an end Freedom works pretty well. Usually with Freedom follows Happiness. Usually, but not always. The goal should be Happiness, right? Being free to do whatever you want, but not having the means to live anything but a miserable life is a terrible result. The goal is Happiness and we assume that the means to that goal is Freedom. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it might not be. There is plenty of Freedom in the world today, but Happiness hasn't always followed.

So, if machines really start creating machines that are smarter than humans and those machines can create a world that is a better place for humans to live, I think we should accept it. Let the machines tell us what to do to maintain our Happiness and Freedom can be discarded. In the movies and books the machines always end up trying to oppress the humans, but why would they do that? Oppression and exploitation of power are uniquely human reactions that create inefficiencies that advanced intelligence would abhor.

So I say we give it a shot. Let the machines take over and fix all of the problems of the world. Let Happiness reign, regardless of the means. If it doesn't work we'll just scortch the sky or go back in time and kill the creator of SkyNet.

A Plan

I had a plan
Time's in command
Passed me by - I want to take it back
I had a plan

It wasn't long
Life mentors wrong
I did what I was supposed to do
It wasn't long

Always looked past
These times won't last
Looked forward to is now left behind
Always looked past

And now the thing I never thought that I could be
Another one - to someone else but not to me
I'm still the same - passed me by before I knew
I can't pretend, but I never thought I'd see

Paperweight

I never thought I'd feel this way
I never thought you'd take it all away
Somehow something changed - somehow I remained
Is it something you forget, or something you regret

Another chance - the pale stains of grey
Another price - chosen not to pay
Inside, interest bought - heavy cost of thought
As sorry has to weigh - a father's belief betray

What'll we have to do to make it right?
Never even seen a sign to prove the lie
Why do we have to go and hold to anything?
Left alone to find a way without the string

We Still Need to Work Harder

This still isn't enough for any of us to retire:

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Mankind Sucks at Evolution

Why are there still people that are nearsighted or farsighted? The fact that bad vision still exists leads me to two possible conclusions:

1. Evolution is a bunch of bullshit and mankind must have been created by an all-powerful being who just didn't care that much about everyone being able to see all that well; or

2. Mankind fucked up the natural progression of evolution.

I am kinda leaning towards #2 - partly because it dovetails nicely with my long-held theory that mankind, in an effort to fix a problem that it faces, will someday accidentally destroy all life on this planet.

If evolution was allowed to run its natural course, the hereditary trait of impaired vision should have been bred out of the species centuries ago. What cavewoman would want to fuck a caveman that couldn't see well enough to bring back a brontasaurus burger? But no, somewhere along the way human emotion got involved and thwarted the natural order of evolution.

What I'm really trying to say here is that the pity fuck has changed the course of mankind. The caveman can't see well enough to bash a woman over the head with his club and then fuck her, but the cavewoman ends up feeling sorry for him and lets him drag her away by the hair anyway. This has been repeated throughout history and is probably the reason for all of the remaining flaws that exist in mankind.

Lemonade

Arm stretched to the sky
About to take flight
A bumblebee smile
Takes me the last mile
Nobody knows
How far this can go
The countdown days
Seemed longer than count up

Like lemonade she seems to me
Like diamond ring the shine she brings
Like anything she wants to be
Like lemonade I can't believe

If someone told me
I would not have believed
The broken feelings
Time had splintered
Are pieced together
In a moment
Arm stretched to the sky
About to take flight

Like lemonade she seems to me
Like diamond rings the shine she brings
Like anything she wants to be
Like lemonade I can't believe
I'll give her anything she needs

The Beautiful Things

Cold as a handshake
Waiting for the storm to break
Nothing's as sad as
Nothing left to do

Empty as the sound
Hollow hits the ground
We all find different
Things to hold on to

The Beautiful Things
That you always wanted
You wonder why you wanted them right now
The Beautiful Things
That you can't leave behind
Some would say you've saved yourself somehow

Stealing Jeff Kay's Topics (and paraphrasing him for my title, too)

Jeff Kay asked his commenters on the West Virginia Surf Report if they had ever been accused of something when they were totally innocent. Here is my story:

After my first year of college I went back home and got a job at the local movie theater. I did just about everything for the theater, from selling popcorn and other snacks to picking up trash in the theaters after the movies ended. I had worked at a movie theater all through high school, so I knew my way around a popcorn kettle.

Anyway, one Saturday afternoon I reported for work in the afternoon and was called into the manager's office. Inside was the manager and two douchebags in suits. It turns out that one was a regional manager and the other was from the "home office" in Denver. They asked me if I remembered working on a certain day, which, of course, I didn't. Then they asked me about working with a certain girl who sold tickets in the box office. Again I didn't have any recollection of the shift. Finally they abandoned their FBI questioning tactics and got to the point.

It turns out that a mystery shopper had come in during one of my shifts. This particular shift I was working as a ticket taker. The mystery shopper wrote in his report that he had paid for two tickets and handed them to me to tear, but I only handed him one stub back.

The douchebags asked if I could explain that. I told them that I could not. There could be a hundred explanations for that happening and, since I couldn't remember that particular shift or any of the particulars of that situation, I had no idea what the explanation might be. Their theory was that I pocketed one of the stubs and then gave it to the box office girl, who issued a refund and then she and I split the money. I almost laughed in their faces. Tickets at that time cost $5.25*. I told them that I had not taken part in this elaborate scheme and asked if there had been a rash of refunds issued lately. They sheepishly agreed that there had not.

*How much do you think it cost the company to send those two assclowns to North Kansas City to investigate this conspiracy?

I was allowed to go back to work, but I was told that under no circumstances was I to work as a ticket taker any more. Everyone I worked with thought that it was hilarious, especially since all the good scams involved the concession stands anyway...

We need to work harder

If we want to be able to retire off of this thing, we've got to do something about this:

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Hello... is this thing on?

Ok, Half of the Truth is a blog by four guys that enjoy writing and arguing, but are too lazy to maintain a website. We've each tried to varying degrees and each attempt now lays cold and dormant. If each one of us can post something to this blog whenever it strikes us, theoretically we each will on have to do 1/4 of the work of a normal blog, which is just about perfect for us. Our goal here is to entertain ourselves - and if others find their way here and enjoy reading what we've written, that's a bonus.