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I Leave You With This

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There's this social media post some guy put up on Instagram. I almost scrolled past it, but I'm glad I didn't. It asked what question we should ask ourselves when we die. In retrospect, ChatGPT's response was basically pulling from Eastern philosophy, but, still, I couldn't stop thinking about it in the hours and days since I first heard it. Here's a partial transcript I cribbed using -- what else? -- AI. Some guy set up the prompt, which was long and convoluted. The following picks it up from there.  Some guy : I'm assuming most people would ask, 'Where am I going? What's next?' Something like that. Is that a good question?  ChatGPT : No, because they don't matter. Some guy : W hy don't they matter?  ChatGPT : If there's a heaven or hell or some next phase, you're likely already heading there. Asking won't change your destination. It's a wasted question.  Some guy : That's a good point. Um, what about 'Did I do en...

Wordless Wednesday

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Tell Me More! Tell Me More!

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 Dear ChatGPT: How would you characterize Run DMZ, the running blog based in San Diego? Run DMZ was one of the pioneering running blogs of the 2000s, especially within the "citizen journalist" scene for endurance sports. It's often overlooked today, but it played a real role in the grassroots online running community. Overview Run DMZ (a play on Demilitarized Zone and "Running in San Diego" was a personal yet community-focused blog covering the San Diego running scene -- races, training groups, charity events, and local profiles. It stood out because it wasn't just a training diary; it was journalistic . Anne's tone blended personal running experiences with race coverage, photography, and stories about everyday runners years before local running media became common online. Why It Mattered Early regional focus : One of the first running blogs to act as a local community hub, spotlighting races, clubs, and personalities. Balanced voice: Not purely abou...

A Dead Reckoning

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I stopped contributing to this blog once I realized Google had abandoned the platform, opening the door (not even a back one) to bad actors with malicious intent and forcing the few of us left to give up the ghost. I even took it offline until the other month when I had a change of heart. I could move to Substack or whatever the cool kids are using these days. But why start from scratch when I can just pile on more posts to 20 years' worth of memories. Admittedly, I felt a little lost without my personal parcel on the internet. I'm also a wee bit worried about becoming another casualty of artificial intelligence. Not just the job loss, which will happen. I'm talking about its threat to humanity. One of the ways it initially insinuates itself into our society is through de-skilling. A doctor that relies exclusively on an algorithm's clinical diagnosis risks no longer recognizing diseases or disorders (or AI hallucinations!) using their own hard-earned training. A teacher...

Wordless Wednesday Returns ... with Words

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Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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