Existential Threat

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From Zain Kahn’s ‘Superhuman newsletter‘:

Over 1,200 employees at frontier AI companies signed a letter warning of runaway development
“The open letter cautions that AI could advance “beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems,” and calls on the US government to deliberately pace progress at the international level, which would reduce competitive pressure on each lab. Signatories include chief scientists at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. The scale of the signatory list — spanning companies and roles — is a signal of how seriously insiders are taking the risk.”

I grew up believing that a super-intelligent AI would be created in a lab. The fear was that it would somehow escape into the ‘real world’ and only then could it dominate the world. The whole idea of some sort of firewall to protect us just evaporated when LLM’s were trained and unleashed on the internet. We completely bypassed any sort of protection or safety net that would allow human intervention in order to prevent a rogue AI from running wild.

Worse yet, we have unleashed AI into a world where any one person with ill-intent can use AI with nefarious intentions. I’ve said before,

“I don’t fear the famous scientist, I fear the rogue, unhappy misfit who uses incredible technological advancements for nefarious reasons. The same technology that can make our lives easier, and create tremendous good in the world, can also be used with bad intentions. But there are differences between someone using a revolver for bad reasons and someone using a nuclear bomb for bad reasons. The problem we face in the future is that access to the equivalent harm of a nuclear bomb (or worse) will be something more and more people have access to. I don’t think this is something we can stop, and so as amazing as the technology is that we see today, my fear is that it could also be what leads to our demise as a species.”

Now 1,200 AI employees are heeding a warning that AI could advance “beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems.” That’s just AI systems acting on their own. That doesn’t include the danger of humans using these complicated and little understood intelligent tools with bad intentions. Sure we need to worry about AI running amok, but I think the far greater existential threat is a rogue government, or even a rogue lone wolf angry at the world, using AI in ways that we won’t be able to stop. Think of a cascading virus either electronic or environmentally contagious beyond our ability to stop it. Not created by scientists, but by a brilliant incel who feels cheated by the world.

We don’t need to fear rogue AI nearly as much as we need to fear rogue individuals armed with a super-intelligent AI. This is what really scares me.

Swaying in a hammock

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When the wind is just right, cool, a bit gusty, and yet consistent, a hammock becomes a self-swaying cocoon. No intentional momentum is required to keep motion going. Light dances across your face as you sway with leafy branches between you and the sun.

There is something peaceful about this movement. Perhaps it is connected not just to the movement but also to your location. Hammocks are only common at outdoor holiday destinations.

Maybe this needs to change. Maybe hammocks should be more widespread in distribution. A porch, a backyard, a family room… all enjoyable spaces that might be more enjoyable with a hammock.

Question: Would a hammock be as wonderful if it was used more often, or is the rarity of it partly what makes it so great?

Right now, I think I could get used to being in one a lot more often.

Reprioritized not Retired

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My contract with my school district ends today, the last day of July, 2026. I have one more paycheque coming next week. And then I’m officially a pensioner. 

I’ve had a few celebrations, I’ve filled out a bunch of forms. I’ve emptied my office and moved out. All that’s left is to return my laptop and key. Today I did one more small thing: I just updated my LinkedIn profile ending my career. My bio now says,

“Retired from being an Educator and Principal, still finding ways to keep learning. ∞β”

I’ll probably change this in the coming days or months, but it will do for now. In actual fact, I’m not really retired because I’ve had another ‘job’ listed on LinkedIn for about 15 years now. The job title is ‘Open Thinker’ and the organization is ‘Daily-Ink and Pairadimes for Your Thoughts Blogs’. This ‘job’ is over 20 years old and going stronger than ever. Now, I have more time to write; More time to spend on projects I want to spend time on; More time to ‘work’ on things I want to work on. 

In a way, I’m reprioritizing, not retiring. I’m still the same nerdy person, still in perpetual beta (∞β), still wanting to learn and share ‘out loud’. If I do this retirement thing right, I’ll continue to prioritize my health, I’ll focus more on diet and sleep – two areas of my life that have the most room for improvement… And I’ll keep finding things I’m passionate to learn about, and pursue those with the same commitment I gave my previous jobs. And I will keep reminding myself that I want to create new experiences with the people I care for and love.

Work prioritized as endeavours that I want to do, with more freedom to do them when I want. 

Right now, I want to finish writing and enjoy an undetermined amount of time listening to my book in a hammock. I could really get used to this. 

The wine tour

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For quite a few years now, my wife and I have holidayed in Kelowna during our summer break. What has usually happened is that our daughters come and join us for part of the trip, but as it turns out, usually at different times. This year their visit overlapped and I had a special request. I wanted to do a wine tour with them… where I wasn’t the designated driver.

So this morning 5 of us, my wife and I, our two daughters, and one of my daughter’s best friends, walked up to the front entrance of our campground and met a tour van to take us on a full day wine tour.

Six other people joined us: Four from London, Ontario, and two from London, England. It only took one winery to loosen up and then we became one big group on the bus. By the end of the day our 3 parties were sad to have to part ways.

Overall, the day went as I had hoped. I enjoyed my time with my family and new friends. I could fully enjoy the tasting without worrying about transportation. And it was a delight to have this experience with my wife and kids.

I’ve said this before, but it is special to me that my grown kids still enjoy spending time with my wife and I. I really believe that life is about creating special experiences. I don’t need more stuff, but I want more opportunities to spend time with people that I love and care for… and this wine tour is a perfect example of this.

The (grey) sands of time

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It has been several years since I’ve left my beard for over a week, and now that I have done so, I’m a little surprised by how much grey I see. My beard used to be mostly pepper with a hint of salt, but now the salt has really taken over.

For years now, a passing conversation with my mother-in-law has stuck with me. She was only a few years older than I am now when she shared the following. She said, (and I paraphrase because this was over 25 years ago), ‘You’ll see. You’ll get to my age and you won’t feel old. Your mind will still tell you that you are young, but then you look in the mirror and you see an old you looking back.’

She didn’t say it lightheartedly, but rather with a hint of duress, which is probably what made me remember the conversation. It comes back to me more frequently as I age, and especially when I have moments like this, looking in a mirror and seeing so much grey in my beard. These are ‘where did the time go?’ kind of moments.

And then I shift my thinking. I realize that a lot of time has indeed passed. I see my grown, adult kids and recognize that they too have moments like this, where they wonder how they got to be as old as they are. I see what I’ve built around me with my career, my family, and my friends. I see the commitment I’ve made to care for myself, to dedicate time to writing and to my health… this all takes time. And while I can’t stay young forever, I can continue to feel young.

The grey has come. It will spread. Wrinkle lines will deepen. Reflexes will slow. But I will not yield to these things. I will not accept them as signs that I’m old. No, instead I will work hard to slow the decline in ways I have the power to, and I’ll accept the things that age will make inevitable. Let the grey come. If I still have ways to grow, things to learn, places to see, and experiences to have… I’ll still be young at heart and mind.

Let the grey come.

So how are you going to fill your time?

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Since announcing my retirement I’ve heard different versions of the question, “So, what are you going to fill your time with?” at least a couple dozen times.

I guess that might be an issue for some, but not for me. I will fill my time. I will enjoy longer workouts. I will get more use out of my hot tub. I’ll write, and write, and write. I’ll edit videos. I’ll cook meals that take time to prepare. I’ll find more time to be outdoors.

I’ll be one of those people that complains about being more busy retired than when I worked.

My time will be filled.

Glamping time

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About 7 years ago my wife said she wanted to buy a camper trailer. I looked at the cost of the size of trailer she wanted, plus buying a new truck that could tow it, and I came up with an alternative. I said, ‘Here’s the deal: Any time you want to go camping, we can rent a trailer. I won’t bug you about the price, you can get the camper you want, and we can go as many times as you want’. 

As it turns out, we’ve gone once a year, missing a year, and while the cost of a trailer and a campsite runs about the same as an Air BNB, we get the full glamping (upscale camping) experience of owning a trailer, without the cost of buying and caring for one. 

What’s even better is that we’ve rented the same trailer from the same family for 4 trips now, and we know exactly what we are getting. I really enjoy our camper experience, and I am thrilled that I don’t have to drive towing it, find (and pay for) a place to park it, and do all the upkeep required… And although we might go more often if we owned one, I think we’ve saved quite a bit of money with this approach, and it encourages us to see more of the world on our other vacations. On second thought, when I think of the cost of the other vacations, maybe it isn’t as great a cost savings as I thought, but I still like the decision we made. 

The Wisdom Gap

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It’s easy to espouse and share wise words. It’s much harder to empathetically and meaningfully live by those words.

The gap between saying and sharing insightful thoughts and actuality representing those thoughts with meaningful action is what really matters.

Empty words or words demonstrated? Vapid ideas or insightful endeavours? Wisdom in platitudes or wisdom fully expressed in a measurable way?

How big is the gap?

It’s easy to say the right thing, it’s only when we do what’s right that we truly show how wise we are.

Holiday training

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In less than a month I’ll be ‘Everesting the Crunch’, (follow @EverestTheCrunch on Instagram). We travelled to Kelowna yesterday, and it was a no workout day, so in keeping with my commitment to ‘never miss two days in a row’, I had to get a workout in. I decided a brisk walk up a nearby hill (x4) with pushups at the top and bottom would suffice.

Unfortunately once my heart rate was up, I could taste the smoke from nearby fires, but at least it wasn’t as bad as yesterday, when Kelowna had the worst air quality in the world. And admittedly, I was still feeling the affects of some afternoon drinks at the campsite… but off I went anyway.

Well it turned out to be a full-on 46 minute workout with my heart rate peaking above 150 at the top of the hill all 4 times, while never going faster than a brisk walk. What matters is not missing 2 days in a row, and going up hill to keep the training going for Everesting the Crunch.

~

Dave Sands and I will be going up the Coquitlam Crunch 37 times in less than 48 hours, August 21st & 22nd. That’s 9km vertical, the distance walked (mostly up hill) will be 2 marathons, and it will take over 19 hours of walking time.

If you are local, you can join us for a crunch or two and/or donate to support local mental health initiatives. You can donate here.