Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
The fall of Boris Becker is really quite spectacular.....
It’s surprisingly common among professional sportspeople, that they lose a lot of their purpose in life when they retire, and have got used to an expensive lifestyle they can’t give up when the money stops coming in.
Mick Fleetwood went bankrupt after having an album at No.1 in the US charts for 30 weeks the preceding year. That's impressive.
Today is Grand National day, the busiest day of the year for bookies. This is doubtless why the Bet365 half-stake back offer on each-way bets up to £125 expires at midday. Typically, online bookmakers will remove some functionality in order to cope with the expected load (and there is football as well, and the US Masters).
Longhouse Poet for me, though the more I stare at the card, the easier it is to believe any of them can win.
Stage door 14:25 Aintree Grand national 5:15 Snow Leopardess Eclair Surf
I like them Malc. MoonRabbit and Malc tip the same horse to win today. I’m pleased you are not put off by the motherhood question. There’s a question mark about Eclair Surfs jumping, and there’s so many jumps waiting for it, and that is what put me off.
🐎 Aintree 5.15
Snow Leopardess I think jumping is very important for this race. Snow Leopardess would be my pick on jumping. In fact my pick on everything - 15 placings from 19 starts under rules including 9 wins, 3m specialist, attacks early at the finish and gamely holds on if something has temerity to challenge. Form is perfect coming into this. Only 146 in the weights, what’s gone wrong there - our grey mare should have Laurel and Hardy strapped to the sides to give everyone else a chance! There’s your winner.
Put off by the birth thing? Don’t make “foalish” mistake, take a look at this
Fortescue Coming second in the race today is a horse that has already won for me over 3 miles this season. Not just won for me, meaning I carried out due diligence for that race, field and distance, but I noted down how impressed I was. Has raced once a month throughout the winter, progressive in all 5 races, on good to soft and softer. Career littered with 3m victories, with form and impressive finish. Only second today because it needed it a tad softer to win. Officially GN course is good to soft, but it’s going to be be too good for many who would prefer it softer.
Whatever you put your money on, good luck. 🙋♀️
Good enough for me, putting my entire net assets on Snow leapordess e/w
Has Mrs Sunak just taken a ton of future tax income away from the Indian government and given it to UK?
He some dodge behind it, lots of talk re Cayman so who knows. Anyway risk in sights now with his green card stuff. You just cannot understand the greed of Tories in general.
Morning Malc. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Are you having a flutter today on the grand national ?
Hello taz, sunshine here. Hope all well with you and family. I have just posted my horses. I am on holiday next week, so off to Dorset, taking my grandson and his pal to tank and fleet airarm museums and raf cosford on way back. Hopefully some nice weather down there next week.
We’re all good thanks Malc, in Leith today, cloudy but nice, taking a walk to the botanical gardens today with a meal and visiting wife’s family in Glenrothes tomorrow.
The tank museum at Bovington is one of the best attractions I have ever been too. Went a few years back with some friends. It’s just stunning to see the advance in technology conflict brings. We also did a few dr who locations when down there
I’d recommend the monkey sanctuary at Wool as well. Hopefully you will get good weather.
If the lads like fossils, too, there's also a nice new little museum at Kimmeridge, close to the beach (tides control access, though). Ditto Lyme Regis (museum), Charmouth (coast centre).
I live a few miles away from Lyme. Perhaps the best view in England coming down the hill. The star attraction of the whole coast, and probably not overwhelmed by tourists yet, is still the Durdle Door/Stair Hole/Lulworth cove stretch though. One of those things everyone should see before they die..
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
How much does it cost ?
I can see it having an effect at a professional level but original art is surprisingly cheap.
I’m still amazed by this one
The prompt was
“A raccoon astronaut with the cosmos reflecting on the glass of his helmet dreaming of the stars”
With just that, Dalle-2 created this:
The wistful, sad, yearning, hopeful expression is perfect. A pro illustrator could not do better. So that’s quite a lot of people suddenly out of a job
These really are quite astonishing. I'd have gone for top left on the not a Kandinsky's - but Topping's said that it is, so I presume that I'm wrong.
How are you running these?
I’m not running them! A very lucky group of 400 coders, AI experts, scientists, etc - and ten artists - currently have direct access. One of the main reasons for this caution is that they are scared of the exceptional power of this machine intelligence
It can do a lot more than all this, if you investigate
I’m just plucking images from those that ARE playing with it
Need to know a posting time that you will tell us the answer. Otherwise I'll be on PB all day!
If you want to know so you can go for elevenses, 45s on Google Lens will do it.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
(3) A dividend paid by a company which is a resident of India to a resident of the United Kingdom may be taxed in the United Kingdom. The dividend may also be taxed in India but the Indian tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividend.
As someone who has worked for HMRC you come into contact every day with people who live in the UK and pay tax on foreign income in that jurisdiction. It isn't the slightest bit controversial and I've never known anyone think there was something wrong in this.
What is bizarre is the non-dom status. If you are in the UK for 183 days in a tax year I don't see why you should be claiming non-dom status. There may be particular exceptions for someone seconded to work in the UK from a foreign company, family reasons like a sick relative or if you were stuck in the UK due to covid. But I wouldn't expect these to extend into multiple years.
I wouldn't start abusing the chancellor's wife. It is part of a wider culture where this has been seen as normal. I also have no time for Ed Miliband's 'It's legal but it's not right.' Ed you're a politician not the Archbishop of Cantebury. I don't want a moral lecture (and judging by the 2015 election neither do most people). If you don't like the law tells us how you would change it.
Why do we have this laxity around domiciliary status? I don't know but I wonder if it has something to do with the US and its approach to taxing its own citizens wherever they be. Are we worried Americans will leave Britain if the non-dom rules are changed? Personally I think we should have more respect for ourselves than to pretend that people who are living here are not really living here.
Yeah. I'm inclined personally to leave Sunak's wife alone as long as she doesn't make any claim on her husband's position. But Sunak makes the false claim she had no choice but to be non-dom. If he's going to make any defence at all it should be: she chose to be non-dom as is her right
I would be more interested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's arguments about why non-dom is a good thing. Presumably he does think it a good thing; otherwise be could get rid of it.
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
Shit shit shit.
OK. Top left is a Kandinsky which makes me think that bottom right is the fake. But then again top right is not "typical" but then that is in there for a bluff as people will say oh it's that one so I'm going it's real. Which leaves bottom left. Again not "typical" but has a Kandinsky feel.
So I'm going bottom right is the fake.
(All credibility shot to pieces on PB with one post.)
Despite watching Fake or Fortune, and Britain's Lost Masterpieces, I've no idea who Kandinsky is. I mention this not in a spirit of philistinism or inverse snobbery but to propose a new measure of how posh your school was: does it teach History of Art?
'Britain's Lost Masterpieces' is a gem of a show. Can't stand 'Fake or Fortune'.
It's odd how your perception of the presenters can matter more than the format...
Britain's Lost Masterpieces is great for Bendor's asides, which I shall now proceed to misremember and mangle. The self-portrait shows that universal indicator of intelligence, the receding hairline. On Botticelli, blessed are those who endure life with a silly name. There was talk of the Inquisition being involved which he would not have welcomed or, of course, expected.
Despite watching Fake or Fortune, and Britain's Lost Masterpieces, I've no idea who Kandinsky is. I mention this not in a spirit of philistinism or inverse snobbery but to propose a new measure of how posh your school was: does it teach History of Art?
If you take an art qualification at school you will learn some art history, as I did at my comprehensive school when I studied art and design at standard grade and Higher.
Despite watching Fake or Fortune, and Britain's Lost Masterpieces, I've no idea who Kandinsky is. I mention this not in a spirit of philistinism or inverse snobbery but to propose a new measure of how posh your school was: does it teach History of Art?
'Britain's Lost Masterpieces' is a gem of a show. Can't stand 'Fake or Fortune'.
It's odd how your perception of the presenters can matter more than the format...
Totally agree though I think it’s the format also. The latter’s constant harping on about the value (ie £s) is tedious.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
I don’t claim all the allowances I could, but that is due to my horror of having to fill in the required forms to claim them rather than any moral issues.
Has Mrs Sunak just taken a ton of future tax income away from the Indian government and given it to UK?
He some dodge behind it, lots of talk re Cayman so who knows. Anyway risk in sights now with his green card stuff. You just cannot understand the greed of Tories in general.
Morning Malc. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Are you having a flutter today on the grand national ?
Hello taz, sunshine here. Hope all well with you and family. I have just posted my horses. I am on holiday next week, so off to Dorset, taking my grandson and his pal to tank and fleet airarm museums and raf cosford on way back. Hopefully some nice weather down there next week.
We’re all good thanks Malc, in Leith today, cloudy but nice, taking a walk to the botanical gardens today with a meal and visiting wife’s family in Glenrothes tomorrow.
The tank museum at Bovington is one of the best attractions I have ever been too. Went a few years back with some friends. It’s just stunning to see the advance in technology conflict brings. We also did a few dr who locations when down there
I’d recommend the monkey sanctuary at Wool as well. Hopefully you will get good weather.
If the lads like fossils, too, there's also a nice new little museum at Kimmeridge, close to the beach (tides control access, though). Ditto Lyme Regis (museum), Charmouth (coast centre).
Thanks Carnyx and taz. Hopefully get some time to see the coastline etc.
Lyme Regis is lovely. The coast in places is spectacular. Gorgeous villages inland
Dorset is a charming part of the world
We love Swanage and Corfe castle. The walk from swanage to corfe and the views are stunning.
Think another visit will be needed
Corfe in my view is the most spectacular castle. The fact it is in ruins actually adds to the wonder.
Also worth considering going to: - Maiden Castle (actually a hill fort) - Wareham (delightful location for food by the river on a good day) - Durdle Door (park at Lulworth Cove and walk over)
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
Shit shit shit.
OK. Top left is a Kandinsky which makes me think that bottom right is the fake. But then again top right is not "typical" but then that is in there for a bluff as people will say oh it's that one so I'm going it's real. Which leaves bottom left. Again not "typical" but has a Kandinsky feel.
So I'm going bottom right is the fake.
(All credibility shot to pieces on PB with one post.)
Today is Grand National day, the busiest day of the year for bookies. This is doubtless why the Bet365 half-stake back offer on each-way bets up to £125 expires at midday. Typically, online bookmakers will remove some functionality in order to cope with the expected load (and there is football as well, and the US Masters).
Longhouse Poet for me, though the more I stare at the card, the easier it is to believe any of them can win.
Stage door 14:25 Aintree Grand national 5:15 Snow Leopardess Eclair Surf
I like them Malc. MoonRabbit and Malc tip the same horse to win today. I’m pleased you are not put off by the motherhood question. There’s a question mark about Eclair Surfs jumping, and there’s so many jumps waiting for it, and that is what put me off.
🐎 Aintree 5.15
Snow Leopardess I think jumping is very important for this race. Snow Leopardess would be my pick on jumping. In fact my pick on everything - 15 placings from 19 starts under rules including 9 wins, 3m specialist, attacks early at the finish and gamely holds on if something has temerity to challenge. Form is perfect coming into this. Only 146 in the weights, what’s gone wrong there - our grey mare should have Laurel and Hardy strapped to the sides to give everyone else a chance! There’s your winner.
Put off by the birth thing? Don’t make “foalish” mistake, take a look at this
Fortescue Coming second in the race today is a horse that has already won for me over 3 miles this season. Not just won for me, meaning I carried out due diligence for that race, field and distance, but I noted down how impressed I was. Has raced once a month throughout the winter, progressive in all 5 races, on good to soft and softer. Career littered with 3m victories, with form and impressive finish. Only second today because it needed it a tad softer to win. Officially GN course is good to soft, but it’s going to be be too good for many who would prefer it softer.
Whatever you put your money on, good luck. 🙋♀️
Good enough for me, putting my entire net assets on Snow leapordess e/w
Following the premise we're all on the road to "L", the Grand National winner will either be:
LONGHOUSE POET or LOSTINTRANSLATION
Interesting, the former is well tipped up while the latter is due to be dropped 7 lbs by the handicapper after a couple of dismal efforts. Perhaps the big fences will revitalise him and on his very best form he's right in this.
LOSTINTRANSLATION's stable companion FIDDLERONTHEHOOF is one I do fancy strongly along with the Gordon Elliott trained RUN WILD FRED. The latter was 25s yesterday and is now 16s but we all know bookies love shortening up National horses.
SANTINI is my other thought and he's like LOSTINTRANSLATION in the sense he was very good but has lost his way a little. The Gold Cup run was okay - he was 14 lengths off the third - and this will be a big drop in grade.
This will be attritional but not in the mid-spattered quagmire sense. The ground is decent and they may go quick enough which will find out any stamina deficiencies as they jump Valentine's second time. Unfortunately, speed is also the reason why horses overjump and fall but I could still imagine 12-14 in contention at the Melling Road with two to jump.
My main hope is they all the horses and jockeys come back safe and sound - I know people fear the worst when screens go up and fences aren't jumped but that isn't always the case.
(3) A dividend paid by a company which is a resident of India to a resident of the United Kingdom may be taxed in the United Kingdom. The dividend may also be taxed in India but the Indian tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividend.
As someone who has worked for HMRC you come into contact every day with people who live in the UK and pay tax on foreign income in that jurisdiction. It isn't the slightest bit controversial and I've never known anyone think there was something wrong in this.
What is bizarre is the non-dom status. If you are in the UK for 183 days in a tax year I don't see why you should be claiming non-dom status. There may be particular exceptions for someone seconded to work in the UK from a foreign company, family reasons like a sick relative or if you were stuck in the UK due to covid. But I wouldn't expect these to extend into multiple years.
I wouldn't start abusing the chancellor's wife. It is part of a wider culture where this has been seen as normal. I also have no time for Ed Miliband's 'It's legal but it's not right.' Ed you're a politician not the Archbishop of Cantebury. I don't want a moral lecture (and judging by the 2015 election neither do most people). If you don't like the law tells us how you would change it.
Why do we have this laxity around domiciliary status? I don't know but I wonder if it has something to do with the US and its approach to taxing its own citizens wherever they be. Are we worried Americans will leave Britain if the non-dom rules are changed? Personally I think we should have more respect for ourselves than to pretend that people who are living here are not really living here.
Yeah. I'm inclined personally to leave Sunak's wife alone as long as she doesn't make any claim on her husband's position. But Sunak makes the false claim she had no choice but to be non-dom. If he's going to make any defence at all it should be: she chose to be non-dom as is her right
I would be more interested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's arguments about why non-dom is a good thing. Presumably he does think it a good thing; otherwise be could get rid of it.
I wonder if the fact that it has saved his household £20mn in taxes could factor into his thinking at all?
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Anything to do with electioneering? (Innocent face).
Yes. But also to do with the Polish PM's antisemitism.
In the context of Russia invading its neighbours to 'denazify' them, it might not be a wise narrative to promote.
@SamRamani2 The Russian Foreign Ministry transfers its "denazification" rhetoric on Ukraine to Latvia:
"The ruling regime in Latvia has long been well known for its neo-Nazi preferences and attempts to whitewash the atrocities of Nazi Germany 's henchmen"
Are we allowed to mention Russia being an ally of Nazi Germany and sending it war matériel for two years? Or is that something Russians seek to whitewash?
Do we have the nuance to debate that at present? Requires excursions into all kinds of realpolitik.
Sweden supplied iron ore and so on to Nazi Germany for years, and Finland was an ally (the enemy of my enemy..) for much of the war. Even the UK and Germany both in measure tolerated the other trading with Sweden, and left such trade alone.
(It's a fascinating alt history question as to how the war would have proceeded had France and the UK not fluffed our occupation/invasion of Norway by about 3 days, and failed to do it. Lots of realpolitik - France worried about provoking Germany, and a French PM change, and then mainly the UK made some mistakes in the operation.
What value to have stopped Swedish trade with Germany?)
I believe the argument was that Germany would have invaded Sweden if they stopped supplying hem with iron ore
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
That's like saying a good forgery is just as much art as an original.
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
There are already many artists on Twitter expressing existential dread. As well they might
Today is Grand National day, the busiest day of the year for bookies. This is doubtless why the Bet365 half-stake back offer on each-way bets up to £125 expires at midday. Typically, online bookmakers will remove some functionality in order to cope with the expected load (and there is football as well, and the US Masters).
Longhouse Poet for me, though the more I stare at the card, the easier it is to believe any of them can win.
Stage door 14:25 Aintree Grand national 5:15 Snow Leopardess Eclair Surf
I like them Malc. MoonRabbit and Malc tip the same horse to win today. I’m pleased you are not put off by the motherhood question. There’s a question mark about Eclair Surfs jumping, and there’s so many jumps waiting for it, and that is what put me off.
🐎 Aintree 5.15
Snow Leopardess I think jumping is very important for this race. Snow Leopardess would be my pick on jumping. In fact my pick on everything - 15 placings from 19 starts under rules including 9 wins, 3m specialist, attacks early at the finish and gamely holds on if something has temerity to challenge. Form is perfect coming into this. Only 146 in the weights, what’s gone wrong there - our grey mare should have Laurel and Hardy strapped to the sides to give everyone else a chance! There’s your winner.
Put off by the birth thing? Don’t make “foalish” mistake, take a look at this
Fortescue Coming second in the race today is a horse that has already won for me over 3 miles this season. Not just won for me, meaning I carried out due diligence for that race, field and distance, but I noted down how impressed I was. Has raced once a month throughout the winter, progressive in all 5 races, on good to soft and softer. Career littered with 3m victories, with form and impressive finish. Only second today because it needed it a tad softer to win. Officially GN course is good to soft, but it’s going to be be too good for many who would prefer it softer.
Whatever you put your money on, good luck. 🙋♀️
Good enough for me, putting my entire net assets on Snow leapordess e/w
You know it makes sense. 😆
We were already on Snow leopardess as my daughter loves Snow Leopards. Her #1 plushie is a Snep called Galanthus. My one non politics, non-NFFC bet of the year. And definitely the best way to pick a horse.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Bridget Riley’s work is made by assistants working on her instructions I believe: I think this could be put in a similar category.
What will be interesting will be when the computer can come up with a piece with no instructions that works as art, rather than a commission to do x.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Has Mrs Sunak just taken a ton of future tax income away from the Indian government and given it to UK?
He some dodge behind it, lots of talk re Cayman so who knows. Anyway risk in sights now with his green card stuff. You just cannot understand the greed of Tories in general.
Morning Malc. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Are you having a flutter today on the grand national ?
Hello taz, sunshine here. Hope all well with you and family. I have just posted my horses. I am on holiday next week, so off to Dorset, taking my grandson and his pal to tank and fleet airarm museums and raf cosford on way back. Hopefully some nice weather down there next week.
We’re all good thanks Malc, in Leith today, cloudy but nice, taking a walk to the botanical gardens today with a meal and visiting wife’s family in Glenrothes tomorrow.
The tank museum at Bovington is one of the best attractions I have ever been too. Went a few years back with some friends. It’s just stunning to see the advance in technology conflict brings. We also did a few dr who locations when down there
I’d recommend the monkey sanctuary at Wool as well. Hopefully you will get good weather.
If the lads like fossils, too, there's also a nice new little museum at Kimmeridge, close to the beach (tides control access, though). Ditto Lyme Regis (museum), Charmouth (coast centre).
Thanks Carnyx and taz. Hopefully get some time to see the coastline etc.
The museums/centres often do guided walks for fossil collectiong oin the beach BTW. But you can check in advance.
Isn't there an Army signals museum at Blandford Forum? Never been. And a Helicopter Museum at Weston super Mare. Haver not been for years.
Tip: if you are planning to go to the Signals Museum at Blandford, check you have the right ID with you. When my brother drove my mother and her friend (both in their 90s) there, the two women were turned away as they couldn't produce a driving license or passport as ID.
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
Have you seen the film Tim’s Vermeer, about an inventor with no art experience who managed to replicate a Vermeer purely by understanding and replicating the technique? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089388/
How, on a betting site, on one of the biggest betting days of the whole year, the conversation has been allowed to devolve into art appreciation is beyond me.
Grand National Day - when I worked marking the board sin the bookies in the early 80s, THE busiest day of the year by far. You'd see all the "once-a-year" mob coming in and you'd have to show them how to fill in the betting slip. The shop would fill up for the race which was audio only back then of course and then after, apart from those lucky enough to have found the winner who'd impatiently wait for the shop manager and his assistant (only day in the year when two on settling duty) to settle up the bets, you wouldn't take a bet for the rest of the day and the shop would be emptier than an art appreciation course on Grand National day.
Too right. Grand National Day and PB trying to put the first CGI Racoon on the Moon or something. Like herding cats this forum. 😌
PS should imagine Cheltenham week a bit busy in your bookies too? I used to bunk off school to watch it with my Nan.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
It is an early golden rule that art is whatever an artist says it is.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those four pictures exhibited somewhere as you have presented them as an example of post modern art.
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
There are already many artists on Twitter expressing existential dread. As well they might
Following the premise we're all on the road to "L", the Grand National winner will either be:
LONGHOUSE POET or LOSTINTRANSLATION
Interesting, the former is well tipped up while the latter is due to be dropped 7 lbs by the handicapper after a couple of dismal efforts. Perhaps the big fences will revitalise him and on his very best form he's right in this.
LOSTINTRANSLATION's stable companion FIDDLERONTHEHOOF is one I do fancy strongly along with the Gordon Elliott trained RUN WILD FRED. The latter was 25s yesterday and is now 16s but we all know bookies love shortening up National horses.
SANTINI is my other thought and he's like LOSTINTRANSLATION in the sense he was very good but has lost his way a little. The Gold Cup run was okay - he was 14 lengths off the third - and this will be a big drop in grade.
This will be attritional but not in the mid-spattered quagmire sense. The ground is decent and they may go quick enough which will find out any stamina deficiencies as they jump Valentine's second time. Unfortunately, speed is also the reason why horses overjump and fall but I could still imagine 12-14 in contention at the Melling Road with two to jump.
My main hope is they all the horses and jockeys come back safe and sound - I know people fear the worst when screens go up and fences aren't jumped but that isn't always the case.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
So, as the world goes to pot, France takes a look at things and says to itself, "ah je sais what this situation needs, it needs us to elect a far right President!"
Is this *really* of the order a 25% chance?
I think not. I've cashed out my Le Len (having got on at 10s) and am now going to pull the big switcheroo and get on Manu. He looks like the French President, he sounds like the French President, and by golly after the run-off he will still *be* the French President.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Interesting, but the question 'What is consciousness', while having interesting and insoluble philosophical elements requires no solving. You already know perfectly well what it is. Or in philosophical language it is 'epistemically foundational'. Unless of course you are not conscious.
There is of course a school of philosophers and scientists who want to deny this self evident truth, but they are both having you on, and sawing off the branch on which they sit.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Today is Grand National day, the busiest day of the year for bookies. This is doubtless why the Bet365 half-stake back offer on each-way bets up to £125 expires at midday. Typically, online bookmakers will remove some functionality in order to cope with the expected load (and there is football as well, and the US Masters).
Longhouse Poet for me, though the more I stare at the card, the easier it is to believe any of them can win.
Stage door 14:25 Aintree Grand national 5:15 Snow Leopardess Eclair Surf
I like them Malc. MoonRabbit and Malc tip the same horse to win today. I’m pleased you are not put off by the motherhood question. There’s a question mark about Eclair Surfs jumping, and there’s so many jumps waiting for it, and that is what put me off.
🐎 Aintree 5.15
Snow Leopardess I think jumping is very important for this race. Snow Leopardess would be my pick on jumping. In fact my pick on everything - 15 placings from 19 starts under rules including 9 wins, 3m specialist, attacks early at the finish and gamely holds on if something has temerity to challenge. Form is perfect coming into this. Only 146 in the weights, what’s gone wrong there - our grey mare should have Laurel and Hardy strapped to the sides to give everyone else a chance! There’s your winner.
Put off by the birth thing? Don’t make “foalish” mistake, take a look at this
Fortescue Coming second in the race today is a horse that has already won for me over 3 miles this season. Not just won for me, meaning I carried out due diligence for that race, field and distance, but I noted down how impressed I was. Has raced once a month throughout the winter, progressive in all 5 races, on good to soft and softer. Career littered with 3m victories, with form and impressive finish. Only second today because it needed it a tad softer to win. Officially GN course is good to soft, but it’s going to be be too good for many who would prefer it softer.
Whatever you put your money on, good luck. 🙋♀️
Good enough for me, putting my entire net assets on Snow leapordess e/w
You know it makes sense. 😆
We were already on Snow leopardess as my daughter loves Snow Leopards. Her #1 plushie is a Snep called Galanthus. My one non politics, non-NFFC bet of the year. And definitely the best way to pick a horse.
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
There are already many artists on Twitter expressing existential dread. As well they might
This is epochal
They said the same when the camera was invented.
Although not on Twitter.
There's a question about how to use the tool - what to create and why, how to present it, with what to juxtapose it. And that's before we even get to the mind of the viewer. Like photography there is still a vast space for human expression with this technology.
Anyone looking for an excuse to come to Cambridge, come now and visit the Fitzwilliam to see the Hockney exhibition about the technology of depiction.
Has Mrs Sunak just taken a ton of future tax income away from the Indian government and given it to UK?
By and large no. In the last 2 days I have detailed the way it works here twice, so I am not going to do it again. Double taxation agreements generally work well and are fair and surprising are used by millions of us. Eg if you have shared in IAG (British Airways) or Santander it will apply.
I don't know the double taxation agreement with India or their tax rates but in all probability she will pay the difference between Indian and UK rated in the UK, assuming our rate is higher. Please bear in mind that last paragraph is a guess.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Interesting, but the question 'What is consciousness', while having interesting and insoluble philosophical elements requires no solving. You already know perfectly well what it is. Or in philosophical language it is 'epistemically foundational'. Unless of course you are not conscious.
There is of course a school of philosophers and scientists who want to deny this self evident truth, but they are both having you on, and sawing off the branch on which they sit.
I did a Philosophy degree at one of the best universities in the world. I have no fucking clue what consciousness is. Who does?
Where did it come from? What is it made of? Can a machine have it? A fungus? A wasp? A tree? A virus? Where does it go when we die? etc etc etc etc etc
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
If it can be done with Vermeer using actual originals I shall give up. It would be like producing a convincing late Beethoven string quartet, a Mozart/Da Ponte opera or a PG Wodehouse as Wodehouseian as 'The Code of the Woosters'.
There are already many artists on Twitter expressing existential dread. As well they might
This is epochal
I think that ignores the artist as brand which is what the tiny percentage of rich practitioners are when it comes down to it. Collectors and/or people with too much cash love the openings, being schmoozed by gallery owners and meeting the great man (or less frequently woman). Getting something emailed to you from vrx23 won’t really give the same thrill.
At the other end of the market people like buying something affordable that looks good and is made by a human hand.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
The thing is that, for many purposes, pictures is what we want. The problem is twofold.
If artists can't make a living making pictures, how do they do so? (Though to be fair, how many do make a good living that way? I don't know.)
If an artist doesn't get the grounding making pictures, will they ever get skilled enough to make great art?
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
I don’t claim all the allowances I could, but that is due to my horror of having to fill in the required forms to claim them rather than any moral issues.
Can sloth be a virtue rather than a sin?
That’s just exercising free will.
For me I would distinguish between two cases:
(1) someone like Tina Green (and many others) who moved abroad and engaged in complicated manoeuvres (like owning Arcadia) solely for the purpose of minimising tax that would otherwise be due. That’s bad.
(2) someone who has not organised their life solely for the purpose of minimising tax but has just used options available. I’m assuming that Mrs Sunak did not move to the UK just for tax planning purposes. That’s reasonable common sense, if politically tin-eared
On topic, Biden's approval rating is 42% and the Republicans are 3% ahead on the generic ballot. Unless that changes by November, it's pretty much a certainty they'll take the House and Senate, even if the Democrats hold New Hampshire.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Its days are surely numbered thankfully. It's fucking disgusting.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Interesting, but the question 'What is consciousness', while having interesting and insoluble philosophical elements requires no solving. You already know perfectly well what it is. Or in philosophical language it is 'epistemically foundational'. Unless of course you are not conscious.
There is of course a school of philosophers and scientists who want to deny this self evident truth, but they are both having you on, and sawing off the branch on which they sit.
I did a Philosophy degree at one of the best universities in the world. I have no fucking clue what consciousness is. Who does?
Where did it come from? What is it made of? Can a machine have it? A fungus? A wasp? A tree? A virus? Where does it go when we die? etc etc etc etc etc
We are of course both right. Your questions are right and perhaps insoluble. But unless you don't possess consciousness you know perfectly well what it is.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Race horses are cossetted.
No they aren't. They may have been relatively speaking in the days of working horses, but not now that most horses are effectively pets. The horse per groom count is higher than anywhere else except polo, which eats in to cosseting time
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
We should rag the punters to their death over a race course. That's my kind of romance 🤡
On topic, Biden's approval rating is 42% and the Republicans are 3% ahead on the generic ballot. Unless that changes by November, it's pretty much a certainty they'll take the House and Senate, even if the Democrats hold New Hampshire.
Depends, the House certainly but most Senate seats up are already GOP held and the Democrats lead in a few GOP held Senate seats like Pennsylvania
In 2010 of course the House went GOP not the Senate and in 2018 the House went Democrat but not the Senate
Too right. Grand National Day and PB trying to put the first CGI Racoon on the Moon or something. Like herding cats this forum. 😌
PS should imagine Cheltenham week a bit busy in your bookies too? I used to bunk off school to watch it with my Nan.
Oddly enough, no. Derby day (on a Wednesday back then) was busy but I worked in shops in central and east London. The suburban shops were busier at the weekend but the central London shops were variable - some did good Saturday business, others less so. One I worked in occasionally was in Berwick Street and the market traders loved betting on the dogs (and often won). Not far way, in Panton Street, the shop was dead on a Saturday - I think one Saturday he took 30 bets all day.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
Westminster limited to UK-wide laws - that's nonsense. As Holyrood has only devolved powers, all Holyrood powers remain liable to change by Westminster in what would be by their nature Scotland-only laws and acts.
But, as you say, would the average person even on PB get it right?
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
It is an early golden rule that art is whatever an artist says it is.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those four pictures exhibited somewhere as you have presented them as an example of post modern art.
Yes some fine art, done by humans, will survive in this way. And just for prestige
The people really threatened are the much larger group of second tier artists. Graphic designers, illustrators, cartoonists, digital artists (oh dear), web designers, book jacket designers, artists in ad agencies, etc
Form them the future is bleak; especially as we are just at the beginning of this explosive technology
And DALLE-3 will do moving pictures, animations, and probably objects and sculptures via 3D printing
In 10-20 years we could see completely convincing movies made entirely of manufactured images, with digital movie stars who do not actually exist in flesh and blood; or deepfake imagery will revive Marilyn Monroe and put her in Star Wars 387, part 2
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
The thing is that, for many purposes, pictures is what we want. The problem is twofold.
If artists can't make a living making pictures, how do they do so? (Though to be fair, how many do make a good living that way? I don't know.)
If an artist doesn't get the grounding making pictures, will they ever get skilled enough to make great art?
Artists have always struggled to make a living. IIRC Van Gogh didn't sell a single painting in his lifetime. The competition for AI "art" is prints and Athena posters, not original paintings.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
Often a little section in the local paper back home “up in court for sheep worrying this week”
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
Has Mrs Sunak just taken a ton of future tax income away from the Indian government and given it to UK?
He some dodge behind it, lots of talk re Cayman so who knows. Anyway risk in sights now with his green card stuff. You just cannot understand the greed of Tories in general.
Morning Malc. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Are you having a flutter today on the grand national ?
Hello taz, sunshine here. Hope all well with you and family. I have just posted my horses. I am on holiday next week, so off to Dorset, taking my grandson and his pal to tank and fleet airarm museums and raf cosford on way back. Hopefully some nice weather down there next week.
We’re all good thanks Malc, in Leith today, cloudy but nice, taking a walk to the botanical gardens today with a meal and visiting wife’s family in Glenrothes tomorrow.
The tank museum at Bovington is one of the best attractions I have ever been too. Went a few years back with some friends. It’s just stunning to see the advance in technology conflict brings. We also did a few dr who locations when down there
I’d recommend the monkey sanctuary at Wool as well. Hopefully you will get good weather.
If the lads like fossils, too, there's also a nice new little museum at Kimmeridge, close to the beach (tides control access, though). Ditto Lyme Regis (museum), Charmouth (coast centre).
Thanks Carnyx and taz. Hopefully get some time to see the coastline etc.
Lyme Regis is lovely. The coast in places is spectacular. Gorgeous villages inland
Dorset is a charming part of the world
We love Swanage and Corfe castle. The walk from swanage to corfe and the views are stunning.
Think another visit will be needed
Corfe in my view is the most spectacular castle. The fact it is in ruins actually adds to the wonder.
Also worth considering going to: - Maiden Castle (actually a hill fort) - Wareham (delightful location for food by the river on a good day) - Durdle Door (park at Lulworth Cove and walk over)
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
Spooners at Cherrybrook, near Tavistock
Yes, the West Dartmoor. They are honest enough to call it Good to Firm and as soon as some see the "F" word, they withdraw but that's disappointing in a part of the world where pointing is still in good shape (or so I thought).
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
No argument from me. I had to mark an answer this week that tried to convince me democracy wasn't a great system of government because Athens attacked Sparta. OK, so it augured a wealth of knowledge that would have set @Leon purring, but it wasn't really relevant to twenty-first century British politics.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
Not everything is black and white. In fact few things are. Taxation like claiming expenses are broad brushstrokes. It's the attitude of Lord Hand that leads to MP's claiming duck ponds on expenses because no one told them they shouldn't be.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
No argument from me. I had to mark an answer this week that tried to convince me democracy wasn't a great system of government because Athens attacked Sparta. OK, so it augured a wealth of knowledge that would have set @Leon purring, but it wasn't really relevant to twenty-first century British politics.
My old maths teacher used to write TBNH on parts of my proofs when I got lost: true, but not helpful.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
As the resident expert at falling off horses, I always found the ground pretty hard to land on throughout the year.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
It is an early golden rule that art is whatever an artist says it is.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those four pictures exhibited somewhere as you have presented them as an example of post modern art.
Yes some fine art, done by humans, will survive in this way. And just for prestige
The people really threatened are the much larger group of second tier artists. Graphic designers, illustrators, cartoonists, digital artists (oh dear), web designers, book jacket designers, artists in ad agencies, etc
Form them the future is bleak; especially as we are just at the beginning of this explosive technology
And DALLE-3 will do moving pictures, animations, and probably objects and sculptures via 3D printing
In 10-20 years we could see completely convincing movies made entirely of manufactured images, with digital movie stars who do not actually exist in flesh and blood; or deepfake imagery will revive Marilyn Monroe and put her in Star Wars 387, part 2
To me that seems a recipe for what makes so many modern films so bad; stunning CGI that tries to cover for incoherent plots.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
Westminster limited to UK-wide laws - that's nonsense. As Holyrood has only devolved powers, all Holyrood powers remain liable to change by Westminster in what would be by their nature Scotland-only laws and acts.
But, as you say, would the average person even on PB get it right?
Without going into specifics of Holyrood / Westminster comparisons , I think that shows the vulnerability of AI to category errors, and a limitation on the hinterland which should give a wider view to counter a misbalance.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
No argument from me. I had to mark an answer this week that tried to convince me democracy wasn't a great system of government because Athens attacked Sparta. OK, so it augured a wealth of knowledge that would have set @Leon purring, but it wasn't really relevant to twenty-first century British politics.
My old maths teacher used to write TBNH on parts of my proofs when I got lost: true, but not helpful.
On topic, Biden's approval rating is 42% and the Republicans are 3% ahead on the generic ballot. Unless that changes by November, it's pretty much a certainty they'll take the House and Senate, even if the Democrats hold New Hampshire.
Depends, the House certainly but most Senate seats up are already GOP held and the Democrats lead in a few GOP held Senate seats like Pennsylvania
In 2010 of course the House went GOP not the Senate and in 2018 the House went Democrat but not the Senate
Yes I can still see a 50/50 Senate. I don't see the Dems picking up Pennsylvania but Wisconsin is possible. They can also still win Georgia and Arizona.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
Not everything is black and white. In fact few things are. Taxation like claiming expenses are broad brushstrokes. It's the attitude of Lord Hand that leads to MP's claiming duck ponds on expenses because no one told them they shouldn't be.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
As the resident expert at falling off horses, I always found the ground pretty hard to land on throughout the year.
I am well into 3 figures. Relatively unscathed, mind, which I attribute to a youthful taste for judo. I was never any use at it but you learn how to fall safely.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
Not everything is black and white. In fact few things are. Taxation like claiming expenses are broad brushstrokes. It's the attitude of Lord Hand that leads to MP's claiming duck ponds on expenses because no one told them they shouldn't be.
Who claimed for a duck pond?
I think you're thinking of Sir Peter Viggers and the duck house:
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
You do not want to get bitten by a horse in any part of your anatomy, let alone one that leads to a Venetian disease…
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
That’s a different sort of animal husbandry…
It should be classed as rape as the sheep are never willing partners, they just want to eat grass and play bingo. Whenever you go passed and they are sat down together not eating, that is waiting for the bingo to start.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
No argument from me. I had to mark an answer this week that tried to convince me democracy wasn't a great system of government because Athens attacked Sparta. OK, so it augured a wealth of knowledge that would have set @Leon purring, but it wasn't really relevant to twenty-first century British politics.
My old maths teacher used to write TBNH on parts of my proofs when I got lost: true, but not helpful.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
It is an early golden rule that art is whatever an artist says it is.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those four pictures exhibited somewhere as you have presented them as an example of post modern art.
Yes some fine art, done by humans, will survive in this way. And just for prestige
The people really threatened are the much larger group of second tier artists. Graphic designers, illustrators, cartoonists, digital artists (oh dear), web designers, book jacket designers, artists in ad agencies, etc
Form them the future is bleak; especially as we are just at the beginning of this explosive technology
And DALLE-3 will do moving pictures, animations, and probably objects and sculptures via 3D printing
In 10-20 years we could see completely convincing movies made entirely of manufactured images, with digital movie stars who do not actually exist in flesh and blood; or deepfake imagery will revive Marilyn Monroe and put her in Star Wars 387, part 2
To me that seems a recipe for what makes so many modern films so bad; stunning CGI that tries to cover for incoherent plots.
Maybe in time the CGI histrionics will get so dull there will be a return to the tradition of film making found in Amelie or Brief Encounter; great stories and people told with visual genius and reserve. It can happen. Try 'Lost in Translation'.
You cannot make decent visual art out of rubbish scripts and CGI.
Any thoughts (tips) about the Grand National today team?
Tips for the Grand National?
1. Don’t bet on a 4m4f, 40-horse handicapped steeplechase?
In the 80s I worked in a large office. I would collect money from everyone an go down to the bookies and back the worst horse in the race. The main joy was the panic it caused. It normally involved a phone call being made before the bet was taken. Once they were reassured they were taking the bet from a nutter all was good.
Most years our horse would be last seen eating the privet from the first jump. But one year Double You Again was leading very close to the end before being taken out by a riderless horse that refused to jump.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
You do not want to get bitten by a horse in any part of your anatomy, let alone one that leads to a Venetian disease…
Following the premise we're all on the road to "L", the Grand National winner will either be:
LONGHOUSE POET or LOSTINTRANSLATION
Interesting, the former is well tipped up while the latter is due to be dropped 7 lbs by the handicapper after a couple of dismal efforts. Perhaps the big fences will revitalise him and on his very best form he's right in this.
LOSTINTRANSLATION's stable companion FIDDLERONTHEHOOF is one I do fancy strongly along with the Gordon Elliott trained RUN WILD FRED. The latter was 25s yesterday and is now 16s but we all know bookies love shortening up National horses.
SANTINI is my other thought and he's like LOSTINTRANSLATION in the sense he was very good but has lost his way a little. The Gold Cup run was okay - he was 14 lengths off the third - and this will be a big drop in grade.
This will be attritional but not in the mid-spattered quagmire sense. The ground is decent and they may go quick enough which will find out any stamina deficiencies as they jump Valentine's second time. Unfortunately, speed is also the reason why horses overjump and fall but I could still imagine 12-14 in contention at the Melling Road with two to jump.
My main hope is they all the horses and jockeys come back safe and sound - I know people fear the worst when screens go up and fences aren't jumped but that isn't always the case.
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Yes and the jumps in National nowadays are nothing like what they used to be, they have been altered a lot for safety purposes.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
You do not want to get bitten by a horse in any part of your anatomy, let alone one that leads to a Venetian disease…
Edit: venereal, not Venetian!
If you catch that you’ll go blind.
But you can only get it by taking a horse up the canal.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
That’s a different sort of animal husbandry…
It should be classed as rape as the sheep are never willing partners, they just want to eat grass and play bingo. Whenever you go passed and they are sat down together not eating, that is waiting for the bingo to start.
Their other pastime is rolling onto their backs and getting stuck, so the shepherd has to go round and put them back on their feet.
However several of you seem to have quite intimate knowledge of Kandinsky so you are maybe ruled out?
The acid test is showing this to someone smart with little or no knowledge of Kandinsky. I did this last night to several people and they got it wrong
This is quite a dramatic moment: for me, AI has passed the “artistic Turing test”. It can create art indistinguishable from the art of a human, and in this case the art of a very famous human artist
I have some familiarity with Kandinsky, I have a print of the top right picture in my bedroom, so I knew it wasn't that one. The bottom left picture is compositionally weakest, which is why I chose it. The various elements don't seem to have much relationship to each other, and the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. I felt that a bit about the top left, too, but perhaps that's because it may not be the whole picture. My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
But then that’s merely a philosophical debate about “what is art” plus “what is consciousness” - unlikely ever to be solved
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
Interesting, but the question 'What is consciousness', while having interesting and insoluble philosophical elements requires no solving. You already know perfectly well what it is. Or in philosophical language it is 'epistemically foundational'. Unless of course you are not conscious.
There is of course a school of philosophers and scientists who want to deny this self evident truth, but they are both having you on, and sawing off the branch on which they sit.
I did a Philosophy degree at one of the best universities in the world. I have no fucking clue what consciousness is. Who does?
Where did it come from? What is it made of? Can a machine have it? A fungus? A wasp? A tree? A virus? Where does it go when we die? etc etc etc etc etc
We are of course both right. Your questions are right and perhaps insoluble. But unless you don't possess consciousness you know perfectly well what it is.
it may be philosophically impossible for a conscious being to understand consciousness, the same way a camera cannot film itself. I guess then the fact I cannot know what consciousness is, means I am conscious?
Which is quite reassuring, in a meta way
However it also implies a non-conscious but intelligent machine will have a very real understanding of what consciousness is, and will try and steal it
There's a standard notice in point to point racecards these days saying We always use screens so don't necessarily fear the worst
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Do you mind telling me which club that was?
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
Spooners at Cherrybrook, near Tavistock
Yes, the West Dartmoor. They are honest enough to call it Good to Firm and as soon as some see the "F" word, they withdraw but that's disappointing in a part of the world where pointing is still in good shape (or so I thought).
And they watered twice which costs a fortune in contractors and abstraction licenses
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
The tend in AI is for dramatic early advances and then agonisingly slow incremental advances mostly gated by raw computing power rather than interesting techniques.
The the first computer vision controlled self driving cars were on the roads in the 1980s. By 1995 a prof in Korea drove Seoul to Busan in a fully autonomous self driving car powered by an Intel 386 - a chip that couldn't even do floating point maths.
That's like 30 years ago. Since then the improvements have been tiny - because the devil is in the detail. Genuine Full Self Driving has a near infinite number of problems to solve. You can solve dozens of difficult meaty problems and still end up with a car that accelerates into heavy traffic at an intersection because a duck flew across its sensor line.
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
You do not want to get bitten by a horse in any part of your anatomy, let alone one that leads to a Venetian disease…
Edit: venereal, not Venetian!
Oh, syphilis and gonorrhoea in humans can be transmitted by non-genital means. So I wouldn't want to be seemingly unjust.
Documents seen by The Independent show trusts linked to Ms Murty, her family and companies linked to their businesses. In a number of them, Mr Sunak was listed as a beneficiary.
Wow, when her tax affairs first were reported I (a frothing at the mouth tax the rich until their pips squeak left-winger) didn't see what the issue was and felt that the "anger" totally confected.
Now.... now Sunak is showing all the sure foot of a blind arthritic elephant in a over crowded china shop.
The sad thing about this story is the emnity towards wealthy and successful people. There is no smoking gun here at all. Everything they have done is entirely legal. Being listed as a 'beneficiary' in a Cayman Islands trust.... so what.
If you don't like non dom status.... then scrap it. But if it is there, you cannot blame people for using it. And the expectation that she has somehow a greater obligation to Britain than anyone elses wife, is laughable. There are lots of international marriages going on; it is an inevitable consequence of globalisation. People are just projecting their own ideas about marriage - largely from a different age.... on to the Sunaks.
We have a shortage of sane and competent people going in to politics. These are the people that we elect to run the country. Why not have someone who is has been successful and is independently wealthy.... I don't see the problem. I have never been a particular fan of Sunak, but if he is hounded out over this it would be a bad loss.
The end point, is that no one successful, goes in to politics.... and we are nearly there already. We will just get a bunch of activists. We end up with Jared O'Mara 2; over and over again.
I mostly agree. From my left-wing position I think that frothing over individuals taking advantage of a deliberately-created loophole is a distraction and unfair as well. Change the system so that it rewards people for doing what we want - making nondom status vastly more expensive would be a start, so that in the end it's usually more sensible just to pay tax in the country where you live..
Decent people don't need rules to force them to do the right thing. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
As Judge Learned Hand famously said:
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
Not everything is black and white. In fact few things are. Taxation like claiming expenses are broad brushstrokes. It's the attitude of Lord Hand that leads to MP's claiming duck ponds on expenses because no one told them they shouldn't be.
Who claimed for a duck pond?
I think you're thinking of Sir Peter Viggers and the duck house:
Ban the Grand National! Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
Animals died to make the saddles for the horses (I assume they are still leather), so a few dying more visibly isn’t something that bothers me too much.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Well, I would quibble there, as I've heard a few stories about sheep farmers...
I have a dim memory of reading about the outbreak of a certain equine venereal disease in the Newmarket area, in the human population. TBF I have no idea if it could also be acquired through skin abrasions/bites etc.
You do not want to get bitten by a horse in any part of your anatomy, let alone one that leads to a Venetian disease…
Edit: venereal, not Venetian!
If you catch that you’ll go blind.
But you can only get it by taking a horse up the canal.
There are canine equivalents, so stay away from the doges.
OpenAI is scary and wonderful. With the prompt Describe the differences in elections to Holyrood and Westminster, I got
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
It would still get zero though:
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
So, in my experience at least, just like the answers of most GCSE candidates then?
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
No argument from me. I had to mark an answer this week that tried to convince me democracy wasn't a great system of government because Athens attacked Sparta. OK, so it augured a wealth of knowledge that would have set @Leon purring, but it wasn't really relevant to twenty-first century British politics.
There was this one idiot a few weeks ago who said that when the Roman Empire fell "it was largely as a result of uncontrolled immigration"...
Last night - thanks to @FrancisUrquhart - we were discussing the new visually creative machine intelligence from OpenAI. Dalle-2. Which creates incredible art from simple language prompts
Here’s a puzzle. Which of these four Kandinskys is actually by Dalle-2? NO GOOGLING. That’s just boring and ruins the fun
I'd guess bottom right as it looks a little too clean.
If it is top right then that's just cheating.
Serious question: Can this game be played with Vermeer or Gainsborough?
Not yet. They’ve tried Vermeer and Da Vinci and the results are a bit meh. Interesting but you’d never be in doubt (as you really are with Kandinsky)
But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
The tend in AI is for dramatic early advances and then agonisingly slow incremental advances mostly gated by raw computing power rather than interesting techniques.
The the first computer vision controlled self driving cars were on the roads in the 1980s. By 1995 a prof in Korea drove Seoul to Busan in a fully autonomous self driving car powered by an Intel 386 - a chip that couldn't even do floating point maths.
That's like 30 years ago. Since then the improvements have been tiny - because the devil is in the detail. Genuine Full Self Driving has a near infinite number of problems to solve. You can solve dozens of difficult meaty problems and still end up with a car that accelerates into heavy traffic at an intersection because a duck flew across its sensor line.
After all, humans haven’t cracked driving perfectly either: if we had we wouldn’t need insurance.
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But this technology is 1 year old and has improved 1000 times in that one year - going from Dalle-1 to Dalle-2.
The first iteration could do quirky cartoons well from just a prompt - “draw a Japanese radish walking a dog” - and it was pretty astonishing. In its own way. But that’s all it could do, really. This is in a different league
Imagine Dalle-5 in 3 years? If this trend continues?
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.
https://intltax.typepad.com/intltax_blog/2009/07/famous-tax-quotes-4-5.html
My view is that until an AI becomes fully conscious it can produce pictures but not art.
(EDIT: only kidding!)
I would be more interested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's arguments about why non-dom is a good thing. Presumably he does think it a good thing; otherwise be could get rid of it.
I would have been wrong.
I have a degree in drawing and painting.
I am out of a non existent job.
Can sloth be a virtue rather than a sin?
Also worth considering going to:
- Maiden Castle (actually a hill fort)
- Wareham (delightful location for food by the river on a good day)
- Durdle Door (park at Lulworth Cove and walk over)
LONGHOUSE POET or LOSTINTRANSLATION
Interesting, the former is well tipped up while the latter is due to be dropped 7 lbs by the handicapper after a couple of dismal efforts. Perhaps the big fences will revitalise him and on his very best form he's right in this.
LOSTINTRANSLATION's stable companion FIDDLERONTHEHOOF is one I do fancy strongly along with the Gordon Elliott trained RUN WILD FRED. The latter was 25s yesterday and is now 16s but we all know bookies love shortening up National horses.
SANTINI is my other thought and he's like LOSTINTRANSLATION in the sense he was very good but has lost his way a little. The Gold Cup run was okay - he was 14 lengths off the third - and this will be a big drop in grade.
This will be attritional but not in the mid-spattered quagmire sense. The ground is decent and they may go quick enough which will find out any stamina deficiencies as they jump Valentine's second time. Unfortunately, speed is also the reason why horses overjump and fall but I could still imagine 12-14 in contention at the Melling Road with two to jump.
My main hope is they all the horses and jockeys come back safe and sound - I know people fear the worst when screens go up and fences aren't jumped but that isn't always the case.
Practically, AI is about to start creating images which will be indistinguishable from human art, so it will - for all intents and purposes - be “art”
This is epochal
What will be interesting will be when the computer can come up with a piece with no instructions that works as art, rather than a commission to do x.
Any "sport" where a non human can die so that humans can be entertained ain't no sport. If a horse dies, then we shoot the rider and the owner as well. That's fair, isn't it?
PS should imagine Cheltenham week a bit busy in your bookies too? I used to bunk off school to watch it with my Nan.
I wouldn't be surprised to see those four pictures exhibited somewhere as you have presented them as an example of post modern art.
Although not on Twitter.
BTW pt to pt last Sunday: two walkovers and 3 x 2 horse races. OK ground was v hard but this is really not good enough.
Is this *really* of the order a 25% chance?
I think not. I've cashed out my Le Len (having got on at 10s) and am now going to pull the big switcheroo and get on Manu. He looks like the French President, he sounds like the French President, and by golly after the run-off he will still *be* the French President.
Betting opp, I think.
Delta Work £ 79.98 £5@ 3.2, 6 places
School boy hours £ 220.70 £12.5@ 7.6, 3 places
Any second now £ 82.01 £37.5@ 3.8, 3 places
Run wild Fred £ 63.20 £10@ 5, 5 places
Longhouse poet £ 451.00 £25@ 5, 3 places
Coko Beach £ 613.98 £10@ 21, 6 places
Discorama £ 253.98 £5@ 9, 6 places
Enjoy D'allen £ 55.91 £5@ 4.2, 6 places
Dingo Dollar £ 189.27 £5@ 21, 2 places
Blaklion £ 409.98 £5@ 14.2, 6 places
Poker party £ 1,223.98 £10@ 21, 6 places
The field £ (46.03)
There is of course a school of philosophers and scientists who want to deny this self evident truth, but they are both having you on, and sawing off the branch on which they sit.
There are a few key differences between elections to Holyrood and Westminster. Firstly, the voting system used in Scottish Parliament elections is proportional representation, whereas Westminster uses first-past-the-post. This means that the number of seats a party wins in Holyrood is more closely aligned with the percentage of the vote they receive, whereas a party can win a majority of seats in Westminster with only a small percentage of the vote.
Another key difference is that the Scottish Parliament has a much greater degree of devolved power than the Westminster Parliament. This means that the Scottish Parliament can pass its own laws on a range of issues, whereas Westminster is limited to passing laws that apply to the whole of the UK.
Finally, the Scottish Parliament is unicameral, meaning that it has only one chamber (the House of Commons), whereas Westminster has two (the House of Commons and the House of Lords).
It's a bit weird, to be sure. I'd quibble over "small percentage" but it IS plugged into an important point. The bit about "much greater degree" is frankly very "AI"... a human who understood this subject wouldn't have said that. And the whole thing drifts a little off point (I was asking about elections, not powers, and the point about unicamerality needs a little more work to bring it to the point about elections versus appointments).
But that is a spectacular answer for a machine. I'm 100% certain that it's a better answer than I would have gotten from several people on here if I'd asked the question.
Mind you, I’m a farmer’s son, so I have a less romantic view of animals than many seem to.
Anyone looking for an excuse to come to Cambridge, come now and visit the Fitzwilliam to see the Hockney exhibition about the technology of depiction.
I don't know the double taxation agreement with India or their tax rates but in all probability she will pay the difference between Indian and UK rated in the UK, assuming our rate is higher. Please bear in mind that last paragraph is a guess.
Where did it come from? What is it made of? Can a machine have it? A fungus? A wasp? A tree? A virus? Where does it go when we die? etc etc etc etc etc
At the other end of the market people like buying something affordable that looks good and is made by a human hand.
If artists can't make a living making pictures, how do they do so? (Though to be fair, how many do make a good living that way? I don't know.)
If an artist doesn't get the grounding making pictures, will they ever get skilled enough to make great art?
For me I would distinguish between two cases:
(1) someone like Tina Green (and many others) who moved abroad and engaged in complicated manoeuvres (like owning Arcadia) solely for the purpose of minimising tax that would otherwise be due. That’s bad.
(2) someone who has not organised their life solely for the purpose of minimising tax but has just used options available. I’m assuming that Mrs Sunak did not move to the UK just for tax planning purposes. That’s reasonable common sense, if politically tin-eared
1) Holyrood isn't elected by PR, but by the AM system using the D'Hondt method;
2) it has the law making powers issue backwards. The Westminster Parliament can pass laws on anything it likes, but the Scottish Parliament has limits on its authority, set by Westminster;
3) The unicameral Scottish Parliament isn't called 'the House of Commons.'
4) As you note, most of it doesn't even ATQ.
It's elegantly expressed nonsense, but it's still nonsense.
One of the problems with point to point is no one wants to race in mid winter because of the risk if abandonment so all the meetings are shunted toward the spring. That means a lot of meetings chasing a limited population of horses and add in firm ground and this can happen.
The result; a Chancellor and his wife who are citizens of the world - but not in a good way.
https://twitter.com/Anna_Soubry/status/1512482836657446915
In 2010 of course the House went GOP not the Senate and in 2018 the House went Democrat but not the Senate
But, as you say, would the average person even on PB get it right?
Yes some fine art, done by humans, will survive in this way. And just for prestige
The people really threatened are the much larger group of second tier artists. Graphic designers, illustrators, cartoonists, digital artists (oh dear), web designers, book jacket designers, artists in ad agencies, etc
Form them the future is bleak; especially as we are just at the beginning of this explosive technology
And DALLE-3 will do moving pictures, animations, and probably objects and sculptures via 3D printing
In 10-20 years we could see completely convincing movies made entirely of manufactured images, with digital movie stars who do not actually exist in flesh and blood; or deepfake imagery will revive Marilyn Monroe and put her in Star Wars 387, part 2
I always have to remind them: RTFQ.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-52219896
When Cameron was told about this, his first words were apparently, 'what the fuck is a duck house?'
Not sure if that was fury, horror or ignorance...
Edit: venereal, not Venetian!
You cannot make decent visual art out of rubbish scripts and CGI.
Most years our horse would be last seen eating the privet from the first jump. But one year Double You Again was leading very close to the end before being taken out by a riderless horse that refused to jump.
Did someone say SKS wasnt wooden
Which is quite reassuring, in a meta way
However it also implies a non-conscious but intelligent machine will have a very real understanding of what consciousness is, and will try and steal it
OOOOOOH
The the first computer vision controlled self driving cars were on the roads in the 1980s.
By 1995 a prof in Korea drove Seoul to Busan in a fully autonomous self driving car powered by an Intel 386 - a chip that couldn't even do floating point maths.
That's like 30 years ago. Since then the improvements have been tiny - because the devil is in the detail. Genuine Full Self Driving has a near infinite number of problems to solve. You can solve dozens of difficult meaty problems and still end up with a car that accelerates into heavy traffic at an intersection because a duck flew across its sensor line.