Meet two of my online friends

They are both unusual people, have rather special ways of looking at the world, and comment from opposite sides of the war in Ukraine.

Yaroslava (Yara) is Ukrainian, she lives in Kyiv with her son and her cat; she writes and photographs what she sees around her and posts news and thoughts. Konstantin is Russian, but left in 2022 and now lives in Uzbekistan; he gives 30-minute live YouTubes about life and events in Russia followed by open discussions online, and he runs a breakfast club for Ukrainians and Russians in Tashkent.

I’m exaggerating when I say they are my friends. I exchange messages with Yara occasionally and follow her on Twitter, but I’ve never had a reply from Konstantin. But to me they feel like friends. They are both unusual people, have rather special ways of looking at the world, and comment from opposite sides of the war in Ukraine. I think they would agree with one another on many things, both oppose the invasion and the war, and both feel compelled to communicate these things to the world.

I’d like to introduce you to them.

Yara

The two best places to look for Yara are on BuyMeACoffee and on Twitter. Click through and read some of her posts. Yara is artistic and expresses herself poetically, what comes through most clearly are her heart and her feelings in the moment. She writes about the war (of course) and she uses imagined dialogues quite often. On Twitter she sometimes tells us how she is feeling, shares photos (most of them very, very good) and makes delightful short videos as she walks around Kyiv. Yara is proud of her city, and rightly so.

Konstantin

Find Konstantin on YouTube (Inside Russia), I recommend his daily live videos. He thinks things through very thoroughly before starting a session, and usually he sets out his points carefully and convincingly. Sometimes his emotions show through a little of course, but logical thinking, business experience, and planning ahead are his strengths. He has a relaxed pace in his livestreams and this can make him seem slow to develop an argument, but it also make it easier to follow the underlying logic.

Summary

Yara and Konstantin are two very different people. What they have in common is that through no choice of their own they have been deeply affected by the war – as have their friends, families and neighbours.

Both have had their working lives interrupted, and both have embarked on new and perhaps unexpected projects. Both are worth listening to if you want to better understand this terrible conflict and how it’s disrupting life on both sides.

I’ll say no more about them, they will both speak for themselves.

Nova Khakovka

Under the appalling circumstances of the breach of the Nova Khakovka dam a few days ago, I can’t publish this post without mentioning it. But words fail me. There are none that fit. ‘Tragic’ barely scratches the surface. And if it was a deliberate act, ‘evil’ and ‘heinous’ are utterly inadequate.

Yara and Konstantin have both responded to the breach in their different ways and I’m sure they will mention it again as the details and the terrible after-effects become clearer. The world will not forget this event. If it was due to poor maintenance or improper management (this seems rather unlikely but is conceivable) then Russia must take responsibility because they invaded Ukraine, captured the dam, and were in control at the time of failure. If it was deliberately breached following a political or military order to do so, that is even worse and the world will not forgive those responsible. In time there will be clarity on the cause of the dam failure, currently there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence pointing to a deliberate act on the part of Russia.

Quick note on AGI

Following my recent post on AGI dangers (AGI – Hopeful and less hopeful news) I want to draw attention to a Guardian podcast that I think everyone should listen to.

The podcast discusses whether it may be possible to develop AGI without causing an existential threat to humanity. This is a hugely important issue, we all need to be informed and we should all have an opinion.

AGI – Hopeful and less hopeful news

Personally, I think the threat is real and potentially impossible to stop with very little time for effective countermeasures.

It’s fair to say that few people are currently thinking about the future of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Those who do are mostly researchers and engineers working on the topic.


Wikipedia article – Existential risk from artificial general intelligence

The hope is based around alignment, a term used broadly to mean the degree to which an AGI can be made to conform to human goals and objectives. Poorly aligned AGI would probably be diasastrous and unsafe, well aligned AGI might be beneficial and safe. And let’s be clear at the outset: there are concerns about how AGI (and even current technology like ChatGPT) will cause disruption and harm by affecting social behaviour or employment in the way new technologies have done in the past. But that’s not what we are addressing here. The more significant thinking is about the existential threat to humanity. Will an AGI spell the end, will it render humans extinct?

Nor are we discussing here whether or not it will be possible to develop an AGI, some people argue not, that there’s some kind of unbridgeable leap between current AI systems and an intelligent system with thoughts, ideas of its own, and self-awareness. But we know this is incorrect; such a system has already been created by evolution – humans! This level of intelligence is achievable and it’s already been done. It may take time, it might not be easy, but developments in neural networks and related systems will lead to AGI sooner or later. ChatGPT can already write workable computer code – just think about that for a moment.

The hopeful news

The hopeful news comes from OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT and the GPT software behind it. They have found that process supervision produces better results than outcome supervision. And this gives us a much better chance of understanding how the AI makes its choices. Process supervision feeds back on the quality of the interim stages of an AI’s processing; but outcome supervision feeds back on only the quality of the final result.

Understanding how an AGI works might help developers build in robust alignment features; and if process supervision is more effective than alternatives, it stands a good chance of being employed by developers.

The less hopeful news

The unhopeful news comes from discussions about the nature of risk and human thinking about risk, expressed in discussions on LESSWRONG and elsewhere.

Closing thoughts

Currently, only a very small number of people are concerned about a possible existential threat from AGI. But most of the people with that concern are some of the same people that have knowledge and experience of AGI, what AI can currently do, and how quickly the systems might advance and escape our control.

Personally, I think the threat is real and potentially impossible to stop with very little time for effective countermeasures. But I also think it might just be possible to avoid the danger, but only if we have binding international agreements and strong oversight. However, I further suspect that it might be impossible to agree those necessary measures completely enough, rigorously enough, or fast enough to be fully effective.

In my judgement we are on rather shaky ground, and the more people who give this serious thought as soon as possible, the better. When the stakes are so very high there can be no such thing as too careful or too thorough.

See also:

Cruising the Gospel – Index

Cycling through the gospels to keep Jesus at the centre of all we do.

(See indexes on other topics)

For convenience, you can jump to any book or chapter by clicking the links below, or skip to the most recent post. Newer items are posted on this site (JHM) and the earlier ones appear on an older version. There’s also a brief introduction.

Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke …
John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 …

Burrito Mama

If you live in or near Cirencester, or are visiting, I recommend this little gem of a place.

A new food outlet opened recently in Cirencester; we hadn’t had a chance to try it – until now. Burrito Mama is small, but very, very good.

Donna and I popped in at lunch time today to see what it was like. What we found was friendly, prompt service, lovely Mexicanesque decor, good coffee, tables inside and out, and an interesting menu. And when the food arrived it was nicely served and absolutely delicious. I chose their Ancho chilli asada mushrooms, and Donna went for the Honey chipotle chicken bowl. Both were great.

If you live in or near Cirencester, or are visiting, I recommend this little gem of a place. Check out their website online. Scroll down and take a look around. Book online or just pop in if they have space available. Locals will know where the Swan Yard is, very central, just beyond the west end of the Market Place.

Overall assessment… We’ll be back as soon as we have another opportunity!

Fallen Rhododendron flowers

He invites us to share in his spiritual life, a gift since we cannot deserve or earn it.

Fallen Rhododendron flowers lie on the ground – they are still beautiful. If you follow Jesus, perhaps you might say the same of fallen people (ie all of us); fallen people are lost but still beautiful too. But unlike the flowers, for fallen people hope remains; there is a Way, a Truth, a Life.

Rhododendron flowers lying on the ground where they fell

Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

The Way

Jesus is the Way because he is the only road to safety. We are free to follow any route through life that we wish, but the only road that promises and ensures safety is the road that Jesus travelled. Like us, he was born, lived as a child and went through the process of growing up. Unlike us he didn’t mess up.

If I want to walk in safety, I can only do it by walking with Jesus. I need to get to know him better, listen to what he says, say what I hear him say, do what I see him do.

The Truth

Jesus is the truth because he doesn’t hide from us. How can we define truth and falseness? Well, people sometimes say of a person, ‘What you see is what you get’. This is never literally, reliably, always true of any other human being. We hide things for a variety of reasons, even as children. If we’re ashamed of something, we hide it. If we break something, we might say someone else did it, or pretend we weren’t there at the time. Human nature is to turn to what is false when the truth is inconvenient or embarrassing or dangerous. Jesus is the exception that proves this rule of human nature. Not only did he always stick to what is true, he is truth personified.

The Life

We are alive because we are self-sustaining physical systems carrying out physical processes. Anything that destroys the systems or stops the processes causes us to die. If I’m not allowed to breathe, I will die. If I’m not allowed to eat or drink, I will die. Jesus, during his time with us, was just the same. But he was nailed to a cross which made it impossible to breath unless he could support his body weight, and he was not allowed to eat or drink and when, finally, he was offered something, he refused it. As he grew weak, breathing became impossible and he died. Yet he also has a spiritual life, and physical life was restored to him for a time as well (though bodily he was different in some very significant ways).

He invites us to share in his spiritual life, a gift since we cannot deserve or earn it. And he doesn’t want to wait, he chooses to give us spiritual life now, while we are still physically alive. For a time we can have both as he did, and later we retain the spiritual life even after our physical life is over.

Yes, it’s a mystery. No, we can’t explain it. But Jesus is not only the Way, and the Truth, he is also the Life!

If you want to follow the Way, discover the Truth, and live the Life, you really need to get to know Jesus better. One way is to read the book called Luke. It’s in the Bible, and it’s available online for free.

The end of humanity?

For such an alarming topic it’s a remarkably calm discussion, but also a very informative and thought-provoking conversation.

The rise of AI and the possibility (some would say certainty) that this means the end of human civilisation and the extinction of our species, are topics being seriously warned against by a number of thinkers, scientists, and AI experts.

Artificial General Intelligence – Image from Wikimedia

The Guardian discusses these issues with ‘the father of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton.

Listen to the podcast and see what you think. The potential end of humanity is not something to be swept under the carpet. We need to think about it right now. It would be extraordinarily foolish to wait, it might already be too late. For such an alarming topic it’s a remarkably calm discussion, but also a very informative and thought-provoking conversation.

I believe everyone should have the chance to listen to this.

See also:

Human origins

Theorists can move forward again – and the picture seems a little more complicated than we thought.

Where did we come from, and how? We’ve long thought in terms of an evolutionary ‘tree’, but our origins in Africa are more like a braided channel. This idea provides a better fit to the data.

Based on fossil evidence alone, studies of human evolution have long agreed that modern humans evolved in east Africa and radiated out from there. But with the development of cheap, fast and reliable DNA evidence from modern populations, and DNA from fossil teeth and bone samples, it’s becoming clear that theorists can move forward again – and the picture seems a little more complicated than we thought.

Human dispersion, events described in the article all took place in Africa – Image from Wikimedia

On 17th May, Ragsdale and others published a research paper in Nature; ‘A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa’; their evidence suggests evolutionary connections in populations that were separated for a while before recombining. So instead of an evolutionary tree (which most people were expecting) it seems that our human past is more like a set of braided channels.

Previous views on human evolution proposed a tree structure (branching but not recombining). However, the new ‘weakly structured stem’ model fits the data better than a tree model. It also explains the diversity of genetic forms in modern human populations, and shows that there is no single place in Africa where humans ‘originated’. After this process within Africa, humans spread out as show in the map.

See also:

John 14:15-21 – Promising the Spirit

If Jesus is in us and he is also in the Father, then we too are somehow part of their oneness!

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

Verse 15 is a big ‘if’. Jesus doesn’t ask us to do what he tells us; he simply points out that, if we love him, we will do what he says. So we are faced with the reality of what is in our hearts where Jesus is concerned. Do I love him, or don’t I? How far will I go in following him? Some of the way? All of the way?

The Spirit of Truth

The Holy Spirit comes as a gift from the Father in answer to a request from Jesus. And the Spirit is pretty special because he speaks for us, helps us, and will always stay with us. Read this personally – The Spirit of Christ, sent by the Father, speaks for you, helps you, and will always stay with you. Has this been your experience? If not, perhaps you need to get to know Jesus even better and make sure that you truly love him and therefore keep his commands. Look deeper into your own heart and pay more attention to your daily experience on this journey with Jesus. (If you’re still in doubt, press the ‘Previous’ link twice and re-read the notes on verses 1-7.) The Spirit of Christ cannot be anything but the Spirit of Truth, because Jesus declared himself to be ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’.

Pity the poor world!

‘The world’ is a way of saying ‘worldly people’ – in other words people who know the world, but have little or no clue about Jesus. Knowing the world is our default position, as we grow and experience life, we get to know the world and its ways better and better. That’s life! But this knowing provides no way to become familiar with the Spirit of Truth.

But if you are following Jesus, you will see and know his Spirit because the Spirit lives with you – inside you.

Leaving us?

The disciples didn’t yet fully understand what was happening. Jesus is going to leave them, but not like children without parents. Verse 18 is very clear, Jesus absolutely and explicitly tells them that he, the Son, and the Spirit (his Spirit) are one. They are not quite the same, but they cannot be separated. Jesus has a human bodily form and therefore lives with, but outside, the disciples; the Spirit has no bodily form and will live inside the disciples. Not only that: they will realise that Jesus is in his Father, and he is also in them. If Jesus is in us and he is also in the Father, then we too are somehow part of their oneness!

Back to verse 15

Verse 15 is reiterated in verse 21. If we have and keep Jesus’ commands, then we love him. And if we love Jesus, the Father will love us, Jesus will love us, and he’ll show himself to us. We are in such a safe place! All our lives we existed in a physical reality, but now we live in a spiritual reality as well!

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Pompeii is expanding

As time passes we are learning more and more about the town’s Roman structure, even in parts excavated decades ago.

We are all aware of the story of Pompeii, the Roman town near Vesuvius that was buried in 79 AD when the volcano erupted. So how can an ancient town be expanding?

Much of the old city remains to be excavated; about a third of the site remains untouched. Recently, work began on an entire city block surrounded by four of the Roman streets. And although little has been uncovered so far, the tops of the Roman buildings are beginning to appear as the solidified volcanic ash is carefully removed. Even better – this new excavation is near the centre of the old town, so finding out what lies hidden there may be even more exciting than a dig in the outskirts.

Plan of Pompeii – From Wikimedia

As time passes we are learning more and more about the town’s Roman structure, even in parts excavated decades ago, new discoveries add to our knowledge all the time. An earthquake 27 years before the famous eruption damaged a house next to the public baths. Work to extend the baths involved demolishing the remaining structure of the house, but some of the foundations and mosaic pavements were simply covered by the new work and have recently been discovered.

The above is based on the Current World Archaeology article listed below, please read the article for more detail.

Further information