Do I need an AI publicist for my blog?

The craze of AI

We have been taken by storm by the Large Language Models (LLM) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where computers are enabled to process, understand, and generate human language.

Prominently, we have had ChatGPT that has drawn both the support and heft of Microsoft, I even had ChatGPT attempt to write a blog in the style in which I write and what it offered gave me something of an assurance that I would not be that easily replaced in the activity of blogging.

Blog - Asking ChatGPT to blog like me

Blog - In the skein of the lifted

However, because the dataset ChatGPT has access to is limited to a specific timeframe and it has no access to the live Internet, though it might deduce contemporary information, it is a work in progress.

Shakespeare with a view

Google seemed to have been caught napping in the AI LLM stakes but has ramped up activity to give us Bard powered by Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) and I came to access Bard after reading a Twitter thread comparing features between ChatGPT and Bard. [Twitter: What Bard can do that ChatGPT can’t]

Google just released ChatGPT's strongest competitor yet - Bard

It's free to use and comes with 10X more features.

Here are some of the craziest things only Bard can do ( ChatGPT cannot) 🧵

— Rez Karim (@rezkhere) May 11, 2023

Obviously, curiosity, interest, and enquiry meant I went to Bard which I suspect is named for the Bard of Avon who we commonly know as William Shakespeare, and in that score, that is quite ambitious. I asked Bard to review my blog; it is like getting some sort of independent opinion of my blog and probably some ideas as to how to improve it.

What the Bard said

Bard produced a main draft and two additional drafts which appear below, the context and reporting are broadly right, but it cannot seem to determine where I was born, my citizenship, or where I reside. We are advised that ‘Bard may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn't represent Google's views.’

I would not take it to task on those errors, but it is gratifying to read that I have a clear and engaging style, that I am apparently a gifted storyteller; that surprises me, and that my opinions can be unpopular. I considered editing the drafts but decide to leave them be.

One agreement in all three drafts is that my blog is well worth reading, I need to get a publicist for my blog. I might in the future return to comment on the review in some detail.

First Draft

Akinblog.nl is a blog written by Akin Akintayo, a Nigerian-born Dutch citizen who lives in Amsterdam. The blog covers a wide range of topics, including human rights, politics, religion, Nigeria, and other concerns. Akintayo writes in a clear and engaging style, and he often shares personal anecdotes and reflections on his experiences. The blog is well-organized and easy to read, and it provides a unique perspective on a variety of issues.

One of the things that makes akinblog.nl stand out is Akintayo's willingness to tackle difficult topics. He is not afraid to speak his mind, even when his opinions are controversial. In a blog post titled "On the journey without alternative," Akintayo writes about his experience as a refugee, and he challenges the reader to think about the challenges faced by refugees around the world. In another blog post titled "Walking in the dreams of your mind," Akintayo writes about the importance of dreams, and he shares his own personal experiences with dreams.

Akinblog.nl is a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about Nigeria, human rights, politics, and other important issues. Akintayo is a thoughtful and insightful writer, and his blog is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the world around them.

Here are some of the pros and cons of akinblog.nl:

Pros:

• Clear and engaging writing style
• Personal anecdotes and reflections
• Unique perspective on a variety of issues
• Willingness to tackle difficult topics

Cons:

• Some posts may be too controversial for some readers
• Blog can be slow to load at times

Overall, akinblog.nl is a well-written and informative blog that is worth reading.

Second Draft

Akinblog.nl is a blog written by Akin Akintayo, a Nigerian-born software engineer and human rights activist. The blog covers a wide range of topics, including human rights, politics, religion, Nigeria, and other concerns. Akintayo's writing is thoughtful and insightful, and he often offers unique perspectives on the issues he discusses. He is also a gifted storyteller, and his blog posts are often engaging and entertaining.

One of the things that makes Akinblog.nl stand out is Akintayo's willingness to tackle difficult and controversial topics. He is not afraid to speak his mind, even when his views are unpopular. This can be seen in his blog posts on human rights, where he has written about issues such as police brutality, religious persecution, and gender inequality. Akintayo's writing on these topics is both informative and thought-provoking, and it offers a valuable perspective on some of the most pressing issues facing the world today.

In addition to his writing on human rights, Akintayo also writes about politics, religion, and Nigeria. His blog posts on these topics are just as insightful and engaging as his writing on human rights. Akintayo is a well-informed and articulate commentator on these issues, and his blog posts offer a unique perspective on the world.

Overall, Akinblog.nl is a well-written and informative blog that covers a wide range of topics. Akintayo is a gifted writer and storyteller, and his blog posts are both engaging and thought-provoking. If you are interested in human rights, politics, religion, Nigeria, or other global issues, then I highly recommend checking out Akinblog.nl.

Here are some of the things that I like about Akinblog.nl:

• Akintayo's writing is thoughtful and insightful.
• He often offers unique perspectives on the issues he discusses.
• He is a gifted storyteller.
• He is not afraid to tackle difficult and controversial topics.

Here are some of the things that I would like to see improved on Akinblog.nl:

• The blog could use more images and videos.
• The blog could be more organized.
• The blog could be more visually appealing.

Overall, I think Akinblog.nl is a great blog that is worth reading. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in human rights, politics, religion, Nigeria, or other global issues.

Third Draft

Akinblog.nl is a blog written by Akin Akintayo, a Nigerian-born European who lives in the Netherlands. The blog covers a wide range of topics, including human rights, politics, religion, Nigeria, and other concerns. Akintayo's writing is thoughtful and insightful, and he offers a unique perspective on the world.

One of the things that makes Akinblog.nl stand out is Akintayo's willingness to tackle difficult and controversial topics. In his blog posts, he discusses issues such as racism, homophobia, and religious intolerance. He does not shy away from expressing his own opinions, even when they are unpopular.

Another thing that makes Akinblog.nl worth reading is Akintayo's personal stories. He shares his own experiences of growing up in Nigeria, immigrating to Europe, and raising a family. His stories are both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and they offer a glimpse into the life of a Nigerian immigrant in Europe.

Overall, Akinblog.nl is a well-written and informative blog that offers a unique perspective on the world. If you are interested in human rights, politics, religion, or Nigeria, then I highly recommend checking out Akinblog.nl.

Here are some of the pros and cons of Akinblog.nl:

Pros:

• Thoughtful and insightful writing
• Unique perspective on the world
• Willingness to tackle difficult and controversial topics
• Personal stories that are both heartwarming and heartbreaking

Cons:

• Some posts may be too controversial for some readers
• Layout of the blog could be improved
• More frequent updates would be appreciated

Overall, Akinblog.nl is a great blog that offers a unique perspective on the world. I highly recommend checking it out. 

No one is forcefully installing COVID-19 apps on your phone

All these conspiracy theories

I have been seeing shared notices and things on my Social Media timeline about Google and Apple automatically installed a COVID-19 Tracking app on our phones. At first, I ignored the notices, but they were getting pervasive and it will not be long before one of my friends or acquaintances contacts me to confirm whether this was true or not.

It meant one should just put paid to the issue, no one is automatically installing an app on your phone, any app installation would always require your consent along with the express granting of permissions to access features on your phone.

On my Android phone

Now, I do not have an Apple device, but I can check my Google Android device to explain exactly what you can view on your phones. On your Android phone, choose Settings, then choose Google. There, you will see the option COVID-19 exposure notifications. This was a feature pushed to Android phones in the last couple of months as part of an update process. [Forbes: Have Apple And Google Suddenly Uploaded A COVID-19 Tracking App To Your Phone? The Facts Behind The Furore]

Select Google after you have chosen Settings on your Android phone.

The COVID-19 exposure notifications feature that contains elements you setup and control.

Choosing the COVID-19 exposure notifications, you are presented with a number of options for your phone to be fully engaged in a mobile phone tracking and contact tracing activity. You need to turn on Bluetooth first. Then you need to install and setup a participating tracking app. The original ‘Track and Trace’ app that was piloted in the Isle of Wight for the UK has been shelved, it would not be rolled out in the UK. [GOV.UK: Next phase of NHS coronavirus (COVID-19) app announced]

The COVID-19 exposure notification features you control.

There are plans to develop a new app that takes advantage of the joint Google and Apple COVID-19 exposure notifications feature. Using a road and vehicle analogy, it is basically, a road with traffic stops and markings, open for use by anyone with a vehicle. The vehicle is the app, you need to put it on the road yourself to drive it, else, the road is just there, and you are going nowhere.

[Rant Alert] The app had nothing to do with the NHS, the NHS tag was applied to give the app some legitimacy, the NHS did not commission, tender, build or deploy the app, this was a created by a private company and managed by a committee instigated by the government and headed by someone who once headed a company with major data breaches and who has no expertise in public health or epidemiology. [End of Rant.] [The BMJ] [The Guardian]

You control everything

Furthermore, you have the means to control, delete or turn off the features along with deleting the participating app. Then your phone generates random IDs, these are anonymised identities of your phone that you can share which would link up with other proximity phones participating fully in the COVID-19 exposure notification programme, after the other person has enabled Bluetooth and installed the participating app.

Those random IDs will be deleted after 14 days, you can also manually delete those random IDs at your leisure. Fundamentally, you have to act to be involved, no one is commandeering your phone into a programme you have not actively and willingly subscribed to.

Let your fears be allayed.

#LindaGate: It was mainly about Plagiarism

“Plagiarism is the copying or paraphrasing of other people’s work or ideas without full acknowledgement. Intentional plagiarism may incur severe penalties, including failure of your degree.” University of Oxford. [1]

Conflicts of lessons not learnt

As one predicted on Monday, enough evidence was presented to Google to have the gossip blog pulled down.

There is no doubt that the lady would regroup and re-launch, however, it is unlikely that the hard lesson of life and experience has been learnt going by the rebuttal she posted yesterday.

Unfortunately, many were quite conflicted and confused, abandoning the objective for the subjective, she played victim and we were suckered.

Nigeria in a big world

We must recognise that anything we do online today is no more confined to Nigeria, we are part of a global village, and there are rules and standards to play by. We are constantly put up to global scrutiny in terms of our attitudes and conduct.

The many things people got away with on the Nigerian streets would find sanction and excoriation when given a global review on the Internet. It behoves us to know how those rules work so as not to be caught out by them to the extent that we might suffer dire consequences.

Breaking the rules

The Linda Ikeji Blog, broke the rules with impunity and the blogger was deluded into thinking the small fry that accused her of infringements could do nothing to have the blog taken down. Now, she knows better.

What we must never lose sight of is the reason why the blog was taken down - PLAGIARISM - and the blogger was an unrepentant plagiarist, we should not be confused or conflicted about this fact and truth.

Plagiarism is wrong and it is worse when material you did not originally produce is falsely passed off as yours on the one hand and you use that material directly or indirectly for financial gain.

Measuring character over success

We also have to check our values and appreciate that success mainly measured by wealth, power, influence or following without character or virtue is fleeting. Our measure of respect for a person which might include position should really be of a higher standard of being seen and known to do the honourable thing, having integrity and a modicum of humility.

A person of integrity has no need of things to express that innate virtue and it can be learnt if we have a teachable spirit.

We need to understand how the seemingly grey areas can blacken and besmirch what we have painstakingly built and invariably bring ruinous reputational loss.

Know the bad behaviour

Moral equivalences are no excuse for bad behaviour, we need to declare conflicts of interest and maintain the transparent standard of full disclosure so as to avoid being labelled hypocrites and worse still, dishonest or frauds.

If whatever we publish is not originally ours, we must, acknowledge, attribute and reference or we are plagiarists. If we need to seek permission and we receive no expressed consent, we risk being labelled thieves.

In all truth

Plagiarism however is no trivial matter; students have been rusticated and indicted criminally for cheating, journalists and politicians have lost their jobs for being plagiarists, it is dishonest and reprehensible; careers and reputations have been ruined because of it.

‘Plagiarism is the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work.’ Wikipedia. [2]

It is the greatest slight to be proven a plagiarist and there is no badge of honour in copying and pasting the work of others and passing it off as yours. What is wrong is wrong, and nothing can excuse plagiarism nor should it be tolerated when exposed.

Finally, lest we forget, the Linda Ikeji Blog was taken down on proven evidence of serial unrepentant PLAGIARISM whether people had a hateful, jealous or envious agenda is beside the point. Google acted on evidence of misappropriation of material, intellectual property abuse and infringement, not on sentimentality.

Read up on plagiarism.

[1] University of Oxford – Plagiarism

[2] Wikipedia – Plagiarism

I acknowledge to my observation that the first use of #LindaGate was by Funmi Iyanda.

Blogger: Go and sin no more

Caring for my baby

It would appear one would have to take extra breathing classes to contain the stress levels that might arise from the dangers of losing one’s blog.

In 2003, when I chose the platform offered by http://www.blog-city.com it appears I had a vision that extended beyond that of the owners – I cannot say I had planned to blog for as long as I have been blogging but now into my eighth year, I am still at it and hopefully consistently too.

I first opened an account and blog on Blogger in January 2007 only for the purposes of being able to post comments to Blogger-hosted blogs that had restrictions in place that favoured only Blogger members.

Defaulting to Blogger

However, as 2009 came to a close, I noticed that there was very little innovation on Blog-City and on the day of the 6^th anniversary of blogging I began simultaneously posting my blogs to both Blog-City and Blogger.

Maybe I am prescient, I do not know, but in August 2010 Blog-City announced they were bored with the project and planned to close down the service in January 2012.

I panicked as I found there was no easy way of moving 1,500 blogs from Blog-City to any other platform, basically, they had lagged behind the curve so much, I was at risk of having a dud blog becoming a dead blog.

Why backup a blog?

A blog in my view was a repository, a data bank, if you like an online journal and by inference backed up by its presence online – in essence, there is no point having a backup of a blog if you cannot read back the data with a simple restore process.

In the end, I decided to cast my lot with Blogger and began moving my blogs manually, brick by heavy brick; stone by rugged stone until it all was done by February 2011.

I have maintained Blog-City as I have tried to divert traffic to my Blogger blog which I acquired a domain name for and is addressable as http://akinblog-nl

Over time, I have added features to help ease the navigation of the site and I have generally been happy with it.

It wasn’t broke, so they broke it

This morning Blogger was down, apparently, it was supposed to be down for just an hour of maintenance, it lasted 20 hours because some gremlin had entered the works.

It got me thinking and wondering about the major decision I made in August 2010, with a behemoth like Google behind Blogger it is a surprise that this ever happened, it was like cowboys were let loose on the corral shooting their guns and scaring the buffalo into a right roaring stampede.

Before that maintenance window, I do not think anything was broken on Blogger, it is fine that they need to keep adding features to keep up with the competition like WordPress or Tumblr, but this is a case of them ignoring an old mechanic’s advice, “If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.”

The blogs I wrote on Wednesday and Thursday have disappeared though we have been assured they will be restored, I have seen sorry but a humiliating grovel by those who did this might only start to comfort me, I will reserve the greater sense of displeasure for another time.

Blogger, go and sin no more.

The Blogger is Back note.

Losing every flicker of interest in Flickr

Having been snapping away over the last few weekends, I had come to that point where those captured digital moments could be uploaded for viewing.

To safe-guard my original and future activities, I decided it was time to upgrade to the Pro version of Flickr with all its benefits and so on.

Most importantly, it allows me to lodge complaints if I have any and expect prompt, efficient and good service.

I had already gone off Picasa at Google because of the requirement of a Gmail account and the fact that without an introduction the mobile authentication option does not cover Europe.

So here I am with Flickr and I find I have to write the mail below:-

The email

Hello,

I am interested in upgrading to the 2-year deal but have been met with unfriendly and unreasonable interfaces that are frustrating my request.

I first tried to pay with my Amex card and the moment I chose the Netherlands where I live everything switched to Dutch and I lost the Amex option.

OK! I can read Dutch, so I switch to my Mastercard and on entering my information it tries to force me to use the PayPal service to pay up because it matched my email and credit card details to a PayPal service I rarely use.

Yes, I want to pay to use Flickr, No, I do not want to use Paypal if I choice between that and my credit card.

Is there anyway of removing this extra and extraneous web intelligence such that I can make the choices about the language I want, the way I want to pay without being second-guessed by technology?

Thanks for your help.

Regards

I would be lucky if there is any better way to get this done - God forbid that I have to grovel for a Gmail account to get on Picasa - It is a hard life on the web - I sigh!

Paris - from triumph to agreement

No flicker on Picasa

Having taken a good few photographs, I was met with the problem of how to publish them. So, to Google, I went searching for web ablums and I got introduced to Picasa Web Albums, part of the Google behemoth which I think is a play on Picasso the artist.

Easy as everything seemed including the deals and so on, I usually subscribe to any Internet service that would provide me value, performance and service – this goes for my hotmail and blog service.

So, how do I subscribe to the Picasa thingy? I need a Gmail account.

How do I get a Gmail account? I need to be introduced but another Gmail member or get an SMS message sent to my mobile phone. So, I go for the second option.

You cannot be serious, the Netherlands is not in the list, in fact, no European country appears in that list. Well, that is one lost customer for Google and one gain for Yahoo – getting on flickr.com does not involve extraneous and sanctimonious controls – I hate frustrated access – it puts me off and I sure would not be doing Gmail – not ever.

I just have to bear the silliness of greetings like Aloha AkinNLD! on flickr – One is seriously not impressed.

Paris ma belle ville

Anyways, I could offer myself as a mini-tour guide to Paris, I have done it a few times taking friends and relations round Paris and helping them understand that they do not have to see Paris and die.

Usually, my guests only have two nights to spend in Paris, so major attractions like the Louvre Museum are out of the question.

Usually, I concentrate on the views and the landmarks; first thing to do is the Eiffel Tower to the very top – a must, a time out for lunch and a trip on the tour bus. In a romantic setting it would be dinner on the 53^rd floor of the Montparnasse Tower the tallest building in Paris, facing the Eiffel Tower at night.

Alternatively, go up to the Grande Arche in the Place de La Défense and just have a time there.

In other cases, one can walk up or down the Champs-Élysées Avenue between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.

I must confess that doing the Champs-Élysées at night saves you the urge and temptation others have to go into every shop with fools gold and too much glitter especially if you have to adjudge if the ring fits or the necklace design is right.

On a very sunny day, walking through the Jardins des Tuileries from Place de le Concorde to the Louvre is one exciting view – today, I did the Arc de Triomphe to Louvre plod recorded a few things of interest.

I took quite a number of pictures and you can find them on my flickr album.

Just in case you are wondering about the title - it is about my walk from the Arc de Triomphe (triumph) to Place de la Concorde (harmony/agreement).

A Google queer match

Mindful Computers

I cannot count the number of times some staff in all sorts of outfits have blamed the computer for some problem or unexpected result.

This is all the more interesting with a case in court in the UK where the libel laws are being tested on the premise of deduction rather than named aggrieved ones.

The papers had published a sensational story about the sexuality of certain footballers and some lurid sexual activity that might have happened between males who have long-standing female partners.

It transpired that there were enough clues and hints in those stories that Miss Marple would have rather busied herself with more productive knitting.

Now, I had no clue of who these persons might be till the case came to court and the arguments have started.

The new advent of computational linguistics

Anyways, I do remember years ago, just about the turn of the century reading that universities were losing personnel with PhDs in Linguistics to search engine companies.

This was important because searches had to move on from rudimentary content delivery to context analysis. You want to be able to put in a search pattern and be presented with results of relevance, importance and contemporary value.

I probably use Google more than I use any other search engine and I have been through Yahoo, Altavista, YaGooHooGle and even Dogpile. Wikipedia probably sees a good deal of my traffic too.

Automatically generated

Now, Google has to explain in court how searching for Ashley Cole offers results that allow you to see also “Ashley Cole gay”.

The technology behind the Google search engine is said to be one of the best money can buy and this might be due to the technical excellence of the software, managerial decisions and/or the codifying into computational logic the thinking of those linguistic gurus.

“A spokeswoman for Google said the alternative search terms were generated automatically.” Exactly! [1]

Reference

[1] Google must explain Cole 'gay links' | This is London