A la April FOOLS DAY..        

Happy EASTER Holidays to Everyone too  

In this Blog I want to bring you all up to date on my personal activities and current thoughts that are preoccupying me and my autistic brain.

Check out my new logo-like/Dislike?

YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE VOL 1:  ‘Through A Glass Darkly’ by David Barclay-Miller -on Amazon KDP in both eBook and Paperback.

You can use the Amazon link on my website-Note Amazon accounts can only buy off Amazon in their designated areas, sometimes you can’t even see my book from your country on other Amazon sites! Annoying.

www.barclaymillerbooks.com

Also remember Apples devices can’t buy books etc using short-cut links. You have to enter my books details into your actual chosen browser.

You can read a KDP eBook on an Apple device but first you have to download a free Kindle app-see link below.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amazon-kindle/id302584613

My wife has also just had a big ink rubber stamp made for me-it has an image of myself saying “I’m Amazed!” which is something I’m told I say constantly!! Yes, I am very often amazed and DISMAYED.

Meanwhile in my personal bubble I continue my self-publishing journey -Vol 1 & 2 of my Trilogy Memoir titled… ‘One Hand Wavin’ Free’..are done, botyh as eBooks and paperbacks. Vol 1 is for sale now and Vol 2 at the end of April.

(Note: it’s not a begging hand, but its flapping around and its saying ‘I’m free, maybe a little fettered- but these bonds that bind me are coming off-HELLO  world!’

also cowboys bronc-riding always have one hand waving free, to give them better balance and keep ‘em in the saddle longer!

My family and friends have all now received paperback ‘authors copies’ of Vol 1 & 2 and I have had some very positive feedback, which I most appreciate.

For any debut authors out there going the ‘self-published’ route, don’t, it’s a nightmare, hook up with a proven pro-team to help and guide you in the KDP formatting and publishing.

I’m finding it really hard to get any traction with ‘memoir bloggers’. Many sell services for writers but few I’ve found are open to unsolicited books being sent to them.

AND I am also…Trying hard to get all of Vol 3’s stories into a draft structure, over half are nearly completed but I need to spend more time with my ‘writing head on’, BECAUSE I have a’ copy -edit’ booked in with John (my-go-too editor guy) for April 22 nd

These are the thoughts that have preoccupied me this year, they are NOT simply conspiracy theories but are happening NOW & come with hard checkable facts…

  • Billionaires continue, unchecked, creating a world that’s more UNequal than ever-this inequality is at a record level…

Worldwide net private wealth stood at $454.4 trillion in 2022. The highest wealth rung controls $208.3 trillion in wealth, or 45.8% of the global total. Just 1.1% of the world's adult population falls into this bracket. Those with $100,000 to $1 million have the next largest share, at 39.4% of net household wealth.

>The populist politicians are deliberately spreading hate, discord and mis information.

If Trump gets into the White House again, we will definitely inherit a world we may well deserve for even allowing this to happen. I’m not a Biden fan but he’s for sure a safer pair of hands than the wounded and dumb narcissist that is Trump, even with the humanitarian disgrace that is occurring in Gaza under the Biden administration.

>A media circus that’s owned by venal 3rd parties and ‘produces click bait’ rather than factually based free-press reporting.

>The tech giants are creating and shaping a new world around us with minimal scrutiny or regulatory oversight;

>The fossil fuel corporation executives- in cahoots with their big bank lenders- are watching as the planet burns and floods- as both their exploration for oil and gas increases massively against all pledges at Climate & Clean Air Confo’s & Summits and all their profits swell obscenely. (Ironic that a Arab petroleum state was the nominated President of the 2023 Conference)

>And…FAMOUS BOOKS ARE STILL BEING BANNED in their thousands, in libraries and schools, especially in the USA, I knew so little about this-HIT this link below.

Book burning comes next.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/14/book-bans-us-schools-surge

  • ALSO-relevant to me and my family; Sweden is now in NATO-our head of the military branches has told us.. ‘to mentally prepare for war with Russia’.  FFS, we autists freaked out, including my youngest daughter. There is even a rumour that the USA may base some nukes here on Swedish soil. We know that our air raid shelter is just over the road under the stone church buildings and we have grab bags made up ready.

  • China is waging a war of demographic diaspora and ancestry propoganda-they won’t fight the West to control the World.. they fully intend instead to ‘become the World’- through infiltration, movement of Hans people into areas of Chinese interest eg: Thailands peninsula where they want to dig a canal across the Isthmus and recently loads of Chinese have moved there and later we will see mass migrations eg The Darrien  gap up into Panama and then North America, a huge land bridge is currently being built financed we think by China.

They use Museums, Libraries and Archaeology to brain wash-convince the local populace eg in Sth America that the Mayans and their Indian ancestors were all derived from original Chinese stock and later migrations and therefore that land is by rights- Chinese. Insidious, creeping inexorably forward.

Meanwhile in an erosive fashion..we, the little guys are being stripped of legal ownership of anything AND EVERYTHING..by the powers that be.

We seem pretty helpless to make any meaningful changes to our world, even our votes we cast can seem pointless-democracy has fallen globally to only 30%, an all time low in my lifetime.

Near enough to everybody I know is in debt, ie the bank owns most of their house, their car is a lease or bought on loans, pension is worthless, so much of household expenditure is just getting by, pay check to pay check.

Our kids are going to be the poorest post war Gen.

AI and me as a writer?

Put in context, artificial intelligence refers to the general ability of computers to emulate human thought and perform tasks in real-world environments,

In the pantheon of existential dangers posed by the rise and rise of AI, few loom larger than biosecurity and the very existence of mankind -bad actors using AI to create deadly bio-weapons etc.

But one question surely more immediately relevant for me but yes sure it may be less deadly is -will AI replace human creativity?

Very relevant even as we speak – taking over from me, my writing and authorship?

As artificial intelligence creeps into every nook and cranny of our lives, a question lingers in the minds of both seasoned wordsmiths and aspiring writers: are these sophisticated AI tools replacing human writers altogether?

It’s not surprising at all, then, that the use of AI in screenwriting has been a core issue in the current Hollywood writers’ strike, which had exploded to become one of the biggest in nearly half a century, drawing in not only writers but also actors like Jason Sudeikis and Susan Sarandon. The stated goal of the union representing the Writers Guild of America is clear: to “regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies.

 AI has made significant strides in the writing industry, revolutionizing the way content is produced. These tools offer timely and accurate suggestions for grammar, tone, and style.

How AI ‘learns’?

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are often used interchangeably, but they are actually distinct concepts that fall under the same umbrella.

In simplest terms, AI is computer software that mimics the ways that humans think in order to perform complex tasks, such as analysing, reasoning, and learning. Machine learning, meanwhile, is a subset of AI that uses algorithms trained on data to produce models that can perform such complex tasks.

Most AI is performed using machine learning, so the two terms are often used synonymously, but AI actually refers to the general concept of creating human-like cognition using computer software, while ML is only one method of doing so. 

There is hardly any technology that has raised so many concerns related to authorship and genuine talent as artificial intelligence. No one can deny the fact that the power of this tool is incredible.

No rights should be violated or infringed by the use of AI platforms. They generate creative content using the existing artworks and prompts available online. AI learns by accessing EVERYBODIES EVERYTHING that was /is ever published.

Still, it may happen that the artists have not provided any permission for using their intellectual property. Hence PLAGARISM is a huge risk.

How does an AI system gain experience and acquire knowledge? However funny it may sound, this software is trained! It replicates the data patterns which it identifies among the available materials.

Many of the texts, pieces of music, code or art are protected by copyright, but the artificial intelligence uses them for generating the products on basis of manipulating with what has been created before. So-some big negatives

  • Infringement of copyright.

  • Confusion about the copyright if AI-generated content is published or presented in public.

  • Discouragement of creativity. If anything can be duplicated, why should people develop new ideas?

  • No privacy. AI uses all kinds of information no matter how sensitive it can be.

Lack of Creativity and Originality

I tried AI to ‘copy-edit’ one of my Trilogy Volumes, admittedly I’m a complete newbie but it delivered a very stiff and sometimes nonsensical ‘copy-edit’ service, but I can see it being a great tool in this horrid task.  

One major concern with AI writing tools is the lack of creativity and originality they often bring to the table. While they may excel in generating content quickly and efficiently, they often fall short in delivering unique and innovative ideas. These tools rely on pre-existing data and patterns to produce text, which limits their ability to think outside the box and offer fresh perspectives.

As a result, the content produced by AI writing tools can be generic and lack the genuine human touch that readers crave. To overcome this limitation, it is necessary to combine AI tools with human creativity and critical thinking to ensure the final output is both original and engaging.

Insufficient emotional intelligence

This can hinder the effectiveness of AI writing tools. These tools may excel in grammar correction and sentence structure, but they often struggle to understand the nuances of human emotions.

As a result, they may produce content that lacks empathy or fails to connect with the intended audience. For instance, AI-powered emails that lack emotional intelligence can come across as cold and robotic, distancing the recipient.

One limitation of current AI writing tools is their difficulty in comprehending and adapting to complex subjects or writing styles.

These tools may struggle to grasp intricate technical concepts or understand specialized industries, resulting in inaccurate or inadequate content generation.

Similarly, the inability to adapt to diverse writing styles, such as formal or creative, hinders the tool's ability to meet varying requirements.

For instance, AI writing tools may struggle to generate poetry or replicate an author's unique voice and tone. BUT they are continuously improving, the AI computing systems are getting better and faster chips- Nvidia has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence (AI) chip which it says can do some tasks 30 times faster than its predecessor.

 Some POSITIVES of AI for writers:

Additionally, AI-powered writing assistants can generate content based on specific keywords or prompts, saving writers time and effort. These advancements allow writers to streamline their workflow, improve their writing skills, and produce high quality content.

For example, an AI tool can analyse thousands of articles to identify trends and patterns, enabling writers to create more engaging and relevant content. As AI continues to evolve, its potential to assist writers in the creative process is both exciting and promising.

SUMMARY:

it is clear that we humans bring something more to what we would consider truly creative works — their experience, emotion, imagination, and intuition. Human art and creativity evolve because it strives to reflect the stories of our time and place. Computer art will always stand still without new human art to train on.

So, when we talk of AI taking over human- created arts and literature — as some predict — more is at stake than just loss of jobs.

 “Art is dead, dude. It’s over, A.I. won. Humans lost.”

But AI technology — at least the kind that exists today — cannot replace true art, and I think we can all agree that a world without the arts, which help move us forward as a society, is not one that we aspire to.

 FREE GIVEAWAYS:       https//:www.barclaymillerbooks.com

Handmade Leather credit card wallets are still up for grabs; register on my website sign up for my Newsletter, buy the book, drop a review on my website or on my Amazon book page and the 5th review gets a GRATIS gorgeous wallet in Louis V leather!

 

Next
Next

Tip of the Iceberg: March 2024