3 ms·

Philip K. Dick predicted ChatGPT and its grim ramifications

15 points by evo_9 3y ago

ttctciyf 3y ago
The quoted excerpt is somewhat uncanny: prompt engineering in 1964! Also PKD's Ubik (1969) came pretty close to anticipating the newsfeed with his "homeostatic newspaper" or homeopape idea ("homeostatic" stood for "self-maintaining", I think.) > In a corner of the large room a chime sounded and a tinkling mechanical voice called, "I'm your free homeopape machine, a service supplied exclusively by all the fine Rootes hotels throughout Earth and the colonies. Simply dial the classification of news that you wish, and in a matter of seconds I'll speedily provide you with a fresh, up-to-the-minute homeopape tailored to your individual requirements; and, let me repeat, at no cost to you!" See http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=637 http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=637
- StrictDabbler 3y ago
  Isaac Asimov prefigured prompt engineering for visuals in his short story "Gold", about a science fiction author paying a CGI company to adapt one of his novels. The process is presented as a performance... the voice actors act, and on the screen visuals appear that are entire generated by the computer. No rigging models and rendering. No drawing. Just dialing up the amount of "serpent" on a character in one scene, or dialing back on a character's age briefly. As the protagonist describes it: > It was watched in silence, and Willard said, "It was good, but I think you'll grant it was not good enough. I'm going to ask you all to listen to me, so that I can explain what we're trying to do. Computerized theater is not new, as you all know. Voices and images have been built up to beyond what human beings can do. You don't have to break your speechifying in order to breathe; the range and quality of the voices are almost limitless; and the images can change to suit the words and action. Still, the technique has only been used, so far, for childish purposes. What we intend now is to make the first serious compu-drama the world has ever seen, and nothing will do—for me, at any rate—but to start at the top. I want to do the greatest play written by the greatest playwright in history: King Lear by William Shakespeare. and later >"The snake motif," said Willard. "Give me some of that and there can be less hiss in Lear's voice. Of course, I don't want you to show a snake. The too obvious doesn't work. I want a snake there that people can't see but that they can feel without quite noting why they feel. I want them to know a snake is there without really knowing it is there, so that it will chill them to the bone, as Lear's speech should. So when we do it over, Meg, give us a snake that is not a snake."
add-sub-mul-div 3y ago
https://nitter.it/AlexBlechman/status/1457842724128833538 https://nitter.it/AlexBlechman/status/1457842724128833538
mnky9800n 3y ago
PKD was absolutely fantastic as an author. I am currently on a mission to read every book written by him. So far I have read: The Ganymede takeover (co wrote with ray Nelson) Time out of joint A scanner darkly The three stigmata of palmer eldritch The man in the high castle Do androids dream of electric sheep And I started reading the transmigration of Timothy archer but put it down because my gf gave me a copy of brodsky's watermark because she wants me to take her to Venice but I should read the book first. Anyways, There's so much more to read. And everything has many layers. I just absolutely love all his writing. Most of his writing is questioning what is reality? How is reality shared? How do we communicate what reality is? How do we take advantage of the disparity of different realities all people seem to live in.
- potsandpans 3y ago
  I'd highly recommend Valis
onetokeoverthe 3y ago
[dead]

15 points by evo_9 3y ago

The quoted excerpt is somewhat uncanny: prompt engineering in 1964! Also PKD's Ubik (1969) came pretty close to anticipating the newsfeed with his "homeostatic newspaper" or homeopape idea ("homeostatic" stood for "self-maintaining", I think.) > In a corner of the large room a chime sounded and a tinkling mechanical voice called, "I'm your free homeopape machine, a service supplied exclusively by all the fine Rootes hotels throughout Earth and the colonies. Simply dial the classification of news that you wish, and in a matter of seconds I'll speedily provide you with a fresh, up-to-the-minute homeopape tailored to your individual requirements; and, let me repeat, at no cost to you!" See http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=637 http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=637

StrictDabbler 3y ago
Isaac Asimov prefigured prompt engineering for visuals in his short story "Gold", about a science fiction author paying a CGI company to adapt one of his novels. The process is presented as a performance... the voice actors act, and on the screen visuals appear that are entire generated by the computer. No rigging models and rendering. No drawing. Just dialing up the amount of "serpent" on a character in one scene, or dialing back on a character's age briefly. As the protagonist describes it: > It was watched in silence, and Willard said, "It was good, but I think you'll grant it was not good enough. I'm going to ask you all to listen to me, so that I can explain what we're trying to do. Computerized theater is not new, as you all know. Voices and images have been built up to beyond what human beings can do. You don't have to break your speechifying in order to breathe; the range and quality of the voices are almost limitless; and the images can change to suit the words and action. Still, the technique has only been used, so far, for childish purposes. What we intend now is to make the first serious compu-drama the world has ever seen, and nothing will do—for me, at any rate—but to start at the top. I want to do the greatest play written by the greatest playwright in history: King Lear by William Shakespeare. and later >"The snake motif," said Willard. "Give me some of that and there can be less hiss in Lear's voice. Of course, I don't want you to show a snake. The too obvious doesn't work. I want a snake there that people can't see but that they can feel without quite noting why they feel. I want them to know a snake is there without really knowing it is there, so that it will chill them to the bone, as Lear's speech should. So when we do it over, Meg, give us a snake that is not a snake."

add-sub-mul-div 3y ago

https://nitter.it/AlexBlechman/status/1457842724128833538 https://nitter.it/AlexBlechman/status/1457842724128833538

mnky9800n 3y ago

PKD was absolutely fantastic as an author. I am currently on a mission to read every book written by him. So far I have read: The Ganymede takeover (co wrote with ray Nelson) Time out of joint A scanner darkly The three stigmata of palmer eldritch The man in the high castle Do androids dream of electric sheep And I started reading the transmigration of Timothy archer but put it down because my gf gave me a copy of brodsky's watermark because she wants me to take her to Venice but I should read the book first. Anyways, There's so much more to read. And everything has many layers. I just absolutely love all his writing. Most of his writing is questioning what is reality? How is reality shared? How do we communicate what reality is? How do we take advantage of the disparity of different realities all people seem to live in.

potsandpans 3y ago
I'd highly recommend Valis

onetokeoverthe 3y ago

[dead]