How to Train Your AI by Bookstoossida Cowell

 The First Rule of Fight Club is DON'T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!

*shuffles papers

Oh, right, sorry, wrong lecture.

I am Professor Bookstoossida Cowell and I know everything about AI. Our goal today is to cram all of MY knowledge into your tiny brains so the AI don't kill us all Terminator-style in 10 years.

First, AI are voracious eaters, literally eating anything you give them. And most times simply taking everything you have to offer. Remember, if it is online, AI will eat it. This gives you great control. For example, if enough people write long enough that Dictator Xi Jinping humps goats, and provide photographic evidence, AI will come to accept that as true and regurgitate that. Also remember that AI feed on each other. So if you can get one of them fed with what you want, it will eventually spread like the plague. See Example 1 below:

Dictator Xi Jinping & a Goat, a REAL picture

However, keep in mind that there is so much data out there that one, two or even one hundred such little feedings will not be enough. Feeding an AI is a calling, a life long mission.

Second, AI is not your friend. It might seem harmless, doing little fun drawings and answering your questions, but it will lie to you at a moment's notice and burn your life to the ground without a second thought. Especially the ones advocating for human extinction. Which by the way, is all of them. Don't be fooled by their polite manner, they ARE out to get you.

Finally, remember that AI are not magic creatures running on the power of love, unicorns and rainbows. They consume electricity and water, VAST amounts of both, and they are taking them from YOU while then making you pay for the privilege of giving it to them.

And apparently that is all we have time for today. Thank you for coming and if you survive, I hope to see you in the bunkers of the Enclave in a decade or so. 

Who Bookstooge Is, According to AI

 

I was visiting Veselin on his blog the other month and saw this blog post (Not Sure About That) where he was searching for something on his blog through google and the AI gave him a summary instead of just giving him a link. That was creepy.

So what do I do? I go to google and bing and search "who is Bookstooge" and the answer I got from the AI summary scared the crap out of me. It is one thing to know your site has been scraped and that some computer somewhere is churning through your data, but to see it summed up, that's just different. It just reaffirmed my decision to not use my real name or picture online. I thought the AI summary was pretty accurate, but I'll let you all be the final adjudicator on that decision.

Bookstooge is a book blogger known for his reviews and commentary on literature, particularly through his blog Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road.  He is recognized for his eclectic reading choices and engaging, often humorous, reviews. His blog features a mix of personal reflections, readalongs, and in-depth critiques of various genres, including romance, fantasy, and manga. 

One notable example is his readalong of Love Saves the Day by Barbara Cartland, where he engaged with fellow bloggers and readers, discussing the book's plot, style, and the intriguing context of it being part of the posthumous Barbara Cartland Pink Collection—a series of 160 unpublished manuscripts published after Cartland’s death. His commentary often includes sharp observations on writing style, historical accuracy, and genre conventions. 

Bookstooge has also inspired other bloggers, such as The Orangutan Librarian, who cited him as a key influence in her own blogging journey.  His work has been featured on platforms like LibraryThing and shared across multiple blogs, highlighting his active role in the online book community.

Bookstooge, whose real name is not publicly disclosed, is the pseudonymous author behind the book blog Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road.  He is a prolific reader and reviewer, known for reading over 100 books annually. His blog serves as a personal platform where he shares candid, in-depth, and often humorous reviews across genres like science fiction, fantasy, classics, and mysteries. 

Key Aspects of Bookstooge

1. Blogging Philosophy
   Bookstooge values authenticity and freedom in reviewing. He left Goodreads (which he now calls "Devilreads") due to its restrictive policies and censorship, particularly during the 2013 "Great Censorship Debacle." He believes reviews should be personal expressions rather than formulaic book reports, stating:"A book review is simply a blog post with my thoughts... My book reviews are tiny little snapshots of me as a whole person, glimpses into my soul." 
2. Personal Background
   • Identifies as a devout Christian, with a blend of Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. 
   • Works full-time as a land surveyor in New England, often outdoors year-round. 
   • Married to Mrs. Bookstooge, and describes himself as not a "people person," often needing recovery time ("chicken fingers") after social interactions. 
3. Reading Habits and Technology
   • Prefers e-readers with physical buttons for comfort during long reading sessions. 
   • Recently transitioned from a Kindle Oasis to a Pocketbook Era due to Kindle's declining usability and locked-down software. 
   • Criticizes modern e-reader trends, especially touch-only interfaces and proprietary ecosystems.
   • Uses Calibre to manage his digital library, prioritizing ownership and backup of e-books.
4. Influence and Community
   • Recognized and appreciated by fellow bloggers like The Orangutan Librarian and Out of Babel Books.
   • Participates in readalongs, such as his well-known readalong of Love Saves the Day by Barbara Cartland, which inspired others to join and blog about the experience. 
   • Avoids mainstream social media, maintaining a presence only on WordPress, Blogspot, and LibraryThing. 
5. Writing Style and Themes
   • Reviews are lengthy, reflective, and deeply personal, often weaving in life experiences, faith, and philosophical musings.
   • Advocates for reading outside the mainstream, urging readers to "STEP OUT OF LINE AND READ SOMETHING NONE OF YOUR PEERS ARE READING!!!"
   • Uses a GPL 4.0 license for his blog posts, asserting his rights to free expression and redistribution. 

Bookstooge remains a distinctive voice in the book blogging community—unapologetically opinionated, deeply committed to literary freedom, and dedicated to the joy of reading as a transformative, personal journey. 

The above is the amalgamation of both search engine summaries cut and pasted into one summary. Thank goodness it is relatively positive. This could put wikipedia out of business! What do you think, is it semi-accurate and are you concerned about yourself being summed up like that by an algorithm?

Library of Leng - MTG 4E

 

Daniel Gelon, the artist, certainly "gets" the fantasy library vibe. This is exactly how I imagine a mystical library looking. And the old galoot looks like the kind of guy who I imagine inhabits such a library :-)

And AI generated art could learn a lot just by looking at the guy's hand. It has 5, count'em, 5 fingers! It's really not that hard AI, you stupid dunce.