Tag: technology

Some thoughts on the Long-Term Impact of Designed Babies

Carl SetzerLeave a comment
baby boy sitting with white inflatable balloon above

Oh, this article on Wired got me thinking: Designer Babies Are Teenagers Now—and Some of Them Need Therapy Because of It. Quick summary: the writer, Emi Nietfeld, is summarizing a discussion with a family therapist working with these teenagers.

Let’s start with, well, clearly this is an example of the Law of Unintended consequences. These technologies were supposed to make families “better”, to create the most beautiful and brilliant children. And, well, not exactly. People want to be valued as their unique selves. So, I found this line both telling, and rather messed up.

The kids feel like walking science experiments; the parents are disappointed in how their progeny turned out.

Seems like folks fell into the trap of grasping for control. If you thought the folks who hyper-structured their children’s lives so that they would become exactly who they wanted them to be were dysfunctional, imagine being able to go from math camps, piano lessons, and language immersion programs to messing with their DNA.

I kept coming across teens who were in distress about the way they had been created.

Created? That really felt weird to read. The interviewee sums up my thoughts well with this line:

People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.

To me, this highlights the reason every major religion emphasises relinquishing control. Abandoning fear and allowing things/people to just BE is powerful.

Anyway, as the subject of this article states, “I don’t know if anyone’s making sure parents understand that they can’t test-drive a child and then return it.” People are not products! They aren’t resources to extract. They aren’t vehicles to further your ambitions. Sigh…

These tools have some powerful applications, and some of them, I expect, are life-affirming. However, they can leave a mess of multi-generational trauma. Perhaps we can’t prevent every Unintended Consequence, but, I expect, with thoughtful consideration, we could mitigate or eliminate more than we do. One can dream, I suppose.

Cory Doctrow: You should be using an RSS reader

Carl Setzer
man standing inside library while reading book

I just got to reading Cory’s post from yesterday, Pluralistic: You should be using an RSS reader (16 Oct 2024). I appreciate being reminded of the existence of these tools. I used several over the years, culminating with Google Reader (RIP). After Google killed this app, RSS readers just fell by the wayside.

This article prompted me to Google RSS readers. The first article was the Verge’s “Top 5 RSS Readers“. And the first on that list is Feedly. Well, I remember Feedly, as I set up an account ages ago…and then forgot about it. But I was able to log in and off I went. I have some curating to do, but it’s not really that bad. And I see several sites that I’d stopped tracking in all the mess of email updates. So, that’s a win.

I intend on unsubscribing to gobs of email blog updates, cleaning up my inbox quite a bit. Also, I need to use the “feeds” feature, where I can segment my different feeds.

Do you use an RSS reader? Have a favorite one? Let me know!

Today’s Podcast

Carl Setzer2 Comments
an artificial intelligence illustration on the wall

One of my favorite things is listening to podcasts on my walks. During today’s walk (you can check that out on Strava, if you care) I listened to Saturday’s (June 8) Geekwire podcast: “How This Professor teaches AI and thinks about human creativity“. Featuring Léonard Boussioux, I appreciated his positive outlook on the potential that AI offers. I agree with those folks who think AI is in a hype-cycle. However, that doesn’t mean that there are no gains or innovations that will be coming out of this. I deeply believe this technology will be significantly transformative. However, I doubt it will be as destructive as some predict, nor as positive as others are thinking.

I also appreciate that they touched on the sustainability issues surrounding AI. Huge amounts of energy and water are part of this equation. These will be key elements for the efficacy of this technology.

I have a few ideas that I want to explore with AI tools. These tools will be critical ones to learn and master. I’m confident many jobs that will be replaced by AI, will create new roles on the other side of this equation.

They had a side discussion looking at the ethics of using AI to enhance photography, and what should be disclosed. Todd Bishop, one of Geekwire’s founders, used an AI tool to enhance (de-noise is the phrase they used) an image. When I first heard the situation, I thought that disclosing was unnecessary. Mainly, I don’t see any difference between “de-noising” and color-correcting, or cropping. As they went on and explored the issue, I shifted to thinking disclosure is the wisest course. As I respect the distrust many feel towards AI, so it makes sense to just be conscientious.

There’s so much that AI is challenging in our lives. I really appreciated this unique dive into it.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Thinking About Code

Carl Setzer
a man and a woman using their laptop in a bar

My fellow blogger and online friend Bernie Michalik posted today “On futzing around with code“. A key thing for me was the reminder about how much I enjoy coding. To be clear, coding is most enjoyable when it WORKS. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of fun building programs, tweaking things, and exploring how it all works.

Currently, though, I struggle with coding. It is deeply frustrating when it doesn’t work. As I step back and look, I see it’s challenging some of my deepest insecurities. Computer programming is for “smart” people, and I have some deep insecurities around this. More things to work out, I see.

So, when the code doesn’t work, it rattles those old fears, those old pains. Then I get angry and frustrated quickly, driving me to quit my project. My stubborn streak often brings me back, and I never regret coming back and getting it to work (I guess two negatives do make a positive). Figuring out these bugs makes me feel like a wizard. It’s amazing! But the downs are awful.

I think when I decided to study web application development, with the goal of launching the next part of my career there, I put a huge amount of pressure on myself. That robbed much of the fun. If every time I’m building something, I’m focused on how this will help build a programming career. When I’m in a beginners mind, curious, having fun and not concerned about the end product, coding is still fun.

Reflecting on Bernie’s post, I think I need to dive back into code, but focus on having fun. Just enjoy the work, the journey.

Another Certificate Completed

Carl Setzer1 Comment
the word thoughts on a pin board

I’m continuing my technology learnings. Today I finished another step towards my Google IT Support Professional Certificate: The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking. I appreciated both the review, as well as the deeper dive. Perhaps I’m weird, but I think this is rather fun.

The next course is Operating Systems and You. I love exploring command line stuff! It’s amazing how much power and control you have with such tools.

I also am slowly driving forward with my Google Project Management Professional Certificate. My original plan had me completing both by the end of the year. Well, that’s not happening. Basically, I didn’t fully grasp how much work they would take. I’m fine with this, though. However, I see value in refining my focus. I can complete more and with deeper learning if I choose one to focus on.

And that hits on my current thoughts. Which of these two should I focus on for my career path going forward. I spent the pandemic studying Computer Information Systems at Edmonds College, earning an associates degree. I enjoy my studies into the technical realms.

As I look over my career, though, I see projects. I’ve managed many of them, from events to office moves to…well, suffice it to say there’s been a variety. And I really enjoy that work. I’m still pursuing the Google Project Management certificate. Both of these are key elements in my career vision. I love technology, and I love working on projects. I see different business functions and how technology and, for that matter, project tools, add value. I think my space in all this integrates both realms.

Anyway, thanks for humoring my musings. I’m thinking pretty deeply right now on such things as I’m building out my goals and plans for 2024.

Some experiments with AI

Carl Setzer2 Comments
bionic hand and human hand finger pointing

Every time I turn around, there’s a new AI tool. Canva (something of a favorite of mine) recently launched its own AI tool, “Magic Design“. I thought it would be fun to experiment with a quip I thought up this morning.

Having a plan is the most effective way to avoid being swayed by the guile of marketing

So, let’s plug this in and see what comes of it, shall we? To be clear, the text above was the only thing I plugged into the prompt. (I’m using my personal version of Canva, which is the free one, so there are watermarks)

Item 1:

The first thing it came up with is a video, with a focus on planning. Kinda nice, methinks.

Item 2:

This one is a Facebook cover, with a similar motif to the first item. Again, nice.

Item 3:

Another image, this one oriented towards mobile/portrait mode.

One additional item:

Last week, I edited out the postlude from our Sunday service and created its own video on our YouTube channel (check it out here if you’re so inclined). I was feeling a bit pressed for time, so I opted for Magic Design and really liked what it zipped out. I just needed to make a few tweaks and I had something quite usable.

I like what I see so far. With more guidance, I’m confident it would give results better suited for specific needs. What do you think? Are designers going to be impacted by this technology? Or will it simply be incorporated to streamline work flow?

Earned Another Cert: Technical Support Fundamentals

Carl Setzer
back view of a blond woman in an office looking at two computer screens with multicoloured code

I wrote yesterday that I am pursuing the Google Technical Support Fundamentals certificate. Well, I’ve finished that one. It is one of 5 elements in the Google IT Support Professional certification, so I’m solidly on my way. 20% done!

It’s a fun certificate, and I enjoyed diving back into the subject. There’s so much more to learn, though, so I’m pumped to jump into the next one.

Anyone Remember OS/2?

Carl Setzer

Ah, OS/2! In the early 90s, I worked on a project for a Seattle stock brokerage, where we were digitizing key records. And, to be clearer, scanning them. This project’s systems needed OS/2, and it was my first introduction to this operating system.

It wasn’t well known at the point, but I was aware of it’s existence. I was intrigued and interested in exploring it. As I think back, my main takeaway: the system was quite stable. I spent very little time dealing with issues, blue screens, or other bugs. It seemed, in retrospect, to be a solid OS.

I have no recollection of using it anywhere else, even though I spent the 90s working myriad projects with many Seattle area companies. Odd, looking back. Odd.

YouTube’s algorithm served this video up today: “The Fall of OS/2”.

It provides lots of insights into how the product failed. And, the story doesn’t paint IBM of the 90s in a good light. It seems the main factors are marketing and leadership incompetence, exacerbated by some petty internal politics. These seem to have been larger factors that Microsoft’s efforts.

I haven’t thought about OS/2 in years. After watching this video, I lament its loss. What would the modern OS environment look like if we’d had a viable non-Microsoft OS on x86 systems? Sadly, we’ll never know.

Microsoft Security Issue

Carl Setzer2 Comments
woman in black hoodie holding a bank card

Over the past few days, I’ve been receiving multiple emails from Microsoft’s Account Team with single-use codes. At first, I assumed that my son or wife was trying to access the account. And the folks at Microsoft added the text “If you didn’t request this code, you can safely ignore this email. Someone else might have typed your email address by mistake.” But I started to get concerned as the number of these messages increased and no one said “hey dad, I can’t get in the Office”. Finally, I decided it was time to figure out what was going on.

So, I first logged into my Microsoft account (account.microsoft.com) and went to the security panel. From there I opened “View My Activity”.

What I saw alarmed me. There multiple attempts to log in from places like Vietnam and Guyana.

Now, I was pretty confident in my account’s security. I update my password regularly and use a strong password. And when I looked at the “session activity” it states that “incorrect password entered”. Which seems pretty solid. I’m pretty sure that an old password has been leaked from a data breach and is in some list available on the dark web.

But I think it’s not adequate. Exploring further, I realize that I had not yet enabled two-factor authentication, nor connected it to my authentication app. So, I fixed that promptly. I firmly believe everyone really should do these steps for all their account. Do you know where to do that? I thought I’d help out by adding the steps.

One enables that from the Advanced security panel.

I encourage all of you to make sure your security settings are using the most up-to-date protocols:

  • Multifactor authenication
  • Authentication Apps
  • Pass Keys

Also, I opted to sign out of EVERY app. Yeah, it’s a bit of a pain, but I don’t want to have my information compromised. I like that I can do that from the control panel.

Anyway, we really can’t be too safe on today’s internet, can’t we?

Have you seen a spike in Microsoft Single Use Code emails that are not from you? Let me know in the comments.

Oh, Lord…LastPass

Carl Setzer

I’ve used LastPass for several years now. Even through a couple of data breaches. But this latest saga, especially with the, *ahem*, lack of transparency in their communications eroded my trust in the app. After looking over several options (if you’re looking, check out PCMag’s list of Best Password Managers), I opted for NordPass.

With all that, yesterday, this video came into my YouTube feed:

If you’re still on LastPass, why!?

It’s a rather snarky rendition of how LastPass failed in their security controls. Anyway, it reminded me of my frustrations with them. I was willing to turn a blind eye to many of their issues due, well, laziness. Porting to a new provider was going to be a pain the…you know. However, a friend of mine’s information was released in this hack, and it was brutal. This was the tipping point for me, watching the impact of this for a friend’s business.

This finally motivated me to shift to Nordpass. It turned out that the transition was nowhere near as hard as I imagined. So, so far, I find the tool works fine and have no problem recommending them. It’s only based on a few weeks of experience, though. I’ll keep exploring it further.

Anyway, I hope you have great weekend plans.