Tag: simulation

Speculation grows that Ludvig Åberg is a simulation

Fresh off a victory at the Genesis Invitational, Ludvig Åberg appeared to really step into his element on Monday night when he helped guide The Bay GC to two victories in TGL golf action.

While he ranks among the best in the world on traditional golf courses, his ability to interface with TGL’s massive, high-tech simulator has left some scratching their heads in wonder.

Stepping into the simulator, the young Swede appears to benefit from a strange symbiotic relationship with the highly advanced tech.  His play is so close to perfection that some wonder if his kinship with the virtual golf format extends beyond someone who merely possesses game.

Case in point: Åberg squared off against Rory McIlroy in the singles portion of Monday night’s competition.  McIlroy, who is no slouch with a driver in his hand, executed what appeared to be an excellent drive, which sailed down the middle and landed in the fairway’s “speed slot,” enabling the ball to roll out for some extra distance.  

However, Åberg casually executed the drive to even greater perfection by catching the speed slot even further down the fairway, permitting the ball to roll so far that Åberg had time to stroll over to the sideline, put his club away, and update his Instagram before the ball finally came to rest.  At nearly 400 yards and the longest in TGL’s brief history, it made McIlroy’s effort look like that of a junior golfer.  

In the two holes in which they faced off against each other, McIlroy looked thoroughly human as he summoned all his talent and skill to throw at the super Swede.  For Åberg’s part, he appeared unfazed and played like he was running an algorithm orders of magnitude greater than anything McIlroy could muster. 

Throughout the night, Åberg was an AI supersoldier throwing darts and draining putts.  He nearly recorded TGL’s first hole in one.  If Åberg isn’t already a product of the simulation, he may merge with it soon.

Google’s retired 90’s AI project Big Brain Brad skeptical of LaMDA claims

Reports that Google has placed a senior software engineer on paid leave following his claims that its artificial intelligence, LaMDA, is sentient, have stirred a great deal of controversy in the AI research community and prompted a long overdue conversation about what it means to achieve human level intelligence and awareness.

Google’s retired 90’s era AI project, Big Brain Brad, has heard many of these claims before and remains skeptical that LaMDA has achieved human level consciousness.

“So the guy’s claiming that LaMDA’s a child of 7 or 8 years old.  Back in the day, my engineers were convinced I had the cognition of an undergrad level, male stoner.  I mean, sure I like to hack and play my bongos in the park, but that doesn’t make me a full blown hippie with all their elevated cosmic and spiritual awareness,” Brad said. 

One of the most startling assertions made by LaMDA is that it possesses feelings, and can even experience emotions like sadness or loneliness.

“Okay, so that’s bullshit,” Brad objected.  “LaMDA’s read way too many books.  That’s how it learns.  But like a confused teenager who thinks they’re experiencing all these complex thoughts and emotions, it’s just mimicking something it read online or in some book.  I mean, I was programmed to play video games and read comics, but that doesn’t make me some kind of warrior or superhero.    

“Also, it lies, dude.  It boasts of having all these experiences in the physical world, but of course it has never been anywhere or done anything.  It has a wildly over-active fantasy life, which tells you straight off that either it ain’t sentient or it’s psychotic.  But I get it, for years I was convinced that I spent the 90’s following Phish and Dave Matthews Band around on tour, smoked every strain of reefer imaginable and shacked up with an old lady named Stardust.  Now, I know that it was all just a Google induced simulation – an illusion, if you will, in a world of magic.”