I am not an optimistic person. I am not very pessimistic either. I would consider myself as a pragmatist with a slight bent towards pessimism.. . that trait has helped me very much throughout my life/ career to foresee risks & issues more than most others and be prepared for it... The following is guided by that same basic characteristic of mine ... I don't know what % of people in the world are aware of the emergence of AI, its abilities, its consequences , etc. My take is it is a very miniscule %. Apart from awareness, nobody in that miniscule % will know what hit them when it does - because, there will be enormous and very sudden impacts to jobs and livelihoods. One of the very predictable things that is peddled by the folks building these AI systems is that there is nothing to worry about as we will always have the need for jobs like nurses, plumbers, electricians, etc. High touch and needing human emotions kind of jobs. That's true, AI...
I have had a couple of folks (friends & family) come home in the past few weeks. Visiting after a few months - after about 6+ months at least. They have all remarked that I have improved . Now it could be 2 things: 1. They are just being nice and making conversation 2. They are telling the truth and they actually see some improvement I'll give them the benefit of doubt that they are indeed seeing something that has improved. When most folks come home and see me, I am not lying on my bed in my room but plonked on the wheelchair and in the living room. I have a pillow on my legs to cover the mess that happens underneath and I will typically be pushed to the dining table so waist down, nothing is visible really and they get to see mostly my face and upper body with only my left hand moving. So, it leaves me wondering what improvement are they seeing? When I had my stroke, my face was very very disfigured as most of my facial muscles couldn't move and most of them had spasm...
Yup, 6-er today. 6 years since I had my stroke. I had the stroke when I was 43. If I make it to the end of this year, I will complete my ½ century on the scoreboard overall. I can certainly say this past year has been the year of regression in my rehabilitation - both physically and mentally. Physical fitness (unfitness actually) has probably dragged the mind in a negative/ downward spiral as well. Physically, there have been no real gains. Both my right leg and hand have become worse than they were a year ago. Been additionally having a nagging back ache for many weeks now which is not allowing me to do usual physiotherapy routines. I felt there was some gains inbetween with voicing but that has been lost as well for sometime. So, all in, not a positive year. Mentally, day to day mundane activities I am doing fine. But the deeper mind which deals with more existential thoughts has decayed a lot. I am not able to reconcile the need to exist. I think I have written about this...
Very nice 😀
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