№ 15 | Programmable Sketches, Transformation, 12 Magic Phrases, AI Wins at Diplomacy, and the First AI Comic Book??!
Programmable sketches?
Here's a provocation for you: ‘What would be possible if hand-drawn sketches were programmable like spreadsheets?’ So. Much. This. Before getting to the good (new) stuff, the first 1/3 of this article recaps the conceptual foundations upon which this work is build (Bret Vector and Drawing Dynamic Visualizations, as an example). This setup portion alone is a really good roundup. Then, the new stuff: Imagine if drawing something as simple as a checkbox had programmatic/computational properties? If you read nothing else this week, read this! Inkbase: Programmable Ink.
A *handwritten* task turning green when its box is checked.
Transformation in government
Short but sweet rich article exploring transformation in government, and what does the word actually mean? Check it out: “Beyond the hype: exploring what transformation in government really means.” Bonus points for distinguishing between iteration, innovation, transformation, and… imagination! Several thought provoking stubs in here, like this one: “All the intention in the world will not deal with the two key barriers to innovation: capacity and authority.” But, it's the closing paragraph that arrested my attention:
Arguably, most government organisations are still operating roughly in the shape they were originally built, with all the levers and agility of an industrial era, but without a genuine future vision for how might they meet their mandate in a digital world. Technology has been used to shift from paper to online forms (iteration), and to create new forms of engagement via online channels (innovation), but it is interesting to consider how much has the vision or operating model changed? Many departments are the caterpillar who realise they urgently need to fly, but rather than transforming into a flying creature, they desperately attach wings to a shape unfit for flight. In other words, they are largely stuck on a path, and in a shape that is not fit for purpose.
“12 Magic Phrases”
I don't know about magic… more of a mixed bag of phrases worth considering. But, I'm looking at this as a challenge of sorts: A few of these phrases I'm going to intentionally try out this week, with specific individuals… 🤔 I'll see how it goes! “12 Magic Phrases to Make People Like You More (and End Awkward Small Talk for Good)”.
AI beats humans at… Diplomacy?
This is a fascinating ‘evolution’ of AI. A quick sentence of history: Most AI achievements have focused on “two-player zero-sum (2p0s) settings, including chess, Go, heads-up poker, and StarCraft.” In contrast, Diplomacy is a game that requires building trust and negotiating with other players. Whoah. I've found that learning how, exactly, these algorithms win at different kinds of game scenarios is incredibly helpful for my own understanding of what's going on, under the hood; this paper explains all that in an approachable way: “Human-level play in the game of Diplomacy by combining language models with strategic reasoning.”
Speaking of AI…
The first AI comic book?
The Bestiary Chronicles: Volume 1 contains three stories, and 114 pages of AI-assisted artwork. A notable first?!
