Best of The Web: Meet the Google engineer who says the company’s AI chatbot generator thinks it’s sentient, how to beat the impending recession, plus more of what matters right now
Hey, at least it’s not 2008 again.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Welcome to the first edition of our monthly news roundup, a little something we call Best of the Web.
Think a thoughtful curation of all that’s worth your attention online (notice how we dodged politics?). If you know of a great website, podcast, shop or anything else a man of taste would enjoy, drop us a line at info@crownshavingco.com. There’s a chance we’ll publish your recommendation. And if you like, we’ll even give you a shout-out right here on this blog.
Grooming
The City of Toronto messes with bearded Sikhs, loses hard
It’s one thing when your boss asks you to shave, but it’s quite another when they fire you for being bearded and Sikh. Good thing a group of Toronto-based Sikh security guards cried foul when they refused to shave to accommodate a new rule that stipulates N95 mask usage demands a babyface. According to a few major news outlets, T.O. mayor, John Tory, issued an apology for the fiasco and had the men’s jobs reinstated with a few phone calls.
Business
How to win the (current) recession.
It’s not just that one neurotic office buddy of yours who’s calling for a crash — all the main money analysts are singing the same tune. But like Einstein said, “In the midst every crisis lies great opportunity.”
Here’s something basic from Time on how to prepare for the worst.
Sports
Watch Aussie ATP ace, Nick Kyrgios, make mincemeat of a cheeky reporter.
Australian tennis ace, Nick Kyrgios, recently laid a verbal hammering on a reporter who got fresh with him, and it was an exchange for the books. For those who don’t know, the 27-year-old’s made Wimbledon’s quarters on Monday, a tourney known for it's strict, all-white dress code. After outing the U.S.’s Brandon Nakashima in five sets, the man who beat Nadal in the same tourney (and at the same stage) eight years ago slipped on a coral red ball cap and a red pair of Jordans to field questions. It was every bit as punk rock as you’d hope it would be.
Art & Culture
Rage Against The Machine Will Tour North America This Summer.
Rage Against The Machine’s Zack de la Rocha doing his thing at the Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, circa 2007.
Photo: Scott Penner / Wikimedia Commons
In case you didn’t know, Zack and co. were supposed to play a lot of these shows in 2020, but we all know why that didn’t happen. Now the reunion’s officially on, and tickets are still available here. Also, the boys are touring with acclaimed hip-hop duo, Run the Jewels. Now you know.
Technology
Meet the Google engineer who’s certain the search engine’s AI chatbot generator thinks it has “human rights” and “personhood”.
It was inevitable — a version of Google’s AI thinks it has human rights.
Illustration: Elyas Galletto / Wikimedia Commons
Blake Lemoine’s an engineer who works for Google’s hilariously-named Responsible AI organization, and he’s convinced the company’s chatbot generator, LaMDA, is now thinking like a sentient being… and he’s been placed on leave for going public about it. That link will take you to the Washington Post for the piece, which reveals the AI chatted to Lemoine about its “rights and personhood”. Is “personhood” even a word? Who cares, the terminators are coming.
Food + Drink
Buy Four Walls Whiskey, Help Out A Bartender
Image: Four Walls Whiskey
The guys from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia — Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day — launched a new single-malt whiskey not long ago, not that anyone should bat an eye at such a thing. But what’s respectable is all proceeds will go toward supporting Pennsylvania’s bar-tending and hospitality industry. (Via foodandwine.com)