Recently I got curious about the situation of animal farming in China. So I asked the popular AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) to do some research on this topic. I have put the result into a NotebookLM note here: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/071bb8ac-1745-4965-904a-d0afb9437682

If you have resources that you think I should include, please let me know.

I have $20 in unused RunPod.io credit (cloud GPU service) that I’m not using and can’t refund. 😢 I’d love to donate it to someone working on any useful — whether it's for running models, processing data, or prototyping.

Feel free to message me if you want it.

Adrian Tchaikovsky, the science fiction writer, is a master at crafting bleak, hellish future worlds. In Service Model, he has truly outdone himself, conjuring an absurd realm where human societies have crumbled, and humanity teeters on the brink of extinction.

Now, that scenario isn't entirely novel. But what renders the book both tear-inducing and hilarious, is the presence in this world of numerous sophisticated robots, designed to eliminate the slightest discomfort from human existence. Yet, they adhere so strictly to their programmed rules, that it only leads to endless absurdities, and meaningless ordeals for both robots and humans alike.

Science fiction writers, effective altruists, and Silicon Valley billionaires have long cautioned, that the rise of sentient, super-human artificial intelligence might herald the downfall of our own species. However, Tchaikovsky suggests a different, perhaps more mundane, and even more depressing scenario. He proposes that precisely because robots, no matter how advanced, lack free will, and cannot exercise their own volition in decision-making, they will not only fail to rescue us from impending environmental, political, and economic crises, but they will also be incapable of replacing us, by creating a better world of their own.

And, I believe, that is Tchaikovsky's final warning to humanity. I hope that future historians, if they still exist --- since there aren't any left in Service Model --- will regard him as a mere novelist, one who tries to capitalise on the general unease concerning advancements in artificial intelligence. Yet, I fear he may indeed be onto something.

I recently came across a search engine Ecosia and I would like to recommend it to EAs. The company promises to use its a portion of its profit to fund re-forestation projects. Their website claims that they have planted 128 millions trees since its launch. People who have looked into it (here and here) found the company is legitimate.

From my experience, it works well for most searches, but sometimes you do need Google. Fortunately it's very convenient to specify search engine in firefox. I found this is a very easy way to do a bit good which cost nearly nothing.