How Can We Matter

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has many uses and potential misuses. This post presents some examples of how AI can be used, misused, and abused and its potential consequences. Seeing the World Through Our Lens It all started when my imagination was triggered by a cloud formation of an image in the azure sky that looked like a giant face peeking out from behind a building. Immediately I captured that image with my mobile phone camera on 31 May 2024 at 18:21hrs. It goes without saying that what we observe in the sky depends on the way the image is visualized, conceived, and interpreted by us. This in turn is shaped by our background and life experiences.  That is, our ability to see, hear, and become aware of the image, through the limits of human senses, creates different perceptions on different people. AI: A Creative Tool Inspired by what I visualized in the photo, I used an AI tool (Google Gemini) to generate ideas for a poem. Of course, the poem is not a verbatim reproduction of w...

Karanavar’s Reminiscences Karanavar is the senior-most uncle of joint families of yesteryear who followed the Marumakkathaayam tradition (matrilineal system) in the Nair Tharavads of Kerala . The present Karanavar of Ningileri Tharavad is Sri Ningileri Thayillath Vasudevan Nambiar . As he is completing his 90 th star birthday today  (ആയില്യം, 4 ഏപ്രില്‍ 2020 ശനി) (DOB: 1105 മീനം 26 ആയില്യം or 8 April 1930 Tuesday) let us offer him a Navathi Pranamam. This memoir is written by his nephew NT Unnikrishnan. Introduction I am jotting down some of these memoirs with the idea that they will be fascinating for the coming generations as they provide glimpses into the people, places, and social practices of the society of 70 years back during the end of the British rule in India. I have also added some historical facts to the narrative ( shown in Text Boxes ) to provide the right context and background.  Wg. Cdr. NTV Nambiar (Retd.)   Wg.Cdr. NTV Nambiar (Retd.) is the o...

I came across this remarkable book, My Story: 50 Memories from Fifty Years of Service , authored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai during my recent trip to Dubai. This book serves as a window into the extraordinary life of Sheikh Mohammed and offers readers a chance to gain a deeper understanding of his vision, leadership philosophy, and the remarkable transformation he has brought about in his country.  Copyright Web Through his words, Sheikh Mohammed shares his personal reflections, memories, and lessons learned through his remarkable life journey. Let me first quote a few lines  from this extraordinary book: "Many aspire to move to the UAE so they can achieve their dreams and realize their ambitions. Today, Dubai has become a global economic icon, thanks to the principles Sheikh Rashid installed in us and made part of our national culture."  Inspired by these words of Sheikh Mohammed, two ...

A woman in USA sued her parents for giving birth to her " without her permission! " They are charged with the serious crime that they contributed to conceiving her and giving birth to her, without getting her consent to "being here! " Image Courtesy: YouTube TikToker Sued Parents for Being Born - and Won? They didn’t try to contact her in any way before she was born to see if she actually wanted to be here! What a horrendous thing to do! Poor thing. She was completely unaware that she was going to have to face in her life journey the arduous task of having to grow up, go to school and then to university, get a job to support herself, find a partner of her liking, get married, and... ! In the light of her valuable experiences gained from the lessons of her life so far, she has now advised all the expecting mothers, who have not yet given birth, to hire a psychic medium and ask "if they actually want to be here." Aapne mujhe paida kyu kiya? According to my ...

Let me start with a simple pragmatic question - when do we cease to exist? The simple answer is, we cease to exist with our death. But, hang on, it is not that simple! I am not talking about the several theories and beliefs about whether death is the end of life. This is more about an alternative experience that the new artificial-intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, provides. Copyright Stock image Most of us are part of some social media groups like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc. These groups have helped us establish contacts with our long-lost school, college, and office mates. Though most members just forward texts, pictures, video messages, many are also active members commenting on others' posts, enriching the discussion...  But often, the members don't meet each other physically because the people are spread across different towns, cities, or even countries. This means we are basically interacting with our friends online using our devices, rarely meeting them in person....

Their composed, distinguished, and majestic silence would have set an example on the magnificent and glorious nature of their most sacred scripture that contains 'the ultimate guidance for all humankind', if only ...

Within less than a month of writing this post entitled 'The Masks We Wear!', the term 'mask' has acquired a completely different meaning the world over.

Practise Dying! Yuck! What an eerie, strange, and frightening topic! Well, read on all of you, especially my senior comrades.

In 1943, Ayn Rand in her philosophical work ' The Fountainhead ' postulated:  "The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men."  

History Professor Yuval Noah Harari in his epoch making book “ Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind ” states that the truly unique trait of humans is our ability to create and believe in myth, fiction, and stories.

My grandson, in his 12th grade philosophy class, is given the following type of discussion assignments: 

" Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. ” When you reread a book much later in life, it gives you newer insights; because you start seeing the world a little differently, as you get older. 

Here is a brief and beautiful description of four well-known subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History.

Just as we wear different clothes for different occassions and places, we also wear, consciously or unconsciously, different face masks!

Is there any purpose or explanation at the core of our existence ? Is there God or any other transcendent force ? This is a rather long post touching on existential questions involving the meaning of life !  Well, if you are still interested read on.

Divine presence, presence of God, inner God, etc. is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the concept of a god "present" in human beings. We are all part of the human race and have the spark of God's light within us. All religions teach basically the same thing.

PM Modi talks about the importance of dialogue, without anger and conflict, for the resolution of today’s problems. 

Every religion has an extreme fringe  that misinterprets its great teachings to promote violence and intolerance. Unfortunately, this is what we are witnessing in the contemporary India today, where Hinduism faces many challenges due to the often entrenched bigotry and seemingly willful ignorance of the fringe  group.