Yes, Friends, are these awful AI 'chatbots' getting "above themselves", do you think? A lot of people are getting a bit frustrated by them, that's for sure, when you read front-page stories like the one in today's Onion News, that's for sure!
But reading that human's story brings a bit of an unusually anxious smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, to put it mildly!!!!
me and my wife Lois - a recent picture
It seems that, according to Lois's magazine, the socialist Albanian Prime Minister has appointed a chatbot as his Minister for Public Procurement: her name is Diella, and she's been created to look like, and sound like, the country's leading stage and film actress, Anila Bisha, even though the actress has not given permission for her face and voice to be used.
What a crazy world we live in !!!!
(left) me opening up our copy of Lois's "The Week" magazine,
and (right) the headline that caught my eye this morning, to put it mildly!
The Prime Minister's idea was that a chatbot minister for public procurement would rid the post of the nepotism and corruption that previous human incumbents had become embroiled in, and at last enable the country to join the EU. But it hasn't worked - investigations into the current batch of large Albanian infrastructure reports have shown that corruption is alive and well, and as rife as it ever was. The Diella saga, according to the Tirana Times, is "a classic case of governance by appearance, where innovation is used to mask rather than to confront corruption".
What madness!!!!!
top Albanian actress Anila Bisha, seen here talking to the chatbot
created in her own image, who's now Minister for Public Procurement
- what madness!!!!
Yes, and "frantic" isn't too much of an exaggeration today, to put it mildly!!!
First and foremost, we're having to get ready for our weekend away, when we'll be "keeping an eye on" our 15-year-old grandson Isaac. His parents - our daughter Alison and husband Edward - plus Isaac's older sister Rosalind (17) will be travelling 300 miles up to Durham in the far north of England to visit their other daughter Josie (19), who's in her first year at the university there, studying for a maths degree. And Lois and I will be spending Saturday night at the family's home 10 miles from here, in Churt, just over the county line, in Surrey.
flashback to January: our daughter Alison, with husband Edward,
and their 3 teenage offspring Josie (19), Rosalind (17)
and Isaac (15) on their skiing holiday to northern Sweden
And if that wasn't enough (!), in addition to packing suitcases, Lois and I have also got to somehow fit into our already busy day, (a) the puzzles at the back of next week's Radio Times, as well as (b) going out for one of our daily walks.
our frantic day - (top left) me trying to squeeze a mountain of belongings
into a tiny suitcase for our weekend away, and trying to get through
a set of challenging puzzles in the new Radio Times - it's complete mayhem!!!
And we're trying desperately to keep up our daily walks, if we can get a spare half-hour, that is!
As a pair of classic "boomers" - both born in 1946, would you believe, although still, incredibly "marvellous for our age" (!) - we're using our daily walk to try to stay healthy. A recent report sent us by Steve, our American brother-in-law, says that the world's wine industry is dependent on boomers, who are the most enthusiastic consumers of wine. So somehow Lois and I have got to stay fit and healthy to keep the poor wine-growers in business, which is another worry!!!!
Jon Phillips, owner of Californian winery Inspiration Vineyards, and a "boomer" himself, at 65, says that younger people, i.e. Generation X and Millennials just aren't into wine enough. And other factors, such as tariffs, wildfires and negative imaging of alcohol haven't helped, he has told the New York Post.
So we "boomers" have somehow got to take up the slack, apparently, and keep drinking the wine that Phillips and others produce.
More stress - just what we don't need!!!!! What madness, isn't it !!!!
9
us on our walk today, over the "hallowed turf" of local soccer giants Liphook United,
currently "languishing" in the Hampshire Premier League's relegation zone,
with us just trying to stay healthy and keep the world's wineries going (!)
Busy busy busy!!!!
[You lazy bastards! - Ed]
Even the birds are busy today - see bird song data above! Lois says they're all building the nests they're planning to mate in this year.
Will any of us ever get any peace?!!!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzzz!!!!! See you on Monday, when the "mayhem" will be starting all over again!!!!
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