Hello, World

If you’ve ever been scared to move forward, to wander from what you know, take a deep breath and take the first step.

The world is changing in unexpected ways. Things are moving faster and faster, threatening to upset the comfortable balance of our lives. Some find themselves frozen where they are, unsure of how to proceed when the future seems so unpredictable. How do we navigate a path when we can’t see where it leads?

The answer, I believe, lies in having the courage to begin, even if we’re scared. It’s about finding hope in the possibilities of tomorrow and using that hope to propel us forward. Push yourself to grow and reach your full potential.

Imagine the person you want to be, the future you want to see, and start moving in that direction.

My First Step

It’s not the easiest thing for me to put this out into the world. I’ve always kept my internet presence to a minimum. If you look at my X account or Instagram, you’ll find blank pages. I still have access to those accounts, but I am most comfortable keeping a low profile.

When I was young, I read somewhere that I should take care to not upload HD photos of myself online. I don’t remember exactly when this was, but it was in the era when the prevailing wisdom was to remain anonymous on the internet and to limit how much strangers could find about you. I suppose I took that message to heart. Aside from my LinkedIn profile and this website, I can’t remember ever posting a photograph of myself on the internet. While I do message people occasionally, it’s been a long time since I posted publicly with any regularity.

I’m at a point in my life where I should reconsider this approach. There is value in engaging with the broader world. Formalizing my thoughts and hearing feedback enables me to strengthen my positions and better understand differing perspectives. While I’m able to take time here to organize my thoughts carefully, platforms like X are far better suited to real-time discussions and connecting with people. For that reason, I’m considering becoming more active on my social media accounts.

I’m stepping out of my comfort zone with this website and blog. I already have a list of topics I would like to discuss here, but I don’t have a timeline or a set schedule right now. I will do my best to update this space regularly with thoughtful content.

Dreaming of the Dawn

“Telling someone about your fascinating AI conversation is like telling someone about your dreams.” - Tom Scott

Among the fascinations of my life, none have been as persistent as the potential of technological advancement. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” There have been advancements in the last decade that, ten years ago, I believed were forty years away if they happen at all in my lifetime. I’m talking, of course, about advancements in artificial intelligence but also networking, hardware design, virtual reality, robotics, and many other fields. It’s possible that twenty years from now society will look just as it does now except we have the iPhone 35, but I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. I suspect the best way to anticipate what will come is to dream it.

My priorities have changed over the last few months. I want to gain more direct, hands-on experience with these technologies. In a way, it’s the culmination of the path that began with my magnetic fascination with the original ChatGPT in December 2022, a few weeks after its launch. For me, it was the first of a wave of releases that I would consider ‘futuristic technologies.’ (Arguably, the first ‘futuristic technology’ was the initial release of Tesla’s Autopilot in 2015, but I would consider even the original GPT-3.5 a far more wide-reaching technology.) Though it has been outclassed, and I would not want to use GPT-3.5 for much of anything, it was the first major sign that the world would look very different one day.

Since then, progress has been both fast and slow. It has become apparent that dramatic progress and acceleration of AI will take longer to manifest than I expected back in 2023. It’s not ideal, but it gives me more time to advance my skills and abilities before potentially being rendered obsolete. Everyone should pursue their passions if they can, and I’m no different. I’ve decided to see how far my dreams can go. I don’t want to just watch the field from afar anymore. I want to explore these spaces more thoroughly, push the boundaries, and perhaps make a small contribution of my own. Nobody gets an award for waiting for the future to happen to them.

Looking Forward

In this blog, I aim to:

1. Share insights from my own projects and experiments
2. Explore topics that interest me in a variety of fields
3. Discuss the social and ethical impacts of emerging technologies
4. Speculate on future advancements and their potential applications

Humanity is approaching the dawn of a new age. There will be tremendous opportunities to shape the future into something extraordinary. I am asking you to join me in having the courage to dream big.

Welcome to Dreaming Ideas.