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Saturday, Feb 19, 2022 - 01:47 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Spin On The Art

To begin with, a quick follow-up on generative art from last April; the basic techniques have become pretty widespread online by now. While faces remain a particular specialty of such models (no excuse for snagging a custom portrait for characters in role-playing games these days), there aren't really many constraints on the subject matter, which can range from Pokémon to pulp science fiction book covers (yep, indeed reminiscent of my old copy of A Thunder of Stars), and one supposes the Globohomo corporate style would be (fittingly) particularly amenable to procedural synthesis. Well, for those who want to have a go at what was attempted then, there's no need to spin up a Linux server and configure DeepDaze any longer - there's quite a few websites providing the necessary interface, all the better for NFT grifters to snag material.

It's hardly like generative art's perfected, by any means, with creations tending towards being somewhat abstract and unpolished. Much the same goes for text/story generators, with the outputs tending towards being entirely serviceable and grammatically-immaculate, if kinda uninspired. Well, it might be a good exercise to try and recreate the raw mood of, say, a Joseph Conrad by feeding the model enough of his works, though witticisms as from the just-departed P.J. O'Rourke (had quite a few of his titles) might be harder to come by. Maybe he doesn't hit them all, but you could count on him on a fresh - and often uproarious - take. Uncensored, of course, unlike Wordle, now that the NYT's got their grubby hands on it.


Normalization?


Gee, they seem to have finally figured out the importance of attempting treatment as *early* as possible
[N.B. As foreshadowed last October]
(Source: cdc.gov)


I have got to say, we might not get to four jabs at this rate (but I'm still betting on the powers that be, squeaking it out). Might as well list out the various reasons behind this call here:
  • Trust & Promises: The original deal, by and large, was that one would be "100% saved" with vaccination. Now, while the vaccines certainly help, such pledges now appear almost certainly untrue, with Scotland etc. joining us in withholding vaxxed/unvaxxed mortality data. Given this, it is only reasonable for some to question as to why the following promises on boosters would be particularly reliable (though they do probably work to an extent), all the more when weighed against the lack of long-term safety data on frequent repeated jabbing

  • Pandemic Fatigue: Let's face it, when you've a (possibly far) less than 0.01% chance of perishing from the coronavirus (on which more next time), it can get hard to convince people to keep on enduring what can at times seem like random and dubious privitations. This had led to huge anti-mandate protests, most prominently perhaps in Ottawa, but also in Australia/New Zealand, Austria and elsewhere. The heavy-handed measures taken in Canada have - not entirely without foundation - raised concerns about hypocrisy in the Anglo media's selective support of the right to "peacefully" protest.

    Well, however the corporate news tries to massage the narrative, it remains that a certain overreach in gutting the protests (e.g. doxxing donators to the cause, as recognized even by prominent lefties), it seems quite probable that the public mood on coronavirus restrictions may be shifting appreciably, whether or not one believes polls that have some six in ten Americans support the Freedom Convoy. It remains that few governments can be expected to enforce restrictions indefinitely against popular will; an Arab Spring-like scenario where some fed-up citizen resonates with the zeltgeist by casting down her mask, cannot be entirely out of the question

  • Political Expediency: Continuing with the above, if mandates and restrictions are indeed getting increasingly unpopular (with 77% of the American population for example just wanting life to be back to what it was), then politicians would have to do an about-face with elections looming (e.g. Doug Ford in Ontario). However, such behaviour (rightly) leads to suspicion that it was always the polls - and not science - driving public health policy, in this pandemic. With more and more broadly-respected nations abandoning controls and opening up (e.g. Denmark, Sweden, and seemingly now even Austria and Germany, it will get only tougher for the remaining holdouts to explain how their "science" is superior)


It's levelling off...
(Source: google.com)

  • Falling Booster Uptake: Cross-referencing the above factors against direct evidence, the enthusiasm for third, fourth and further jabs has generally not approached that for the initial vaccination wave. Looking at the U.S. for example, while some 77% of the population has taken the first dose, the percentage falls to 65% for being fully vaccinated up to date two doses, and just 28% for the third dose currently - and perhaps more significantly, uptake seems to have plateaued, especially for the booster. Again, if enough of the populace decides not to cooperate, or at least to drag it out for as long as they can, what's the government to do? Freeze their bank accounts, seize their pets, throw them all into jail?

    It appears much the same trend in other countries, with Austria's mandatory vaccination policy apparently not moving the needle any longer, likewise in Brazil with expiring vaccines soon to be discarded, after hitting the wall at about 30% take-up for the booster too. Notably, Singapore has had nearly twenty two thousand people have their vaccination status lapse already, even as case numbers scale new record highs (indeed, on track for near-total herd immunity by year's end); current indications are that there're indeed no plans for a fourth dose, from our director of medical services, though various rules are still being jiggled about. Well, I guess we can wait until the end of the year, to pronounce the verdict on this prediction...




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Next: Just As Autocompleted


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