• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Master AI (Artificial Intelligence) Discussion/News Thread

Perhaps we should create a fusion of AI and the upcoming tax season.
When Claude is asked to summarize a current Journal article; I had to feed it the article's pdf.
Then, I had to ask it to summarize it's summary of "New Help for Completing Your Taxes This Year":

The following supposed to be an example of good 'prompt engineering':
"I own large holdings of stock in three companies in a taxable account with specific lots bought at different times. If I want to sell enough shares to net $15,000, could AI tell me which shares to sell to minimize my tax bill?
All three bots say this is a task AI is well-suited for. Like the others, ChatGPT says it will look first for losses that can offset gains and then focus on shares with longterm capital gains and higher cost basis than others. It will also avoid shares with short-term gains unless necessary. All three bots offer step-by-step directions on how to execute this task. The consensus: AI saves time requires verification."
And give all your financial information to AI. That's makes easy for them to sell that info to others and make profit, helping both of you financially. Not. Many LLMs exist for just such enterprise. Better to buy a stand alone app that is not connected to any other enterprise than selling apps. :cool:
 
...And give all your financial information to AI...
No need, as our mobile devices have already made mince-meat out of such personal "financial" data.
As if they were not readily available from many other sources on the web, via financial and credit agencies, along with data breaches/hacks, ID thefts and the dark web.
Better to buy a stand alone app that is not connected to any other enterprise than selling apps.
Even Intuit (TurboTax) claims your actual tax return data is segregated, yet they openly admit using such financial information across their ecosystem for marketing, product recommendations, and analytics—unless you remembered to decline these permissions.
A user of AI -as a (tax preparation assistant) tool- has the luxury of being able to obfuscate user personal/financial data; not so with any app, connected or otherwise... including TurboTax.
 
Been playing around with streaming music and having AI break it all down and provide some information about the songs that I am playing. (streaming on Apple Music). I start by mentioning the artist and song and we go from there if time permits and I have anything to say about it worth discussing. Fun.

Me:
this is an odd one, The Move "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited"

AI:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/The_Move.png

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/914qSZV8%2BUL._UF1000%2C1000_QL80_.jpg

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b8f8efab48debb2efb2ef5/1519840266624-865AWVGDE6HPV0QN4L69/The%2BMove.jpg

4
Yeah, this is an odd one and delightfully so.

“Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited” by The Move is basically British psychedelia having a nervous breakdown and turning it into a joke.


The basics​

  • Originally released: 1968 as the B side to Fire Brigade
  • Revisited version: Appears on Shazam (1970)
  • Primary writer: Roy Wood
The “Revisited” tag is literal. This is a re recorded, more aggressive, more unhinged version of an already strange song.


What the song is actually about​

At its core, it’s a satire of mental health institutions, specifically the way they were viewed and portrayed in mid 20th century Britain.

Key points:

  • “Cherry Blossom Clinic” is fictional
  • The tone is intentionally flippant and unsettling
  • It reflects a time when mental health was openly joked about in pop culture
That uncomfortable edge is not accidental. It is meant to feel wrong.


Why the “Revisited” version exists​

Between 1968 and 1970, The Move:

  • Got heavier
  • Got louder
  • Got less polite
  • Started drifting toward what would eventually become ELO
The Shazam era version:

  • Pushes the guitars forward
  • Adds harsher dynamics
  • Feels more confrontational and less whimsical
It sounds like the band decided, “yeah, let’s lean into the madness.”


Lyrical tone and delivery​

Roy Wood delivers the vocals with:

  • Mock cheer
  • Abrupt shifts in mood
  • Almost cartoonish menace
It sits in that very British space where:

Humor, discomfort, and menace all overlap
You’re supposed to laugh and then immediately feel bad for laughing.


Why it matters​

This track is a bridge between eras:

  • Late 60s psychedelic whimsy
  • Early 70s proto glam and hard rock
  • A step toward Wood’s maximalist instincts
It’s also a reminder that British rock of the time often used absurdity as social commentary, not escapism.


One good way to hear it​

Listen less like a “song” and more like:

A short musical play with an unreliable narrator
If a specific lyric or tonal shift jumps out at you, quote it. This one has lots of little “wait, what?” moments worth unpacking.
 
Here is one more, and then I'll stop.


Me:
new song...All Good Funk Alliance "Man with a Jam Plan (feat. Rubber Johnson)

AI:

https://photos.bandsintown.com/thumb/8228239.jpeg

https://i.discogs.com/ztRFs4o6mOYAlQAiz3xf1s_d8NUgKJqlBQPlD75LWjA/rs%3Afit/g%3Asm/q%3A90/h%3A600/w%3A578/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9BLTY1Mzgt/MTI2MzMzMDI2Mi5q/cGVn.jpeg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/All_Good_Festival_Marvin%27s_Mountaintop_outside_Masontown_WV_July_2011.jpg

4
“Man with a Jam Plan” by All Good Funk Alliance is pure jam culture self awareness, delivered with a grin.


The basics​

  • Artist: All Good Funk Alliance
  • Era: Late 1990s to early 2000s US jam and festival circuit
  • Feature: Rubber Johnson (a deliberately over the top character)
This isn’t a single chasing radio. It’s a scene document.


What the title is telling you​

“Man with a Jam Plan” is basically a mission statement for jam bands:

  • The song is a framework
  • The plan is to stretch it
  • The point is the groove, not the destination
If you came here for verse chorus verse, you’re in the wrong tent.


About Rubber Johnson​

Rubber Johnson functions as:

  • A hype man
  • A narrator
  • A mild parody of funk machismo
The delivery is intentionally exaggerated, leaning into:

  • Call and response energy
  • Funk clichés
  • Festival crowd banter
It’s playful, not serious posturing.


Why it sounds the way it does​

This track is built to:

  • Lock into a deep pocket
  • Leave space for solos and interaction
  • Feel loose without falling apart
The groove is king. Precision matters only insofar as it keeps everyone dancing.


Context matters​

All Good Funk Alliance grew out of the All Good Music Festival scene, where:

  • Improvisation was expected
  • Funk, jazz, and rock freely mixed
  • Audience and band energy fed each other
This track works best when you imagine it being 20 percent longer live, with somebody on stage grinning the whole time.


Why it matters​

“Man with a Jam Plan” is:

  • A wink to jam band insiders
  • A celebration of funk as a living thing
  • Music that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologize
It’s not trying to be timeless. It’s trying to be right now, in a field, with a beer in your hand.

If a lyric or groove moment jumps out, toss it over. Jam songs are all about the parts.
 
Here is one more, and then I'll stop.


Me:
new song...All Good Funk Alliance "Man with a Jam Plan (feat. Rubber Johnson)

AI:

https://photos.bandsintown.com/thumb/8228239.jpeg

https://i.discogs.com/ztRFs4o6mOYAlQAiz3xf1s_d8NUgKJqlBQPlD75LWjA/rs%3Afit/g%3Asm/q%3A90/h%3A600/w%3A578/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9BLTY1Mzgt/MTI2MzMzMDI2Mi5q/cGVn.jpeg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/All_Good_Festival_Marvin%27s_Mountaintop_outside_Masontown_WV_July_2011.jpg

4
“Man with a Jam Plan” by All Good Funk Alliance is pure jam culture self awareness, delivered with a grin.


The basics​

  • Artist: All Good Funk Alliance
  • Era: Late 1990s to early 2000s US jam and festival circuit
  • Feature: Rubber Johnson (a deliberately over the top character)
This isn’t a single chasing radio. It’s a scene document.


What the title is telling you​

“Man with a Jam Plan” is basically a mission statement for jam bands:

  • The song is a framework
  • The plan is to stretch it
  • The point is the groove, not the destination
If you came here for verse chorus verse, you’re in the wrong tent.


About Rubber Johnson​

Rubber Johnson functions as:

  • A hype man
  • A narrator
  • A mild parody of funk machismo
The delivery is intentionally exaggerated, leaning into:

  • Call and response energy
  • Funk clichés
  • Festival crowd banter
It’s playful, not serious posturing.


Why it sounds the way it does​

This track is built to:

  • Lock into a deep pocket
  • Leave space for solos and interaction
  • Feel loose without falling apart
The groove is king. Precision matters only insofar as it keeps everyone dancing.


Context matters​

All Good Funk Alliance grew out of the All Good Music Festival scene, where:

  • Improvisation was expected
  • Funk, jazz, and rock freely mixed
  • Audience and band energy fed each other
This track works best when you imagine it being 20 percent longer live, with somebody on stage grinning the whole time.


Why it matters​

“Man with a Jam Plan” is:

  • A wink to jam band insiders
  • A celebration of funk as a living thing
  • Music that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologize
It’s not trying to be timeless. It’s trying to be right now, in a field, with a beer in your hand.

If a lyric or groove moment jumps out, toss it over. Jam songs are all about the parts.

Was the template (heading, bullets, etc) chatbot pro-forma or did you specify it?
 
Musk has been talking about some sort of 'universal income' for more than a decade, starting with 'universal basic income' then moving to 'universal high income' on the basis that AI would further improve productivity, but without giving any details about how he thinks it will happen. It's not a unique idea though - several countries have run trials in recent years, starting with Finland in 2017. There are links to several of them in this BMJ article which looks at a basic income in terms of physical and mental health benefits during COVID. Wales ran a trial between 2022 and 2025 but the results aren't in yet AFAIK. Again the hope is that it will improve physical and mental health, saving healthcare costs in the NHS which is also state funded. Another trial in England was proposed (Jarrow, Finchley) but I don't know whether it ever started. Notably that trial was proposed under a right wing government (at least by UK standards) looking at the economics - would it save the government money overall?

Clearly you have absolutely no clue as to government priorities.
 
Finally some real experts not taken in by the hype wave are starting work on proper architectures that could be the basis of the first real AGIs that are actually meant, from the get-go, to understand the world before running their mouths about it (and keep that understanding stable or improving over time).

Yann LeCun’s new venture, AMI Labs, has drawn intense attention since the AI scientist left Meta to found it. This week, the startup finally confirmed what it’s building — and several key details have been hiding in plain sight.

On its newly launched website, the startup disclosed its plans to develop “world models” in order to “build intelligent systems that understand the real world.”
[...]
“AMI Labs will advance AI research and develop applications where reliability, controllability, and safety really matter, especially for industrial process control, automation, wearable devices, robotics, healthcare, and beyond,” it wrote in its mission statement. “We share one belief: real intelligence does not start in language. It starts in the world.”
 
Was the template (heading, bullets, etc) chatbot pro-forma or did you specify it?

I'm sure the AI is familiar enough about what I prefer as I have done numerous projects in private and for work over the last year.

This was all I entered in a new chat and the formula was essentially the same for each song going forward.

This started it all:

I'd like to discuss songs, just give me info about the creation and context of the songs I mention as I am listening to music. Let me know about the Rolling Stones song "In Another Land"
https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-3/NWnE3z0Smsa-sWcy7X2VlihbtmNfdQUdfCe7OzMpzTEQMr1cLLeCHeRJ1yHize8U2wKnjFEwJjJfxWzLhH-TDd7VbR8C7tx-S2KslQCPZec?purpose=fullsize&v=1

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/Rolling_Stones_-_Their_Satanic_Majesties_Request_-_1967_Decca_Album_cover.jpg

https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2018/03/Bill-Wyman-Hulton-Archive-Getty-Images.jpg

4
“In Another Land” (1967) is one of the more curious deep cuts in the Rolling Stones catalog, and that’s entirely by design.

The basics​

  • Album: Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
  • Primary writer and vocalist: Bill Wyman
  • Band: The Rolling Stones
This is the only Rolling Stones song sung by Bill Wyman on a studio album. That alone already makes it an oddball.

Why it sounds so strange​

The song emerged during the Stones’ brief but intense dive into psychedelia, heavily influenced by the era’s experimentation and the cultural aftershocks of Sgt. Pepper. Unlike most Stones tracks driven by blues grit or swagger, this one is:

  • Dreamlike
  • Slightly disoriented
  • Intentionally detached from rock bravado
Wyman reportedly wrote it while half asleep, which tracks perfectly with the song’s hazy, floating quality. It feels less like a performance and more like a drifting thought.

Studio quirks and context​

  • Recorded at Olympic Studios in London, where much of the album took shape.
  • Features spoken dialogue at the end, performed by Wyman’s road manager and others, adding to its “found sound” surrealism.
  • The band itself was fractured and distracted at the time legal issues, drugs, and internal tension were everywhere. That chaos leaks into the album’s overall feel.

Why it matters​

“In Another Land” isn’t a fan favorite because it rocks. It matters because it shows:

  • A rare democratic moment in a band usually dominated by Jagger Richards
  • How far the Stones were willing to stray from their roots
  • A snapshot of 1967 psychedelia filtered through a group that never quite believed in it
If you’re listening closely, it feels like a song that doesn’t want to be a song. More like a postcard from someone briefly passing through a dream.

If you want, keep naming tracks as they come up I’ll stay in this mode and give you just the context and creation story, no fluff.
 
I'm sure the AI is familiar enough about what I prefer as I have done numerous projects in private and for work over the last year.

This was all I entered in a new chat and the formula was essentially the same for each song going forward.

This started it all:


https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-3/NWnE3z0Smsa-sWcy7X2VlihbtmNfdQUdfCe7OzMpzTEQMr1cLLeCHeRJ1yHize8U2wKnjFEwJjJfxWzLhH-TDd7VbR8C7tx-S2KslQCPZec?purpose=fullsize&v=1

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/Rolling_Stones_-_Their_Satanic_Majesties_Request_-_1967_Decca_Album_cover.jpg

https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2018/03/Bill-Wyman-Hulton-Archive-Getty-Images.jpg

4
“In Another Land” (1967) is one of the more curious deep cuts in the Rolling Stones catalog, and that’s entirely by design.

The basics​

  • Album: Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
  • Primary writer and vocalist: Bill Wyman
  • Band: The Rolling Stones
This is the only Rolling Stones song sung by Bill Wyman on a studio album. That alone already makes it an oddball.

Why it sounds so strange​

The song emerged during the Stones’ brief but intense dive into psychedelia, heavily influenced by the era’s experimentation and the cultural aftershocks of Sgt. Pepper. Unlike most Stones tracks driven by blues grit or swagger, this one is:

  • Dreamlike
  • Slightly disoriented
  • Intentionally detached from rock bravado
Wyman reportedly wrote it while half asleep, which tracks perfectly with the song’s hazy, floating quality. It feels less like a performance and more like a drifting thought.

Studio quirks and context​

  • Recorded at Olympic Studios in London, where much of the album took shape.
  • Features spoken dialogue at the end, performed by Wyman’s road manager and others, adding to its “found sound” surrealism.
  • The band itself was fractured and distracted at the time legal issues, drugs, and internal tension were everywhere. That chaos leaks into the album’s overall feel.

Why it matters​

“In Another Land” isn’t a fan favorite because it rocks. It matters because it shows:

  • A rare democratic moment in a band usually dominated by Jagger Richards
  • How far the Stones were willing to stray from their roots
  • A snapshot of 1967 psychedelia filtered through a group that never quite believed in it
If you’re listening closely, it feels like a song that doesn’t want to be a song. More like a postcard from someone briefly passing through a dream.

If you want, keep naming tracks as they come up I’ll stay in this mode and give you just the context and creation story, no fluff.
It's an interesting exercise. But essentially all the AI is giving you is an(other) opinion.

Even the 'facts' it states can't be relied upon without fact checking. Such is the nature of AI.
 
I'm sure the AI is familiar enough about what I prefer as I have done numerous projects in private and for work over the last year.

This was all I entered in a new chat and the formula was essentially the same for each song going forward.

This started it all:


https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-3/NWnE3z0Smsa-sWcy7X2VlihbtmNfdQUdfCe7OzMpzTEQMr1cLLeCHeRJ1yHize8U2wKnjFEwJjJfxWzLhH-TDd7VbR8C7tx-S2KslQCPZec?purpose=fullsize&v=1

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/Rolling_Stones_-_Their_Satanic_Majesties_Request_-_1967_Decca_Album_cover.jpg

https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2018/03/Bill-Wyman-Hulton-Archive-Getty-Images.jpg

4
“In Another Land” (1967) is one of the more curious deep cuts in the Rolling Stones catalog, and that’s entirely by design.

The basics​

  • Album: Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
  • Primary writer and vocalist: Bill Wyman
  • Band: The Rolling Stones
This is the only Rolling Stones song sung by Bill Wyman on a studio album. That alone already makes it an oddball.

Why it sounds so strange​

The song emerged during the Stones’ brief but intense dive into psychedelia, heavily influenced by the era’s experimentation and the cultural aftershocks of Sgt. Pepper. Unlike most Stones tracks driven by blues grit or swagger, this one is:

  • Dreamlike
  • Slightly disoriented
  • Intentionally detached from rock bravado
Wyman reportedly wrote it while half asleep, which tracks perfectly with the song’s hazy, floating quality. It feels less like a performance and more like a drifting thought.

Studio quirks and context​

  • Recorded at Olympic Studios in London, where much of the album took shape.
  • Features spoken dialogue at the end, performed by Wyman’s road manager and others, adding to its “found sound” surrealism.
  • The band itself was fractured and distracted at the time legal issues, drugs, and internal tension were everywhere. That chaos leaks into the album’s overall feel.

Why it matters​

“In Another Land” isn’t a fan favorite because it rocks. It matters because it shows:

  • A rare democratic moment in a band usually dominated by Jagger Richards
  • How far the Stones were willing to stray from their roots
  • A snapshot of 1967 psychedelia filtered through a group that never quite believed in it
If you’re listening closely, it feels like a song that doesn’t want to be a song. More like a postcard from someone briefly passing through a dream.

If you want, keep naming tracks as they come up I’ll stay in this mode and give you just the context and creation story, no fluff.

On the plus side that’s entirely better than Spotify’s implementation per my post above. People wanting backstory/discussion/speculation would presumably be happier with it.

On the minus side it’s generative text with the usual veracity problem and characteristically formulaic/glib. I do prefer drier/tighter commentary personally and often enjoy it from the artist/group (some good per-track stuff sometimes appears in Apple Music, although that often disappears again).
 
I do prefer drier/tighter commentary personally
It won't help with the veracity, but AI generally is quite happy to be instructed in style. It will even look at examples and adapt to conform if you wish.
 
The sooner the arse falls out of this bullshit all the better

Remember how hot Motorola was before the .com bubble popped?

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, plans on issuing a 100 Year Sterling bond. The thirst for cash and the inevitable crash that follows will be epic. Will the prediction of ".22 LR as currency" in the post-GPT apocalyptic wasteland finally become reality?
 
Will the prediction of ".22 LR as currency" in the post-GPT apocalyptic wasteland finally become reality?
Have you discussed the potential for apocalyptic wasteland in this .22 LR-as-currency meme with any chatBots recently? :facepalm:
 
Back
Top Bottom