Saturday, December 21, 2019

अथ उवाच अज्ञेय [कवि मन]

'कितना ही ऊपर चढ़ जाओ, जब बैठोगे तो अपने ही चूतड़ों पर'

'अरे यार तो क्या हुआ? उसी जोड़ का सच तो यह भी है कि कितना ही नीचे धँस जाओ, जब खड़े होगे तो अपने ही पैरों पर!'

Friday, September 13, 2019

Corporations as AI

The observation is due to perhaps Charles Stross but the argument goes as follows: an AI tasked with efficient paperclip manufacturing may (mistakenly) destroy all matter in the universe in order to convert it to paperclips, thereby faithfully carrying out its orders. Somewhat similarly, modern corporations, which have been (legally) tasked with maximizing shareholder value are carrying out their duties faithfully, without worrying about attendant poor effects on the environment etc. From this perspective, corporations are similar to AIs and cannot override their programming (even if made aware) due to the imperative logic of goal/objective function optimization.

Is this a valid characterization of a corporation (or indeed an AI)? Why or why not? Explain in brief. (10 points)

Friday, April 05, 2019

Famous Last Words

"Satire and irony were his favorite modes of expression."

Thursday, January 31, 2019

The Reading List: Jan 2018 to Jan 2019

  1. 2010: Odyssey Two (Arthur C Clarke)
  2. The Vegetarian (Han Kang)
  3. The Three Body Problem (Liu Cixin)
  4. Invisible Planets (Editor and translator Ken Liu)
  5. The Sellout (Paul Beatty)
  6. The Competent Authority (Shovon Chaudhary)
  7. Who Gets What and Why? (Alvin Roth)
  8. मन हिंडोला (विनोद कुमार त्रिपाठी)
  9. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (Jai Arjun Singh)
  10. Every Love Story is a Ghost Story (D T Max)
  11. सीन 75 (राही मासूम रज़ा)
  12. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (John LeCarre)
  13. The World of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Jai Arjun Singh)
  14. Mason and Dixon (Thomas Pynchon)
  15. India Moving (Chinmay Tumbe)
  16. The Peripheral (William Gibson)
  17. करता भूलूं क्या याद करूं (हरिवंश राय बच्चन)
  18. The Secret Pilgrim (John LeCarre)
  19. Milk and Honey (Rupi Kaur)
  20. Atomised (Michel Houellebecq)
  21. Vampire in Love (Enrique Vila Matas)
  22. The Honorable Schoolboy (John LeCarre)
  23. सोनम गुप्ता बेवफ़ा नहीं है (अनिल यादव)
  24. A Death in the Family (Karl Ove Knausgaard)
  25. My Brilliant Friend (Elena Ferrante)