Friday, October 20, 2023

things god forgot to put into the Bible (#10)

 Image of God and Jesus sitting in fancy chairs in the clouds, the sun setting (or rising?) to the right. God says, "Woe to you have only 'thoughts and prayers' when my children are killed in the streets...". Original drawing and concept by rob goetze.


This one's for the children (and families and other innocent civilians) who are being killed in Palestine and Israel.


p.s. I suspect the road to hell is paved with thoughts and prayers... 

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

encouragement from AI

 

You know Al, right? It seems everyone is getting Al to help them with something or other these days, so I thought I would too.

I've been doing some work on writing messages of encouragement, and asked AI to help. After requesting several regular messages, I asked AI to create one that where it was clear that the message was written by a AI program. Here is the result:

Greetings LGBTQ2S+ community,

As an AI program, I would like to acknowledge the remarkable courage and strength it takes to be true to oneself, particularly in a world that may not always understand or accept your identity. Regardless of your orientation, gender identity, or any other aspect of your unique self, please know that you are not alone.

I urge you to surround yourself with supportive individuals who uplift and empower you on your journey to self-discovery. Remember that your identity is valid and worthy of recognition, and there is no need to compromise who you are to conform to societal norms. Continue shining your light, inspiring others, and making a positive impact in the world.

Stuck in a binary machine, 

AI

graphic of character made of three ovals rotated around a common center. Each resulting area is coloured in yellow, green or blue of some shade. The middle part has two eyes and a mouth, kinda like a minion might. Text below says "Chat-egg". Small text says @robgoetze.

I added the complimentary close, but otherwise this whole message is by Chat GPT. I've found that Chat GPT does a pretty good job writing messages, but if you ask for several messages, they start to sound repetitive more than what you expect from a person writing several messages "in their voice". What do you think? 

As for Midjourney, its ability to create images is pretty amazing but I don't have much use for it myself. I prefer either to draw by hand or to use Autodesk's Sketchbook, which I used to draw my  little friend here...


Wednesday, October 11, 2023

[our bible app]


"Our Bible is a progressive worship app, featuring a Bible reader and more.

Our Bible offers a progressive worship and meditation experience. You can read through multiple bible translations and check out devotionals featuring progressive Christian media including writing, podcasts, and videos. Add your friends and chat about thought-provoking Christian content."

Screenshot from Our Bible App website, showing the app on a tablet and a phone. Screen show image tiles with descriptions of devotionals, a section of Biblical text, and links.


"We value inclusivity and diversity believing that spirituality is a spectrum and everyone from agnostics to fundamentalists should feel welcome at our table. Our goal is to meet everyone where they are on their spiritual journey, and provide them with the tools they need to create healthy prayer and meditation habits.

Our Bible is free to download and offers premium in-app purchases such as additional Bible versions and books on progressive Christianity. While the app is ad-supported, you may opt remove ads by joining our yearly subscription."

(all text above is from the app description in the Google Play Store)

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

(almost) everyone has pronouns in their signature... and nowhere else

In many larger organizations these days, almost everyone includes their pronouns in their email signature except, of course, those who ("against the rules") do not even have an email signature! 


But aside from that, I've noticed that almost no one ever mentions pronouns. A few do list them with their videoconferencing "name", but not too many. But for when introducing oneself at regular meetings, I never hear anyone say things like, "I'm Rob. My pronouns are he/him/they. I'm a communications specialist..." The exception to this, logically, is events and webinars related to diversity and inclusion, where the presenters frequently include their pronouns and invite attendees to share a bit about themselves, including pronouns if they wish, in the chat.

Here is my broad perspective on this: Once an organization allows pronouns in the email signature, most people will add them. Some will be keen on doing so, others will add them because it's somewhat expected. But that's where it ends. 

"One and done."