A Major City Is Sinking - And It's Not Venice - May 23, 2023

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the city of Jakarta, Indonesia (the capital and one of the most populous cities in the world) is sinking. And not just millimeters per year like some other places. It's estimated that by 2050, 95% of Jakarta will be under water. There are several causes, however it appears to be primarily due to the illegal extraction of ground water, combined with more rain due to climate change.

As a result, the Indonesian government is bidding farewell to Jakarta and plans to move the capital from the island of Java to Nusuntara — a purpose-built city more than 1,000km (620 miles) away in Borneo island’s East Kalimantan province. This all seems to be happening fairly quickly.

So what does a large abandoned urban metropolis look like? It won't be pretty and I have to wonder about the vast losses property owners will incur, not to mention the expense required to build a new city from scratch and subsequently relocate the entire population.

Since I spent a whole lot of time in the area over a couple of decades, it's hard for me to imagine such a congested, bustling city replaced by a watery ghost town straight from some post-apocalyptic movie. I have this image that the earlier stages could look like something from the movie Blade Runner. And this isn't some theoretical, maybe scenario. It's already in the process of happening.

And, by the way... There's more. No sooner did I see the news about Jakarta's soggy plight when the New York Post plastered this headline across their front page.

This letter's already too long so I'll try to delve into the ramifications of a sinking New York City next time.

Care For A Chip?--In Your Brain?

There’s been growing chatter online by some of the Silicon Valley tech bros who’ve grown frustrated by the slow, clunky interface with AI. Specifically, they're referring to the antiquated method of inputting data by typing on a keyboard. Demand is growing for a much faster and seamless interface between the human brain and machines. Enter yet another Elon Musk venture, Neurolink. For quite some time, the company has been testing tiny chips implanted close to the brains of monkeys, enabling them to communicate mentally with primitive machines. Parts of my books, The Navigator, and Unvisited Tombs deal with this technology (I called them Neural Weaves) and in those novels the technology goes tragically wrong. Regardless of how uncomfortable this concept seems, it or something similar does seem inevitable. I’m particularly averse to testing on innocent primates but the idea of implanting these chips in humans seems next level medieval to me. In Unvisited Tombs, I have a chapter where this technology garners somewhat of a cult following in a misguided effort for humans to connect not only to machines, but on a new level with each other. It doesn’t go well, a possible reflection of my lack of vision for the future—or maybe some unfortunate premonition. I can’t help but think these devices could be hacked and their human hosts controlled by some outside entity, including our rapidly evolving AI friends. I’ve previously stated my concerns about Musk’s head-first foray into all things batteries. But this one, to me, seems particularly risky. Okay, rant over…

Speaking Of Brains... Brain.fm is an app for both iOS and Android. It promises to deliver “functional music to improve focus in 5 minutes,” whether you’re working, relaxing, sleeping, or meditating. The site was founded by scientists who claim to have developed music that specifically affects blood flow to the brain, thus increasing focus and mood. Admittedly when I read this, my first thought was why not just do a few pushups or some other exercise that would surely increase blood flow. But I'm sure it's all much more science-based than that and I'm trying to keep an open mind. Reviews online are generally positive, so when I received an offer for a discount on their subscription, I signed up. I have it playing now as I write this. So far, I haven’t noticed much difference but there is no doubt a certain amount of time required to tune in. Also, there could obviously be some degree of placebo effect to all this. But hopefully I’ll be able to provide an objective evaluation sometime down the road. Stay tuned… Would You Sell Your Voice? I listened to a very interesting interview last week with a musical artist who goes by the name Grimes. I am not familiar with any of her songs but she seems to have a significant cult following. And you may be more familiar with her as the baby mama of Elon Musk’s youngest son, lovingly named X AE A-XII Musk. In order to save time, both parents just refer to him simply as X. (OK, no judgement from me--It's better than Vern) Grimes is one of a growing number of artists who have decided to license their voices for use in AI generated music. According to her, she’ll receive royalties on any sales of music specifically designed to mimic hers. And while most entertainers are shaking in their Lucchese boots at the prospect of how AI will change the industry, Grimes is quite excited by the prospect of never having to perform again, claiming she never really liked that aspect of being an artist anyway. There will no doubt be other musicians signing away the rights to their brands, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Television programs, movies, commercials, audiobooks…all will eventually feel the impact. There are growing concerns among writers now as well, one of the negotiating points of the current Hollywood writer’s strike. Some believe we’re approaching a time when AI will displace writers at all levels, regardless of whether or not the quality of content diminishes. The flip side of that is the reality that writing quality could actually improve. There’s also a real possibility that AI-generated novels will start popping up soon. And if all the large machine-learning programs are trained on existing material, who ultimately owns the rights if it’s all derivative of previous work? One thing seems certain—any future lawyers out there might want to specialize in copyright litigation since it will probably take a decade or more to sort out the legal ramifications. Steve Jobs - A Study in Contradictions I recently finished Walter Isaacson’s excellent Steve Jobs biography. I’d started the book years ago when it was first published, but somehow life got in the way and I stopped about half way through until finally finding time to start over and finish. Isaacson has also written several biographies of people like Einstein, Leonardo, and Benjamin Franklin, as well as others. He’s apparently finished Elon Musk’s story to date, which will be released in the coming months. The book is extremely honest (brutally so in some places) and what emerges is a well-fleshed out profile of a complex and contradictory man whose genius ultimately surpassed his flaws, although some would argue just barely. It’s important to remember this project was sanctioned by Jobs himself while he was fighting cancer, even going so far as to recruit Isaacson personally. He had to have known everything about his life would be fair game, no matter how many warts were exposed—and there were many. Jobs died before the book was published and as far as I can tell, he never read a draft. Most of the Apple origin legend is well-known to the public—how Jobs and Steve Wozniak started the company in his parents’ garage. But highlighting the nuances and personality quirks of an industry icon whose basic nature seems to have been incredibly immature and often petty, creates a complicated prism that provides fascinating insight into one of the most famous tech titans who ever lived. The real genius of the man who was known to park in the handicap spaces at Whole Foods, and denied early, deserving Apple employees stock options, seemingly for no logical reason other than to inflict misery, was his uncanny aesthetic sense. That consistently elegant design inherent in all things Apple was born from his creative DNA. Even today, right down to the perfect packaging, every Apple product screams quality. Jobs’ previous experience with Zen Buddhism no doubt impacted his drive for simplicity. In 1985 I bought the first version of the Apple Macintosh that had come out the year before. I believe it had 120k of random access memory. I didn’t even know for sure what I’d do with it, only that I had to have one. And they were incredibly expensive, I think close to $3,000 in 1980s dollars, money that maxed my only credit card at the time. This, of course was years before the internet. But I soon learned to use the word processing program, as well as the spreadsheet software that was called Jazz. All its components; the CPU, power chord, keyboard, and mouse fit into a purpose-built padded backpack, providing the ability to carry it anywhere. Later that year, I moved to Miri, Sarawak East Malaysia and brought it with me on the flight. The Mac was a completely different animal than its PC competitors and owning one was like joining a club. Also, that Mac was the device I used to try my hand at writing fiction for the first time while in Malaysia. And, nearly forty years later, I'm typing this letter on the latest iteration of an Apple Mac. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator of how the company has managed to foster brand loyalty. Jobs was eventually pushed out as Apple's CEO in a company mutiny led by the man he’d recruited, John Sculley, whose background was running Pepsi. The CEO of a company whose main challenge was to sell more sugar-based soft drinks now seems an improbable candidate for a job requiring the rare vision and laser focus for a cutting edge tech firm. That became obvious as Apple started a downward spiral after a series of missteps that nearly resulted in its demise. The company was running on fumes, close to bankruptcy when the desperate board of directors finally enticed Jobs to return. By then, more mature and tempered by the humiliating flames from previously having been forced out of the company he founded, Jobs set about implementing his clear vision of Apple’s identity which resulted in triumphantly saving the day. The rest is history. Today Apple is arguably the most successful tech company on the planet and completely dominates the cellular phone market, a result of Jobs’ brilliant leadership. Those who knew him well regularly refer to a term known as the Jobs reality distortion field. There are numerous occasions cited in the book where he simply refused to acknowledge real-world facts, a characteristic that apparently contributed to his success in some instances. But there was also a downside to customizing his own reality, not only in business but more importantly concerning his own health. He was convinced the combination of a vegetarian diet and acupuncture was the best strategy for fighting his pancreatic cancer, refusing potentially life-saving drug options until it was too late. I believe the real Steve Jobs legacy is that of the man who created Apple’s soul. He was a lover of music and a life-long student of all forms of design—basically an artist at heart. Passionate and volatile, he never seemed satisfied in the quest for perfection. Yet, he brought a human aspect to the cold, technological devices his competitors were hawking during that era and made Apple’s products more than just unfamiliar tools, elevating personal computers to artful, user-friendly helpers that almost seemed to have personalities of their own. Having read the book, I have mixed feelings about Steve Jobs, at least based on what I know from how he’s portrayed. But do I respect what he accomplished? Yes, I do... Immensely.

The Greatest Sci Fi Movie Ever Made? After reading the headline that Jakarta was sinking, I started thinking about my favorite Sci Fi movie of all time, Blade Runner. Each time I rewatch that film I’m in total awe. In my humble opinion, everything about it is perfect, from the story, to the actors, the sets, and effects. Particularly haunting is the soundtrack by Vangelis. I saw Blade Runner in a crowded theater in Lafayette, Louisiana the year after my oldest son was born in 1982. The Star Wars phenomena still had momentum then and I distinctly remember the movie was considered a commercial flop, mainly because it was about as opposite to Jedi Knights and wise-cracking robots as it got. The only thing the two had in common was the main star, Harrison Ford. This movie was dark, moody, and philosophical, ripping the bandaid off of existential issues such as what it means to be human. And, more relevant than ever today, questions around whether artificial consciousness has a right to exist. Blade Runner was astonishingly ahead of its time, both in its narrative theme and production. Each scene is like a painting in motion and Ridley Scott’s genius for lighting, color, and detail has never been more fully displayed. The story is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Harrison Ford was a big star by then but was nearly upstaged by a then-unknown actor named Rutger Hauer who portrayed Roy Batty, the most evolved android ever designed. Near the movie’s end, a shirtless Roy delivers a famous monologue in the rain (one Hauer’s purported to have improvised) as he comes to terms with the fact his pre-determined life span is about to expire. I believe it sums up the theme of Roy's struggle well, the lonely realization that once we die all our experiences disappear too: “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die.”