Today’s links Supervised AI isn’t: Automation blindness can’t be automated away. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Supervised AI isn’t (permalink) It wasn’t just Ottawa: Microsoft Travel published a whole bushel of absurd articles, including the notorious Ottawa guide recommending that tourists dine at the Ottawa Food Bank (“go on an empty stomach”): https://twitter.com/parismarx/status/1692233111260582161 After Paris Marx pointed out the Ottawa article, Business Insider’s Nathan McAlone found several more howlers: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-removes-embarrassing-offensive-ai-assisted-travel-articles-2023-8 There was the article recommending that visitors to Montreal try “a hamburger” and went on to explain that a hamburger was a “sandwich comprised of a ground beef patty, a sliced bun of some kind, and toppings such as lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc” and that some of the best hamburgers in Montreal could be had at McDonald’s. For Anchorage, Microsoft recommended trying the local delicacy known as “seafood,” which it defined as “basically any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish,” going on to say, “seafood is a versatile ingredient, so it makes sense that we eat it worldwide.” In Tokyo, visitors seeking “photo-worthy spots” were advised to “eat Wagyu beef.” There were more. Microsoft insisted that this wasn’t an issue of “unsupervised AI,” but rather “human error.” On its face, this presents a head-scratcher: is Microsoft saying that a human being erroneously decided to recommend the dining at Ottawa’s food bank? But…Pluralistic: Supervised AI isn't (23 August 2023)