#CLM

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Three AI insights for hard-charging, future-oriented smartypantses

MERE HOURS REMAIN for the Kickstarter for the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There’s also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

Living in the age of AI hype makes demands on all of us to come up with smartypants prognostications about how AI is about to change everything forever, and wow, it's pretty amazing, huh?

AI pitchmen don't make it easy. They like to pile on the cognitive dissonance and demand that we all somehow resolve it. This is a thing cult leaders do, too – tell blatant and obvious lies to their followers. When a cult follower repeats the lie to others, they are demonstrating their loyalty, both to the leader and to themselves.

Over and over, the claims of AI pitchmen turn out to be blatant lies. This has been the case since at least the age of the Mechanical Turk, the 18th chess-playing automaton that was actually just a chess player crammed into the base of an elaborate puppet that was exhibited as an autonomous, intelligent robot.

The most prominent Mechanical Turk huckster is Elon Musk, who habitually, blatantly and repeatedly lies about AI. He's been promising "full self driving" Telsas in "one to two years" for more than a decade. Periodically, he'll "demonstrate" a car that's in full-self driving mode – which then turns out to be canned, recorded demo:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-video-promoting-self-driving-was-staged-engineer-testifies-2023-01-17/

Musk even trotted an autonomous, humanoid robot on-stage at an investor presentation, failing to mention that this mechanical marvel was just a person in a robot suit:

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/elon-musk-tesla-robot-optimus-ai

Now, Musk has announced that his junk-science neural interface company, Neuralink, has made the leap to implanting neural interface chips in a human brain. As Joan Westenberg writes, the press have repeated this claim as presumptively true, despite its wild implausibility:

https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/elon-musk-lies

Neuralink, after all, is a company notorious for mutilating primates in pursuit of showy, meaningless demos:

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

I'm perfectly willing to believe that Musk would risk someone else's life to help him with this nonsense, because he doesn't see other people as real and deserving of compassion or empathy. But he's also profoundly lazy and is accustomed to a world that unquestioningly swallows his most outlandish pronouncements, so Occam's Razor dictates that the most likely explanation here is that he just made it up.

The odds that there's a human being beta-testing Musk's neural interface with the only brain they will ever have aren't zero. But I give it the same odds as the Raelians' claim to have cloned a human being:

https://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/cf.opinion.rael/

The human-in-a-robot-suit gambit is everywhere in AI hype. Cruise, GM's disgraced "robot taxi" company, had 1.5 remote operators for every one of the cars on the road. They used AI to replace a single, low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged, specialized technicians. Truly, it was a marvel.

Globalization is key to maintaining the guy-in-a-robot-suit phenomenon. Globalization gives AI pitchmen access to millions of low-waged workers who can pretend to be software programs, allowing us to pretend to have transcended the capitalism's exploitation trap. This is also a very old pattern – just a couple decades after the Mechanical Turk toured Europe, Thomas Jefferson returned from the continent with the dumbwaiter. Jefferson refined and installed these marvels, announcing to his dinner guests that they allowed him to replace his "servants" (that is, his slaves). Dumbwaiters don't replace slaves, of course – they just keep them out of sight:

https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/blog/behind-the-dumbwaiter/

So much AI turns out to be low-waged people in a call center in the Global South pretending to be robots that Indian techies have a joke about it: "AI stands for 'absent Indian'":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

A reader wrote to me this week. They're a multi-decade veteran of Amazon who had a fascinating tale about the launch of Amazon Go, the "fully automated" Amazon retail outlets that let you wander around, pick up goods and walk out again, while AI-enabled cameras totted up the goods in your basket and charged your card for them.

According to this reader, the AI cameras didn't work any better than Tesla's full-self driving mode, and had to be backstopped by a minimum of three camera operators in an Indian call center, "so that there could be a quorum system for deciding on a customer's activity – three autopilots good, two autopilots bad."

Amazon got a ton of press from the launch of the Amazon Go stores. A lot of it was very favorable, of course: Mister Market is insatiably horny for firing human beings and replacing them with robots, so any announcement that you've got a human-replacing robot is a surefire way to make Line Go Up. But there was also plenty of critical press about this – pieces that took Amazon to task for replacing human beings with robots.

What was missing from the criticism? Articles that said that Amazon was probably lying about its robots, that it had replaced low-waged clerks in the USA with even-lower-waged camera-jockeys in India.

Which is a shame, because that criticism would have hit Amazon where it hurts, right there in the ole Line Go Up. Amazon's stock price boost off the back of the Amazon Go announcements represented the market's bet that Amazon would evert out of cyberspace and fill all of our physical retail corridors with monopolistic robot stores, moated with IP that prevented other retailers from similarly slashing their wage bills. That unbridgeable moat would guarantee Amazon generations of monopoly rents, which it would share with any shareholders who piled into the stock at that moment.

See the difference? Criticize Amazon for its devastatingly effective automation and you help Amazon sell stock to suckers, which makes Amazon executives richer. Criticize Amazon for lying about its automation, and you clobber the personal net worth of the executives who spun up this lie, because their portfolios are full of Amazon stock:

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

Amazon Go didn't go. The hundreds of Amazon Go stores we were promised never materialized. There's an embarrassing rump of 25 of these things still around, which will doubtless be quietly shuttered in the years to come. But Amazon Go wasn't a failure. It allowed its architects to pocket massive capital gains on the way to building generational wealth and establishing a new permanent aristocracy of habitual bullshitters dressed up as high-tech wizards.

"Wizard" is the right word for it. The high-tech sector pretends to be science fiction, but it's usually fantasy. For a generation, America's largest tech firms peddled the dream of imminently establishing colonies on distant worlds or even traveling to other solar systems, something that is still so far in our future that it might well never come to pass:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

During the Space Age, we got the same kind of performative bullshit. On The Well David Gans mentioned hearing a promo on SiriusXM for a radio show with "the first AI co-host." To this, Craig L Maudlin replied, "Reminds me of fins on automobiles."

Yup, that's exactly it. An AI radio co-host is to artificial intelligence as a Cadillac Eldorado Biaritz tail-fin is to interstellar rocketry.

Back the Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Bezzle here!

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/31/neural-interface-beta-tester/#tailfins

[evermoredeluxe]

Taylor performing You Are In Love/cowboy like me as the surprise song on piano

- The Eras Tour in Amsterdam, Netherlands (N2) on July 5, 2024 (x)

[ohgaylor]

cowboy like me (redesign) — inspired by 16 carriages, beyoncé

[taylortruther]

oh my love is a lie -> your faithless love is the only hoax i believe in…. ::/:

stop.... friends telling her breakups happen every day, you don't have to lose it... why do we bother with love if it never lasts... i'm still a believer and i don't know why... forever is the sweetest con... your faithless love's the only hoax i believe in...

[feyres-divorce-lawyer]

the ts acronyms look like y’all are trying to summon beings from the nether and i’m begging you to stoooopppp

[cbirt]

The University of Toronto researchers have explored the potential of Chemical Language Models (CLMs) to thrive as Biological Learning Models. In contrast to popular Protein Language Models that learn from protein sequences, CLMs can learn atomic-level representations of proteins and also learn protein backbones and natural amino acid structures, as well as the primary sequence patterns in the training sets. The study demonstrates CLMs’ capability to generate proteins having unnatural amino acids and novel protein-drug conjugates and thereby displays the prospects of expanding the domain of biomolecular design altogether and augmenting the representations of the combinatorial space of biology and chemistry.

Proteins are the workforce of the cell, and the entire cellular machinery is essentially protein-dependent. The sophisticated functionality of the protein is bestowed by the three-dimensional structural conformation of the protein. Envisaging protein structures empowers scientists to comprehend the mechanisms of cellular processes. Accordingly, perturbations in protein expression directly affect the cell’s physiology and result in disease conditions. For these reasons, proteins are the most conceivable and capitalized targets for docking drug molecules and initiating drug-induced favorable modifications, also because modulation of nucleic acids through drugs in order to achieve desired results is rarely feasible.

Exploration of all these vibrant areas of life sciences starts with the same conventional requirement, which is to get acquainted with the structures of proteins. After the protein is isolated following an elaborate procedure, the next step is to understand the protein’s sequence and structure. The wet lab experimental approaches like X-ray crystallography, NMR, and cryo-EM have assisted in these tasks for decades. With the advent of computer-aided technologies, numerous attempts have been made to decrypt protein’s structural figures. Paving breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology advancements, Language Models are now one of the greatest trending and leading providers and propellers of modeling proteins’ structures in silicon.

Continue Reading

[nenan]

Roseline Lawrence for The Altered States Magazine, photographed by Emily Lipson and hair by Evanie Frausto

[viejospellejos]

@wikigachas

[ilreleonewikiart]

Beth Harmon outfits illustration on CLM - part 1

[sleepless-crows]

when i have nothing to do but my dash is dead

[razorsign]

𝗧𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Say goodbye to the struggle and hello to RazorSign’s AI-Powered Centralized Contract Repository! Upload, categorize, and find contracts in seconds—efficiency is just a click away. Get started today and transform the way you manage contracts

[ohgaylor]

cowboy like me (redesign) — takes one to know one

[taylortruther]

Fresh Out the Slammer is giving Bejeweled but upon being asked if she has a man she really did say "I don't remember"

the vigilante, the cowboy, the renegade, the outlaw

[razorsignclm]

Understanding Master Service Agreements (MSA)| The Foundation of Strong Business Relationships

In today’s fast-paced business environment, efficiency, clarity, and trust are crucial. A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a key tool that helps businesses achieve these goals by setting the stage for successful, ongoing partnerships. But what exactly is an MSA, and why is it so important? 

What is a Master Service Agreement? 

A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a comprehensive contract that outlines the general terms and conditions between two parties, serving as a blueprint for future transactions. Unlike contracts that are specific to a single project, an MSA governs the overall relationship between parties, providing a foundation for ongoing collaboration. The MSA is designed to simplify and accelerate the process of agreeing on specific terms for future engagements by addressing common issues such as payment schedules, confidentiality, and dispute resolution. 

The Strategic Advantages of an MSA 

Efficiency and Clarity 

At its core, an MSA is about efficiency. By establishing the general terms upfront, companies can avoid renegotiating the same points for every new project. This allows both parties to focus on the specifics of each engagement, such as the scope of work and delivery timelines, typically detailed in a separate Statement of Work (SOW). 

Risk Management 

MSAs play a critical role in managing risks by clearly defining liabilities, indemnities, and warranties. In an era where data and intellectual property are as valuable as physical assets, having strong confidentiality clauses is essential. These provisions help protect proprietary information and reduce the risk of costly disputes or breaches. 

Adaptability 

The business world is constantly evolving, and a well-crafted MSA allows for flexibility in adapting to new conditions, whether they be market changes, regulatory updates, or technological advancements. MSAs often include provisions for amendments, ensuring that the agreement remains relevant and effective over time. 

Building Trust 

One of the less obvious but equally important benefits of an MSA is its role in building trust. By agreeing on a set of terms that govern their relationship, companies demonstrate a commitment to fairness, transparency, and cooperation, laying the groundwork for a successful, long-term partnership. 

Common Terms in an MSA 

MSAs are tailored to the specific needs of the parties involved, but they typically include the following sections: 

Introduction and Scope: Defines the parties involved and the general scope of services or products to be provided. 

Services Provided: Details of the specific services or products covered under the agreement. 

Payment Terms and Conditions: Outlines payment schedules, invoice details, and penalties for late payments. 

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property: Protects sensitive information and specifies ownership of intellectual property. 

Warranties and Limitations of Liability: Sets forth the warranties offered and limits each party’s liability. 

Dispute Resolution: Specifies the methods for resolving disputes, including mediation, arbitration, or litigation. 

Compliance with Laws and Regulations: Ensures that both parties adhere to relevant legal standards. 

Amendments and Modifications: Outlines the process for making changes to the agreement. 

When Should a Business Consider an MSA? 

MSAs are particularly beneficial in scenarios where businesses expect to engage in multiple transactions or maintain long-term relationships.  

They are ideal for 

Ongoing Relationships: Establishing a solid foundation for continuous partnerships. 

Frequent Transactions: Streamlining the process of negotiating terms for each new project. 

Complex Services: Providing a clear framework for detailed service offerings. 

High-Value Contracts: Setting clear terms for significant financial engagements. 

Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to industry-specific regulations. 

How MSAs and SOWs Work Together 

An MSA and a Statement of Work (SOW) are often used in tandem to create a comprehensive contractual framework. The MSA governs the overall relationship, while the SOW details the specific tasks and deliverables for each project. This combination allows businesses to maintain consistency across projects while adapting to the unique requirements of each engagement. 

The Challenges of Managing MSAs Manually 

Despite their benefits, managing MSAs manually can be challenging. Tracking revisions, ensuring all parties have the latest version, and maintaining an accurate history of amendments can be cumbersome. Manual processes also increase the risk of errors, delays, and security breaches, making it difficult to manage contracts effectively. 

The Solution: Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Platforms 

To overcome these challenges, many businesses are turning to Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platforms. These platforms offer real-time collaboration, automated reminders, and centralized management, making it easier to manage MSAs efficiently. By digitizing the contract workflow, businesses can streamline processes, reduce errors, and gain valuable insights into their contractual relationships. 

Conclusion:  

Master Service Agreements are more than just contracts; they are strategic tools that help businesses build strong, efficient, and trustworthy relationships. By providing a clear, consistent framework for future transactions, MSAs help companies save time, reduce risks, and foster long-term partnerships. As businesses continue to navigate an increasingly complex and competitive environment, the value of investing in well-crafted MSAs cannot be overstated. 

[spiritxbone]

I’ve always said CLM is the same story twice, with different endings.

Act 1: Lost in romance. She found her rebel cowboy. They conned everyone and went out west. Fuck everyone and everything because I have you and I’m betting all my chips on this. I’m never gonna love again because this is it and I’ve found the one. She locked it down and his clothes live in her place.

Act 2: I’m not different from the others. She becomes one of the ladies lunching. She has her great love story, swept up in the con that they were soulmates. He changed her into wanting love, but he he still just wanted the money. She knows she’s paying for falling for it. Now she can barely remember what was real, comparing him to the “gardens of Babylon” because it was so beautiful but mostly a myth. Now all that’s left is the ghost of him on her lips and little reminders like his forgotten boots in her room. She finally accepts that he was a cowboy and she was tricked like the others. And she can never love again because she’s so heartbroken.