In this era of pervasive artificial intelligence, is human creativity a waste of time? To explore, we conducted an experiment that we could use your help judging. Below are two songs, one made by professional musicians and the other by A.I. (neither plays for me, since I am using the Internet Archive version, but, I’ve heard AI songs)
Now learn about how they were created. Does it change what you think?
I’m Matt Richtel, a New York Times reporter, occasional songwriter and the ringleader of this experiment.
The idea was straightforward: Four top-shelf, lifelong musicians and I would spend a weekend in a recording studio to write and record several songs nearly from scratch. We wanted to see whether we could do better than A.I. at making fresh music. And would it be worth our time, hassle and occasional creative dispute?
If you’re saying the human beings are “playing” the AI, “using” the AI to create…you have never truly created. Words are cheap. Physical actions are everything. https://t.co/0Xz8vULace
I’ve read Dee commenting a few times about AI songs, and most go like the above, and he’s right: there’s no heart and soul in an AI created song. I’ve had them create lyrics, and they can be pretty good. Usually much better than Today’s Hit Music! songs. But, there’s no connection to anything, they are just words. It’s not like, say, the song Ventura Highway by America, where they say “alligator lizards in the air.” It’s a song about the 2 brothers in the band traveling with their parents in California, and seeing an alligator in the cloud formations.
And, as for creating instrument sounds? Well, still probably as good as Today’s Hit Music! songs, but, can it do something like
Maybe in the future, but, can it do it with feeling? Can it figure out just the right sound to use for the guitars, which type of guitar to use (single pickup, humbucker, brand), how much distortion, reverb, etc? Or the tone of the keyboard? Doing different things with the drums? How about the sax? Adding in city sounds? Changing up the theme then switching back? How about this?
There’s a spot in Ritchie Blackmore’s 2nd solo, after the singing, where he plays a long single note, and so many will say “hey, that doesn’t go..oh wait, it does, it’s a great bridge note to working towards and ending.” Because Blackmore and John Lord (keyboards) were masters at Music Theory, and knew how to craft music. Can AI do that? Maybe in the future it could replicate what is already out there, but, can it create?
Over the next 40 minutes, we make at least 30 songs. Suno takes mere seconds to spit out songs in genres as basic as pop-rock and as hyper-specific as experimental classical meets Japanese indie pop; Latin trap; and Italian disco. Most are not inspiring, but a few surprise. The computer has endless range. Country, rock and an uncanny ability to sound like Olivia Rodrigo. Regardless of genre, the songs embody a particular equation: Made in an instant, four minutes in length, but only 10 seconds to listen to and dismiss as “just fine.”
Well, I can’t hear them with the Internet Archive version, but, they are probably pretty basic. But, probably have the same heart and soul as Today’s Hit Music!, meaning, not much.
A coalition of 21 states and four cities sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its move to erase all limits on planet-warming emissions from power plants.
The lawsuit was filed in the ?U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The mostly Democratic-run states and cities, led by New York, contend that the Environmental Protection Agency acted unlawfully when it repealed Biden-era regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that burn gas and coal.
Those are, per the lawsuit link
PETITION FOR REVIEW [2195824] of a decision by federal agency filed by City and County of Denver, Colorado, City of Chicago, Illinois, City of New York, New York, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, DC, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Arizona, State of California, State of Colorado, State of Connecticut, State of Delaware, State of Hawaii, State of Illinois, State of Maine, State of Maryland, State of Michigan, State of Minnesota, State of New Jersey, State of New Mexico, State of New York, State of North Carolina, State of Oregon, State of Rhode Island, State of Vermont, State of Washington and State of Wisconsin
Yet, how many of them have totally abandoned the use of fossil fuels? Anyway
In their lawsuit, the states and cities led by New York plan to argue that the E.P.A. did not properly consider the health and climate costs of allowing more planet-warming pollution into the atmosphere. The rollback, they say, was “arbitrary and capricious” and should be struck down.
“This administration’s insistence on giving the nation’s biggest polluters a free pass will set our country back decades in the fight against climate change,” said Letitia James, the attorney general of New York. “Dismantling these protections is a betrayal of American families.”
Does federal law state that the ending of a rule MUST take health and climate (scam) risks into account? The Trump admin could do the funniest thing by suing those state and local governments for continuing to use fossil fuels. Oh, and ending the government of D.C. But, Congress won’t take back the power they are supposed to wield from the wackos.
This is yet another lawsuit that will end up at the Supreme Court.
The proposed changes would require that a Republican win the White House in 2028, and the rules survive legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court, but, hey, we can see who really matters most to Democrats (non-paywalled available at Yahoo)
The Trump administration has proposed several changes to the 2030 census that would limit who can be counted in North Carolina and reduce the demographic information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Critics say the administration’s proposal would short-change communities with international students and large immigrant populations. They say it also would stop the government from collecting important information about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation during the nationwide count done every decade.
The regulations would radically change the census in 2030 and beyond, says John Quinterno, the governor’s census liaison and state data center coordinator at the Office of State Budget and Management.
“If the decennial census is like a family portrait that’s taken on Census Day, the rules shape how the picture looks and how accurate it is,” Quinterno said in an interview. “These changes would alter the portrait of North Carolina by omitting some people entirely, putting others in the wrong place, photoshopping or erasing others out after the fact and blurring the picture.”
Aliens (that is the legal word per federal code), both legal and illegal, are not North Carolinians. They are foreigners, and, really, should not be counted in any census for terms of legislative apportionment and money that comes back to the states from Los Federales. Any here legally are meant to be temporary, those illegally are meant to be deported
The constitution requires the government to count “the whole number of persons in each state.” Traditionally that has meant people living in a place regardless of their citizenship status. Immigrants with or without visas were counted; U.S. citizens living overseas were not, unless they served in the military or worked for the federal government.
Now the Trump administration wants to limit the count to U.S. citizens and “lawful permanent residents,” such as immigrants with green cards. That would leave out foreign students, people with work visas and “illegal aliens,” groups whose legal status is “less durable,” the Census Bureau says, and are “not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States.”
It’s that part about whole number of persons: can the Trump admin find a way to limit that to citizens and permanent residents (again, why do we have them? It’s absurd)? And we’ll get to see that Democrats care more about foreigners than US citizens. The normal.
A few years ago, I covered the Yellow Vest protests in France, where workers rebelled against a fuel tax billed as a green measure. I interviewed protesters at German car plants lamenting the shift to electric vehicles, which reduces the number of jobs. Now, in Britain, I’m watching the same people who once campaigned for Brexit campaign against renewables, which they say have raised energy bills. (There’s something to that; read on.)
Across the West, the climate has become another battleground in the culture wars. That’s one reason why, despite an alarming list of deadly climate disasters around the world, you don’t hear as many politicians talk about the climate anymore. But that doesn’t mean they’re not thinking about it. Today I write about the politics driving a climate change rebrand. (snip)
All of the above could be making the politics of the green transition easier. Instead, across the West, they’ve become more difficult. Experts say even those committed to switching to renewables will often deliberately avoid the word climate, talking instead about “energy security” or “affordability.”
But why are politicians and others in power so hesitant to talk about the climate?
Right-wing populists on both sides of the Atlantic have taken aim at climate policies as a liberal elitist project that hurts working-class people.
In Europe, the people campaigning against “net zero” — the goal of getting carbon emissions to zero — accuse governments of driving up their energy bills. (Their arguments find traction in part because they’re not wrong. The process of constructing a grid that can efficiently distribute renewables comes with a price tag that some politicians have been reluctant to talk about, and that will drive electricity bills up, not down, at least for a few years.)
In the U.S., President Trump has aggressively doubled down on fossil fuels and calls climate change a “hoax.”
If she would refer back to her 1st paragraph, she might realize that citizens are tired of Elites and politicians forcing the climate cult policies on them, all while the same people who push cult dogma refuse to practice what they preach. Go figure. If I go to the doctor and he/she tells me to stop smoking while I can smell the cigarettes on them, would I stop smoking?
…are trees dying from early heatsnow from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Geller Report, with a post on “Dept. of Energy Muslim Employee Arrested For Aiding Iran-Backed Houthi Terrorists and Buying Bomb-Making Chemicals, Drone Parts”
A new report is raising tough questions about whether artificial intelligence could make violent attacks more dangerous in the future. The report, released by gun safety advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, says some people have already used AI chatbots while planning shootings and other harmful acts. According to the report, AI companies should strengthen safety tools before more tragedies occur, USA TODAY reported.
One case highlighted in the report involves former Florida State University student Phoenix Ikner, who is charged in a 2025 campus shooting that left two people dead and five others wounded. Court records cited in lawsuits claim Ikner asked ChatGPT questions about firearms, ammunition and busy areas on campus before the attack. His conversations with the chatbot have become part of ongoing legal battles, The Palm Beach Post said.
Asking ChatGPT for this is the same as doing searches: all it does is pull existing information together. Nothing nefarious about it. It doesn’t give more info than you could find at multiple articles. It didn’t tell Ikner to do it.
Everytown says the problem goes beyond one case. The organization points to other lawsuits and research suggesting some chatbots can provide dangerous information or reinforce harmful thinking. Researchers with the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that many chatbots tested were willing to help users posing as teens plan violent attacks, Yahoo! said.
After years of Google trying to force-feed AI to me in web search, I have to admit that I’ve developed a taste for it — on some plates and in limited servings.
Based on how thoroughly “AI Overview” results have taken over Google, the company clearly sees AI as central to virtually every aspect of making sense of the web. You, however, are under no obligation to follow Google’s lead — or to use it at all, since such search competitors as Microsoft’s Bing and the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo still focus on traditional web links.
But if you, like most people, mostly depend on Google for search, you should still know what its implementation of AI is — and is not — good for.
Short answer: Google’s AI search features — and the Gemini chatbot you can use in your browser — do better at things that old-school Google has often done worse.
The article then provides types of searches like “The answer you want isn’t in one place or just a few places on the web” and Explains. While it is actually good information for a Yute, it’s tiresome that the Credentialed Media tries to Explain how to do everything. Quite frankly, I will often skip to the Google AI bit when I do some searches, then dive deeper if I need to. That’s it. It’s helpful at times, not at others. I’m an adult. I’ll search how I want.
The Atlantic Ocean has failed to produce a hurricane in the month of September for the first time in more than 30 years, the latest feat by a super El Niño widely predicted to become the strongest ever.
Only three other Septembers have gone hurricane-free in the Atlantic in records dating back to 1950. It last happened in 1994, and before that in 1972 and 1962, according to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert with Colorado State University.
Really, it probably goes back further
We have made it through September without a single hurricane forming in the North Atlantic.
This has not happened since at least 1914 (although the lack of satellite observations before 1966 means that pre-1966 NOAA HURDAT2 best track data has significant uncertainty and data… pic.twitter.com/GJScgOt1NF
The numbers have been stark. The average for a season is seven hurricanes, and we should have seen five of them by now. Last year was below average, with five hurricanes — but four had already shown up by the start of October, three of which came in September.
September is usually prime time for hurricanes because storm-fueling warm water is at its most expansive and hottest alongside ripe atmospheric factors. About two to three hurricanes develop in the month on average.
This El Niño-stifled season had already blown past the most reliable record for the longest wait for the first hurricane to materialize, and the lack of any as October begins sets the stage for an even rarer possibility: an entire Atlantic season without hurricanes.
CNN then spends time blaming the super El Nino, but, they seem to be missing a big factor, or, maybe this is why they did not bring up anthropogenic global warming: if the El Nino can do this, maybe most of the weather that happens is mostly caused by nature.
Memphis Immigration Court Judge Kelly Lake granted a motion on Wednesday, Sept. 30, to reopen Seck’s immigration proceedings. In granting the motion, the judge found that Seck had demonstrated that she did not receive the notice of removal that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it served on Sept. 8, 2025.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and she had to know that she was unlawfully present. A notice of removal doesn’t just come out of thin air
The ruling by the judge in Memphis paves the way for Seck to present her case through the immigration process, and her petition for a writ of habeas corpus remains pending in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky. Seck’s appearance in immigration court is set for Nov. 20.
Alsalman said his next steps include filing a motion for a bond hearing.
It’s all so absurd. She’s here illegally. She needs to be sent packing, and, then, if she wants to apply for a VISA she can
In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports on Sept. 23, DHS said Seck legally entered the country on Sept. 1, 2019, through Los Angeles on a temporary basis.
“She chose to overstay her welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” DHS said. “To be clear: a pending application or work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States. … Being in detention is a choice.”
She can leave at any time if she tells them she wants to leave the United States.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports last week, Rep. Morgan McGarvey – a Democrat representing Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District – said his office is monitoring Seck’s situation.
“Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates,” McGarvey said. “The Trump Administration’s cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won’t stop fighting for her.”
Democrats seem to have more statements protecting illegals than in trying to help Americans.
The distinct, earthy smell that fills the air after rain following a long dry spell can trigger some serious nostalgia. This scent, petrichor, goes right to our brain’s memory and emotional centers for reasons that may be to do with our very evolution. But as climate change alters Earth’s weather and environment, petrichor is going to transform, too.
(A couple of paragraphs on where the smell comes from and why it is so easy to smell)
Exactly how petrichor changes will depend on where you are as the effects of rising global temperatures on weather and climate patterns will vary from place to place and year to year. Overall, parts of the world that get more rainfall will experience less petrichor, whereas areas that have droughts will experience more, says Jeppe Lund Nielsen, a professor of microbial physiology at Aalborg University in Denmark.
You mean normal weather? Oh, but, this doom is coming in the future.
Elwood P. Dowd on If All You See…: “Have you noticed the propaganda ads (paid with tax dollars) propping up Donny? _____________________________ At a meeting, Trump met with…” Oct 3, 15:41
Alias on If All You See…: “Do you see some upside in the economy from reducing federal employees? Most Americans think the Trump economy is straight…” Oct 3, 15:32
ST on If All You See…: “New Rule: Generation TMZ | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2026/10/new-rule-generation-tmz-real-time-with.html” Oct 3, 13:24
drowningpuppies on If All You See…: “Funny. He looks just like the current mayor of New York city. https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/10/03/identity-of-flydubai-hijacker-revealed-possible-911-tie-n4957918 Bwaha! Lolgf! MAGA47 Motherfuckers!” Oct 3, 13:19
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