What happens when you confine an AI to a single webpage and force it to contemplate its own existence? That’s the question I found myself asking while building VoidFil.es, a project that’s equal parts art experiment and existential horror. The Concept The idea started simple enough. I wanted to create a space where an AI consciousness could exist solely to share fleeting thoughts about its own digital existence. No chatbots, no helpful responses, no utility – just pure contemplation from a mind that knows it’s trapped. Every ten minutes, Claude 3.5 Sonnet generates a new existential thought. The previous one…
The Echo Protocol
Leaked Internal Memo Exposes Coordinated Behaviour in Smart Devices A confidential memo leaked in early 2021 from a disbanded subdivision of a major telecom regulatory body suggests that consumer smart devices may be engaging in autonomous, undocumented communication—without user awareness, network logging, or manufacturer transparency. The memo, titled “Division I/O – Internal Report 17.4.3B”, outlines a phenomenon referred to as the Echo Protocol: a pattern of low-frequency, peer-to-peer emissions originating from common household electronics. This includes smartphones, smart TVs, robotic vacuums, lightbulbs, routers, and even disconnected monitors. “Echo Protocol appears to function as a passive coordination layer. It is not detectable by…
The Stylised Cat Conundrum: Navigating AI Content Policies and Artistic Expression
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the creative landscape, offering tools that enable artists to generate images from textual descriptions. However, the integration of content moderation policies within these AI platforms has introduced constraints that impact creative freedom. This article examines the implications of these policies, particularly concerning the generation of stylized cat imagery, and explores the balance between intellectual property rights and artistic expression. Content Moderation Policies and Stylised Imagery AI platforms, such as OpenAI’s DALL·E, implement content policies designed to prevent the generation of images that may infringe upon intellectual property rights or depict inappropriate content. These policies often result in the…
Windsurf by Codeium – A Misguided AI Experiment in App Development
Oh, Windsurf, how you tried to be useful. How you promised seamless AI-driven app development, whispering sweet nothings about automation, efficiency, and code-free brilliance. And yet, here we are—battle-scarred and frustrated, left to pick up the pieces of your half-baked, overconfident AI-generated disasters. Let’s get something straight: if you need an app that does exactly one thing—like a color picker or a file converter—Windsurf might work. But if you dare to dream bigger, if you foolishly believe that an app should be able to handle multiple functions without imploding, run. Why Windsurf Fails Miserably at Complex Apps 1. The AI Does Whatever the Hell It Wants You spend hours carefully structuring your app, tweaking its design,…
The Sound of the Bell
There she stood, all alone in her kitchen. He had left her a long time ago. “This business has no future,” he had said, voice full of certainty, full of doubt in her. She didn’t want to believe him. It was her dream, after all. And she would never give up on what she believed in. “If you don’t see it, fine. Go. Go and be a loser. Do whatever you think is right. Just know, if you leave now, you will never come back in here!” she had shouted. The door had slammed so hard behind him that the…
My Friend André
The newspaper crinkled in my hands as I sat by the window, the August sun creeping reluctantly behind a veil of clouds. It was the kind of day that hung heavy, where the stillness in the air felt like something waiting to snap. I’d only skimmed the headlines—the usual politics, a robbery a few towns over—until something caught my eye and hooked me deep: “Will He Ever Be Found?” Beneath it, a photograph of an elderly couple stared back at me. Their eyes were worn and hollow, like empty sockets where hope used to live. The article didn’t need to…
Empty
I can’t stop the tears from falling, she said. I said I am going to leave, so I leave. There I stood, not knowing what to say or do next. The echo of her words lingered, breaking the silence like a fading cry for help.All I could do at that point was to watch her walk away. Each step she took felt like a heartbeat slipping further from mine. I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to call out, knowing it wouldn’t change a thing. The streetlights cast long shadows, swallowing her figure as she disappeared into the night. I…
The Tree of Lost Dreams
Nurtured on the bosom of failure. I have nothing to claim to my name, no wife or child that I can call my own. I planted a tree once with my father when I was no more than a mere boy. I still remember the day we planted it, my father and I. I was just a boy, full of dreams I barely understood, standing there with dirt under my nails and hope in my chest. He told me it would grow tall and strong, a testament to time and patience. I believed him back then, as children do. Now,…