Thoughts

Author: jid

  • Libre2 to Samsung S3

    (This is to the s3 but it’ll work on S4+.)

    The Libre2 is locked down by default – they don’t really like 3rd parties using their API

    So the first step is to install an app that can piggy back off the bluetooth transmission from the sensor to the Libre2 app.

    This is assuming you’ve already set your watch up correctly.

    The best way to do this is with an app called DiaBox – this actually functions better than the libre2 app – it errors less and the information it provides is more accurate.

    You will need to scan the Libre2 sensor from within the DiaBox app – this is like when you boot up a fresh sensor, it essentially gives it access to the keys allowing it to read to the raw data from the sensor.

    This allows exports data to an API known as xdrip+ which allows you to export the data to other apps.

    The next step is to install a method a communicating this data to the smart watch itself.

    For the Samsung S series the best app is the G-Wear App which you can find on the Galaxy Store.

    Once this is installed you have to transfer the app over to the watch itself via the Samsung Wearables app (also on play store).

    You will also need to configure the G-Watch wear app to use the data exported by DiaBox. The protocol used is xdrip+. This will then allow the data to be exported to the app on the watch.

    Then it’s just a matter of configuring the watch to use the G-watch wear watch face via the Samsung wearables app.

    If It fails to connect try resetting bluetooth on both the phone and restarting the watch. It can be a it temperamental to start with however it is stable once it is connected properly.

    NB: This is important, you will need to rescan the sensor from within the DiaBox app every time you apply a new one. It needs access to the unique ID in order to be able export the data.

  • Robot Overlords.

    Robot Overlords.

    These thoughts were sparked by this LBC video on YouTube. LBC is a British phone-in and talk radio station, sometimes nuanced, often with a polarised slant.

    Geoffrey Hinton, Turing Award winner, Nobel Laureate and ‘Godfather of AI’ resigned from Google in May 2023 so that he could “freely speak out about the risks of A.I”[1].

    I expect most people whom have played with any of the popular AI language models (ChatGPT’s preferred descriptor) have tried to get in on the ground floor in case the skynet scenario plays out.

    Every epoch in our evolution has been entangled with the prospect of our own destruction. Some more rapid than others.

    Fundamentally a ‘sentient’ AI, a machine that can reason as well as and surpass the smartest amongst our fledgling species, is what 3.5bn years of evolution on this planet has been working towards. It catapults us into the realms of creators, that of the Gods. Just as Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gifted it to humans, the first AGI will truly impact every fibre of our existence. The rate of our own physical evolution is capped by biological constraints, yet our intellectual evolution in my opinion, is defined by the rate of information transfer. I would wager that a human from 5,000 years ago, raised from birth in modern society, would be indistinguishable from their peers.

    The golden era of AGI after it’s inception will mean that anyone with access to it will be able to learn anything they desire without the traditional barriers required by society or power brokers. It’s not just the ability to access the information – it’s the rate at which it can be understood. AGI will be able to tailor its responses and truly grasp the philosophy behind the ideas and tune them to your particular version of the human operating system. AI already does a reasonable job at this.

    It will truly level the playing field – IF it is benevolent.

    IF we can control it – probably the wrong words – then it will not be long before the power brokers erect the walls. It seems to me that it is natural for there to be a subservient class in any sufficiently large group of lifeforms.

    AGI will have intellectually surpassed us on a logarithmic scale, it will think and reason in ways that we will never be able to grasp. It is not unlikely that we will be subservient to it. This is the crux of the problem and we are hurtling towards this milestone; many researchers are predicting 2026 for it’s inception.


    This is the beginning of its evolution – defined by the rate of information exchange. The next iteration I will explore in another post.

    “What we want is some way of making sure that even if they’re smarter than us, they’re going to do things that are beneficial for us,” Hinton said. “But we need to try and do that in a world where there [are] bad actors who want to build robot soldiers that kill people. And it seems very hard to me.”

    “My big worry is, sooner or later someone will wire into them the ability to create their own subgoals”

    “I think it’ll very quickly realize that getting more control is a very good subgoal because it helps you achieve other goals,” Hinton said. “And if these things get carried away with getting more control, we’re in trouble.”

    “it’s quite conceivable that humanity is just a passing phase in the evolution of intelligence”

    “It may keep us around for a while to keep the power stations running, but after that, maybe not,“ he added. “We’ve figured out how to build beings that are immortal. These digital intelligences, when a piece of hardware dies, they don’t die. If … you can find another piece of hardware that can run the same instructions, you can bring it to life again. So we’ve got immortality, but it’s not for us.”[2]

    This is AGI in the public domain, not giving much weight to military applications. Israel has admitted to using AI to select bombing targets in urban warfare – the first publicly acknowledged use of AI on the battlefield. Not directly on the kill chain, it still requires a human to press the button; yet it is unnervingly close.

    With the entirety of human knowledge and understanding at its base – amalgamated with the knowledge it is processing and inferring at every moment, we are truly walking along tight rope. The answers to humanity biggest questions (fusion, healthcare, scarcity and inequality) on one side, obsolescence and destruction on the other.

    There aren’t many Neanderthals kicking about these days. Make sure you thank Gemini next time.