Google search and artificial intelligence

 I find the quality of Google Search data to degrade with the artificial intelligence system in place.  In the old times, the Google search relied on a 'highly cited' webpage information, where  the actual human beings provided  the actual advices. That is, the experts in the field (or perhaps just smart ordinary people with experience) expressed opinions.   The problem with artificial intelligence is, its advices are given as based on 'plausible looking' or nearly 'linguistic' arguments, which are often wrong.  For example,  as I was fixing the laundry dryer with the sensor light blinking, the AI was consistently suggesting me to check if the sensor was broken and needed replacement. The point is, the humidity sensor cannot get broken. It has no moving parts and no electronics.  After some pain and trial and error attempts, I was able to find out  that the door switch was broken. As the dryer was trying to start, it sensed the 'open door'  and was stuck in the 'sensing' mode.

My thought is, in this case the AI not only did not help, but was clearly harmful. It diluted the true expert-based information on the web (which may have existed) with trivial, primitive, basic,  non-intelligent guesses. As there is no factual knowledge behind it, it generates a lot of wasted effort. It also dilutes the information on the web with plausible, nice-flowing bullshit.

Another dream about HP

 I am retiring from HP. This time,  there was a true retirement party, with about 100 people in the room, multiple dining tables -- it was a big crowd.  Viomesh Joshi (aka VJ) was there too- which is strange, because by the time of my retirement in 2020 he was already leading 3D Systems in San Diego.  Somehow I ran into  VJ  somewhere between the dining tables or maybe on the way to bathroom and started to explain to him why HP 3D printing technology is so deficient.  I had about 2 minutes of his time;  he was listening to my spiel with some amazement, but made no comments. I never  spoke to VJ in real life.   Interestingly, Skip Rung who retired from HP in about 1999 was also there and I saw him briefly.

Bringing manufacturing back to US

 I could see the stages in which manufacturing was leaving US

-first the manufacturing scale up is left to 'tax shelters'- the countries with more favorable tax system: Singapore, Ireland, Puerto Rico.  The manufacturing   and development expertise still remains in the US, first, de-facto, then only nominally.

After the manufacturing is moved to other countries, the local US engineering expertise erodes. The people are laid off; there is no growth. No new hires. The colleges gradually stop to supply engineers as there is no jobs for them. The education system evolves to new demands, more towards environmental protection, regulatory control, etc.

Note that there is a lot of inertia in this system. However, when the people are lost, they are gone; they will not come back. They are not there. It will take perhaps a lot of money, willingness and patience to turn the tide.

 There is not only the people aspect, there is also the 'hardware'--- factories, heavy equipment, clean rooms.  Some manufacturing areas are very difficult (capital intensive) to shut down. Once it is shut down however, it is really shut down. 

Another dream today

 I am working again in Russian Academy of Sciences, the same old institution I used to work at.  I wearing a lab coat that I found in the lab; perhaps it was a somebody else's coat (which turned out to be the case, see below). I then was going to leave the building, and, for some reason, I was still wearing this coat. The security officers, two women, started to  do a check me. They patted me in the front and in the back (the security checks have become more stringent than in the old times). And yes- they found something on my back- it was a carpenter's hammer! What an  embarrassment! I said to them that I had no idea where did the  hammer come from. I asked them what would happen now, and they said: 'twenty days of prison'.  I then saw a somebody else's name  on the lap of the coat, and I said: look, this is not my coat! This is a mistake! Not sure if I was getting some slack because of this, or perhaps they needed some time to report on me and to make the decision. So, I was back in the building thinking about the twenty days in prison that were coming up.  ~~Then another researcher (whom I did not recognize) approached me and said  'Take it easy man! it will be alright!  Let's do a research project together- I have heard you are doing some nice work on polyurethanes!  I have something in mind for you'. The dream ended at that point.