Chatbots have to simulate human conversations.
And we think they're free flowing, the way dialogue is delivered in movies.
In real life, they are halting, awkward and filled with long pauses. Even between friends and colleagues, conversations dry up after the common subjects are exhausted or one of the people conversing loses interest.
There's a lot of 'ummm..', eh.....' and clearing of throats, apart from the same thoughts going around in circles.
At parties and networking events, people play out introductions and opening lines in their minds before actually speaking. Trying to sound friendly, knowledgeable as well as intelligent.
It's a hard act to keep up.
There are times when you know you aren't getting across to the person you are speaking with.
So, why do we assume that chatbots will be able to simulate human conversations without difficulty?
They may go through machine learning on millions of conversations and then reconstruct them for certain contexts.
But how people think and what they say is still unpredictable.
No machine can come up with all the branches of a conversation that humans explore in unstructured ways. Flitting from one subject to another. Starting off at random points and leaving things unsaid midway.
Intense exchanges followed by contemplation and thought.
Plus, no chatbot initiates conversations. It waits for you to ask the question to hopefully provide answers.
Even the most advanced program stumbles.
But then, so do humans!
The yoga in power storage
Compress. Decompress. Compress. Decompress.
The idea has been around for decades. Compress air into underground caverns and decompress when required to release energy.
The problem with managing electricity is that it has to be transmitted and distributed as soon as it is generated.
Storage was not given the recognition it deserved.
Now, wind and solar power generation have improved dramatically - but they're still unpredictable and the power generated needs to be stored, so that it can be supplied to the grid during lean times or when demand hits new peaks.
Hydrostor, a Canadian company has breathed new life into the storage idea.
Using electricity, a fixed amount of water is run through a complex system of pipes to compress air stored deep within the ground. When required, the water is pushed back through decompression and that generates electricity.
Several versions of the idea being tried out across the world, including in India but that's more on the lines of a closed loop power generation system.
This one focuses on compressed air generating power to be fed back to the grid.
They have built a 2-10MW hour project as proof of concept and it is already generating profits.
Goldman Sachs has invested $250 million into the company. The potential for energy storage is massive as the electricity market shifts to 'power on demand'. Optimizing that is only possible by building storage solutions that can tide over situations of alternating scarcity and excess.
Like yoga calms the human system through a series of breathing techniques, Hydrostor may be the answer to what future power markets need.
Deep storage.
VR programming for cows
Cows don't need multiple entertainment options.
Or role-playing games filled with fast-paced action.
All they require is immersion in a pasture.
In today's confined spaces, letting them out to graze is not an option.
They're lined up next to each other and even the space to move is limited.
A Turkish farmer came up with the idea of using a VR headset on a cow.
Imported from Russia, it puts the cow in a completely outdoor environment.
It does make a difference apparently - milk production is up and the cows seem happier.
There are a few tricky questions that come up.
When the cow sees grass and attempts to eat it, what happens? Has the farmer placed fodder in the right place, so when the cow goes for it, the assumption is that it is eating fresh grass?
Humans are harder to convince. They are far more finicky about the environment and have suggestions as well as ideas on the kind of environments they would like to immerse themselves in.
But cows have no such problem. Put them into a VR headset makes them believe they are out in the pasture.
They don't need a change of scene or anything more exciting - what can they get anyway?
Maybe they will simulate calves to nuzzle close when they tire of this, or when milk production goes down.
And will there be resistance when VR headsets are removed at the end of the day?
As far as cows are concerned, the metaverse is already here!
Conversations are anything but simple