This week, we’re talking to another old friend, John Otwell, a software engineer and fellow RPCV, (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) about AI. We thought this was going to be a talk about physical infrastructure and geopolitical struggle and instead it got quite metaphysical quite fast.

John knows his stuff and clearly explains what a GPT is and what it does using the human brain as a basis. If you don’t know what a neural network is, how how the brain works, he’s got you covered.

He decided to come to Indonesia with Peace Corps rather than attend medical school, and his knowledge of the human brain, cognition, and tech mesh perfectly to give you the first of many pods we will have with him in this philosophical “no man’s land.” (it’s not human after all!)

We talk about the essential mystery at the core of human behavior, and the sort of curious ethical questions that float to the surface as more and more things get AI thrown at them.

The Robots are already here—in our heads, screens, and our cars. Where else will they be in the near future? Listen in for one-of-a-kind insight from someone who may be putting them there, or on your screen!

Timestamps:

1:02 (Background about John + a couple of caveats)

5:18 Technical part starts. What is a GPT?

12:30 How AI works and builds associations with words

17:18 AI gone wild

25:05 What can happen to people being exposed to AI constantly

32:58 Differences in US and Chinese companies when it comes to AI

47:00 (the philosophical part starts)

47:20 Where is AI taking the human race?

52:00 Will the robots take over?

57:07 Workin’ for the bot

58:40 Legal liability in the future

63:30 A bot has its finger on the red button

69:09 What bots can’t replace—the human touch

If you enjoyed the episode, like, comment, subscribe, and share—and let us know!

[email protected]

The small bot in the corner is from freepik.com, can be found here, and was created by upklyak

This episode covers a recent “run-in” (of sorts) around the Spratly Islands, some of the most contested (and lonely) islands in the world.

In this part of the world, “sharing is caring” has as much bearing as “if wishes were fishes.” Then again, this could be a red herring.

Listen in to get an overview about what happened last week, and potentially what’s to come.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and share, especially if you have a pet macaw and can teach him to say “On the Fringe.”

Thanks for listening!

Don’t miss this fascinating and educational conversation about a country that doesn’t get enough time in the spotlight.

This week, our special guest this week is Joseph Bouchard, a Canadian journalist and academic who specializes in Latin America. Joseph has been covering and researching Bolivia and Latin America for several years and has been published in The Diplomat, the Brazilian Report, Monga Bay, the Rio Times, and Global Americans. In our talk (recorded about a month ago), we talk about the Bolivian election as well as the role of critical minerals in the Bolivian economy, the importance of the 2019 coup in understanding current attitudes among the Bolivian electorate, and the messy legacy of the MAS, the party that has ruled for the last twenty-odd years.

Thanks for listening, and please don’t forget to like, comment or subscribe!

Joseph can be contacted at:

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

If you have any interest in this most interesting of regions, lying along the historical Silk Road trade route, this episode is well worth a listen.

This week we have a special guest, journalist and author Joe Barnes, currently based in Kazakhstan, who chats with us about the significance of Central Asia, it’s geopolitical evolution since the collapse of the USSR and his upcoming book. Joe, who has the distinction of being one of the few (if not only) journalists to visit all fifteen post-Soviet republics post-Ukraine, will give you a really in-depth look at the various currents and geopolitical forces shaping the region today and tomorrow.

Reach out to Joe on his website, X/Twitter, and see his articles for the Diplomat here.

The Kazakh Flag is from Wikimedia and can be found here

Hey all! We are kicking off Season 3 with an episode about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (the DRC) a country that not only is at the heart of Africa, it may be at the heart of our AI future.

Last season, (Season 2, Episode 38) we made a prediction about ongoing events in the DRC involving the Congolese government, the US government, the Rwandan government, M23 (a rebel group), and rare earth minerals. We thought it was SOLID gold. It wasn’t even pyrite.

Listen in as we call ourselves out and talk about the futures of these neighboring countries, and the US possibly at the center of them.

If you like the episode, please give us a like, write a review, share it, and let us know. And if you don’t, please do too!

Thanks and take care and welcome back to On the Fringe!

Dave and Gavin

Here is a preview of our first episode dropping soon in season 3.

We’ve revamped and touched up a few parts of the podcast to make it both more entertaining—and more informative.

All content is 100% by us and for you, and don’t forget to pass it on!!

Dave + Gavin

The DRC Map in the corner is by FunafutiTuvalu, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Accessed here.

Hey all! Before we get into it, we’d like to say thank you to ALL of our listeners, subscribers, and fans in the On the Fringe community on Substack and across the world.

We started season 2 with a brand new channel, 0 listens and 0 subscribers; now we’ve had over 2,000 downloads across all Podcasting platforms. Our numbers are going up every single week, and they wouldn’t be without YOUR support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We’ve got our LAST episode for Season 2—and our first special guest, Stuart who is taking us into Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is a small country about the size of Colorado in the middle of West Africa, and is led by Ibrahim Traoré, one of the youngest and most charismatic leaders in the world.

In two of the country’s local languages, “Burkina Faso” means “land of incorruptible men;” and Traoré may be taking this to heart, seeing himself as a Messianic figure for much of Africa…or is he just in the right place at the right time?

Our pod this week is led by Stuart Bolus. Stuart is a graduate of the African Studies Centre at Cambridge University and is a former visiting scholar at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana and a former Research Officer at the Institute of Democratic Governance in Ghana. He is currently a Civil servant in the UK, but follows African politics in his personal time. All views in this podcast are his own.

Also, we’re taking a few weeks off before starting on Season 3. We’re gonna start at a higher bar than we’re leaving Season 2—and want the next season to be more interactive. Let us know what topics you’d like us to cover in the next season and we’ll do our best to make it happen. Thanks again from both of us!

Dave and Gavin

[email protected]

Hey all! We’ve got a REALLY quick (and unplanned) episode that we weren’t planning on doing—but Ukraine’s recent actions are well worth doing one.

Ukraine recently took out several Russian long range bombers and aircraft with coordinated drone attacks thousands of miles from Ukraine. In an instant, the war (and peace process going on in Istanbul) has changed, not only for this conflict but for future conflicts that will happen worldwide.

Listen in as Gavin + I talk about what may happen next in Russia and in other parts of the world due to the attack. Big and expensive is costly—and it may end up being more costly than expected.

If you enjoyed the episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and pass it on!

As I was listening to the pod, I made a blunder about 3:40 in. The FSB in Russia is similar to the FBI in the US (law enforcement and domestic intelligence). The SVR is like the CIA (foreign intelligence).

Add your email below and don’t miss an episode! It’s FREE—or consider buying us a coffee every month! We sincerely appreciate it.

Hey Subbies! We’ve got another episode out about living abroad and going through reverse culture shock. It’s part of the drill; and it’s probably the HARDEST part of going home.

This one is subscribers only, click below if you want the full version (and it’s free to subscribe too!)

It doesn’t matter if you’ve remade yours…

Hey all! We originally wanted to make this episode subscribers only—but it’s SO IMPORTANT (and since many people are traveling this summer), we’ve made it public for now.

Don’t do what I did—and what I’m doing.

Learn about what happens when/if you post your boarding pass online.

Learn about how to protect yourself from social engineering attacks.

This ties into many of the other episodes we’ve talked about with scam farms, AI, and international travel. If you enjoyed it, click the subscribe button below.

Please, share this with your family, friends, and loved ones if they use social media.

And, let us know what we can do better on the next episode!