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Connecting the Dots of Real Facial Recognition
On Saturday mornings from my childhood, I recall NBC commercials that would feature the now-famous network slogan, “The more you know” with a shooting star graphic that would promote a pleasant, knowledge-centric call to action for its weekend viewers. The commercials were positive and nice. The following video isn’t from NBC. Regardless, this fun, insightful story regarding the Wall Street Journal answers a question many of us have but probably allow to fade to the back of our minds.
This is where Jimmy’s Daily Planet comes into play with a random yet concrete answer to a daily artistic venture involving one of the country’s primary sources of news.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, however time-consuming.
There are some things a computer and evolving technology just can’t do with the same unique, individual precision and artistry of a human being. Could a computer program do a stipple drawing? Of course. But that also means a computer could technically be programmed to produce works of art in a variety of styles that would qualify for high-end galleries in cities all around the world.
Consequently, that would take the artistic revelations and cultural pivot points à la Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night”–among countless other artistic masterpieces–out of the mix.
The process behind the stipple drawing was the introductory level of this blog post. The second–and equally important level for consideration–is the value of people and their talents in the ever-evolving reality centered on the debate of humans vs. machines/technology in the modern workforce. What will societal and business influencers decide in the coming years for a myriad of industries concerning this vital debate?
Is now a good time to insert a reference to the show ‘Westworld’ as a fun yet oddly relevant futuristic extreme of this dilemma?
Your answer to the non-‘Westworld’ question–asking ourselves what influential leaders will prioritize in the value of human skill sets vs. convenient technology in the future–begins with whether you think this story about how the iconic stipple drawings are created for the Wall Street Journal holds any value as the subject of a story livelihood.
The more we know depends on how we connect the dots today that will ultimately reveal a clear(er) picture of our future relative to living with (and, in some cases, competing with) burgeoning technology in a modern society that is increasingly streamlined and simplified with cheaper and faster technological alternatives.
A Prehistoric Mindset
Even if bringing dinosaurs back to life births too many hazards (despite its eternal and forgiving human instinct and allure), scientists can never yield in the pursuit of comprehensive knowledge as to how these prehistoric creatures acted. And this all starts with their brains.
The recently released video below may not qualify as a leap, but it’s a fascinating step, to say the least.
There’s a new Michael Crichton-brand novel here…
#SaveTheCrew is What We’ll Do
The man, the myth and the legend.
(Columbus Crew winning 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with Lamar Hunt in attendance, pictured above in the center. Photo courtesy of thecup.us)
Lamar Hunt, American sports business icon, and Columbus Crew Founder is crying in heaven right now.
As you probably know, Crew SC owner Anthony Precourt bought the Columbus Crew back in 2013 with every discreet and sleazy intention (as has been reported in recent days) to move the team to Austin, TX in 2019. A previous blog post this week on Jimmy’s Daily Planet gave my first extended impression of this equally heartbreaking and infuriating news.
And the snake in the grass incarnate responded via Twitter last night. Let’s just say his message accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of failing to meet even the lowest standard of decency and self-awareness.
I really do feel for you Crew fans. Its an uncertain time I recognize, and I take full responsibility for the situation I have put us in.
— Anthony Precourt (@APrecourt) October 19, 2017
Then this.
Put you all in, not us.
— Anthony Precourt (@APrecourt) October 19, 2017
Anthony Precourt does not “feel for you Crew fans” because his intent all along was to move the team to Austin behind our backs while lying and, in the process, rip the heart out of this city, longtime Crew fans and the soccer capital of the United States of America. He knew exactly what he was doing from the moment he arrived in Columbus.
It’s an “uncertain time” because Anthony Precourt made it uncertain with his deceitful behavior whilst in concert with Don Garber from the beginning several years ago, who is another snake in the grass and opponent of professional soccer in Columbus.
The “I take full responsibility” is simply another over-sanitized and lawyer-approved line of PR nonsense. How is Anthony Precourt taking “full responsibility”? He’s cowardly hiding behind a Twitter account…and being quite terrible at it. Funny, I didn’t see the words “I’m sorry” or “I lied to everyone from the beginning” or “I’m going to sell the Crew to local investors ASAP to keep the team here at home, as they’ve requested multiple times, and leave Columbus, Ohio immediately in disgrace” or “I will meet publicly with Crew fans to see and listen to them, no matter the humiliation I’ll feel during this event.”
And then there’s the “correction.” Anthony Precourt consciously tweeted, “put you all in, not us.”
That said it all.
Recent reports locally are that major Columbus investors will be meeting with the Anthony Precourt of the MLS head office (Commissioner Don Garber) today.
Concerning next steps, it’s important to know that the fight to keep the Crew in Columbus is not over and I have a feeling that the Black & Gold will be staying. I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, plus there are positive signs that are pointing towards moving professional soccer out of Columbus (the soccer capital of the United States, with “Dos-a-Cero” for starters) as a massive mistake.
The movement (online and in-person) is called #SaveTheCrew and the website is savethecrew.com. Join the effort and stay tuned!
The USMNT has devastatingly lost its identity and, if Garber’s MLS allows Precourt to have his way, MLS will lose its identity, and beloved home and history, as well.
Saving the Crew is what we must do.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 