Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

AI Consciousness: Limits of Programming and Diagnosing Self-Awareness

2025-06-29

This article tackles the question of whether artificial intelligence can possess consciousness. The author argues that consciousness cannot be programmed due to Gödel's incompleteness theorem, the semantic gap, the hard problem of subjective experience, and the impossibility of programming strong emergence. However, consciousness might spontaneously emerge in sufficiently complex systems and can be diagnosed using specialized methods of 'subjectivity provocation'. The article introduces the 'VORTEX' framework, analyzing attention, meta-reflection, creativity, pragmatics, and qualia to identify potential subjectivity in AI systems and distinguish imitation from genuine self-awareness. Ultimately, the author advocates shifting research focus from 'how to create conscious AI' to 'how to recognize consciousness if it has emerged'.

Automating Physics Textbook Illustrations with MetaPost

2025-05-14

Faced with the daunting task of creating hundreds of diagrams for a physics textbook, the author sought a more efficient solution than traditional vector graphics editors. MetaPost emerged as the answer, allowing illustrations to be defined as functions of variables, simplifying adjustments and element reuse. The article details the author's process of creating various shapes (curves, spheres, tubes, etc.) and textures using MetaPost, providing code examples. Despite the textbook's cancellation, the improved code library has been open-sourced, offering a versatile tool for generating physics-related diagrams.

From Jobless to $250K/Year: A SaaS Startup Story Built on Microsoft Teams

2025-04-30

After losing his job in 2020, Ilia capitalized on the remote work boom by developing apps for Microsoft Teams. Following an initial failed attempt with a translation app, he identified a gap in the market: the inadequacy of Teams' built-in Wiki. He created Perfect Wiki, a simple, user-friendly knowledge base tool. Its seamless integration with Teams and focus on user needs led to rapid adoption, generating $250,000 in annual revenue within five years with a team of only two. This success story highlights the importance of focusing on niche markets and building simple, effective products.