I have recently been reading a lot about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and have even entered into some very interesting debates on facebook on the subject with some friends more knowledgeable than I am on it.
It is a fascinating subject and many of the possibilities that people are talking about may become realities in my lifetime and I am looking forward to seeing them.
I got an opportunity to meet up with an engineer who is currently working on it in the USA who frequently visits Pune in India to be in touch with the work done by his colleagues here. He is an American who has been friends with my son Ranjan for some time now but came to visit us just yesterday as yesterday his local office was closed for Vijayadashami.
I had an opportunity to question him on the subject and how it would work for the company that he is working in and he answered in detail and in a language that I could understand. For the first time ever, I was able to understand the intricate details involved in the development of AI and am very grateful to Joe for patiently explaining to me. I will ensure that he gets to read this via an email to him.
Apart from the tutorial, there was another very enjoyable introduction to an American legend which I had read about but never seen, bought or eaten – Hostess Twinkies.
When Joe had asked Ranjan if there was anything that he could get from the USA on his forthcoming visit to Pune, the latter who had been reading a comic strip featuring Hostess Twinkies, immediately said, yes and mentioned the twinkies.
So Joe brought four boxes with him and also shared with us the amusement that some of the people at airports and the plane had at the gift that he was taking for his friend in India.
So, apart from the festival feast that I had had for lunch specially prepared by Manjiree, I had the great pleasure of having Twinkies. I just could not stop with one! A great Vijayadashami.
Now you know the logic behind the rather intriguing topic for this post.
You are now ready for Twinkies on steroids – deep fried twinkies. a fair staple here now available frozen at Walmart. Twinkies are one of our great guilty pleasures. Lieke peanuts you cannot eat just one. The classic hostess cupcake is another.
Does not hardly seem a fair trade though – curry for twinkies.
The next time some one asks what to bring from the USA, I shall ask for Hostess cupcakes!
you will love hostess cupcakes rummy!
and i love the twinkies.
alas
i haven’t tried the fried twinkies yet. they are always a big hit at fairs and festivals.
when i was little i remember that there was always a twinkie in my lunch box.
i knew that i had to eat my sandwich and apple first! and i was usually too full after that. so the twinkie was saved a huge TREAT to eat while walking home!
glad you got to try them.
as to one form of the AI.
i watched a documentary on it the other evening. there was a lifelike head in a box.
it was identical to the scientist’s wife. she spoke and responded to questions like a human. rather startling and very disturbing in a way. though intriguing all at the same time.
tammy j recently posted..man bun inny wun?
I shall somehow get some Hostess cupcakes and write about them soon. We have many bakeries in Pune who make delicious cupcakes too.
If this is the documentary that you saw, I agree that it is very disturbing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bqZp9TPYVk
I seem to recall that Twinkies were to disappear – but huge protests bought it back in the USA. I have tried them, you can get in supermarkets here… Just like Oreo’s that suddenly appeared in the overseas biscuit section.
Hostess went into bankruptcy and was restarted by a group of investors. Twinkies and other products from them were discontinued for some time. I discovered these after I searched for Twinkies on the web.
Okay, I admit, I like Twinkies. Oh who am I kidding? Hostess products taste great to me. My husband? Not so much. I always believed the urban legend of the long shelf-life for Twinkies (when I was a kid we joked it was 25 years or longer), and then read this: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/07/09/200465360/the-science-of-twinkies-how-do-they-last-so-long. Interesting!
Kaitlin, The AI of the food world … the ingredients in your link certainly put it into the sphere! But also it mentions that most processed foods have similar qualities…
Excellent points!
I can tell you Kaitlin that I too have fallen in love with them. I am however shocked to read the link.
AI is intriguing, but what it may mean for future employment is another story. I think we are seeing only the very top of the iceberg, and may have some unpleasant surprises in store for us!
Pleasant or unpleasant, that there will be surprises galore soon is indisputable.