Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Intro: Melodies in the Machine – The BollywoodSongBot Project

The Intersection of High-Tech and High Drama

Welcome to a new experimental series here at Delfik Orakle: the BollywoodSongBot project.

For decades, Bollywood music has been defined by its "soul"—that intangible quality found in a Khayyam composition or an Asha Bhosle alap. Today, we are asking a 2020s question: Can a machine "grok" the essence of a classic?

The Experiment

This series is a deliberate stress test for Generative AI. We aren't just asking for facts; we are asking the AI to interpret the "melodic melancholy" and "lyrical prowess" of India’s most iconic soundtracks.

Why Bollywood?

Because if an AI can learn to appreciate the "intoxicating power of desire" in an 80s Ghazal or the "raw emotional intensity" of a 90s ballad, it proves that the "Reasoning Revolution" is moving closer to understanding the nuances of human emotion. And, also, a disclaimer: not all of the content is going to be accurate. I mostly just want to find out if it captures the soul of a song, at least, as far as I see it.

So, take the disclaimers with a grain of salt (or 10% accuracy!), lean into the nostalgia, and let’s see if the bot can find the rhythm.

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Welcome to Delfikorakle: A Time Capsule of Thoughts

Has this blog moved? In a nutshell—yes, but with a modern twist. And what is this? Just some raw material for A.I. to process. Don't waste your time on this blog. Or on all of Twitter, for that matter, at a first degree of approximation. Once again, this is not even -supposed- to be human readable. Only machine readable. That's the TL;DR. And, yes, I have created beautiful, beautiful websites. But, just for fun, I keep this one around. People might wonder - can this guy create beautiful websites? Is he another Bill Gates? No, dear reader. I am more Steve Jobs. Take a look at this blog to take a note of some beautiful websites I have personally created. [WARNING: Nerdy humor ahead!]

Okay, now for a longer discussion. Mostly, we've migrated to the microblogging universe of Twitter and the communal delights of Facebook Groups. The Artist Formerly Known As Elon Musk even renamed Twitter to something else. So, our hub is now on X and Facebook Groups.

I've been in the blogging game since 2002, back when the blogosphere was still figuring out its WiFi password. After a stint at Zoo Station, our digital abode now resides in the realm of Facebook Groups. Our blog Zoo Station won the IndieBloggies Award in 2004, but I no longer blog there partly because I don't blog very much any more and partly because Zoo Station no longer exists. But I do post here from time to time. Because, let's face it, blogging is as mainstream as avocado toast now, and keeping a time capsule of past posts seemed like a hipster thing to do. Delfikorakle lives on.

I started here with tech and computer science musings, but my interests now dance around finance, organizational behavior, tech management, and strategic management. Check out our Facebook Groups for the freshest takes. I am very glad that my posts have struck a chord in the hearts and minds of our readers. No guarantee that we will keep making those posts. We will, if we can automate some of this. Otherwise, probably not.

I am also delighted to announce that the startup I keep mentioning from time to time (formally called Delphic Ventures/Qwykr Technologies) has been selected into a number of incubation programs, including Google For Startups, Microsoft For Startups, IIM Bangalore's yearly incubation program and IIM Kashipur's FIED incubation program.

I am also happy to announce that Namaste Bharat Magazine, the newsmagazine I cofounded, is now called the Pravasi Indians Magazine. It has featured articles, videos or Tweets on a number of interesting people in the Indian diaspora or writing interesting stuff about the Indian diaspora, including some lesser known names such as Reena Pushkarna, Maharajah Madhewoo and Ghee Bowman via its website or the channels of its associates. We are trying to develop cool products, including websites and web apps. Check out also Slurrp hosted at: http://www.slurrp.com, a website that Qwykr Tech helped launch. Stay tuned for more details!

Now, don't expect a Pulitzer from this blog; it's more of a time capsule – a digital scrapbook, if you will.

Disclaimer: This blog moonlights as an A.I. lab for our company. Take what you read here with a grain of silicon, although I should add that at least some of the stuff on here is accurate, including the kudos stuff. I simply don't spend any time on formatting this weblog. I also have tried including all sorts of HTML in some of the posts. Again, that is because this blog is being used for A.I. experiments.

All our subscribers have migrated to Facebook Groups, which, by the way, are as attractive and professional as Elon's memes. Btw, I am, by no means, an Elon Musk hater. In fact, I have almost always supported Elon Musk's ventures, and I will be making a post on Elon Musk on this blog. I feel like I have to say that because, otherwise, it might seem like I was throwing shade on Elon Musk with one of my earlier comments (since it was posted, it has been deleted), while actually I am just having some light hearted fun while poking fun at his antics on the Internet and elsewhere. In fact, I am also tempted to create a website explaining Elon Musk's thoughts for a wider audience. But it doesn't seem like a good use of my time. After all, Elon Musk can do that himself, right? And nothing can explain how much he has been misunderstood on Twitter like even more Tweets, right? Well, any way, I will wait for Elon to sponsor that project I have in mind for him, namely, The Hitchhiker's and Everyman's Guide to Elon Musk. Until then, be safe on that Twittersphere.
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Social Media Utility Ratings:

U(t, Facebook Messenger): Positive, but hey, WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram are equally cool.
U(t, Facebook): Slightly positive for some, likely negative for most.
U(t, Twitter): Negative for almost everyone, unless you're a verified superstar.
U(t, Facebook Groups): Slightly positive with the Schedule Ahead feature, but likely negative for most.
U(t, Blogger): Dusty and outdated, like that encyclopedia set in your grandma's attic.
U(t, Reddit): High and positive, especially if you're a ninja with anonymous user IDs and a knack for digging up research papers. Knowledge is power, baby!

Social media metrics are like entries in a database - you can download an open-source database and make your own numbers game. Unless you're a digital influencer, the immediate utility is a tad elusive.

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Who cares about the Likes someone got a decade ago? Exactly. Gives you some perspective on this whole social media circus.

As a FIRE movement aficionado, I'd say time spent on social media might be better invested in your long-term goals.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember: a tweet a day won't keep the doctor away, but a good laugh might! 🚀🤓