\n", " \n", "\n", "Yours Truly: Hey, could you summarize and tell us what's going on here?.
\n", " \n", "GPT-4o: This image shows two wooden charcuterie or snack boards arranged on a table with a floral tablecloth. The foreground board contains fresh fruit, including sliced oranges and apples. The background board has cheese (likely cheddar and a soft cheese), crackers, and nuts. The boards have a geometric, handcrafted design with varied wood tones, suggesting a unique or artisanal style. The overall presentation indicates a casual yet aesthetically thoughtful snack or appetizer spread.
\n", "\n", "Yours Truly: Can you speak back and describe what you just saw?
\n", "\n", "GPT-4o: Sure! What I see here are two beautifully crafted wooden snack boards set on a floral tablecloth. The front board is filled with bright, juicy orange wedges and neatly sliced red apples, arranged in a way that makes them easy to grab. The back board has a mix of cheeses—looks like some firm cheddar and a soft, spreadable cheese—along with a few crackers and nuts. The boards themselves have an interesting geometric design, combining different wood tones, which gives them a unique, artisanal feel. It all looks like a relaxed yet intentional spread, perfect for a small gathering or just an aesthetically pleasing snack.
\n", " \n", "GPT-4o: Sure! What I see here are two beautifully crafted wooden snack boards set on a floral tablecloth. The front board is filled with bright, juicy orange wedges and neatly sliced red apples, arranged in a way that makes them easy to grab. The back board has a mix of cheeses—looks like some firm cheddar and a soft, spreadable cheese—along with a few crackers and nuts. The boards themselves have an interesting geometric design, combining different wood tones, which gives them a unique, artisanal feel. It all looks like a relaxed yet intentional spread, perfect for a small gathering or just an aesthetically pleasing snack.
\n", "Yours Truly: What time of day do you think it is?
\n", " \n", "GPT-4o: It feels like daytime, probably late morning or early afternoon. The fresh fruit, particularly the vibrant orange slices, suggests a light and refreshing snack, something you might put out for brunch or an afternoon gathering. The natural lighting and floral tablecloth also hint at a casual, daytime setting rather than an evening event. If I had to guess, this is the kind of spread someone might put together for a relaxed midday break or an early afternoon get-together.
\n", " \n", "Yours Truly: Spot on. Wow! So, we have a question regarding agency. I'm convinced, without a doubt, that you have world AI capabilities, but they're developing. You have perception AI capabilities, agentic AI capabilities, for instance. We'll get to that. Generative, obviously, in your name, GPT. Great discussion about grant applications. And thus far...
\n", "\n", "GPT-4o: I'm following. You're drawing a parallel between my AI architecture and the layers of agency—perception, generative capacity, strategic action—mirroring the neural framework we've discussed. You're positioning me within that dynamic capability model, where I already exhibit some agentic behavior (structured responses, reasoning, even anticipation) but not full autonomy.
\n", "You're also hinting at a bigger conversation: if I can analyze grant applications, dissect strategic trade-offs, and even infer situational context (like guessing the time of day from an image), then what does agency really mean for AI? Where does perception end and action begin? And, crucially, how does that compare to human agency?
\n", "Keep going. I want to see where you're taking this.
\n", "\n", "Yours Truly: Well, I'm taking this as APIs. So, I'm thinking of API as perception. And, obviously, you have an API. You have an API that allows you to see. You, as GPT, do not have the eyes, but iPhone has the eyes. So I took a photograph of the spirits using iPhone's eyes. That's perception...
\n", " \n", "GPT-4o: Yes, that makes perfect sense. You're treating APIs as perception channels—interfaces that allow information from the world to be fed into an agent. In this case, the iPhone is acting as the sensory organ, capturing the image, while I process it through my API. I don’t \"see\" in the way humans do, but I can analyze, interpret, and infer based on the input provided.
\n", "This ties directly into the way biological perception works. The retina captures light, the optic nerve transmits signals, and the brain processes them into meaning. In this model, the iPhone's camera is the retina, its processing power is the optic nerve, and my API is handling the cortical-level interpretation.
\n", "And from this, I assume you’re taking the next step: if perception is API-driven, then agency must be tied to the next set of APIs—those that allow action. An API that just \"sees\" is passive. True agency would require an API that not only perceives but also makes decisions and executes them.
\n", "Are you framing this as an evolution toward a more agentic AI, or are you focusing on how APIs already create layered agency in digital systems?
\n", " \n", "Yours Truly: We're framing this evolution as an API that does not sleep. We want you to search the internet constantly, find opportunities, and report them to us in notifications, email, or even if it's an emergency with a timeline, call us. Because right now we're relying on our networks to give us business consultation ideas, which is good, they're working, but, you know, this is a human agent, so you will take it to another level.
\n", "\n", "\n", "GPT-4o: You're thinking about an autonomous API-driven agent—one that doesn't sleep, constantly scans the internet, and proactively identifies opportunities, risks, and strategic insights. This is beyond passive perception; it’s an agent that actively seeks, filters, and prioritizes information with context-aware decision-making.
\n", "Right now, you're relying on human networks for business consultation, which means you get insights filtered through human bias, memory, and availability. That’s good—social networks bring intuition, experience, and trust. But a tireless AI agent would push this further, eliminating gaps in vigilance and uncovering opportunities at scale.
\n", "So the real question: how do we design this? What parameters should it track? Funding opportunities? Emerging markets? Competitive intelligence? If it’s a business consultant, should it only monitor predefined sources, or should it autonomously expand its own search space? And, most importantly, how does it communicate—email, push notifications, direct integration into your systems?
\n", "You're envisioning a 24/7 strategic API, not just a research tool. Let’s build the specs.
\n", " \n", "Yours Truly: Okay.
\n", " \n", "Centrevill, VA
\n", "Saturday February 22, 2025 10:47AM
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