Intellectual Property Theft

The fact that someone stole snippets of an unpublished paper of mine (see Saturday's post) is a little worrying. This was no ordinary theft -- as best I can see, it was an AI engine I had asked to analyse the text. There are three problems I see here. 

1. They are stealing copyrighted material, causing its owners to lose control of it, 

2. They are exploiting it for profit, even if it is likely very small, and 

3. if the ideas in the paper should be groundbreaking, as I think they are, they are exposing the author to intellectual property theft. 

OBSERVATION: There is potentially a fourth problem. They attributed (falsely) the text to something already out there. I have a record of a question I put to Claude AI on 19 January: "What is your opinion on this journal paper?" Gemini AI comments:

"If a user uploaded an unpublished paper to Claude ... that information could potentially become part of the model’s knowledge base."

Inflated Grades?

There is a controversy over university grades at the moment, in the USA. It centres on Harvard College, where about two-thirds of grades in the last school year were A’s. What they want to do now is limit the number of A's -- however, that has met with protest. My own students, last semester, averaged 85%, which is on the edge of A and A-minus. Could I have inflated their grades (or marks)? Through my teaching, perhaps -- but isn't that what teaching is for. The exam I set for them is moderated, both internally and externally. And after they have sat the exam, the result I give them is moderated, both internally and externally. That means it is all gone over six times -- in keeping with module content and a rubric, too. At least in South Africa, I don't see much room for inflated grades. OBSERVATION: It is possible to skew grades by telling one's class in advance what will be in the exam (say, by sharing the exam key). Needless to say, that is forbidden. Or the whole system may be sub-par. The photo shows an exam hall.

Whodunnit?

This morning I received an e-mail from someone who claimed to have read my books -- Shona G. MacLean (a famous name, almost certainly faked). She quoted from one of my books, about "us who want to believe". I asked Genesis AI, which of my books was she quoting from? Genesis AI said it was a short story titled The Secret of the Sands. But I didn't write that. Gemini AI asked me, "Would you like to explore [Scarborough's] views on Christianity?" Yes, I said. It now claimed to quote from a book that I wrote (and I did write this), titled The Good. It said that I had written there about "God's prior initiative" vs. "political ideals" and so on. But not in that book. I wrote about that in a journal paper -- not yet accepted for publication! OBSERVATION: Well, how did Gemini AI get into that journal paper? I had shown it to no one. I had, however, submitted it to the journal. I had also asked (as best I remember) Claude AI for its opinion on the paper, Copyleaks whether there was any plagiarism, and the Flesch Kincaid Calculator for an assessment of style. So whodunnit? Who stole snippets of my unpublished paper?

The Tokoloshe

I have known people who have seen the tokoloshe (an African demon). I interrogated them, too (which means that I questioned them intensely), and they insisted that they had seen him and interacted with him. Perhaps "insisted" is the wrong word, because they simply explained what happened. Have white people ever encountered tokoloshes? The answer is yes. OBSERVATION: Many people would have a problem with my language here: there are people who claim to have encountered tokoloshes, yes. But tokoloshes? Gemini AI calls them "hallucinations", ChatGPT calls them "folklore", while DeepSeek AI calls them "cultural". But one would anger many people with such talk.

Apollo 8

I fail to get excited about Artemis II circling the moon. My family had just returned from the mission in the Pacific in 1968, when Apollo 8 circled the moon. We watched that on TV -- which we didn't have in the Pacific. Now that seemed to be something to get excited about. OBSERVATION: Artemis II had a diverse crew, a more advanced spacecraft, a longer journey, they say ...

Kouga Vlaktes

This one's just another pretty picture, of the plateau where wife E grew up. I have received a suggestion for the name of the plateau: the Kouga Vlaktes (there is no name on Google Maps). The plants in the foreground are aloes. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

The Plateau

This post shows the isolated plateau where wife E grew up. Marked by a small yellow dot is a corrugated iron structure where she lived as a child, and marked by a small blue dot is a small house which was her parental home in later years. I have had many happy stays on this plateau. I have no name for it. Google Maps does not provide one. Behind me (behind the camera), about 500 metres below me, is the Langkloof, a long valley famous for its apples and pears.

Metaphysical Notes Summary

This one’s about how my metaphysical thought developed. A “metaphysics”, according to ... me is a complete, integrated philosophy:

• 2013. The Philosophical Society of England published a paper that I wrote. Titled Aristotle’s Noun.
• 2013. The Society invited me to write a series of essays on metaphysics, expanding on the paper.
• 2014. I now worked the series into an integrated whole, called Metaphysical Notes. Published by the Philosophical Society of England.
• 2022. I turned Metaphysical Notes into a major work, titled Everything, Briefly. Published by Wipf & Stock.
• 2025. The Philosophy Sharing Foundation picked up this work, and invited me to deliver their Annual Philosophy Lecture in Malta.
• 2025. I published a 10th Anniversary edition of Metaphysical Notes.
• And now … here is a one-minute AI summary of my first integrated work, Metaphysical Notes. Also on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGLGVg-wa8c

Berries

Being at a loss as to what to post today, it's ... berries. It is possible that this is a species of nightshade, and poisonous. I took this photo in our Eastern Cape.

Photographs and Lectures

I'm pleased to have been invited to teach Theology Proper, Homiletics, and World Religions & Cults this coming semester, at a major seminary. I look forward to taking lots of photographs, too! I quite like this black and white photo that I took at Graduation 2025, with a fisheye lens. This is straight from the camera, unedited, so quite a lucky shot. I thought it was an elegant venue.

Lecture Summary

YouTube's median (midpoint) views per video is 41. I wondered what would happen if I put up a video without giving it any publicity at all. I put up the one-minute summary of my Annual Philosophy Lecture in Malta (click here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndlbR5Jm08s  In five days, it exceeded the magical 41. OBSERVATION: NotebookLM (which is AI) did the summary, which I feel I couldn't beat. It is first class. The original 46-minute lecture is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05QFdi0j2so

No Injection

As a child, I had no injections when I went to the dentist -- the dentist worked without injections in the mission -- and after the mission, I told dentists that I didn't do injections. I forget when I first had an injection from a dentist -- perhaps some years after the mission. This week, I broke a molar in two -- which was major damage. I told the dentist to try it without an injection -- and so he did. OBSERVATION: It was fixed faster, and cost less.

A Typical Conversation

Here's an example of the kind of people who regularly contact me as an author (abridged):

"I just finished reading your book! Would it be alright if I posted a review?"
"I would be delighted if you would."
"I have reviewed your book. I have a suggestion."
"Thank you. Do you have the link?"
"Sorry I didn't remember to save the link. Have you ever thought about a short video trailer?"

OBSERVATION: At this point, it becomes clear that it is more about providing goods and services than enjoying one of my books. What this correspondent may not know is how rapidly anyone at all can create video trailers now with AI.

AI Passport Photo

Failing anything else this evening, this one's just for fun. I asked Domo AI to take my 2010 photograph, straight out of my passport, and animate it. OBSERVATION: Presumably it does not attempt a side angle because it cannot judge by the photo what that would look like.

Pontoon Crossing

I took this photo in 1983, when my late wife Mirjam and I crossed the Orange River on a pontoon at Sendelingsdrift -- a border crossing between Namibia and South Africa. The pontoon is still in operation today, but looks far more sophisticated now. Here, it was just a "tin can".