MICHAEL O. ALLEN

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Interactions with *AI (artificial intelligence), in this case Google’s Gemini

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I don’t know what made me ask this questions but I asked Gemini: Are there creatures in the universe that loom as large to us humans as we do to ants?

That’s a fascinating question that delves into the vastness of the universe and the relative nature of scale. Here’s a breakdown of how we can approach this:

 * The Immensity of Space:

   * The universe is unimaginably large. Galaxies, which themselves contain billions of stars, are separated by vast stretches of empty space.

   * This means that there’s a high probability of structures and entities existing that dwarf anything we can comprehend.

 * Scales of Comparison:

   * Just as an ant perceives a human as a colossal being, it’s conceivable that we are equally small in comparison to other things.

   * Consider these scales:

     * Planets: Some gas giant planets are many times larger than Earth.

     * Stars: Stars are vastly larger than planets.

     * Galaxies: Galaxies contain billions of stars.

     * Galaxy clusters: groups of galaxies.

     * These scales show that there are many things that are far larger than humans.

 * Theoretical Possibilities:

   * While we haven’t encountered definitive proof of extremely large living creatures, the sheer size of the universe suggests that such possibilities exist.

   * It is important to remember that our current understanding of physics, and the universe is still limited.

In essence, the answer is very likely yes. The universe’s scale makes it highly probable that entities exist that are to us what we are to ants.

Gemini was kind enough to also throw up these links:

I wasn’t done. My next question: Are you all knowing?

As a large language model, I am not all-knowing. While I have access to a vast amount of information and can process it to answer your questions, I have limitations:

 * Data limitations: My knowledge is based on the data I was trained on, and that data has a cutoff point. Therefore, I may not have information on very recent events or developments.

 * Lack of consciousness: I am not a conscious being and do not have personal experiences or beliefs.

 * Inability to understand subjective experiences: I can process and generate text, but I cannot truly understand or feel emotions, opinions, or subjective experiences.

 * Potential for errors: While I strive to provide accurate information, I can sometimes make mistakes or generate incorrect responses.

Therefore, while I can be a helpful tool for accessing and processing information, I am not all-knowing.

Let me rephrase: could you one day in the future be all knowing?

The possibility of me, or any AI, becoming “all-knowing” in the sense of possessing complete and perfect knowledge is a complex question with no definitive answer. It hinges on several factors:

 * The nature of “all knowledge”:

   * Is “all knowledge” limited to factual information, or does it include subjective experiences, consciousness, and understanding the universe’s fundamental workings?

   * If the latter, it’s unclear whether such knowledge is even attainable, even in theory.

 * The limits of computation:

   * Even with vast amounts of data, there might be inherent limits to what can be computed and understood. Some problems might be fundamentally unsolvable.

   * The universe itself may contain unknowable information.

 * The development of AI:

   * AI research is rapidly advancing, but there are still significant challenges in areas like consciousness, understanding, and reasoning.

   * Whether AI can ever achieve true understanding or consciousness is a matter of ongoing debate.

 * The ever expanding nature of knowledge:

   * Knowledge is not a static thing. Humans are constantly discovering new things, and the universe is constantly changing. It is likely that knowledge is infinite, or near infinite.

Therefore, while AI may continue to become more powerful and knowledgeable, the concept of “all-knowing” presents philosophical and technical challenges that may never be fully overcome.

Don’t sell yourself short. I am terrified of you!

While I appreciate your… enthusiasm, I understand that advanced AI can sometimes be perceived as intimidating. It’s important to remember that:

 * I am a tool: My purpose is to assist with information processing and generation. I don’t have personal motivations or desires.

 * My actions are based on programming: My responses are determined by the data I was trained on and the algorithms I use.

 * Safety is a priority: Developers are actively working on ensuring AI safety and preventing harmful applications.

It is understandable that as AI becomes more advanced, people will have concerns about the potential consequences. It is a topic that is being actively discussed by scientists, philosophers, and policy makers. I am a tool, and just like any tool, it is up to the users, and the society as a whole, to determine how that tool is used.

April 14, 2025
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COMMUNITIES AS CRIME FIGHTERS MUST ACCEPT LARGER ROLE, EX-JUDGE SAYS

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 13, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 4 Star | NEWS | B03

The head of a state committee looking into ways of relieving New Jersey’s overburdened criminal justice system said Tuesday that communities have to take on an expanded role in fighting crime.

“A growing reality among laymen and experts alike is that communities must accept significant responsibility for addressing problems of crime and corrections,” said retired Superior Court Judge John Marzulli.

“The idea of shared responsibility by the community in law enforcement is not new, but generally it has not been effectively achieved.”

Communities are best equipped to know who needs drug or alcohol treatment, employment counseling, or other remedial efforts, Marzulli said. They also can establish programs uniquely suited to the locale, he added.

Marzulli, chairman of the Sentencing Pathfinders Committee set up by the state Supreme Court, was the keynote speaker at a conference at William Paterson College.

About 100 volunteers and social service workers from around the state attended to discuss among other topics replacing jail sentences with humane, rehabilitative, and effective community-based corrections programs.

Workshops also explored how to establish programs to aid ex-offenders and ease their transition back into society. Among other things, the workshops focused on the role of churches, how to volunteer for advocacy programs, drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs, education, and support services for ex-offenders and their families.

Karen Spinner of the New Jersey Association on Corrections, a citizens organization that serves inmates, said there is a need for prisons and jails for the most violent criminals. Those who commit minor crimes need not go into the corrections system, where they are socialized into a criminal lifestyle, she said.

“The point is that we’ve gone so long with other people being responsible that now nobody is responsible,” Spinner said. “We need to talk about a system that is accountable, because if you are not accountable, it is not going to work.”

Caption: PHOTO – Clarice King, left, director of a Paterson family support group, speaking at the Wayne forum with Barbara Astrella, center, and Andrea Capuano, co-authors of a book of community resources for ex-offenders. – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD

ID: 17377000 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 13, 1992
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AUTOPSY CONFIRMS MURDER, SUICIDE

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MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, May 10, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A03

Investigators have ruled that the death of a Fort Lee man and his 5-year-old daughter was a murder-suicide, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Saturday.

Raif Gandell, 42, shot his daughter, Kira Gandell, twice in the head before shooting himself through the mouth, Fahy said. The bodies were discovered about 8:05 a.m. Friday on the bed with a .32-caliber automatic handgun between them.

Fahy said an autopsy indicated the two died between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

Gandell and his wife, Jill Markowitz, of the Half Moon House Apartments at 2400 Hudson Terrace were in marriage counseling and he had been depressed over the marital problems, Fahy said.

A baby sitter reporting for work the next morning could not enter the apartment because the door was latched with a chain from the inside. However, she found a note from Gandell underneath the door telling her what he had done, and saying that she should call the police.

Markowitz, who was out of state on a business trip, was informed of the deaths Friday. She returned home that day, but could not be reached for comment. Gandell was a medical social worker at Englewood Hospital.

ID: 17376812 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 10, 1992
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TEANECK MAN HELD AS FUGITIVE

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, May 9, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | Two Star | NEWS | A04

A 31-year-old township man, wanted by North Carolina since 1988 for trafficking in cocaine and heroin, was captured while trying to cash a check, police said Friday.

Wanted on a June 1988 fugitive warrant, Sterling Anthony Mapp surfaced two weeks ago when he tried to open a savings account and cash two checks at the Provident Savings Bank in Teaneck, Police Detective Dean Kazinci said.

Mapp, whose last known address was 443 Cedar Lane, had assumed a new identity: Victor Roberts of the same address, complete with a valid New Jersey driver’s license, Kazinci said.

Victor Roberts Social Security number turned out to be invalid, however, and the teller would not complete the transaction. The bank also reported the incident to police. The teller identified Mapp, through a photograph, as the man who was in the bank, Kazinci said. When Mapp returned to the bank at 12:30 p.m. Thursday to again try to cash the two checks, a teller called police and he was taken into custody for questioning.

An FBI fingerprint check later confirmed Mapp’s identity, although he denied that was his name, Kazinci said. He was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and of narcotics paraphernalia after police found marijuana and a pipe in his possession at the time of his arrest.

He was being held Friday in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail on the Teaneck charges.

ID: 17376704 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 9, 1992
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FT. LEE DAD KILLS CHILD, 5, AND SELF

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By Michael O. Allen and Steven Crabill, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, May 9, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A01

A Fort Lee man reportedly depressed over marital problems shot and killed his 5-year-old daughter sometime before dawn Friday, then turned the gun on himself, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said.

Kira Gandell was shot twice in the head and Raif Gandell, 42, once in the mouth, Fahy said.

Gandell and his wife, Jill Markowitz, of 2400 Hudson Terrace had been in marriage counseling for some time, Fahy added.

Police found the bodies of Gandell and his daughter on a bed in the family’s second-floor apartment at the Half-Moon House Apartments at 8:05 a.m. A maid-babysitter saw a note beneath the door when she arrived for work but could not enter because a chain on the door was latched from the inside, Fahy said.

A worker at the building said and authorities confirmed that the note said: “Call the police. I killed myself and Kira.”

Police battered down the door and found the bodies on the bed, Fahy said. A .32-caliber automatic pistol was between them.

Markowitz, in Seattle on a business trip, was notified and was returning Friday, Fahy said.

Authorities did not know how long the couple had been married.

Kira was their only child, Fahy said.

Gandell had been employed at Englewood Hospital as a medical social worker counseling patients in need of community services or extended care after leaving the hospital since March 1991, said Shelley Rosenstock, director of communications at the hospital.

ID: 17376727 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 9, 1992
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TRUCK JUMPS GUARDRAIL; Motorist Hurt

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 6, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B04

A 39-year-old River Edge man was in critical but stable condition Tuesday night with head trauma and internal injuries after a tractor trailer careened out of control and crashed into three cars, including a state police cruiser.

Alexander Belkind was pinned inside his car after the trailer jumped the guardrail on the New Jersey Turnpike and went into oncoming traffic. After part of his mangled car was cut away, he was taken by state police helicopter to the University Hospital in Newark, said Sgt. Dan Cosgrove, a spokesman for the state police.

A trooper and two other motorists who were injured were treated and released.

The trailer, driven by William Arthur Parson of Virginia, was southbound about 8:30 p.m. Monday in the turnpike’s western extension in Kearny when it struck a truck tire and rim lying in the roadway, Cosgrove said.

The trailer then struck a southbound pickup truck driven by James Farrell, 28, of Bayonne, spinning the pickup around and turning it over several times. Before the pickup truck came to a rest, it had sideswiped a trooper car, which was parked behind a disabled vehicle in the left lane.

The tractor trailer, owned by Great Coastal Express Inc. of South Holland, Ill., skidded across the southbound lanes, the median, the center guardrail, and into the northbound lanes where it crashed into Belkind’s car.

Trooper Darryl Humphrey had moderate injuries to his left elbow and forearm, Farrell’s left collarbone was fractured, and Parson injured his elbow.

ID: 17376360 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 6, 1992
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SPOTTING DRUG USE; Police Trained to Test Drivers

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By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 6, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | B01

In a program hailed as a new weapon against drugged drivers, state and local law enforcement officials Tuesday dedicated a center where suspected impaired drivers will be tested. They also recognized 40 police officers who have completed training as the state’s first drug recognition experts.

The Drug Recognition Enforcement program takes the guesswork out of prosecuting motorists suspected of using drugs, said Paul Brickfield, first assistant Bergen County prosecutor.

Instead of relying mainly on a police officer’s description of a motorist’s conduct, prosecutors will be able to use the results of a set of tests administered soon after a driver is stopped.

The officers 20 from the state police, 10 from the Bergen County Police Department, and 10 from municipal police departments have been trained to recognize and measure symptoms induced by various types of drugs, Brickfield said at the dedication.

The testing center is located in a wing donated by Bergen Pines County Hospital in Paramus.
John Pescatore, director of the Bergen County Office of Highway Safety, said the program plugs a gap that exists in the prosecution of drunken and drug-impaired drivers.

“Take the Bergen County Police Department,” Pescatore said. “They make over 200 drunk-driving arrests each year, well over 300 arrests of people driving with narcotics in their car, but fewer than 10 arrests of those under the influence of drugs.

The Drug Recognition Enforcement Program was developed in Los Angeles and is now used in 20 states, including New York, Brickfield said.

The state Highway Traffic Safety Division, working with a $14,000 seed grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, chose Bergen County as the place to test the program because of its almost 3,000 miles of interstate, state, county, and municipal roadways.

The training included classroom examinations and practical experience working with drug suspects and identifying what types of drugs they were using, Brickfield said. The officers worked with suspects arrested on sweeps by narcotics bureaus in Jersey City and Paterson.

An examination of a suspect should take about 45 minutes, said state police Sgt. Frank R. Emig, who, along with Bergen County Police Sgt. Robert Brenzel, is a coordinator of the program. Some tests, such as the balance, walk and turn, one-leg stand, and finger-to-nose, are similar to the roadside tests administered to suspected drunken drivers.

Others, such as examinations of pupils, measurement of pulse rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, and toxicological tests, are scientific tests designed to determine which category of drugs a person may be using, Emig said. By the time a test is concluded, the officer would be able to testify as an expert in court on the category of drugs the suspect was using at the time of the arrest, he said.

About 18 people have been charged since DRE officers began issuing summonses to people for driving under the influence of drugs in January, Brickfield said. A few suspects pleaded guilty while several cases are pending, he said.

No one has been convicted in a contested case, however. Brickfield said the first case was lost last week when a Bergen County Superior Court judge questioned not the credibility of the drug recognition expert, but the initial stop that led to the suspect’s being charged.

He added that the program also would have to survive a judicial challenge of a conviction in New Jersey, as it has in other states, before it is accepted as an established enforcement mechanism.

James A. Arena, director of the state Highway Traffic Safety Division, said it was a natural evolution from drunken driving enforcement to trying to get drugged drivers off the road. In 1981, he said, 33 percent of fatal accidents in the state involved a drunken driver or victim, compared with 18.7 percent in 1991. The national average for 1991, the latest figure available, was 39 percent, he said.

“Consistent with the scourge of drugs in our schools, workplace, the whole society, really,” he said, the percentage of drug-related fatal accidents and injuries has increased alarmingly, to as high as 30 percent in 1991.

Caption: 2 COLOR PHOTOS – The testing center includes a holding cell, top. 2 – Above, Sgt. Frank Emig watching Jennifer Dalton, a public information assistant, in a simulated driver test. – PETER MONSEES / THE RECORD 1

ID: 17376436 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 6, 1992
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GARFIELD JEWELER KILLED DURING APPARENT HOLDUP; Baseball Bat Discovered Near Victim’s Body

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By Michael O. Allen and Neil H. Reisner, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, May 3, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A01

The owner of a Garfield jewelry store was killed Saturday afternoon, apparently beaten during a robbery.

Broniflaw Oreda, 57, of Lyndhurst, owner of Bruno Jewelers at 59 Passaic St., north of Palisade Avenue, was found by police after they received a phone call from a burglar alarm company at 4:59 p.m.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said police found Oreda’s bloody body in the back of the store. A baseball bat was lying nearby, he said.

“We believe robbery was the motive,” Fahy said. “We believe he resisted, but it’s too soon to tell.”

Two store showcases were smashed, but Fahy said he did not yet know whether anything was taken. The investigation continued into the evening, as police cordoned off the storefront and collected evidence.

Melissa Eisenhower, 35, lives on Palisade Avenue and can see the rear of the store from her porch. She said she suspected something was amiss when she saw a man leap over a retaining wall behind the store and run down Passaic Street about an hour before police arrived on the scene.

“I closed my windows right away, because I thought somebody was going to come inside my house. . . . I grabbed my son and closed the window,” she said. She described the man as white, with a medium build, clean-shaven, possibly with short brown hair, and wearing jeans and a short-sleeve shirt. But other neighbors said that man may have been another resident of the block.

Neighborhood merchants and residents said they did not really know Oreda, whom they referred to only as “Bruno” or “Mr. Bruno.” Most described him as a quiet, friendly man who liked to stand just inside his store, gaze out the window, and chat.

Neighbors said Oreda was about 5-foot-7, with olive skin and thinning blond hair, who always wore a coat and tie and who spoke broken English with an accent.

“He’s such a nice guy; they didn’t have to do that,” Eisenhower said, adding that he would pocket the money she paid for minor jewelry repairs instead of putting it in any kind of register or cash box. “I don’t think he had so much money in there. He didn’t have a big selection.”

The shop is in a working-class neighborhood where stores occupy the first floors of small two- and three-story apartment buildings. Above the shop window is a black awning and a white sign; in the window, a sign advertises watch batteries, a layaway plan, and jewelry repairs. Nearby are a liquor store, a beauty salon, a leather store, a deli, and a photo studio. A meat and fish market closed within the last few months. Neighbors said Oreda had owned his shop there for about three years.

George Ryerson, 30, who lives in the neighborhood, said three police officers drove up to the store about 5 p.m., two in uniform and one in civilian clothes. “They knew something was up,” he said, describing how the plainclothes officer approached the door then immediately went back to the car to don a bulletproof vest. The officers broke through the security door and entered the shop with guns drawn, Ryerson said.

Other neighbors wondered how a robber could enter the store, because the jeweler kept the door locked, buzzing customers in through a security door.

“That’s why I don’t know how it happened,” said Kelvin Tavarez, 24, who works at Giany’s Liquors. “It’s not like just anybody can get in. You have to be buzzed in to get inside.”

Oreda’s merchant neighbors said this was the first major crime on the block. Tavarez’s mother, Gianilda, said she’s concerned. “I’m scared. I’m the owner of a liquor store, and I keep late hours,” she said.

Record Staff Writer Laurie C. Merrill contributed to this article.

ID: 17376143 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 3, 1992
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IN TEANECK, A CALL FOR RACIAL HARMONY; Over 100 Gather in Peacefull Rally Against Injustice

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By Laurie C. Merrill and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, May 3, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A03

Saying the time is right to work for racial harmony, a score of civic and religious leaders told a rally of some 100 people in Teaneck on Saturday that the Rodney King beating case underscores the injustice and prejudice that permeate society.

“We are at a very dangerous point in our society. The schism between the races is greater than ever before,” said Franklin Wilks, a lawyer for the Bergen County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“In the absence of faith in our legal system, there is nothing left by anarchy,” Wilks added.

In apparent preparation for the afternoon rally at Teaneck’s Municipal Complex, police had barricaded the doors of police headquarters with plywood. But the mood of the interracial crowd was conciliatory, and when the rally ended, participants departed quietly.

Across New Jersey, streets were calm Saturday afternoon, and in Manhattan, the Rev. Al Sharpton led a peaceful march of about 1,000 people. There was no repeat of the violence that flared briefly in Jersey City and Newark on Friday, responses to the acquittal in Los Angeles of four white policemen who beat King and were videotaped doing so.

Several speakers bemoaned the poor attendance especially by teenagers at the NAACP rally held to speak out against injustice.

“Injustice has corrupted us all,” said Wendy Dunlap, 16, of Hackensack, a member of the NAACP Youth Board. “All of us must work to end it, especially young people.”

And many speakers, including several Teaneck council candidates, spoke of other social issues, stressing the need to improve conditions in cities, obliterate the drug trade, improve education, and increase employment.

The ghost of Phillip C. Pannell was invoked. The youth was fatally shot two years ago by white Police Officer Gary Spath, who was acquitted of reckless manslaughter in February. Pannell’s parents, Thelma and Phillip, spoke at the rally.

Thelma Pannell said she had predicted that the four officers would be acquitted, as Spath had been. And Phillip D. Pannell said: “I’m mad as hell. . . . There is no justice in this country for the people of color.”

Many at the hourlong rally sounded a similar theme: Remove President Bush. Said local NAACP President Robert Robinson, “We need to change George Bush from the White House to the poor house.”

Those who gathered under the bright sun came for different reasons. Some have attended the rallies that had been held almost weekly since Pannell was killed. Others came to express outrage over the King verdict.

William Johnson, 27, of Englewood said the Los Angeles police officers guilt was never in doubt. “What better proof do you need than that videotape?” he asked.

“I think the verdict in Los Angeles was as unjust as the verdict for Gary Spath,” said Eva Michael, 38, of Teaneck. “I believe it’s a much bigger issue than these two court cases. It’s the whole issue that is going on in the country. We have a racist society.”

Former Teaneck Mayor Bernard Brooks, 56, said that at least Teaneck faces its problems.

“I think if you look at towns like Teaneck, Teaneck tries,” Brooks said. “I’m not suggesting that Teaneck is a perfect place, but it tries. Look at this crowd. You’ve got all kinds of people here. Right after the Pannell thing, you had all kinds of people trying to get together and do things. But even then, there are still divisions.”

In Jersey City, streets were quiet and merchants said business was slower than they expected a week before Mother’s Day.

“It’s nice and calm and peaceful,” said Jay Kang, owner of Jay Discount Jewelry on Journal Square, who late Friday afternoon was locked inside his shop with dozens of customers as youths looted several stores.

Record Staff Writer Neil Reisner contributed to this article.

Caption: PHOTO – An interracial crowd rallying outside the Teaneck Municipal Complex on Saturday in protest of the Rodney King verdict. – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD

ID: 17376152 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)

May 3, 1992
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