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by Howard Green

Its no exaggeration to any person or any robot to claim that Artificial Intelligence has arrived. It has done so without its previous aura of mystification and impracticality. Now, with applications such as ChatGPT, it seems to be finally materialising into what technology like this can truly be, and allegedly, productive for all of those who use it.

There has consistently been an irrationality about AI, spawning the idea amongst people of apocalyptic scenes of sentient robot overlords in a post-singularity world. There are legitimate concerns about the use of AI, especially in activities that require a level of human judgement, correctness and authority. But there has been an overcaution (which in some cases has been not entirely unfounded) in certain regards to this, with the sometimes purposeful rejection of AI technologies in fields where it could possibly be beneficial alongside human productivity. None more so has this overly cautious behaviour seeped than into both academia and general education.

This is a manipulation of the truth, and a severe undermining of how students work and overmines how effective AI is as a tool for the lazy.

Anyone likely studying postgraduate, undergraduate, or even general educational courses has probably witnessed a level of paranoia from their academic tutors and peers about the risks of using AI in education assessments. Some even advise to avoid the applications altogether. This illicit substance has spread throughout our educational institutions, supposedly causing academic harm to whoever dares touch it.

This countrys educational institutions are always slow-acting, whether on the encouragement and use of new technologies or not. In part, because of the profit-motive entrenched in our universities. The idea of a student conning their way to a degree through the use of AI to write all their essays would put any universitys vice-chancellors head into a spin. However, it is not likely that this is actually the case when it comes to the application of this technology.

Behind this is a forced narrative that education is becoming a dead purpose. That the young people who are still in education have now garnered a tool to avoid the absorption of actual knowledge, the perils of effort and a dive into the warm pool of achievement. This is a manipulation of the truth, and a severe undermining of how students work and overmines how effective AI is as a tool for the lazy.

As any student who mightve even tried to use a programme such as ChatGPT will find, the quality of work that this particular program provides is far from useful. The likelihood that a university student can type in a command and receive an essay that surpasses the quality of one they couldve achieved through a less than rigorous all-nighter is miniscule. Even when it comes to trying to reference or find studies that fit an argument, it will simply make them up into believable sounding research topics and the names of real academics. Our great technology, when met with the expanse of the entire academic knowledge accessible on the internet, decides it cannot be bothered and would much rather make it up.

A Turing test between AI and a student whos gone out a little too much has not yet resulted in victory for the side of the robots. The current limitations of this new technology have been met in the academic sphere. Of course, as it is AI, it is capable of development seemingly on its own, through repeated and varied use, but it must be addressed that what is accessible AI in todays form is nothing more than an advanced search engine, even in its endeavours of imitating human learning.

Academia and wider education continue to question the education legitimacy of tools such as search engines. The thought of more refined access to knowledge than searching through the pages and pages contained within a library also got the skin crawling of those who ran universities when search tools were first introduced, sometimes still lingering to this day. AI improves upon this, but in the form of a more generalised refinement of information, instead of the trawling through of web pages that the user would have to otherwise do themselves.

So, what should our conception of AI be for those in education? Its not the robots stealing our educational institutions, nor the slight advancement of Google. This is a technology we have developed and which can be best used in its current form for the purposes of summarising and paraphrasing. An ever sticky problem for any student is understanding a concept, but lacking the words to describe it without outrightly plagiarising. AI can help navigate that initial difficulty. Even so, this should be applied tactically and leniently.

How can educational institutions properly address this prospect, then? They should, first of all, avoid panic and misinformation.

On a surface level, the possibility of programmes such as ChatGPT becoming dominant in education and specifically educational assessment is looming. So is it a dead purpose? No. Many still subscribe to the traditional, outdated idea of education especially in our primary and secondary schools as absorption of knowledge, and the spitting out of it on assessed command. Ultimately, AI will simply become a tool not of the attempted deception of knowledge, but one for the commanding, organising and searching of it. Much like search engines or even, in a broad sense, libraries.

How can educational institutions properly address this prospect, then? They should, first of all, avoid panic and misinformation. Inevitably, systems that are already operated by universities to detect plagiarism will catch up and find the commonalities that are present in AI outputs. Until that day, a more rational assessment should be put forward: without the readiness or ability yet to adapt these technologies into educational advancements, students should be shown how to operate and to know their limits with AI. Fear mongering about the possible consequences of getting caught using the systems irresponsibly is more likely to end in a lack of ambition to improve educational output, or doubling down on irresponsible use. The denial of this type of technology, and its advancements in the near future, will only beget apathy in education.

Featured image BETT and Education Show 2019: Lots of robots by p_a_h is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Early Access adds ChatGPT integration: AlienGPT

PLYMOUTH, Mich., April 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stardock has released the latest sequel of its award-winning space strategy game series today into early access. Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova sees the player as the ruler of a united home world that has just discovered faster-than-light travel.

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernovacontinues a 30-year trend of innovation in the series. This latest sequel introduces AI-generated content OpenAI's ChatGPT technology allowing players to create their own civilizations that uses AI to create the lore, conversation dialogs, quests and more. The game also uses AI, trained on decades of Stardock's alien art to deliver custom graphics for their custom civilization.

"We are thrilled with the new additions that Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova brings to the genre," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "The use of cutting-edge AI technology allows players to generate entire civilizations that look and feel unique with just a few lines of text has us particularly excited."

In this space-based strategy game set in the 24th century, players take on the role of a leader of a spacefaring civilization, tasked with exploring and colonizing the known universe. With an array of new features and improvements, Supernova offers an unparalleled 4X strategy experience for players of all skill levels.

"We've really focused on making the game more approachable to new players," said Wardell. "This is the most sophisticated strategy game we've ever made, so we have put extra time into UI improvements, tutorials and context-sensitive information."

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernovafocuses heavily on replayability. Players can choose several different galaxy setup options, a different opponent to play against and now with the AI generated events and quests, each game will feel like an epic moment in the history of the galaxy.

New features in Supernova include cultural progression, new combat and planetary invasion systems, galactic sectors, new alien civilizations, AI assisted computer opponents, and the integration of ChatGPT and AI art generation. Additionally, the game boasts a multi-sector map design, planetary sieges, multi-turn battles, a host of new weapon designs, starship classes, Terror Stars that destroy entire star systems, and hundreds of other improvements for enhancing the player's ability to build the ultimate space empire.

Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernovais a stand-alone sequel to Galactic Civilizations III on Steamand Epic. Epic customers can upgrade from Galactic Civilizations IV to Supernova for a highly discounted rate. Early access begins today.

To join the mailing list and to learn more, visit the official website at http://www.galciv4.com.

Early Access Gameplay Trailer:https://youtu.be/rA_b-H7xuow

Screenshots: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Media Inquiries:[emailprotected]

About Stardock:Stardock is a developer and publisher of games and desktop software founded in 1991 by nationally recognized technology expert Brad Wardell. Its games include Sins of a Solar Empire, Offworld Trading Company, Galactic Civilizations and Ashes of the Singularity.

SOURCE Stardock Entertainment

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Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Edition now available in Early ... - PR Newswire

UND Provost Eric Link lectures on what science fiction is and what defines it as a literary genre

How does a person with an interest, a drive and a passion for a subject that is often thought about as just aliens, spaceships and ray guns become a teacher and scholar of the field?

When it comes to the genre of science fiction, Eric Link, UNDs provost and vice president for academic affairs, is a living answer to that question. Last week during his Randy Rasmussen Memorial Lecture at the Chester Fritz Library, Link outlined how he turned his interest in science fiction into an area of expertise on which he now teaches, writes and lectures.

In some ways, I owe my career in literature to science fiction, Link explained. I was not a big literature fan growing up. I was not an English major as an undergraduate, but I was always that guy in junior high school who had the science fiction or fantasy novel and always read it in study hall.

The main topic of Links lecture was on how science fiction film and literature are impacted by contemporary techno-philosophical ideas, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the technological singularity hypothesis. But the 50 people attending the lecture and dozens participating online also learned about the path he took to turn a childhood interest into an important aspect of his academic career.

Link is not only a scholar of science fiction (SF), but also a self-professed fan with a fondness for SF-related art, movies and SF and fantasy computer games, such as Skyrim and Fallout. Growing up, he was also a weekend player of the fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons.

As evidence of his self-proclaimed nerd status, Link gave attendees a glimpse of his Live long and prosper socks featuring the likeness of the late Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock on the TV series Star Trek.

However, Link discovered early on that turning his interest into a key part of his academic career wouldnt be easy.

During my graduate program, I had not worked on science fiction, and I was never encouraged to work on science fiction, Link said.

I was told I would not get a job if I worked on science fiction, and that was fine, he continued. I accepted it. I actually worked in 19th century American literary naturalism, and I love that, too.

After earning his doctorate in American literature from Purdue University, Link took his first tenure-track position at a university where he proposed teaching a course on science fiction, which had never been taught there. He recalled how the proposal was received by the departments faculty.

He was told, We dont do that here.

While Link accepted the defeat, he remained annoyingly persistent about teaching a science fiction course.

I kept bringing it back, semester after semester, he said. Eventually, they caved, more just to make me go away. By about my third or fourth year, I finally had a science fiction course to teach. The course filled, and Ive been teaching it ever since. The students love it.

Much of Links talk was devoted to explaining how science fiction uniquely differs from other genres of literature. For example, someone reading the phrase her world exploded in a Jane Austen novel would know it was a metaphor related to a traumatic event and the ensuing catastrophe it caused.

But in the movie Star Wars, Princess Leias home planet, Alderaan, did literally explode when blasted by the Empires Death Star.

When youre reading a science fiction novel, you cannot immediately jump to the metaphorical interpretation, Link explained.

Link discussed the idea of subjunctivity as described by the science fiction author and theorist Samuel Delany, who explained how the experience of reading SF is different from reading journalism, naturalistic fiction or fantasy . Delany said journalism speaks to things that happened; naturalistic fiction depicts things that could have happened; and fantasy shows things that could never happen.

Fantasy could never be, was not, will not be, Link noted. It can be entertaining; it can be great literature, but its completely unfamiliar.

In contrast, Link said Delany saw science fiction as leaning in the direction of extrapolating a future condition.

Heres what we know about current science and what would happen if we extrapolated future conditions based on what we know, he explained. Thats an interesting distinction, and its been quite influential in the (science fiction) field.

According to Link, Delany is suggesting that theres something about reading science fiction that forces us into a condition of estrangement.

We are de-familiarized from the world were reading about, whether in a small degree or a large degree, he said. We are asked, as a reader, to make sense of the rules of that estranged world.

Theres some intellectual work that is triggered by this confrontation with the strange that causes the interesting and dynamic reading of a science fiction tale.

While many might loosely identify science fiction as being about ray guns, aliens and spaceships, Link said there are eight categories into which most works can be placed in terms of their narrative, structure and convention. They are:

Link shared the idea of Sturgeons Law, the notion that as with almost any form of art perhaps 90 percent of whats produced in the realm of science fiction isnt necessarily masterful or timeless. However, there are authors who could be considered geniuses in the field, such as Gene Wolfe, author of The Book of the New Sun and Ursula Le Guin, who wrote The Left Hand of Darkness.

Link compared Wolfe to Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, describing Wolfes work as long and very challenging, but also as a brilliant masterpiece that explores a future world in which the sun is dying.

As Link concluded his lecture, it was clear hed come a long way from being the high school student forced to read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

It was nearly the death of me, he joked. I just couldnt take it. I had no intention at all of going into literature as a career.

But here he is.

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On becoming a science fiction expert - UND Today - University of North Dakota

Host Steven Parton reflects on the 100th episode milestone and what the audience can expect in the next 100 episodes

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Singularity's podcast The Feedback Loop is celebrating its 100th episode by featuring an exclusive interview with Peter Diamandis, executive founder of Singularity. The Feedback Loop, hosted by Steven Parton, has quickly become one of the most popular tech podcasts in the world.

The 100th episode will include a discussion with Diamandis on the impacts of AI and GPT, including his predictions about their future advancements. The episode will be available for download on Monday, May 8 at 10 am Pacific Time on the leading podcast platforms.

The 100th episode will include a discussion with Diamandis on the impacts of AI and GPT, including his predictions about their future advancements.

Parton finds special meaning in the 100th episode milestone. "It is a testament to Singularity's commitment to making complex scientific and technological topics accessible for anyone and everyone. It also speaks to the support for Singularity's mission, with nearly 100 of the world's most successful and renowned exponential thinkers willing to spend their precious time engaging in conversations for our audience."

Parton predicts the next 100 episodes will focus on expanding the podcast's offerings by incorporating video content, and perhaps featuring multiple guests who may discuss and debate the latest advancements in technology and their implications on humanity.

About Singularity Group

Singularity Group is an innovation company that believes technology and entrepreneurship can solve the world's greatest challenges.

We transform the way people and organizations think about exponential technology and the future, and enable them to create and accelerate initiatives that will deliver business value and positively impact people and the planet.

An exponential tech pioneer since 2008, Singularity has grown to become an innovation and transformation hub for over 250,000 CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and individuals in startups, corporations, NGO's, governments and academia. With 58 chapters across 30 countries (and growing) and a community of leaders from around the world, the company has helped launch over 5,000 impact innovation initiatives and its alumni have started more than 200 companies.

For more information, visit https://su.org

SOURCE Singularity Group

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100th episode of popular Singularity tech podcast will feature Peter Diamandis's AI predictions - PR Newswire

Picture this.An afro-sporting, mean-looking, boxer-punching sterro with the attitude of a highbrow Cinderella is out to save you. He is in shades, and chains and hold up! Is that polyester?! The ultimate retro bad boy looking for the bad boys. He is not Batman. Nor is he Superman, hes a bit of both. Patrolling the streets of Nairobi, when it switches from metropolitan NBO to seedy Nairobbery. Smoking out hardened criminals while driving a Peugeot 504 in mid-1990s Nai. Oh, one more thing: make sure that your picture is sepia-toned, that old-school filter that Instagram babes like to use. A red-ribbon tied menacingly across his forehead. A mean mien roaring the ultimate fighting cry, Kama mbaya, mbaya! He is out for blood, emotionless and guileless, all stances and stage punches, out to rescue what was her name? Oh yes. Brittania Zimeisha, the striking damsel-in-distress played by Patricia Kihoro. You know Patricia Kihoro, right? You should. But, wait, who is our hero? What is he?

He is the mononym, the man, the myth, the legend. He is Makmende. Makmende, the sterro. Makmende the starring. Makmende, the otero. Makmende, the buda, the only man who DJ Afro could bring to life with a quip of call me budaaaa. Makmende was the childhood hero of our times. Depending on your moral flexibility, he could be the promised Messiah or the pantomime villain. The kimondasome might say an ass-kicking bullybut that doesnt matter. We played Police & Robber in the streets of KaNairo wielding our fake dushnyaos before Makmende inadvertently came and rescued the day. Makmende always rescued the day. He was the original palimpsest of stories, yearning to be told.

Hush-hush, the mythical Makmende is around. Makmende as himself (duh) in the single Ha-He. There is a new sheriff in town. The stars aligned, the ducks in a row, astonishment meets affirmation and through Makemende, Ha-He virals to critical mass. The Wall Street Journal followed dozens of blogs, including a term paper, in praising Just a Band for being the first Kenyans to spark a Twitter fire and gain 100,000 YouTube views in a blitz. This, by the way, is in 2010. Makmende caught on like a house on fire: shareable, affable, and meme-able before memes were memes and trending topics could not be tracked by RSS feeds but travelled by word of mouth and speed of feet. Makmende is fast but he is never in a hurry.

Juu tuko works mzeiya

Evacuate the area

Makmende amerudi. Just a Band wamerudi. Evacuate the area.

Of course, they never really left, at least not for me. As a young boy living in Nairobi, Just a Band defined my adolescence, teenagehood and early adulthood; I grew up under the lull of their synths and eclectic rhythms. This band that was formed in 2003, the year after President Moi left office, the man who ruled Kenya by fiat. You know President Moi, right? You should. It must be said though, that Moi loved choir music, and who knows, maybe the whims and charms of an all-boy band would have taken him? Maybe their laid-back grooves would have softened his rule had their music caught him as he skulked about the Nyayo House basement? Maybe Makmende would have been Mois right hand, relegating the kings hand Hosea Kiplagat to secretarial dutiesas long as Makmende would add a tie, you know, to make it official, all pun intended.

On 3 June last year, Just a Band announced the end of their two-year break (it had ended up being six years), capturing the imagination of a nation with the unexpected but-we-told-you-wed-be-back announcement:

the hiatus is officially over and the four of us are back at work as Just a Band We each went out into the world and had a bunch of adventures, and we needed time to catch up on one another as humans and friends

The friends in this case are Bill Blinky Sellanga, Daniel Muli, Mbithi Masya and Jim Chuchu who met as students at Kenyatta University. It is like something was in the water at KU, you just dont know what. (Well, the marketing boss at KU would have been pulling out hairs when Kenyan musician Krispah aka Ndovu Kuu in his hit song Ndovu Ni Kuu immortalised the institution, singing: Mtoto wangu akiitwa KU ntakataa, Hakunaga masomo KU nmekataa. Of course, he later claimed that KU could mean anything, from Kabianga UniversitytoKukula Ugali. I guess if the shoe fits?)

I grew up under the lull of their synths and eclectic rhythms.

See, Just a Band has never been just a band. Their unique blend of funk, electronic and DIY charm strung together under a base of local influences took the world by storm following the release of the Ha-He music video. During a key tension moment in Ha-He, Makmende is threatened by a man in a red tie who asks, Are you a dreamer? Makmende answers to nobody, lighting up our poor fellow with blows, a dream fulfilled.

Dreams, of course, are what mark popular culture. Some dreams are quite obvious, almost tangible, they exist in the forefront of our minds. Others exist in the far recesses of our subconscious. Just a Band is built on the beauty of dreams.

In 2008, my dream, so to speak, was to pass the KCPE exams. But that same year Just a Band fulfilled a subconscious dream, they released their first album: Scratch to Reveal. Their work was almost instantly iconic. Their video for the song Iwinyo Piny, animated by Daniel Muli, featured a giant turtle floating over Nairobi with a DJ on its back. The group was self-taught, using YouTube tutorials to pick up new skills, including animation. Their off-the-cuff rendition speaks to the studied effortlessness with which Just a Band does their cool, upbeat, trancy music. Afro-specific and yet possibly from anywhere.

Their unique blend of funk, electronic and DIY charm strung together under a base of local influences took the world by storm.

In an interview with Rootsworld during their Rush Gallery 2012 Brooklyn (New York) installation Kudishnyao! Daniel Muli says, The name of the band is actually a joke. Sometimes we are trying to do projects that are supposed to mean something, and if all we do is give the moral of the story, it can be very boring.

Like other African artists of their generation, the band is hyper-aware of trends, drawing on the fragments of pop culture that have penetrated Kenya and shaped their sensibilities: the Blaxploitation flicks popular throughout Nairobi in the 80s and 90s, the music of Daft Punk, the Tupac/Biggie Smalls/Fugees, and the Bones Thugs and Harmony tapes they traded as kids in Nairobi schoolyards. Just a Band famously imposed themselves as the East African art scenes DIY honchos, directing their own videos, producing their own music, and creating their own artwork.

They dared to dream. In April 2016, the dream was deferred. Just a Band announced a hiatus to pursue solo projects.

Jim Chuchu had quietly broken from the group a few years earlier than their announced hiatus and together with Njoki Ngumi and George Gachara, had founded The Nest Collective, a Nairobi-based artists group that focuses on film, fashion, music, literature, and everything art. They released Stories of Our Lives, a controversial film that celebrates the narratives of Kenyas queer community amid pervasive societal censure and maltreatment. However, on 3rd October 2014, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) restricted the distribution and screening of Stories of Our Lives in line with section 16(c) of the Film and Stage Plays Act, objecting that the film has obscenity, explicit scenes of sexual activities and it promotes homosexuality which is contrary to our national norms and values.

No matter, the ground-breaking film inspired others, such as the critically acclaimed Rafiki, the first Kenyan movie to screen at the Cannes Film Festival. He is also co-founder of the HEVA Fund, the first organisation in the region dedicated to making capital investments in the creative sector and building financial infrastructure around creative pursuits in East Africa.

Animator and illustrator Daniel Muli spent his hiatus creating a graphic novel that hes been talking about for years.

Blinky Bill released We Cut Keys While You Wait, his first solo project, in 2016. The extended play (EP) was a six-song offering featuring Kenyan acts Shappaman, Sage Chemutai and Maia Von Lekow. The EP saw Blinky secure deals with Sony Music France, which distributed his first album Everyones Just Winging It And Other Fly Tales (Lusafrica/The Garden), 12 groovy tracks between rap, funk, nu-soul and electro which favour the vibrant Kenyan urban scene (Muthoni Drummer Queen, Sage) and the wider alternative African sonosphere (Petite Noir, Sampa the Great, Nneka). He has been a creative force behind many Kenyan productions for the likes of MDS, Fena Gitu and EA Wave.

Their off-the-cuff rendition speaks to the studied effortlessness with which Just a Band does their cool, upbeat, trancy music.

He talks fondly of his stage name Blinky Bill, which he claims he adopted after seeing his name in a newspaper and thinking that it looked too boring. The Australian cartoon of the same name, which was also his nickname in high school, inspired the name.

Mbithi Masya launched a successful film career. His first feature film, Kati Kati won several international awards, including the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award in the Discovery Programme at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). FIPRESCI described his work as an exciting and unique new voice in cinema.

An acclaimed director, you might not know that Mbithi is behind several advertisements in the country including Betikas Get Ready For Big, Sauti Sols Extravaganza and Blinky Bills Mungu Halali.

*

Just a Bands return doubly impressed Buddha Blaze, a well-known authority on all things hip-hop and entertainment. They [Just a Band], are the pioneers of alternative sound in Kenya, he tells me. They opened up a lot of opportunities for others and it is time they came back as the leading light.

But has the industry moved on from them? This is the right time for JAB to be back. They have grown individually, simultaneously, as the Kenyan music scene has grown.

But what exactly is the Kenyan music scene?

It was much easier to define a Kenyan musician in the 80s and 90s when it was mostly benga. Our identity from the seventies has always been benga. Eighty per cent of the vast majority of contemporary artists drawn from all over Kenya from the likes of Ken wa Maria to the late Musa Juma play Benga, according to Tabu Osusa, founder of Ketebul Music.

Buddha Blaze offers a subtle take: Kenyan music has been an opportunity to explore different sounds. From Ogopa to Genge to Chipuka to Benga to Kapuka, Kenyan music will one day evolve to become a single sound. Till then, we enjoy the variety of experiments.

Kenyan music defies definition. It is an alchemy of sorts, taking something from the influences of rhumba, Afropop, trap, hip hop, Afrobeat, soul, and RnB, making it appealing to a variety of audiences. It rejects the neat square boxes of identity that think theyve finally figured it out. Its identity is formless. Its everything and nothing in particular, sometimes zeitgeist fever, bravura and bravado; sometimes falling short of the uniqueness and authenticity of our history and past lives.

It was much easier to define a Kenyan musician in the 80s and 90s when it was mostly benga.

Just a Band redefined what it means to be an urban Kenyan. A Nairobian in particular. They made it cool to be different before it was cool. It was cool to like Just a Band. It still is. Their funky music slowly became the soundtrack of Nairobi, in its innocent desires and its dawning regrets; absorbing alternative Nairobi into their very soul. From West-of-Uhuru-Highway to the flats of Donholm to all the phases of Buru.

Their music filled the empty, undefined spaces inside us. Inside me. When a Just a Band track played, our eyes would dart around in a search for longing, our bodies contorting in delightful delirium and our hearts racing in tandem to the rhythm. When Just a Band took a hiatus, they not only left a gaping hole in my soul but one in the Kenyan music space as well.

Listening to their new singles (Save My Soul, Watu! and Echo a one-track album) I wonder whether I have all along been suffering from acute nostalgia: did I want Just a Band back because of what they can do? Or because of what they used to do?

Is it because of the influence they had on other artists? The cool mien and DIY-ness of Chris Kaiga? The easy flow and shrap undertones of Boutross? The gwezz rap of Lukorito, and that nod to JABs music by XPRSO? Who, if you squint hard enough at, you may just see traces of where they mined their inspiration. Lets not even get started on the devil-may-care vibe check of Lil Mainas songs. Who says he is not a rapper. Just a guy having fun with sounds. Sound familiar? You know Lil Maina, right? You should.

If President Moi were reading this, he would want me to be honest, so I will be. The new songs have not kindled a spark in me, and I prefer to cover myself in the warm blanket of their past hitsI am trapped in my childhood, teenagehood and all the other -hoods. So go ahead and listen to Winning In Life featuring the Grammy-winning trumpeter Owuor Arunga, or to Iwinyo Piny, a tragicomedy. Indeed, my all-time favourite Just a Band song is Probably Just For Lovers, from their third album, Sorry For The Delay.

Eeeehhhh I am here again, falling in love again.

Like Just a Band, I too am a lover. They croon, the bruised romantics at the height of their powers. Both tremulous and torrential, and if youre not converted, you never will be.

But Ive always been in love with them. I loved their experimentation. I loved their diversity. Just a Band was what I dreamt a musician should be, and I suspect it is what deep down I want to be.

Their funky music slowly became the soundtrack of Nairobi, in its innocent desires and its dawning regrets.

Just a Bands voice is always that of someone confiding, not emoting. They sound the way you sound if you could speak of the things you dream. (In case you are wondering if I achieved my dream and passed my KCPE in 2008, I did.)

If youve never heard their work before, dont start with the 82 material named so because 1982 is the year all three members were born. Though it has its charms, it throws you straight into the thick of things. Listen instead to the Scratch To Reveal album; thats the best way to ease into their vibe. To ready yourself to experience the band back together for their last ever world tour. Maybe thats what I need to accept that theyve changed, that Ive changed.

They took a break as a group so they can explore different paths and become stronger as individuals. Heres the thing though, Just a Band Dan, Bill, Mbithi, Jim for me, and for countless others who listened to you on headphone cables tucked into the pocket of their jeans, legs cruising on the Tom Mboya Streets and Moi Avenues of Sakajas Nairobi through Nairobbery to KaNairo, you never left.

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PAUL GOLDSMITH - Trust and the Technological Singularity: Will ... - The Elephant