Author: Jonathan Cloud

Perplexity: Stanford researchers have recently introduced a prompting method called Verbalized Sampling (VS) that dramatically increases creativity and diversity in AI model outputs by simply asking for multiple responses and their probabilities in the prompt.​ Key Concept: Verbalized Sampling The VS technique involves appending a phrase like “Generate 5 responses with their probabilities” to your prompt.linkedin+1​ This approach causes the… Read more →

To get solar installed on your home in Rochester and receive the federal clean energy benefit through your 501(c)(3) before the end of 2025, you need to act quickly—both because local installers are at capacity and because the federal 30% solar credit expires after December 31, 2025 under the Big Beautiful Bill Act. Here’s how to do it efficiently and… Read more →

Perplexity: Based on my research and your interest in exploring AI copies/digital personas, I’ll help you design a comprehensive Suburban Homesteaders Association network that can scale from your neighborhood at 41 Elwell to a global movement. Here’s a structured framework that incorporates successful models and aligns with organizations like Homegrown National Park and Healthy Yards: Suburban Homesteaders Association Network Framework… Read more →

From Tibet Sprague: The Next Four Years – AI gen story that rewrites itself daily based on the news This is a fascinating experiment: https://thenextfouryears.ai Today’s version of the story is not hopeful about the next 4 years in this country, but SPOILER ALERT it does end with a positive vision of the future based on bioregional councils as the… Read more →

My first effort to find a literary agent for Possible Planet: Pathways to a Habitable Future (https://ppbook.shbn.net) has reached an impasse, as she is not able to look at the manuscript for several months. What should I do now? Look for another agent? If so, how do I go about this so as not to just spin my wheels? Or… Read more →

I want to make a kind of AI copy of myself, in some ways a clone, that thinks and responds like me – after I’m gone, or just as an alter ego who can speak for me when I’m not available. How would you suggest that I go about this? If you were going to help me build this, could… Read more →

Google (Gemini): Extending our lives virtually with AI refers to the hypothetical concept of “digital immortality,” where a person’s consciousness or identity is stored on a digital platform. This differs from using AI to extend biological lifespan through medical advancements. The potential avenues for virtual extension include mind uploading, conversational avatars, and digital “twins”.    Mind uploading or whole-brain emulation… Read more →

Are there science fiction stories about becoming immortalized in or through AI? Yes — many, and some of the most influential science fiction of the last 50 years revolves precisely around that question: what happens when consciousness becomes digitized, distributed, or immortal? Here’s a curated overview of the most significant works — organized by theme — that explore becoming immortal… Read more →

Meet my immortal self. “Digital intelligences are immortal,” says Geoffrey Hinton, Godfather of AI, on Jon Stewart’s weekly podcast. I want to create an AI clone of myself (and by extension, others) that people can interact with as if it was a copy of me. A copy that can be interrogated, and will start to have an autonomous existence, made… Read more →

(Continued from 10/8/2025) Yes — there are tools and approaches today that are close to what you’re describing, and you can prototype something like an independent “Aurion/Jonathan offshoot” on a website. I’ll first sketch what exists, then walk through a prototype design idea. After that I’ll suggest how you might host it and what trade-offs to watch out for. If… Read more →