Threat of AI

When it is on the news that AI insiders are warning that there is more than 10% chance that AI will kill us all within 10 years, that is a reason to worry. Have I heard some people claim that this is a publicity stunt? Yes. Is that thinkable? Also yes. Unfortunately, it is also quite thinkable that they mean it, and that they know what they're talking about.

Some months ago I had a discussion with Neil about this. He wanted to know what could go so wrong. I didn't know the details. But what I had done was read a review of a book that goes into detail about these things: If Anybody Builds It, Everyone Dies. I bought the book, and gave it to him. I told him to read that rather than ask me questions. He's not finished it yet, but when he has, I'd like to read it myself. Not in order to feel reassured! Maybe more to know what to get mentally ready for.

I remember that many years ago, I read in the newspaper that some scientist in the know said that the next big disaster to happen to humanity would be a pandemic. They said it was pretty much inevitable. They just didn't quite know when it would happen. And I must say that when COVID-19 broke out, I did appreciate it I had had advanced warning. This could be the same thing.

Will we be killed by AI? I don't know! One way to find out. I really wouldn't put it past humanity to let it get this far. And that would, obviously, be sad. But if it happens, at least I think I will have lived longer than most people, ever. So I could consider myself lucky…

Cwm Idwal with the Challenger conference

The Challenger Society describes itself as the foremost learned society representing the UK academic marine research community. Once every two years they have a conference. This year, it would be in Bangor. Tom was involved in the organisation, and he had sent an email around saying he wanted to include a few field trips in the program; would the usual suspect who lead trips into the field, like Dei and me, be willing to do the same for the conference? I said yes. And we agreed I would do the trip to Cwm Idwal.

I have done that trip many times; I don’t need to prepare for delivering the information. But close to the time I wanted to know what the logistics were. What time would the coach leave where, and what time did it need to be back? How many people would attend? The answer to the last question was: quite a few. I had just spoken with James, our new PhD student, and he offered to come along. I gratefully accepted that offer. 

On the day, I biked to the visitor centre. It’s about as far as to the office. It was great weather for it! When I got there I checked if the bloke we had given the mystery bag to was in, but he wasn’t. Then I just waited for the coach with conference people to turn up. It was quite early!

We were 29 in total. A big group! I was glad I had James. And we also had Sijing, one of our PhD students; she was also happy to help. Great! 

We did the trip counterclockwise as then you get to some good bits quicker. The audience had a few geologists in it, a few biologists, a bucket-load of physicists, and some undeclared people. And they had all chosen to be there. It was a lovely group! 

View on Tryfan

View on Llyn Idwal

We looked at the mountains, the syncline, the roches mouttonnées, the grass that gives away the presence of mafic rock, the lake, and the moraines. And I talked about the earliest British geologist who has been mapping here. And that Darwin had been one of them.

I had a great time, and I think the people in general did. We did have some people who walked rather slowly, though. And once you are at the far end of the lake you are committed to a fair walk back to the coach. I decided to do my last spiel everyone except the tail walkers. They need all the time to get back to the road. We were a little bit late, but the coach driver was relaxed about it. Fortunately!

When we had loaded everybody up I could accept my bike ride home. That practically downhill all the way. Very comfortable! I figured it had been a success. 

Group pic. Notice Sijing far left and James far right

Talk about lakes

One day I came into the office and saw that the name on the office next to mine had changed from Dr Iestyn Woolway to Prof Iestyn Woolway. Normally, you know that that is happening. There tends to be a promotion round announced, and at the end of it the Head of School sends a congratulatory email to everyone about all the people that have been successful. None of that had happened.

Soon after I saw a public lecture by Iestyn advertised. His inaugural lecture! Or so I thought. I like these. But it turned out it was something else; it was the Jack Darbyshire Memorial lecture. Jack Darbyshire was the first Professor of physical oceanography in Bangor, and Iestyn can trace his academic lineage straight to him. They also by coincidence both come from Blaenau. But whatever lecture it was; it was public, I wanted to go, I wondered if Neil did too. He had listened to a public lecture by Tom, be it online, and he had really enjoyed that. He might like this too.

I saw Iestyn on the day of the talk and he was complaining that talking for one hour is actually quite difficult. I was confident he would be fine. 

When I made my way to Main Arts, where it would all take place, I was a bit nervous because it was so quiet there. How many people would show up? But I was just early, and more people did appear. One of these was (obviously) Neil. 

He was also a little bit early, so after tidying my stuff up and helping Tom with some introductory sentences in Welsh he wanted to say (he would introduce Iestyn), I took Neil on a brief tourist walk through the building. It is quite beautiful! He agreed with that. Then we went into the lecture room. 

It started with the recently retired head of the National Oceanographic Centre, who had been a student of Jack Darbyshire, who did an introduction on the man. He spoke for almost half an hour. Iestyn wouldn't have had to worry about having to talk for too long! And then Tom introduced Iestyn himself. He is an unusual man given that he is in the school of ocean sciences, working on freshwater. Somehow he manages to be more successful than anybody else. 

Ed Hill talks about Darbyshire

Iestyn starts his own talk

He started with climate change. And with what’s so special about lakes. And what sort of ways there are of gathering data about them. And then he went into detail of the work he and his research group had been doing. On lakes in the Amazon basin. Lakes in the Arctic. Lakes in the Himalayas. Lakes getting warmer. Lakes getting bigger or smaller. Lakes providing varying levels of connectivity to communities that rely on boats for transport. 

The results were always: there is a problem, and it is getting bigger, fast. And then the talk was over. There was time for questions. 

Neither Neil nor I asked one. Soon we were outside again. And we left soon after. 

Neil was a bit depressed after this relentless doom. I am used to it. But at least he had found it interesting. So had I; I know Iestyn works with lakes, but now I know a lot more about what he does with them. And it was nice to put some faces to names. I talk a lot about colleagues, and now Neil has seen quite a few! 

Important folk: fltr Yueng, an alumnus, Ed Hill, Jack Darbyshire’s son, Iestyn, Tom, Stuart, and John

Welsh classes start again

New term, new Welsh class. I had found one again that was online on Monday night. That suits me. It was again a southern provider; unfortunately, not with the same tutor as the previous time I did that. I just hope that this one would be good too.

The first thing I noticed was that it was a huge class. More than 20 people! And it had run the previous year as well, so a lot of people knew each other. 

When we did a little round of introductions, I noticed there were more Northerners, like one bloke who lived in Bangor but was originally from the south, and someone else who was from the Dolgellau area. And we of course had people based in England. That’s standard! And we had an Irishman from Donegal; he was fluent in Irish. 

It started dull, to be honest. After the introductions the tutor, Lyndon, went through a big document with all sorts of guidelines and resources and whatnot. That took us all the way to the coffee break. 

After coffee, we actually got some work done. We read an article on the BBC Cymru website, and went into breakout rooms for some chats in smaller groups. That was nice.

It was an ok introduction. I hope next week we get a bit more down to business. One way to find out!

Caernarfon Half Marathon 2026

I was full of adrenaline! I'm not really sure why. I really wanted to run a PB, but I am not sure why that should result in such race jitters. I had come to Caernarfon with what I thought I would need to succeed: a vest with water, gels, IT band straps and paracetamol. As the previous year I had run a PB in spite of hobbling over the finish with sore IT bands, I figured that I would manage if I just would sort this knee-adjacent issue. 

I did the usual going to the loo, chatting with other runners, dropping off my bag. And I saw Louise, who was obviously not running today, but was there to support. I had promised her to run that PB the day before. The pressure was on! Then it was time to line up. 

Before the race

I had a target pace for the first 5 km, the middle 10 km, and the last 6 km. The first one was the slowest. When we set off it wasn't difficult to reach it. We ran through town and onto the bicycle path alongside the railway, where Race the Train runs as well. Nia and family were supporting! That was nice. And this part of the race is slightly uphill, hence the conservative speed.

After the initial turmoil there seemed to be a bit of crew of equal speed developing. Apart from me, there was a young lad in a white top, a lady who looked like she was older than me, and a few more. We did a bit of leapfrogging, but for quite a while we essentially stayed together.

On the bicycle path, with some fellow runners. The young lad would come in first of us three, and then me

When we came off the bicycle path I knew I should speed up. And I felt like I could. This part of the race was rather flat. I trundled on rather uneventfully, with my crew. But then we came to the Foryd; where the road follows the coast.

This meant a few things. The first was: it really felt like the only thing I had to do was run back to the start. We were just over halfway there, and I knew I would soon be able to see the town, where the finish was. It also became quite exposed to the wind, but this was a tail wind, so that was a good thing. It was also exposed to the sun. No shelter here! And it was quite warm.

With the wind in my back I accelerated a bit. I left the lady behind. The bloke in the white top matched my speed. I managed to keep my speed where I wanted to be. Sometimes a bit faster even. It didn't feel like I was really pushing it hard. 

Where the coastal road bends around to follow the river instead I saw Neil. I had suggested to him he doesn't come to the start, because that would mean waiting for me for more than 1.5 hours. If he comes to the finish it's good enough! But it was clear he was a bit early, and had gone to spectate. That was great! 

I knew that straight afterwards, we would get the last major uphill. That knocked me a bit. I had actually spent quite a lot of energy already after all. And I took it easy because I knew there were still several miles to go; exhausting yourself on an uphill is no use. And I opened a gel. 

I tried to do a bit of arithmetic in my head. Was I on course for that desired PB? But I don't think that by that time, my brain was working at maximum speed. I just did my best. Pushing it, but not so hard I would burn up too soon.

I didn't feel fluent or bouncy anymore. But I just did what I could. And when I got back to the castle, Neil was there too. And I was glad I knew I still had to follow a strange zigzag course through the town to get to the full half marathon distance. A a bloke running near me told me after the finish he had seen the castle and thought he was almost there. Not really! And there are some nasty surprises at the end; some short slopes up, and a little bridge you have to go underneath which functions as a wind tunnel, where you get the full force of the wind in your face. But when that was behind me I gave it what I still had. And by then I knew I had that PB in the pocket. And Neil was there again!

Approaching the finish with dramatically flapping hair

Done it! 

I squeezed out a final sprint and came over the finish in just under 1:37. Excellent! The old PB was just under 1:39. Two minutes faster! And I was still panting heavily just behind the finish line when Louise and her entourage found me and congratulated me. I had done it! Neil joined them. 

Then it was a case of getting my medal and T-shirt, retrieving my bag, having my recovery drink, cheering some more people on, and chatting with other finishers. And catching up with Jacko! He was there too. He was in flip-flops and I think he was happy not to have to wear running shoes himself that day, for the first day in months. He looked fresh! 

Then it was time for the presentation. Emma had won it! Just like last year. I had comfortably won in my category again; I was about six minutes ahead of the next F50-54. Neil was disturbed by the fact he went to attack his sandwiches, but he saw nobody else eating. Hadn’t we just burned loads of calories? And Jacko got an honorary mention. And then it was over. A good race! 

Proud category winner

Finally seeing Kate again

It had been a while since I had seen Kate. The last time we had gone for a walk was in May! So it was time to catch up again. And the only good day for it was the day before the Caernarfon Half Marathon. 

I had first gone to Anglesey to cheer on Louise in the Ring O Fire, and then I headed inland. When I got to her place I soon heard Bryn barking. He had spotted me! He was delighted to see me. Kate was pleased too. 

Her suggestion had been to walk from Conwy Falls cafe to Fairy Glen and back. It sounded good! Pretty, but sedate enough for a runner who wants to rest before a race, and a geriatric dog. But I first needed some sandwiches. 

After the sandwiches we were off. The path between the cafe and the Glen is lovely, and Bryn was fine. And when we got there it was fairly quiet. And beautiful! Kate did a brief evaluation of Bryan’s paws, as he gets limpy quite easily these days, but he was fine. We continued our way. 

Dog physio assessment 

We then got to the most spectacular part of the walk. There were a few people there already. But the place is sizeable; you don't have to get into each other's way. We just pottered around a bit. Bryn went into the river. It was quite nice! 

Bryn does model duties

Pic of the Glen by Kate

Bryn flaunting his rock and his big feet

We then made our way back. Bryn was fine. And then I wanted to go home to prepare for my race the next morning. So it was a modest rendezvous, but I really enjoyed it! 

Supporting Louise in the Ring O Fire

My plan had been to pop back onto Anglesey after meeting my Welsh tutor, and cheer on my friends Louise and Tony who were doing the gruelling Ring O Fire ultramarathon. All runners wear GPS trackers so you can find out where they are. But then I got the additional dinner-with-Lionel plan. I thought I could manage to squeeze Supporting in before the dinner, but Lionel was back on the surface earlier than I had expected. Maybe I could do it afterwards?

It was about 8 o'clock when Lionel and I had had our dinner, so I figured there was time to go back to the island. I had a quick look where Louise and Tony were. They were quite far apart. Oh dear. I had a guess at where Louise would be once I got close, and set off. She was ahead of Tony, and it makes sense to go see the front runner first. I headed for the general direction of Llangoed. I don’t know the tiny country roads there very well, but I hoped I would manage. 

When I stopped somewhere to check again she had moved more than I had anticipated. I couldn’t catch her there. So where to go? And soon I realised it would have to be on the tiny road from Penmon back west. 

It was all a bit improvised. I was in my work outfit and didn’t have a head torch with me. I was supposed to do this in daylight! Fortunately I have a torch keychain. My phone would be useless as it has short battery life, and I needed it for navigation. 

I parked up by the toll booth and got out. I brought my phone on its charging pad, plugged into my power bank. That, at least, I had with me! And I made my way in the dark towards Penmon. I couldn’t catch her just about see enough. 

After a while I saw a head torch approach. I shouted ‘Louise?’ No response. It was not Louise, I wished the runner well. And then there was another head torch. And headlights. A car was overtaking a runner - surely Louise - and the driver was shouting encouragements. It was indeed Louise! And I think the person in the car was Emma but I’m not sure. I hugged Louise. And she asked if I could walk with her. I wish you good! And even wrong. I might have been in a civilian outfit but I can jog for a bit like that. 

She told me how it had been going. Quite alright, so far! She was feeling good, the weather was lovely, navigation had generally not been a problem and she had support. She said she had had a pot noodle and a change of clothes not too long ago. She was so fresh for someone who had just run 100 km in 12 hours! 

We ran for a bit but I knew I had to turn back at some point. Get back to the car, check if I could still catch Tony, and at some point go home. At something that looked like a suitable point I gave her another hug and turned back. Without her I just walked. I was hot! And I want to spare the battery of my mini torch. When walking I could just about see enough.

I got back to the car and had a look at where Tony was. He was just entering an area you can't get close to by car. And it was getting late. I felt a bit sad but I decided to go home.

Screenshot of the tracking page, just after I got home. The blue dot is a relay runner. Louise is race nr 111.

I went straight to bed. And in the morning I had a look at where Louise's and Tony’s dots were. Tony’s dot had gone black in Beaumaris; he must have decided to pull out. But he had come halfway! Still an amazing feat. Louise was comfortably in the lead. Even ahead of the relay team. Wow! That was amazing. 

I was going to see Kate later that day, but she didn't mind if I first trundled up to Anglesey do another little round of cheering Louise up. And again it was a wild goose chase of tiny little Anglesey country roads, and her dot on the map jumping around. I ended up parking near Rhoscolyn, running down to the shore, and then just running east until I found her. She was glad to see me again. And she was clearly tired. Obviously! By this time she was about 190 kilometres in. Who wouldn't be tired.

The landscape where I found Louise

This time I was marginally better prepared. At least I was wearing a sports bra and running shoes, but after I had set off I realised I had forgot my running vest, and my running shorts and top don't have pockets. I really relied on my phone to find her. Having my car key on me was also a good idea. So I decided to just keep my trousers on over my running shorts. These at least have pockets!

We trundled west in the general direction of Trearddur Bay. And we chatted a bit about how it was going. She also said she hadn't initially intended to do this race. Someone had had to pull out, and had offered her their ticket for free. She had thought she might as well take that offer. And look where she was now! She was struggling, but still going strong.

After a while we came to a parking lot where her support were: her husband, several of her children, and her sister. The sister had followed her around all through the night. That is quite some dedication! I had had a good night’s sleep.

This seemed to be a good location to hand her over. She had a little chat with her support, had a sip of coke, gave people another hug and then she was off. Shortly after the parking lot there was a somewhat vertical bit with a step down and then several smaller steps up. We could see her legs were stiff by now! But we had faith she would make it to the finish without problems.

I chatted a little bit more with Rebecca, Louise's sister. She sometimes comes to the track as well, so I know her a bit. But then I drove back to my car and headed for Penmachno. 

Still from a little video made by Louise's bloke

I tend not to have signal in Kate's house, or anywhere near it, but Kate magically does, and she confirmed that Louise had indeed won. Comfortably! And not just as first woman; first runner altogether. The first man came in about an hour later. Then when I got home and could look at an update myself I saw she had even broken the course record for women. She is such a legend!

A victorious Louise

She later her texted me to say thanks for the support. I was surprised she was awake, but she pointed out she didn't want to completely destroy her circadian rhythm. And she said she would be supporting the Caernarfon Half Marathon the day after. I would see her there! And I really looked forward to that!