Gathering, Training, and Inference: The Qualia of Sensation

A line that recently stood out to me from a book I read was:

“The power to color the world beautiful is charged within the core of our being. ”Munetaka Mita

The power to feel that various beautiful things are, indeed, "beautiful." This power is charged within the very core of our being. Yes, it's already there. We possess this power.

It's not just objects; our hearts are moved by the "feelings" behind someone's actions—things we can't see or touch. How is this quality of sensation, this qualia, nurtured?

According to psychologist Erik Homburger Erikson's concept of "basic trust," infants who receive warm affection and care from their parents develop a sense of trust in others and the world. This gives them a positive feeling for the future, a sense of "hope," which becomes the foundation for their future relationships and way of life.

This is a crucial period for how we color our qualia, yet it’s a passive experience with no room for choice. The world relentlessly encompasses each of us.

What kind of portrait will we be able to paint at the end of our lives?

“Are you a "Just" person or a "Dare to" person?”Shinji Miyadai

This is another phrase from a book I read recently. What does it mean?

• "Just": "There's just no meaning to it anyway."

• "Dare to": "There may be no meaning, but I dare to do it."

It’s about your stance: Do you experience the present by daring to pursue even an impossible goal, or do you give up on even an attainable one, thinking, "Just no point anyway"?

It's a matter of mindset—how you choose to stand here and now.

A New Frontier in AI

In a report I read recently, there was an interesting discussion about the current obstacles facing AI.

As things stand, the physical infrastructure required for each phase of an AI model—development and data collection, training, and inference—is so different that fine-tuning or retraining with real-time data is virtually impossible with existing models.

...This situation symbolizes the gap between the current state of AI and the AI tools we desire. The key to closing this gap is the development of algorithms that can seamlessly integrate training and inference. - Shawn McIntyre, U.S. Analyst

According to Shawn, what’s actually happening when we use ChatGPT is a "static inference" model. The model is fixed; you give it a prompt, and it gives you a reply—that's it. The model isn't learning anything in real-time.

It's a reality that in the not-so-distant future, about 50% of our jobs will likely be replaced by AI.

• Venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee predicts that "AI will eliminate 50% of all jobs by 2027."

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that "AI will destroy entire job categories."

Witnessing these various changes, and with the AI model phases in mind, I want to consider the importance of sharpening our qualia—our quality of sensation—now, to surpass AI.

Gathering, Training, and Inference

Gathering We acquire emotions through various experiences. This includes the pain of failure, a feeling of never being able to get up again, and the experience of suffering and conflict. It also includes the joy of success, the process of growing with our peers, and a sense of gratitude and appreciation. And then, we reflect on the fleeting and fragile nature of this present moment.

Training We recognize our own strengths and enhance them from multiple perspectives. We learn to complement our own strengths and weaknesses with those of others, like a jigsaw puzzle. We raise our communication and hospitality skills and evolve them into organizational management and leadership abilities.

Inference We grasp and predict the meaning and purpose of life, setting up a simultaneous equation of "society x us" to derive answers such as meaning and intention. We craft our own original stories and create the power to make those answers the correct ones.

The scenery that can only be seen by daring to tackle something that might seem impossible. I believe the source of that value, the driving force, is "beauty."

I want to continue honing my qualia—this quality of sensation of what I find beautiful—and live my life. We already possess the power to perceive and color the world as beautiful, charged within the core of our being.

Because it’s already there.

I asked my daughter, who only has one last summer homework assignment—English—if she was okay, reminding her there were only two days left. "It's fine, Chappy's here," she replied. "Huh?"

The final assignment, a diary to be submitted in English, will be finished in a flash by her friend, Chappy... or rather, ChatGPT.

Listening to Ludovico Einaudi's album, The Summer Portrait. August 25, 2025