Timeline of Sikh Affairs & Experiments with AI

  • I wrote an AI-assisted Python program to take my Web-based timeline of Sikh affairs and convert it into a 169-slide PDF for easy viewing. 

  • I started this project as a way to create a more user-friendly way for people to consume the timeline I created years ago based on many hours of research and analysis over a number of years.

  • My goal was to improve the formatting and add images for a more informative viewing experience.

  • In other words, how to use the content you have and breathe new life into it.

  • The programming effort took a couple of half days and some 500 odd lines of Python code.

  • I used AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity) to provide suggested approaches and code, but didn't directly integrate it into my editor. I use Sublime for editing and selectively cut and paste recommended code as needed. The alternative is too intrusive and AI has free reign to make changes to your code wherein you eventually lose track and control over your program and no longer fully understand how it works.

  • The high level program steps are:
    • Take the HTML file and use regex to convert the file to a CSV for ingestion into the Python program
      • Remove everything except the date (in a specific and consistent format, e.g. YYYY-MM-DD) and the event text
      • Escape any quotes inside the event text
      • Remove any hyperlinks inside the event text
      • Replace any other HTML tags inside the event text (e.g. bold, italics)
    • Ingest the file into Python and read it row by row
    • Use some sort of text summarization and keyword extraction to manufacture a title for each event
    • Use the keywords extracted above to fetch an appropriate image from the Wikimedia Commons API based on image formats supported by PowerPoint, preferred size, licensing requirements, image quality, etc.
    • Create a PowerPoint and place the date, title, event text, and image on the slide
    • Publish the final PowerPoint slide deck
    • Convert the slide deck to PDF

  • I had to iterate over many of the above steps to get each one right. Specifically, the AI methods I used for text summarization and keyword extraction did not work well because, for example, PyTorch is only compatible with Python 3.12 and my Mac is on 3.13 and I didn't feel it was worth going down that rabbit hole. 

  • Also, the image search on Wikimedia Commons works well for well-known people and things. I had to manually download and replace about 20-30 images to make the deck accurate and meaningful. But the automation made things a lot easier.

  • As I learned during the execution of this project, AI refuses to provide certain pictures, e.g. in the case of controversial people or issues. I've experienced the same issue when doing GenAI based image generation

  • Here's the final code, in case you're curious. I did not remove all of the commented out failed experiments, so you will see some of that.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Milwaukee Appliance Hand Truck

Image
Milwaukee Appliance Hand Truck, leaning against my shed Also known as a cart or a dolly. The model is HDA700. I paid around $120 for it. Here's a list of the features. Wrought iron frame 800 pound load capacity 6 inch non-marking wheels (solid, non-inflatable, never go flat) Stair climbers to help move loads up and down stairs and curbs Padding to prevent the cart from damaging the appliance (this is the white strip in the picture above) Belt or strap that goes around the appliance to secure it to the cart and keep it in place Manual ratchet belt tightener, the buckle-like part at one end of the belt (more on this below) Belt tightener handle (this is the red handle in the picture above) to add more tension to the belt once the manual ratchet has been used to the tighten the belt  I recently used this hand truck to move a big ass 320 pound refrigerator out of my garage (where it was delivered) and up a couple of steps to the deck, up one more step through the doubl...
Read more

My Experiments with the PICAXE 08M2+

Image
PICAXE 08M2+ I generally prefer to do things the hard way. For example, you can either microwave a frozen dinner or cook from scratch. The microwave option is a good backup plan, but cooking from scratch has far too many advantages, as I outlined in a recent blog post on the do-it-yourself way of life. In the electronics and robotics world, the analogy of cooking from scratch is to build circuits using a bare bones micro-controller chip (e.g. the PICAXE ) rather than a fancy board (e.g. the Arduino ). Therefore, once I get a circuit working with the packaged Arduino approach (e.g. this robot I built recently), I usually try to replicate the circuit using more basic components like the PICAXE. My decision to consider the PICAXE was influenced by Charles Platt's coverage of it in his awesome book Make: Electronics . But essentially, I am a minimalist and I want to see how much I can get done with a bare bones chip rather than a bulky board-based micro-controller like the Ar...
Read more

Utility trailer buying guide

Image
Introduction I recently bought a utility trailer . (I'll explain momentarily what that is and why you might consider buying one.) Going through the process (research, preparation, purchase, registration, setup and maintenance) has taught me that it's not a simple endeavor and very little good documentation exists in the public domain (e.g. on the Internet). Hence, this post. Research In dictionary terms, of course, "to trail" means "to follow" (or to trace the path of a primary vehicle). Alternately, Wikipedia defines a trailer as an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. So, let's get acquainted with what a utility trailer is and why you might consider buying one. If you're a hardworking, blue collar American you probably already have one -- it's the back half of your pickup truck . Well not quite, but that's the reason Australians refer to a pickup as a utility vehicle. A pickup is characterized by the presence of a flat...
Read more