On September 26, I celebrated Petrov Day in Cusco, Peru. Our book club, De Profundis, turned one that night, and I asked for five minutes to speak. Most people in the room had never heard of Stanislav Petrov.
The 5:26 video is in Spanish with English subtitles.
I told the story from memory, in Spanish, with a candle on stage. The candle was for everyone who's gone, those of us still alive, and those not yet born.
It was my first time reciting, and I was very nervous. I had a little wine beforehand to relax. It helped, but not as much as I wanted.
When they asked Petrov why he doubted the computer, he said, "The computer simply lacks a brain." In 1983, that made sense. Today, with AI, it's less and less true. And every year it gets harder for us to doubt a computer.
A week earlier, I told the same story with slides at a PPT party. There I said Petrov had three powers: he could check what the machine said, he knew it had no brain, and he had the last word. Today, all three are turned around.
Near the end, I recited part of a poem I wrote:
AI, give us time.
How long have we needed more time?
How long since we gave ourselves more time?
AI, let's give ourselves time.
Afterward, one person told me that if Petrov had been American, it might not have happened. Another thought I was going to talk about Quechua because my name is Yupanqui.
I wrote about the whole night, nerves included. Watching the video, it went better than it felt. I like talking about the topics I care about, and I need to improve to reach more people. How did you spend Petrov Day this year?
On September 26, I celebrated Petrov Day in Cusco, Peru. Our book club, De Profundis, turned one that night, and I asked for five minutes to speak. Most people in the room had never heard of Stanislav Petrov.
The 5:26 video is in Spanish with English subtitles.
I told the story from memory, in Spanish, with a candle on stage. The candle was for everyone who's gone, those of us still alive, and those not yet born.
It was my first time reciting, and I was very nervous. I had a little wine beforehand to relax. It helped, but not as much as I wanted.
When they asked Petrov why he doubted the computer, he said, "The computer simply lacks a brain." In 1983, that made sense. Today, with AI, it's less and less true. And every year it gets harder for us to doubt a computer.
A week earlier, I told the same story with slides at a PPT party. There I said Petrov had three powers: he could check what the machine said, he knew it had no brain, and he had the last word. Today, all three are turned around.
Near the end, I recited part of a poem I wrote:
Afterward, one person told me that if Petrov had been American, it might not have happened. Another thought I was going to talk about Quechua because my name is Yupanqui.
https://yupanqui.xyz/petrov-day-cusco-2026
I wrote about the whole night, nerves included. Watching the video, it went better than it felt. I like talking about the topics I care about, and I need to improve to reach more people. How did you spend Petrov Day this year?