Humans Are Not AI: Unlocking Inborn Potential Instead of Reprogramming

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented rate, it is easy to draw comparisons between human intelligence and machine intelligence. AI can be programmed, optimized, and updated to perform tasks more efficiently. However, humans are not like AI. They are not blank slates waiting to be programmed or systems that can be rewritten to function in a specific way. Instead, every human is born with innate potentials and talents, waiting to be discovered, nurtured, and refined.

The Nature of Human Potential

Unlike AI, which requires external input and programming to function, humans come into the worldwith a unique set of abilities, predispositions, and natural talents. These gifts may not always be obvious at first, but they exist within every individual. Some are naturally inclined toward creativity, others toward analytical thinking, leadership, empathy, or physical skill. These abilities are not something that can be artificially installed or modified like software; they are embedded in a person’s nature from birth.

The Role of Guidance, Not Programming

Because talents and potential are already present in each person, the key is not to try and force a predefined way of thinking or behaving, but rather to help individuals recognize, cultivate, and refine their inherent abilities. Parents, teachers, mentors, and society as a whole play a crucial role in creating environments where these hidden talents can emerge.

For example, a child may have a natural gift for music but may never realize it without exposure to instruments and musical training. Similarly, someone with a talent for leadership may not recognize their ability until they are given opportunities to take initiative and make decisions.

The Problem with "Reprogramming" Humans

The danger of treating humans like AI is the belief that people can simply be rewritten to fit specific molds or expectations. This approach ignores individuality and imposes limitations rather than unlocking potential. Many societies and educational systems try to "program" individuals to follow strict paths, often suppressing creativity and unique talents. Instead of nurturing what is already present, they attempt to overwrite natural tendencies, which can lead to frustration, lack of motivation, and unfulfilled potential.

Helping People Find Their True Talents

To truly help people grow, the focus should be on exploration, encouragement, and guidance rather than control and programming. Here are some ways to support individuals in discovering their potential:

1. Encourage Curiosity – Allow people to explore different fields and interests without rigid expectations.
2. Provide Exposure – Offer diverse experiences in education, arts, sports, science, and leadership to help uncover hidden talents.
3. Foster a Growth Environment – Create supportive spaces where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than failures.
4. Recognize Individual Strengths – Avoid one-size-fits-all approaches and celebrate unique skills in each person.
5. Empower Self-Discovery – Instead of dictating what someone should do, guide them toward self-awareness and personal growth.

Conclusion

Humans are not AI that can be programmed or updated at will. They come into the world with everything they need—raw talent, intelligence, and potential. The real challenge is not changing how they work but helping them uncover what was always there. By fostering environments of discovery, encouragement, and support, we can unlock the greatness within each individual and allow them to thrive in their own unique way.

***END***

PROMOTIONS!

Uzbekistan National Boxer Defeated by Timor-Leste Boxer

How a 3rd Grader is Protecting Timor-Leste’s Environment

A Young Changemaker: Maximiliano’s Fight Against Littering and Climate Change

Maximiliano da Costa Fernandes is a passionate young environmentalist currently in the 3rd grade at Maria Auxiliadora School in Comoro-Dili. Since the age of 7, he has been dedicated to protecting the environment and addressing climate change. One of his most remarkable efforts has been the voluntary planting of more than 20 mangrove trees, along with numerous papaya trees, to help restore local ecosystems and promote sustainability.

In addition to tree planting, Maximiliano is also a strong advocate for responsible waste management. He is intolerant of littering in Timor-Leste and often speaks to his friends at school about the harmful effects of littering. He explains to them that littering is not just an irresponsible act—it causes real problems such as floods and ocean pollution, which in turn harm marine life and disrupt the balance of ecosystems. His early understanding of these issues and his willingness to educate others highlight his commitment to making a positive impact on the environment.

Maximiliano’s actions reflect his belief that everyone, regardless of age, can contribute to a healthier planet. He sets an inspiring example for his peers and community by showing that even small efforts can lead to meaningful change.

hashtag#savetheplanet

THE LOCAL MARKET IN TIMOR-LESTE NEEDS SERIOUS ATTENTION

IS THERE A REASON WHY LOCAL PRODUCTS DO NOT SELL WELL LOCALLY?

A local market is a market that provides products or services in the same area where they are produced, where the reach of this market only covers that area.

In Timor-Leste, local markets are public facilities provided by the government to help people sell their local products. However, local market facilities are far from what they should be from a health and order perspective, and this is due to the lack of serious and strict government monitoring of local markets. In addition, another problem is that the market users themselves do not have enough knowledge on how to use and maintain the public facilities provided by the government in local markets.

In addition, the space provided in the local market could not accommodate all the vendors from the 13 municipalities, so many sellers sold their products on the sidewalks so they could earn money to help their families’ needs.

With all the problems mentioned above, it is only natural why local products do not sell well in local markets. Recently, people have started to realize the importance of healthy food and healthy food sources, so health has become the main benchmark for consumers to buy local products.

The current condition of the local market is far from hygienic, and cleanliness is not maintained at all. In addition, the remaining unsold products are not disposed of in the right place, causing bad smells to be felt around the market and the number of flies makes consumers not interested in buying anything from the local market.

On the other hand, many donor and government projects focus on production and market linkages but none of them think about the condition of local markets themselves. Instead, they think of the big supermarkets and the big local processors and export markets, but they forget that the people who cannot afford and really need their help are the ones who bring their products to sell in local markets. The reason why many farmers prefer to sell their produce directly to the local market instead of working with the big market players who get help from donor projects is because sometimes the farmers feel they are being manipulated on price. So, to make sure donors’ projects provide the flexibility to the farmers to choose who to sell their products to, then local market conditions are very crucial to be prioritized.

Is there anything we can do to improve local markets?

If the government has been responsible for the supervision and management of local markets, then it should be given to the private sector, which has the knowledge, financial capability, and other resources to ensure that local markets are well controlled from all aspects, including health, usage, and management. In addition, education of users should also be taken seriously as all of the above are interrelated.

In order to prevent our people's household incomes from spiraling downward, we need to help them sell their local products through various means.

==END==

PROMOTIONS!

Acio Ferquin - Invazaun

Acio Ferquin - Matan Wen Sei Maran

Private Sector Growth Situation in Timor-Leste

Poultry Investors Vs Imported Chicken

Based on the ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) report on “A Private Sector Assessment For Timor-Leste”, the government shows promising appetite for reform, and their willingness to engage the private sector in developing alternative investment options to attract business to the country is commendable. Yet, the country also faces significant challenges in rebuilding institutions and infrastructure, and implementing good governance principles to ensure that those institutions are managed effectively for the good of all citizens. There are three main overarching economic challenges identified in the assessment such as diversify the economy, increase productivity, and improve rural livelihoods.

The special focus on enhancing private sector development in Timor-Leste when compared to firms in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, the average firm in Timor-Leste is younger, smaller (in terms the number of employees), less capital intensive, and has lower labor (and total-factor) productivity levels. Lack of access to finance, poor electricity and water services, cumbersome import and business regulations, corruption and bribe requests, and low workforce skills and education levels have all been associated with weaker firm performance, and policy priorities for increasing firm performance include increasing firm access to finance, skills and affordable input, as well as easing firm entry and reducing regulatory uncertainty, based on the World Bank report from the Timor-Leste Economic Report.

Even though there is a lot of obstacles for the private sectors in the country to start their investment in non-oil sector and without a significant support from the Government of Timor-Leste (GoTL), some local investors did take risks to start their business in poultry production by find the support from other private sectors using whatever resources that they have.

Most of the Day-old Chicks (DOCs) are imported from Indonesia and transported to Timor-Leste by airplane and through the land border, and those companies formed their own out-grower farmers across the country so they can fulfill the companies’ requirements to buy the DOCs in certain amount including feed until harvest time.

Since the government doesn’t play much role in controlling the number of locally-produced chickens and number of imported chickens, has cause a lot of stress to the chicken farmers or out-growers in the country because they need to buy an extra food for their birds until all of them sold to the market.

With the Private Investment Law in the law No. 14/2011, to make this poultry market works well in Timor-Leste, the GoTL should put everything written in the law into practice by taking action to strengthening the import control to make sure they are giving the opportunity to the local investors to grow with whatever investment they had. The government also need to have a rules and regulations to control the price in the local market to make sure there is no price manipulation in the local market.

According to the Trend Economy data, chicken meat importation in Timor-Leste is increased from US$1,200 in 1972 to US$ 14,223 in 2021 growing at an average annual rate of 6.55%. This automatically shows the GoTL doesn't pay much attention at all to the growth of the private sectors in the country by not controlling the import data with the local investment that have been done, and some importers stated they always importing frozen chicken in four 40ft containers every month, but it always increased during the Christmas and New Year celebration period.

"Your comments and recommendation to this article will be greatly appreciated".

TETUM LANGUAGE THAT IS OFTEN USED IN DAILY LIFE

 

TETUM LANGUAGE IS EASY THAN YOU THINK!

Most people from Europe, America and Africa always ask where is Timor-Leste?

Timor-Leste, island country in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands, at the southern extreme of the Malay Archipelago. It occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, the small nearby islands of Atauro (Goat) and Jaco, and the enclave of Ambeno, including the town of Pante Makasar, on the northwestern coast of Timor. Dili is the capital and largest city.

Timor-Leste is bounded by the Timor Sea to the southeast, the Wetar Strait to the north, the Ombai Strait to the northwest, and western Timor (part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara) to the southwest. The eastern part of Timor island is rugged, with the mountains rising to 9,721 feet (2,963 metres) at Mount Tatamailau (Tata Mailau) in the centre of a high plateau. The area has a dry tropical climate and moderate rainfall. Hilly areas are covered with sandalwood. Scrub and grass grow in the lowlands, together with coconut palms and eucalyptus trees. There are hot springs and numerous mountain streams. Wildlife includes the cuscus (a species of marsupial), monkeys, deer, civet cats, snakes, and crocodiles.

Most of the people are of Papuan, Malayan, and Polynesian origin and are predominantly Christian. About 40 different Papuan and Malayan languages or dialects are spoken, dominated by Tetum. Portuguese is spoken by a small fraction of the population, but it is one of the country’s two official languages, the other being Tetum; Indonesian and English are considered to be “working” languages.

If you work in Timor-Leste then you will definitely spend a lot of money just to get Tetum language training. Therefore in this blog I would like to share some day-to-day language in English-Tetum which can help you save your pocket money. 😁

Let's Start!

Nu	English	Tetum
1	What is your name?	Ita naran sá?
2	My name is…	Hau nia naran…
3	How are you?	Ita diak ka lae?
4	I am good, how about you?	Hau diak, oinsá ho ita?
5	Very good	Diak lós
6	Where do you live	Ita hela iha nebé?
7	I live at…	Hau hela iha…
8	Where do you work?	Ita serbisu iha nebé?
9	I work at…	Hau serbisu iha…
10	What is your father’s name?	Ita nia aman naran sá?
11	What is your mother’s name?	Ita nia inan naran sá?
12	My father’s/mother’s name is…	Hau nia aman/inan naran…
13	How many brothers do you have?	Ita iha maun-alin nain hira?
14	I have two brothers and 2 sisters	Hau iha maun nain-rua no bin nain-rua
15	Where did you study?	Ita uluk eskola iha nebe?
16	Can you tell me the story about…	Ita bele konta istoria mai hau kona-bá…
17	The weather is very hot today	Ohin loron rai manas lós
18	Looks like it's going to rain today	Hare hanesan udan sei mai ohin loron
19	When was the last time you saw (him/them)?	Ita hasoru (nia/sira) ba dala ikus horibainhira?
20	I met him/them about a (week/month/year) ago	Hau hasoru nia/sira iha (semana/fulan/tinan) ida liu ba
21	Do you like soccer?	Ita gosta futebol?
22	Yes! I like it	Sim! Hau gosta
23	Do you know how to play guitar?	Ita hatene toka viola?
24	Yes! I know	Sim! Hau hatene
25	I like to eat grilled chicken, where can I get it?	Hau gosta hán manu-lalar, hau bele hetan iha nebé?
26	I love swimming, where do you think is the best place to swim?	Hau gosta nani, tuir ita nia hatene fatin atu nani nian diak liu maka iha nebé?
27	How much is this?	Ida ne’e folin hira?
28	This is very expensive	Ne’e karun lós
29	Can you reduce the price a little bit?	Ita bele hatún nia folin oitoan?
30	Yes, of course!	Sim, bele!

Dear readers, don't forget that the Tetum language is greatly influenced by the quotation marks in each letter.

For example:

Nebé – Where

Ne’ebe – So, Then…

Hakuak – Hug

Haku’ak – Perforate

If you have a word that you don't understand or you want a translation in Tetum, don't forget to write it in the comments.

Have a Good Day!😊