AI, AI, & More AI
(Now that my uncontrollable urge to vent via a Letter to Donald, let's get back to business)
Systematically Bamboozled
Latest polls show Americans are 70-30 against the data centers upon which AI supremacy depends. This is not good.
Let's examine reality...
Water: The vast majority of data centers under construction use closed loop water cooling, which means water is recycled not consumed. As such, datacenter water consumption is a fraction of say...farms, orchards and golf courses.
Electricity: Under Trump's executive order, data center operators must provide their own power. The newer centers are actually generating plus power, which can be injected into the local grids. Since 2021, the average electricity bill has gone up 30% in America. That ain't data center doing. Still data center operators must be clear that new centers will be neutral or adding to existing grids.
Unfortunately, despite these facts, the American public is, once again, being "systematically bamboozled".
By LSM, politicians and foreign adversaries. A bot farm was discovered recently in China that has 200,000 fake accounts. Its sole mission? Sew seeds of data center "horror" among American consumers. Thousands of "sock puppets" are being handsomely compensated by our enemies, here and abroad, to spread disinformation and propagate fear. Russia and China are, as customary, the chief perpetrators.
Of course, it's obvious why. The more China obfuscates, the further ahead it surges with its own AI program.
AI is coming. Ain't no doubt about it. Only questions are how fast and who gets there first. Its potential is beyond comprehension. Its domination will determine global supremacy.
Remember Three Mile Island? The one-off tragedy at the nuclear power site. The press and the politicians blew it so out of proportion we fell 30 years behind in perfecting nuclear power. Now China rules. Despite nuclear being super efficient and clean, it is safe. Yet due to regulations, disinformation and political intractability we've built a whopping three reactors in 40 years.
Remember fracking? The Saudis, Qataris and UAEs spent billions convincing Americans that fracking would be the death of us all. The earth would cave in. Yet here we are. Still on terra firma with greater oil production than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined. No thanks to Obama or Biden.
Remember Y2K? I don't blame you. I don't either because...there's nothing to remember.
Best way to think of data centers is they are the factories of the future. Would you vote to deny a new car or computer chip factory? Hell, are we trying to bring manufacturing back?
Trump needs to get his messaging sound and consistent. Over and over again he must say...AI is the next technological revolution. It has enormous potential to make lives better...medically, economically and in so many other ways. Yes, it must be regulated to ensure it is applied to the benefit of all. Yes, it must developed without interfering with American communities and the resources they need. We can do that. But the jobs of the future will grounded in AI. If the United States does not take the lead, China and other bad actors will. Rinse and repeat.
AI in the Classroom
The 64 dollar question. Should AI be banned in the classroom? Clearly there are powerful arguments on both sides. Here are a few.
Why AI Should be Banned
Kids take the easiest path. The learning process is important. If abrogated, the results are not good. Shortcuts are anathema to learning and retention.
The ability to think critically and problem solve will ALWAYS be needed. At least until AI replaces all productive human output. Reading and writing develop the neural connections needed to think and reason. Cut & paste do not.
Failure to force whole generations from processing their own ideas will produce generations who do not think at all. Aren't things loused up enough in education system these days?
Why AI Should NOT Be Banned
It is the future. It is becoming ubiquitous. It is not debatable or avoidable. Maybe not even controllable. We have no choice. Ergo, all from 5 to 55 should learn to optimize.
The complaints about AI in education include:
Kids will no longer do homework themselves.
They won't write their own essays.
They won't read their own texts.
I guess the first question would be "Do they now?"
Since AI cannot be avoided or even dodged, it must be embraced. Teachers must learn how to incorporate it into the learning process without compromising:
Cognitive skills
Reasoning
Questioning
Self Expression.
AI can also be a huge asset to teachers. It can help complete lesson plans, pose hypotheses, test conclusions, offer counterarguments...and lots more.
Conclusion
No brainer. AI must be harnessed in the classroom and used to improve not subvert learning. Aren't things loused up enough in the current education system? Certainly we can use some improvement.
Teachers must define how AI can be used and how not. Consequences must be applied when students break the rules and substitute AI for thinking and reasoning. Experiments must be conducted. Results must be collected and analyzed.
So...how do we best use AI to enhance and not retard learning?
Well...why not ask ChatGPT.
AI Already Commands the Spotlight
I subscribe to five newsletters and a half dozen podcasts. Each day I scan the topics and cherry pick those that interest me...and hopefully you. These days over 50% of the coverage pertains to AI. Nuff said.
More UN-informed than Ever?
Here we are in the age of information overload and we are more "uninformed" than ever. How is one supposed to find what's real, what's fact when truth and objectivity are buried beneath an avalanche of fake news, fake tweets and fake emails sourced from lying politicians, dishonest media and enemy propaganda?
Honestly, we were more informed, better informed when our only choice was Walter Cronkite or David Brinkley.
Jus' sayin'.
Communism...if it walks like a duck
Giving government the keys to anything is generally a bad idea.
Not sure how many know but the US government has accumulated a portfolio of ownership positions in American private companies and other assets. Almost all are strategic. Rare earths, chips etc. I count at least 15 such equity positions. We may soon own a piece of the revived oil production in Venezuela.
While this may sound logical and potentially lucrative, it opens other doors.
When it comes to matters such as the number of Supreme Court judges, the filibuster, the electoral college... and owning private companies, everyone needs to remember the Democrats will be in charge again some day. Look what Obama and Biden did on their watch. What will happen if the "next Biden" decides to reimpose DEI and Woke on key US companies?
The government owning or controlling private companies is not a good idea - full stop. Protecting, having "America first" contracts, even subsidizing companies that produce strategic commodities essential to national security is wise. Empowering government to direct private companies how to operate is...most definitely not.
Remember the 9 scariest words. "I'm from the government..."
I'm Definitely Down for This!!!!
Fully two-thirds of the calls I receive are scams or robocalls. I hit the kill button all day long. My index finger hurts.
The FCC is proposing a Robocall Scorecard that will rate carriers based on how well they protect subscribers from this scourge. I say...You Go Girl! We need a little help weeding out scammers.
The Other Guys Want Homeless on the Streets
Democrats are fighting to stop the Trump administration’s attempt to get 146,000 homeless people with serious mental illness the help they need. Actually they're fighting to stop anything that is Trump-associated. But I digress...
In late July, House and Senate Democrats launched an inquiry accusing the Trump administration of wanting to "return to a time when people with disabilities were denied basic civil rights." But there’s one problem: the system these Democrats are defending is the reason there are so many mentally ill people living in squalor on America’s streets.
At issue is whose rights matter more? Democrats would have you believe providing court-ordered treatment, residence and sustenance for the masses who live on the streets because they are mentally or physically ill or addicted is...a violation of their civil rights.
I ask...whose civil rights are really at stake? The homeless who live in squalor under bridges or the millions of taxpaying citizens affected by the conditions, interference, crime and cost?
Placing the autonomy of those who live on the street because they suffer from mental illness, substance abuse and extreme poverty ABOVE public safety, property rights and clinical need seems WRONG...on so many levels.
As are Democrats for the most part.
Giving these people the help they so obviously need, even when they can't see it themselves, is not only humane and compassionate, but good for all. Which I think is called a win-win plus money well spent.
Case in point...this week, the lady who just stabbed two (one died) in Times Square in broad daylight and was shot dead by police after she pulled out her taser prongs and threatened to kill every cop she could has a long, well documented history of mental illness with multiple psychotic breaks and run ins with police. Should her "civil rights" be our chief concern?
A Caution on the Venezuelan Oil "Super Deal"
The deal may have real problems on two levels.
First, it may serve to prop up the interim government, which has deep roots in the Chaves-Maduro culture. Second, most of the oil reserves are not in conveniently accessed oil fields but in the offshore Orinoco Basin. This oil, so experts say, is extremely viscous and cannot be pumped using pipelines, which means billions in cost to extract.
Jus' sayin'.
"More Good" Does Matter
Like most choices, no one option is perfect. Clearly what voters should do (but won't) is decide which option is best. "More Good" if you will.
Doesn't basic self interest dictate it wise to relegate personal dislike of the current President beneath common sense solutions for the country's big problems? Isn't that...well...just common sense.
Yet Disbelief is Soooo Easy to Find.
45% of the French still say, "We don't know who was really behind the 911 attacks." Anti-American conspiracists like Tucker Carlson are still asking, "Did American plan the attacks? Or Israel?"
Been a while, but remember Gore Vidal? He was the crank left wing writer who kept saying George Bush went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, not because they sheltered the terrorists who murdered 3,000 US citizens on our soil, but because Bush had "oil on his mind" and the Bush family was cozy with wealthy Arabs.
Conspiracists adore finding some arcane detail they can use to foster disbelief. Implying it's some sort of insider or secret knowledge. Like the "expert" who said, "I never saw a tower fall like that." Question - how exactly DID those other 1000 foot towers fall...the ones you've seen? Or those who still conjecture that the September 2005 terrorist bombing on a London subway was not carried out by Islamic terrorists because...the terrorists likely did not take the alleged train to get to London before the bombings. Who cares? The bombs went off, passengers died and the terrorists took credit.
Still questioning the origin and intent of 911 is absurd. Especially when one guy doing it is running for the US Senate in Michigan. Worse yet, some Americans are still listening to this nonsense.
Let us not forget that conspiracist Candace Owens tried to convince her audiences Charlie Kirk was not assassinated. Owens said, “I think that in the coming weeks there's going to be a lot of financial reports that are coming out and I first and foremost do not believe that Tyler Robinson killed Charlie Kirk. I want to be very clear on that.”
Man - they think we're beyond stupid.
Clancy Jury Deadlocked - Judge Declares Mistrial
NB: three female jurors are wearing pink. Hard to believe any Jury thinks its excusable for a Mother to murder her three kids because she's stressed.
A Laugh of the Sad Kind
The Philadelphia Eagles now have dudes as cheerleaders. Not the kind who hold up human pyramids. But gay dudes prancing around in spandex doing techno moves. In what universe are the fans who threw batteries at Santa Claus gonna go for this? This is Philly man. Rocky's town. And, Vince Papale's.
Enjoy the weekend. Not officially but in spirit, summer is over.
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