I would like to politely point out to Jay Nordlinger and J.K. Rowling that there really are transgender people. I happen to know two. I shouldn't have to write this, but they are good, funny, caring people.
I will agree with Rowling about providing safe spaces for sexual assault and violence victims.
I also agree that competent, supportive mental health care ought to be the first step in treating adolescents who are on the autism spectrum, or who have other mental health issues. The European nations who once backed more aggressive treatments have reconsidered and changed their treatment protocols.
Progressives and liberals handled this very poorly. See the expanding LGTBQ+
abbreviation for one example, and the Skrmetti case that went to SCOTUS.
Gotta say, the Thor Benson article about so-called "AI" killing jobs is utter crap. He cites the claim of Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, that it will wipe out half of entry-level jobs within five years. Despite saying he doesn't trust what "these people" say, he says it's worth noting. Why? Not skeptical that Amodei needs people to believe this to allow his company, which is burning way more cash than it generates, to keep getting more money thrown at them? The drop in entry level jobs is a correlation and may simply reflect over-hiring at tech companies during the pandemic or some other variable. We don't know because no one bothers to investigate to find out.
Did Benson actually contact companies to find out how many workers were actually replaced by so-called AI or how many media layoffs are actually due to people not clicking on articles specifically because they read AI summaries? Is it any surprise that so many people in tech jobs believe that AI is going to replace them because that's all the news media tells them? Why did Benson cite a report from Udacity, a division of Accenture, that sells subscriptions to learn how to... wait for it - use Agentic AI! Why would their report be biased towards telling people that AI is going to take their job unless they learn how to use Agentic AI? (You DO get a "Program Certificate" at the end - kind like Scarecrow gets a diploma at the end of The Wizard of Oz.)
So, here we have, 1) "AI" company CEO claims it will take over half the jobs but presents no evidence, 2) other people repeat that, claiming skepticism but saying it should be taken seriously anyway even though they also say "AI... kind of sucks", 3) people who work in those jobs read endless articles saying their job is under threat so they tell pollsters, "My job is under threat." 4) Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Is there no one in the media who will actually investigate how many jobs are actually being taken over by so-called AI and present a mix of views including people skeptical or downright contemptuous of the claims of CEOs whose entire livelihood and future depends on everyone believing their products (what are their products and how much profit are they making?) are going to take everyone's jobs.
Lt. Gen Hertling’s piece is sobering. Unfortunately, we have Pete Hegseth trashing our own military and our politics continue to divide our citizenry. I feel even more OTT about our decline than JVL.
Also, to follow up last week’s question: the pears are already ready to be picked because it has been so warm this summer. I remember wearing flannels and jacket doing it when I was a youngster and now I am in tee shirt and shorts since it has been 80 degrees pretty much all week. The wild fire smoke also covers the sky and smells horrible. The fruit will be sweet but everything else looks bleak.
I'm Pete Hegseth and I here to say,
It's not a name change, it's getting rid of gay
We're gonna fight decisively, not endless conflicts
Cause we're real men and we got big dicks
We're fighting to whin... win and not, not... lose
Shut the fuck up, I'm not full of boozed
We're going on offense, not on defense
that's why we got rid of the guys in a dress
We're doing maximum lethality, fuck legality
Violent effect, not politically correct
So eat it all you losers in Connecticut
Who took MY beer, I'M GONNA NUKE YOUR ASS... WHERE MY BEER...
I would like to politely point out to Jay Nordlinger and J.K. Rowling that there really are transgender people. I happen to know two. I shouldn't have to write this, but they are good, funny, caring people.
I will agree with Rowling about providing safe spaces for sexual assault and violence victims.
I also agree that competent, supportive mental health care ought to be the first step in treating adolescents who are on the autism spectrum, or who have other mental health issues. The European nations who once backed more aggressive treatments have reconsidered and changed their treatment protocols.
Progressives and liberals handled this very poorly. See the expanding LGTBQ+
abbreviation for one example, and the Skrmetti case that went to SCOTUS.
Gotta say, the Thor Benson article about so-called "AI" killing jobs is utter crap. He cites the claim of Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, that it will wipe out half of entry-level jobs within five years. Despite saying he doesn't trust what "these people" say, he says it's worth noting. Why? Not skeptical that Amodei needs people to believe this to allow his company, which is burning way more cash than it generates, to keep getting more money thrown at them? The drop in entry level jobs is a correlation and may simply reflect over-hiring at tech companies during the pandemic or some other variable. We don't know because no one bothers to investigate to find out.
Did Benson actually contact companies to find out how many workers were actually replaced by so-called AI or how many media layoffs are actually due to people not clicking on articles specifically because they read AI summaries? Is it any surprise that so many people in tech jobs believe that AI is going to replace them because that's all the news media tells them? Why did Benson cite a report from Udacity, a division of Accenture, that sells subscriptions to learn how to... wait for it - use Agentic AI! Why would their report be biased towards telling people that AI is going to take their job unless they learn how to use Agentic AI? (You DO get a "Program Certificate" at the end - kind like Scarecrow gets a diploma at the end of The Wizard of Oz.)
So, here we have, 1) "AI" company CEO claims it will take over half the jobs but presents no evidence, 2) other people repeat that, claiming skepticism but saying it should be taken seriously anyway even though they also say "AI... kind of sucks", 3) people who work in those jobs read endless articles saying their job is under threat so they tell pollsters, "My job is under threat." 4) Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Is there no one in the media who will actually investigate how many jobs are actually being taken over by so-called AI and present a mix of views including people skeptical or downright contemptuous of the claims of CEOs whose entire livelihood and future depends on everyone believing their products (what are their products and how much profit are they making?) are going to take everyone's jobs.
Thanks for that link to the Jay Nordlinger piece. It made me realize I should never trust him again.
Lt. Gen Hertling’s piece is sobering. Unfortunately, we have Pete Hegseth trashing our own military and our politics continue to divide our citizenry. I feel even more OTT about our decline than JVL.
Also, to follow up last week’s question: the pears are already ready to be picked because it has been so warm this summer. I remember wearing flannels and jacket doing it when I was a youngster and now I am in tee shirt and shorts since it has been 80 degrees pretty much all week. The wild fire smoke also covers the sky and smells horrible. The fruit will be sweet but everything else looks bleak.