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AI: A substitute for real intelligence

I have a theory about the artificial intelligence craze that is delighting some and scaring others. It is that we are losing natural intelligence and thus risk seduction by something that can do the thinking for us. Never mind acquiring wisdom, which is defined as “the ability to use your knowledge, experience, and deep understanding to make sound decisions, good judgments, and insightful choices.” Why bother with any of this when you can have AI take the place of your brain? Except that AI only responds to what you ask it to do— such as write an essay on a topic. It makes no ...

Closed primaries a curse on our democracy

I didn’t leave my political party; my party left me. Both of them. I’ve been a Democrat, and I’ve been a Republican. What I am now doesn’t matter. The point is that a lot of American voters feel perpetually frustrated by the choices they find on the November ballot. The Democratic or Republican candidate is often chosen in low-turnout primaries where organized ideologues or special interest groups select the nominee. Right now, about 47% of registered American voters do not affiliate with a party. That’s almost half the electorate. Independents are the largest group ...

More threats to the freedom of speech

The freedom of speech and of the press is not a gift bestowed by a president, Congress or a federal agency. It is a natural right of all persons. The First Amendment does not create that right; it prohibits the government from infringing upon it. The ability to think, speak, write, criticize, ridicule, persuade, offend, dissent and challenge those in government is among the most fundamental preconditions of the exercise of human liberty. It is also indispensable to personal happiness. A person who cannot speak his mind, question authority, express unpopular ideas or tell the government ...

The rise of AI populism

Last week, the unlikely duo of Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon keynoted a Washington conference to demand a stop to AI, its data centers and the risks AI poses to jobs and even to the human species. Notably, both lambasted the corporate oligarchs behind AI. The most potent force in American politics is anti-establishment fury at a system seen as rigged against average working people. AI has become Exhibit A. Until recently both parties largely avoided criticizing the wealthy corporate elites that funded their campaigns. In nature as in politics, one does not bite the hands that ...

When faith takes the field

One of the fun things I love during the NFL season is getting into the back-and-forth banter on Facebook with my high school and college friends. One of my college classmates posts his weekly “Bum List,” where he asks those of us whose teams lost the previous Sunday to still “rep” our squad. As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I have taken some friendly heat regarding their three-year absence from the playoffs. For this week's Bum List, my college classmate, a Steelers fan, told me he saw “potential” in Dallas' win over the Washington Commanders, while lamenting that ...

Patrick Clancy’s riveting ‘60 Minutes’ interview

Patrick Clancy’s interview on “60 Minutes” was among the most riveting, painful and spiritually challenging conversations I have witnessed in years. It was not merely an interview about a criminal trial or a family tragedy. It was the testimony of a father attempting to remain alive after the world he knew was destroyed. Patrick lost his three children Cora, Dawson and Callan at the hands of their mother, Lindsay Clancy. No sentence can adequately contain the horror of that reality. There are losses so profound that ordinary language becomes inadequate. Yet Patrick sat ...