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Laurel Bruce's avatar

I half expected this brilliant essay to start with the salutation, “My Dear Wormwood.”

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Gayle Frances Larkin's avatar

Every child using AI is really being cheated. There is such a joy in achievement when a massive difficulty is solved by using one's creative skills. In some areas it's essential to physically examine data to ensure the results are reasonable and correct. AI will not recognise some anomalies that can ultimately produce disastrous results. And the poor deprived child will not experience the elation of discovery...

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Nick Palmer's avatar

Gayle, you are so right. In fact, there will be kids raised to love learning. Those who now lament “the haves and the have nots” have no idea how much worse it could get. I never saw the movie WALL-E, but I did read Wells’ The Time Machine.

As a grandparent, I’m so glad my kids successfully navigated the high-school/university muddle between 2005 and 2016. It’s now far worse.

Fortunately, there are an increasing number of school concepts that return to love of learning at their core. While this love does start in the home, schools can cooperate in the program. It’s heartening to see the explosion of experimentation here in the US.

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Art Wilkins's avatar

Praise be to Swift, Austen, and the White Rose.

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Michele Skinner's avatar

Thanks for the "shock and awe." Two things come to mind--

1) I recently bought a "modern" version of Dante's Inferno. (I have a legit version but thought to expand my understanding.) Before I finished even the first paragraph, I knew it was AI generated. When I tried to return it, Amazon gave me back my money, and said "keep it!"

2) AI can be unplugged.

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Peggy Burt Edwards's avatar

Glenn Beck had an excellent segment this week in response to Pope Leo’s warnings against AI. I appreciate your enlightening and humorous take as we all try to determine what we are standing on as we assess and assimilate this technology: a firm foundation or quick sand?

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Linda Whitlock's avatar

I agree with Rebecca! Excellent piece and, sadly, so close to being true.

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Rebecca Pettigrew's avatar

Please submit this piece to the Wall Street Journal and First Things.

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Brendan's avatar

Sadly, our leaders seem perfectly fine with this Swiftian (Faustian?) bargain. 😕

https://apnews.com/article/ai-regulation-state-moratorium-congress-39d1c8a0758ffe0242283bb82f66d51a

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rKf's avatar

Close? It’s upon us.

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