Writing
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I wrote the post below for Your Angry Pediatrician after a recent sit down to watch “Goodfellas,” one of my favorite mob movies (the first two Godfathers, and Casino are on the short list as well). Listening to Henry Hill’s monologues, it was too perfect a fit for today’s lunatic, depraved criminality in and around…
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This essay is the third in a series exploring issues around AI. The first is a high-level explainer of how AI works; the second about the challenges of accurately discussing AI given the linguistic challenges of describing software without anthropomorphizing. This essay explores the risks of AI, which ones are real, and which ones are self-serving…
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Things get messy when fat stacks hit the table This is more a speculative essay than a good old angry rant. You know my opinions about the adverse effects of social media in the hands of the grifting “influencers”. We’ve always had frauds and charlatans peddling snake oil and potions, but the powerful manipulation of…
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How worried should we be and why? This is a meandering essay about language, intelligence, and the claims of AI enthusiasts and catastrophists. Although I’m no expert, given how little we really know about human cognition relative to its infinite complexity, I am skeptical about both apocalyptic and utopian predictions AI and our future. What…
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(originally posted on Your Angry Pediatrician on Substack, lightly edited) This is a story of how in science, despite our attempts to achieve some understanding of objective reality, context still matters. What seems like a good idea in one instance can become a really bad idea in another, not because the science changed, because it…
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The explosive growth of AI technology raises a host of concerns. Data centers hosting AI servers are projected to consume unsustainable amounts of electicity in the near future. At the same time, despite the wonderous achievements so far, critical questions about what society gains from this technology remain unanswered. Our challenge is addressing the issues…
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I wasn’t planning to write on this topic again so soon, but I guess the state of the world is such that it can’t be avoided. I recently needed to avail myself of the services of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, using their online portal. First, what a wonderful service! Kudos to the hardworking…
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Staying ahead of current events is a constant challenge for Science Fiction writers. What seemed like gee-whiz future tech yesterday is now sitting on the kitchen counter. If you are not careful, the future you create may end up looking like a bad episode of the Jetsons. Thanks to a recent post by Cassie Kozyrkov (@decisionleader.bsky.social), we…
