My grandchildren and I have a running joke that they are really in trouble on the nights when their parents go out and leave me in charge. But the truth is they are not the least bit intimidated by their Grandfather, for good reason.
I simply don’t see as part of my job description to be their disciplinarian. That’s their parents’ job. My only red line is any behavior that endangers their safety.
Anyway, they know the limits their parents insist upon and for the most part they try to observe them. And of course parenting today includes the issue of screen time, which was not much of a thing when I was a kid.
Oh, there were limits on TV in some households, and in more recent times on video games as well, but countless generations of kids grew up without exposure to the tiny yet powerful computers everyone carries around in their pockets now — mobile devices capable of storing all the knowledge ever gathered by humankind in all of our collective history.
And now, with ChatGPT-4, Bard and the rest of the artificial intelligence apps, we have technologies that can and will employ vast datasets of digital knowledge banks far larger than any human could master to communicate with us and, eerily, with each other.
How will we adapt to a world where our machines may be smarter than us?
When Alvin Toffler and Adelaide Farrell wrote Future Shock in 1970, they described a psychological state people experience when they face too much change in too short of a time.
The coming of AI in exactly one of those moments, it appears. It’s likely to shake up our world as much as the Internet and mobile devices did and then some — while many of us are still struggling to absorb those previous shocks to our way of life.
I’m not very technical by nature but I’m also not a technophobe, so although AI concerns me, I expect bright young people like my grandchildren to figure out how to cope with it over time, including what to use it for and what not to use it for, as well as how to limit its deleterious effects.
Then again, if it were me who were in charge of all these types of things for them, they’d be in big trouble, if you catch my drift. After all, every good joke needs a punchline and I don’t have mine yet.
LINKS:
Manhattan DA’s office slams House GOP inquiry, says it was motivated by Trump creating ‘false expectation’ of imminent arrest (CNN)
U.S. TikTok ban likely inevitable, regulatory expert says (Fox)
NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs (NPR)
U.S. launches airstrikes in Syria after suspected Iranian drone kills a U.S. worker (NPR)
Is GPT-4 the dawn of true artificial intelligence? (Economist)
Tech guru Jaron Lanier: ‘The danger isn’t that AI destroys us. It’s that it drives us insane’ (Guardian)
AI might have already set the stage for the next tech monopoly (Politico)
The Age of AI has begun — Artificial intelligence is as revolutionary as mobile phones and the Internet. (Bill Gates)
Where today's generative AI shines (Axios)
OpenAI says 80% of workers could see their jobs impacted by AI. These are the jobs most affected (EuroNews)
How academia can embrace ChatGPT and reignite a love for learning (SCMP)
GM to stop making Chevy Camaro, leaving muscle car’s future uncertain (CNN)
Ford CFO: We are ‘refounding’ the company, cutting costs to make EV business profitable (Yahoo)
It Wasn’t Just Credit Suisse. Switzerland Itself Needed Rescuing. (WSJ)
Lawmakers turn up the heat on TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew in high-stakes hearing (NPR)
Texas ‘preemption’ bills escalate war between liberal cities, conservative legislature (The Hill)
Disney World Defies Ron DeSantis by Hosting Gay Rights Summit in Florida (Newsweek)
Afghanistan is ready to work with the US, but sanctions must go (Al Jazeera)
Afghan scholar: Time is up, Taliban must reverse ban on girls going to school (CNN)
The Taliban’s top leader is under pressure for his strict ban on women’s education (Deseret News)
More than 1 million girls barred from classes as Afghan school year begins: UNICEF (First Post)
Xi and Putin pledge to shape a new world order (NBC)
In a Brother Act With Putin, Xi Reveals China’s Fear of Containment (NYT)
Russia launches deadly strikes across Ukraine as China’s Xi departs Moscow. (CNN)
DeSantis calls Putin a ‘war criminal’ after labeling Ukraine war a ‘territorial dispute’ (The Hill)
DeSantis' policy agenda includes new restrictions on abortion and further loosening gun laws, stances that may help him in his expected run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but could hurt his chances of actually being elected, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. (Reuters)
DeSantis wants ‘media accountability.’ A new bill makes suing journalists easier. (WP)
Uganda Passes Strict Anti-Gay Bill That Imposes Death Penalty for Some (NYT)
Most trans adults say transitioning made them more satisfied with their lives (WP)
Iraq WMD failures shadow US intelligence 20 years later (AP)
Deep Sea Mining Just Lost Its Biggest Corporate Backer (Bloomberg)
Trump appointees interfered to weaken EPA assessment of toxic chemical (Guardian)
Trapdoor spider: New giant species found in Australia (BBC)
New Desktop Folder Created For Sad Little Creative Project (The Onion)
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