Artificial Intelligence Could Spell Disaster  #375

By Hank Silverberg 

Commentary

What I am about to write could anger some people. And others will think it's an exaggeration, but there's a big chance that Artificial Intelligence could change the world so much that 2046 will bear little resemblance to 2026.  

AI is a mass fake. Everything it touches becomes artificial. It has placed doubt on everything from a  7th grade English class essay to pictures of Nazi death camps during the Holocaust. 

Promoters say AI is just a tool to help humans do things better, more efficiently and with less stress, when it actually is damaging individual creativity, our ability to communicate one-on-one, and our ability to find truth in mass communication. 

Let's be clear. I am not talking about robots designed to build cars or vacuum the floor. We have dealt with automation and mechanical changes for the last 100 years often awkwardly, but without disasters. I am focusing on human brain power, the ability to reason, understand information, and continue the general human empathy and commerce that makes life worth living. 

AI is a jumble of real information, interpreted by algorithms and false information that turns fact into fiction and fiction into fact. It is not always intentional. AI after all, is a machine, and for now--at least--can only spit out data that has been programmed in. Used nefariously it has already had a major impact on our politics, commerce and lifestyle. Historical facts are jumbled around, real life-like video of famous and not-so-famous people is produced to make them say and do things they have never done. But those people developing AI say this is just the beginning. Soon those AI robots that interpret a dance and mimic it, will be able to choreograph their own steps. For now, AI can write papers and produce art based on information  provided by humans and simply rearrange it. And it's often stolen from its human creator without credit or compensation.  But it's only a matter of time before an AI produces its own work with no human input at all. Some newsrooms are already using AI to restructure information gathered by people. Some folks are taking old photographs and using AI to change the context and distort the reality. I saw one this week: a Nazi photograph of the massacre at Babi Yar taken in 1941. An AI had been used to enhance the photo, and already people reading the on-line post were questioning the authenticity of not just the photo, but of the event itself.  

So we are already in trouble. For now it's nefarious humans using AI to deceive you or mislead you. But how long will it be before the human mind becomes a subject of Artificial Intelligence, at first just maneuvered by it, and then controlled by it? That could be just 20 years away. 

What can we do about it?  Frankly, I'm not sure. But I will not be using AI for anything, keeping my mind and actions free from any manipulation. And I will question the source of anything I see, hear or read. You should, too.  

News You May Have Missed!

Did Vladimir Putin strike again? Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died two years ago in a remote prison. Now comes some documentation that he was poisoned with a deadly toxin found in South American dart frogs. 

Five European governments issued a statement on Saturday saying they are confident that Navalny was poisoned and that the Russian government was 

(biographieonline.it)

the likely suspect in his murder. The conclusion came after an analysis of his body confirmed the presence of "epibatidine," which is found only in a wild South American frog that is not found in Russia. Russia claims he died of natural causes while serving a 30-year sentence in a high security prison above the Arctic Circle. 

Navalny's wife blamed Putin. Navalny was an anti-corruption campaigner and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests before he was arrested. He had survived one assassination attempt in 2020, and he later said Russian security agents had targeted him again.  

It is not the first time Putin has been accused of murdering his political opponents within Russia. 

    https://time.com/7378735/navalny-poison-frog-toxin-russia/

The Final Frontier

There's been a lot of attention paid recently to the impending launch of the Artemis II mission to the Moon coming up later this year, but it is not the only game in town. Last week, four people were launched into orbit on NASA's Space X-12 headed for the International Space Station, and they docked there on Saturday. Included are Americans Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French Astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian Cosmonaut Andrew Fedyaev.

(ISS, Curtesy, NASA)  

They will stay on the ISS for eight months doing scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit and ways to produce food in space. They replace the crew which left the ISS a month early because of a sick crew member. There are now seven people in orbit on the space station. Meanwhile, NASA is preparing Artemis II for a ten-day mission in March to the Moon and beyond with four astronauts.  

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/14/nx-s1-5714583/nasa-spacex-crew-12-iss

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

There is a tie this week for dumbest quote between President Donald Trump and his Attorney General, Pam Bondi. Let's start with Mr. Trump, who most people know by now puts very little thought behind many of his statements. He is apparently not pleased with the current deal for the construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge between Detroit and Ontario, which is half finished. Despite a joint agreement that splits Canadian steel and U.S. steel and workers that come from both sides of the border, Trump thinks the U.S. is getting a raw deal. So he lashed out at Caninfada with this bizarre comment:

 "Prime Minister Carney wants to make a deal with China — which will eat Canada alive...The first thing China will do is terminate all Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate the Stanley Cup."

  What is really behind his rant on the bridge? Apparently, when it is finished it will draw traffic  and revenue away from another nearby local bridge where the tolls are collected by a friend of Mr. Trump. That friend apparently had a conversation with the President last week just before his rant against Canada.  

As for Bondi, her dumb quote came during her "testimony" before the House Judiciary Committee looking into the Epstein files. She was pushed hard by Democrats on why so much information has been redacted and why it's taking so long to get all the files released, and the procedure for how it can be reviewed by Congress. But in an attempt to change the narrative, in frustration Bondi blurted out: 

     "The Dow is over 50,000 right now! The S&P at almost 7,000 and the NASDAQ smashing records. Americans' 401Ks and retirements are booming. That's what we should be talking about!"

The diversion effort failed. The comment had no relevance to the committee hearing, and the Democrats kept pressing. Coincidently, the Dow dropped below the record 50,000 mark while Bondi was testifying.  

The administration continues diversion tactics even though the President's approval rating continues to fall and the mid-term election approaches. 

(You suggestions and comments  are welcome)

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