Death of the Public Intellectual: What happens when intelligence becomes a commodity available on demand?

 “I was just hoping you could give me some insight into the evolution of the market economy in the southern colonies. My contention is that prior to the Revolutionary War, the economic modalities, especially in the southern colonies, could most aptly be characterized as agrarian pre-capital—”

Michael Ashley – Remember this film?

In the famous scene, Will Hunting (Matt Damon) destroys his intellectual rival with this takedown: “Of course that’s your contention. You’re a first-year grad student. You just got finished reading some Marxian historian, Pete Garrison probably. You’re gonna be convinced of that until next month when you get to James Lemon. Then you’re gonna be talking about how the economies of Virginia and Pennsylvania were entrepreneurial and capitalist way back in 1740. That’s gonna last until next year. You’re gonna be in here regurgitating Gordon Wood, talkin’ about, you know, the Pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital-forming effects of military mobilization.” Continue reading →

The Haunting “60 Minutes” AI Episode Every Parent Should Watch

Michael Ashley – Several people in my life told me I had to watch last week’s 60 Minutes special: “Character AI: AI’s Dangerous Grip on Young Minds.”

I did. In a word, it’s chilling.

Here’s a description of the core story:

At the heart of this investigation is the tragic story of a teenage girl whose interactions with AI chatbots led her down a disturbing and destructive path. Her parents recount how their daughter spent increasing amounts of time on the platform Character AI, a service that allows users to chat with bots that mimic personalities—real or fictional—in highly personalized conversations.

Sadly, this relationship between human and AI ended with the teen girl taking her own life. My heart goes out to her and her family. There are no words that can possibly assuage the grief her mom and dad must be feeling. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and I encourage us all to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Continue reading →