First Blog

THE THREE STAGES OF AI USAGE We divide AI users into three categories based on how much human thinking they outsource. To some degree, almost everyone uses AI. We consider measuring by how much.  Never get to Stage 3. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Three Stages of AI Usage Most people use artificial intelligence only occasionally, asking for directions, checking grammar, summarizing an article, or answering an isolated question. For these users, AI is simply another convenient tool, much like a calculator or a search engine. However, among regular users a progression often emerges. The relationship between the individual and the AI changes over time, moving from assistance to dependence and, potentially, to cognitive helplessness. Each stage represents a greater outsourcing of human thought, i.e. cognition. Stage 1: Reliance At the first stage, AI functions as a productivity enhancer. The individual rema...

      Prologue Standing before many of us is the advent of a wealth tax. It is to be first upon billionaires, but as we all know, it will creep downward, down to millionaires. There is a movement to make it a national tax, with states like New York and California hoping to keep their wealthy from defecting. This is the setting. The details are where the true horror lies, and the details are the administration of such a tax. This article is about those details. What we propose is that a wealth tax is so complex that our current legislatures are incapable of writing it. Moreover, it opens endless possibilities for fraud, litigation, graft, bribery, and all manner of corruption. Below we give the section headings, so you can skip around as desired. I’m not supporting the billionaires, because they will find a way to defeat the system. It will be the rest of us, the not-so-wealthy, who will cover the true costs of the wealth tax. Heck, I’m a retired professor and ha...