First Blog

  Aliens and Us Introduction . If you believe there are aliens, even visitors to Earth, you must consider that these civilizations have evolved their knowledge and world, perhaps in ways similar to ours. They traversed periods of continual war, industrialization, nuclear invention, our current AI crisis, and crises beyond that yet unknown to us. What survived is what they are. Have they merged with their machines, maintained their identity, or been completely surpassed by their electronic progeny? Of course, we cannot know, but as to AI we can consider possibilities and options, at least to write them down. One current plan, emerging from all over, is to delimit or shackle further AI development. On this, it takes only one party not to comply to ensure our own destruction. Let’s consider the possibilities. Three Possibilities. The premise is sound and cuts to the heart of the Fermi paradox’s quieter implications. Any civilization capable of interstellar travel—or even reliab...

  A recent paper in a psychology journal reveals that your resilience and well-being are determinants for your positive mental health. Yet this is not new; it is a common expression in the military dating from WWII: “Noli Illigitimti Carborundum,” meaning “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” It is not ancient nor Latin. The Selfishness Paradox. For your welfare, one way is to think mostly of your own welfare, progress, and wealth. The other way is to focus on giving yourself to the welfare of others. Both can be immensely satisfying. Many professionals and others follow the latter: teachers, ministers, parents, …

  Note. If you're middle-aged with aging parents, then your inheritance will depend on who is elected president. The Dems currently plan to impose an inheritance tax. Currently, there is a tax on only very wealthy beneficiaries.

  Where science fiction meets reality. Curiously, in the movie "Forbidden Planet," the entire Krell population perished by creating a world without instrumentation. In our current world, the entire population may be destroyed by AI by creating a world without thought.

 

 

 For little boys, catsup is the next step after mother's milk. This continues until replaced again by beer and coffee. Now you know.

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...