Intelligence

You never know what might attract my attention, and today it was an article in the April Vanity Fair. Entitled "Elon Musk's Future Shock" and written by Maureen Dowd, it is essentially a presentation of the pros and cons of artificial intelligence and its potential to change the nature of what it means to be human. It is a serious issue. Strangely, although I'm sure I fall on the conservative "go slow" end of the spectrum, I don't disrespect all the work being done in this area; creativity is part of what we are here for.

But at the risk of being a broken record, I do have to comment on the fact that if Dowd's reporting (or the magazine's illustration of the fifteen figures most actively involved in the debate) accurately portrays the world of artificial intelligence, it is an all-male endeavor. Talk about "life out of balance." Goodness. What if, before leap-frogging into this potentially terrifying future, institutions were to fully engage the intelligence and sensibilities of women? What if our insights (in this and other areas) were actively, open-heartedly sought after? Just asking.

And slightly off topic, may I just say how heartbreaking it is to hear the nickname "Mother of All Bombs." I'm sorry. The essential role of a mother is to give life, not to take it.

That's all for today, I guess!