1 May 2023

Geoffrey Hinton is quitting Google in order to speak freely about the risks of AI.  His first concern is not about what the AI might do of its own volition.  Hinton’s second concern is that AI will soon eliminate rote jobs.  His final concern is that he is literally worried that an advance Artificial General Intelligence could eventually “possibly eliminate humanity itself.  Hinton mentored A.I. legends like Yann LeCun and Alex Graves, so he knows what he is talking about.  Humanity can be destroyed in different ways.  I don't think that A.G.I. will necessarily kill us by dropping bombs us.  It may not even disable our financial system.  It could trigger the end of humanity as we know it by causing humans to think in destructive ways, by exploiting new powers that people didn't have before.  Powers to deceive us, to distract us, to demoralize us and to cause harm and grief to each other. 

Geoffrey Hinton

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Bad news for Multnomah County residents.  As if you needed another reason not to live in Multnomah County - now your asset wealth will be taxed.  Think you've budgeted to live off your retirement savings?  Think again.  You'll pay a new tax when you start liquidating your retirement savings. 
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Your children belong to the state now.  More on HB2002B.  Your children belong to groomers now.  It's the new Democrat sickness.

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Shortages.  It's become the watchword of the times.  But it's always serious when it comes to medication.  Drug shortages may be with us for a long, long time.

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It's barely May, and already we're on track to be the second place year for the most bankruptcies.  It's going to be hard to beat the 2008/2009 Great Recession, but who knows?

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Artificial companionship.  They'd go for Replika in Japan, I'm sure.  But there's a market for it here, too.  While some may view it as a sad commentary on where society is going, something like this probably meets a serious psychological need for some people, and that may be enough to keep someone going until they get back on their feet.  But deep down inside, people need honest companionship, and the software for that isn't here yet.

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There's a report that suggests that rheumatoid arthritis is caused by a type of bacteria from the Subdoligranulum genus.  Afflicted animals were found to have antibodies and activated T-cells against this organism, so it might not be a bacterial infection per se, but the result of an immune response set off by this type of bacteria.  So it still makes sense to give steroids and immunosuppressive therapy, which would ordinarily be contraindicated for a bacterial infection.  It's an interesting theory, and is not universally accepted but worthy of further study.

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