• LATEST STUDIES FIND TEENAGERS INCREASINGLY INTERACTING WITH A.I. as if it were a companion, capable of providing advice and friendship. Artificial intelligence has now become a go-to source for their personal advice, emotional support, problem solving, and everyday decision making. More than 70% use it regularly and – despite saying they ‘distrust’ the advice – nearly a third admit discussing serious or important issues in conversations which are “as or more satisfying than talking with real friends; moreover, research has found that children as young as 8 are using generative AI to explore their sexuality and for companionship.” The AI industry is now becoming as integrated with adolescence as smartphones and social media, and concern is validly increasing about its potential to “redefine human relationships and exacerbate crises of loneliness and youth mental health. Since adolescence is a critical time for developing identity, social skills and independence in real-world interactions, especially in creativity, critical thinking and developing trust in themselves to make a decision (versus dependency on feedback from AI), a real problem is rapidly emerging. [ASSOCIATED PRESS]

 

  • “A STUPID PERSON IS OFTEN MORE DANGEROUS THAN AN EVIL PERSON, and has greater potential to damage our lives, especially when it goes hand-in-hand with Power in the public sphere. History and politics are swimming with examples of when the stupid have risen to the top (including when those smart are excluded or killed). Reality is that the nature of power requires people surrender certain faculties necessary for intelligent thought – like independence, critical thinking and reflection. So, the more someone becomes part of the establishment, the less an individual they become, with slogans, catchwords and the like effectively turning them into automatons, engaging their smiles rather than their brains and choosing to follow suit rather than think things through. Because evil people find it hard to take Power, they need stupid people to do their bidding. Whenever stupidity takes reign, we should be angry and scared.” [BIG THINK]

 

  • FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN PHASING OUT MULTILINGUAL SERVICES, in compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order designating English as the Official National Language. This includes I.R.S., which currently provides basic tax info with 100+ tax forms in twenty languages, along with free phone & in-person translation services plus operating Spanish social media accounts. IRS is now close to eliminating non-English tax services, and redirecting those funds toward research & programs to “expedite English-language acquisition and increase English proficiency and assimilation.” [ACCOUNTING TODAY]

 

  • NEXT SUPREME COURT SESSION starting October will be tackling hot-button social and political issues including: (1) Transexuals’ Rights – Sex Conversion therapy for minors, state bans on men in women’s sports; (2) Election Integrity – ballot counting post-election day (Illinois allows 14 days), Redistricting to favor minorities, Political Party spending limits on candidates; (3) Freedom of Speech – in public places including Protest events, Records Privacy in anti-abortion centers; (4) Death Penalty protection – for intellectually disabled criminals based on I.Q. scores; (5) Government Contractor protection – from events leading to veteran’s injuries. [EPOCH TIMES]

 
THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

  • One of the major reasons why California has become unaffordable and losing thousands of residents yearly are the Government Unions – over a million combined teachers, school, municipal and public safety employees who pay over a Billion in dues annually, with some $150 million spent to fund Democratic Party campaigns, ballot measures, political staff, lobbyists and ‘issue advocacy.’ Besides ensuring a unicameral Democrat legislature, Unions effectively control the state Governor and ‘collective bargaining’ process (such that union retirees collect $70K annual pensions), while having little if any incentive to improve education, ensure trash collection, or fill dozens of thousands of potholes. [WASHINGTON EXAMINER]

 

  • Latest survey of small business by Intuit/QuickBooks found that bank credit cards have been the most popular way to finance over the past two years, especially when offered by their business banks, and that over half charge at least a quarter of monthly business expenses to the cards despite substantially higher rates than conventional financing alternatives.
  • Researchers at Microsoft tried to determine which precise jobs are most and least likely to be replaced by generative AI —and the results are bad news for anyone currently enjoying the perks of a cushy desk job. They analyzed a dataset of 200K anonymized and privacy-scrubbed conversations between users and Bing Copilot, and found that the occupations most likely to be made obsolete by the tech involve “providing information and assistance, writing, teaching, and advising.” According to the analysis, jobs most likely to be replaced include translators, historians, sales reps, writers, authors, and customer service reps. Jobs that are the safest from AI automation, in contrast, include heavy machinery and motorboat operators, housekeepers, roofers, massage therapists, and dishwashers. [FUTURISM]
  • “A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”

Vogue just published its first AI model — the beauty on the right