Elizabeth, you are one talented writer! Of course you are right that all of the guilt for the fallout of the profit machine is being dumped in the individuals’ laps while the executives laugh all the way to the bank, but I just can’t help admire the skill of your writing. So clear, interesting, organized, humorous. I could go on. Bravo!
Goodness, Don. This is one of those comments that is both welcome and wildly unexpected. Thank you for speaking to both the craft and the topic. It sure is affirming when other talented writers offer that sort of observation. With gratitude and respect...I appreciate you.
I am ready to re-read HG Wells' "The Tme Machine" to make sure that I was not the star of the book. movie and machine... Sometimes I am convinced I'm part of a time warp and nothing is real... AI is really going rampant, and I guess because I don't understand much about it. it's both good and bad and neither good nor bad.. Recently I had the time of my life because I asked AI a very important question that I knew the answer to... It gave me an incorrect answer... So I called AI again and I said you are wrong this is the correct answer..... To which a responded you are correct and then started giving me the corrected information.. I'm just thinking today of all the frustrated minds that I have corrected a falsehood into a truth and their lives will be better because of my deeds.🤣🤣🤣..... And by the way, I'm convinced that everybody has our data except us....
AI is far from infallible. And even as its accuracy improves, I think thinking people would be wise to not take what it offers as the final answer. Then again, we've already proven ourselves to be otherwise inclined, given the speed at which we've taken to believing what we see/read on social media. I do hope you'll share your prompt and the incorrect response sometime, and thank you for being of service to humanity yet again, Barry!
Gratitude Elizabeth! Again you bring up a query about “Class-Action Case” interactions and the end result. From financial establishments to medical data collections I too have received checks of varying amounts as compensation for technical blunders. My curiosity goes deeper, received and recorded as income, and taxes due?
While I'm sorry for what must have been a mess of complication for you to have received those previous payouts, I'm glad you got them, Kimberly. Thanks for your curiosity. Keep it up!
In college, I took a class called “Cybernetics and Society” taught by a senior professor, who made us read books like “Walden Two” and “Fahrenheit 451.” He warned that technology is a tool that can be used for good or evil, so it needed to be studied and understood properly. Congress is obviously not up to the job. And frankly I wish everyone in IT had to take his class. The name sounds old fashioned now but he was light years ahead in terms of his insight.
That sounds fascinating, Teresa, and your professor must have been a wise soul. From classes like that, to documentaries like "Social Dilemma" and "The Great Hack," we have so many opportunities to have eyes wide open to the dangers of unchecked use of data and technology. Often, in my experience, we don't know what we don't *want* to know.
He was a fantastic teacher who I still remember today. Technology is developing so rapidly it’s hard to keep up, frankly. But the ethics and importance of monitoring technology’s impact on our society are much easier to understand and appreciate.
It's good to know what while my mind is batting around like a moth against a lightbulb, someone is out there writing a cogent piece that puts a shape around my feeling that "somethin' ain't right." Thank you, E. Your Chicken Scratch should get a Pullet Surprise for writing.
😂 Too funny, Stew. Somebody needs to make me an AI trophy!
On a serious note, I am honored to know this helped tame, temporarily at least, one or two of the monkeys in your mind. Writing things down is one of the only ways I've found to get mine to sit still long enough for me to name them.
Cogent, clear grappling with the odd imbalance we all face -- being small cogs in an enormous, planet-engulfing machine. Thanks for your good thinking and writing.
I appreciate this so much: "I suppose the best I can do right now is stay alert to what’s happening, keep my sense of humor intact, and resist the idea that my only job is to feel guilty about problems too big for any one person to fix." A good maxim for living in the midst of collapsing and emerging world orders.
Collapsing and emerging. That's key, isn't it? We can see what's caving in, and we can't foresee what's being built. But maybe there are still ways we can influence the designs. I hope so! Thank you, Rita.
There is a concept called "responsibilization." It's the way the culture reframes issues to make them the responsibility of individuals, instead of addressing sources of stress and harm. Your essay illuminates a telling example of this.
That's an apt term and a concept I gather (from a few moments of searching) is not new. It sounds like it tends to originate, most often, with governments. Is that how you understand it?
Appreciate the added conversation, Stew. I look forward to learning more.
History repeating itself is worth repeating, isn't it? I really appreciate the reminder, Elizabeth, because there are days when I am stunned enough by the morning NPR blips that I cannot believe anything so wrong can keep repeating itself, too. This too shall pass? Yes. And today that's easier to fathom.,too, because of you. Great correlations! J
Thanks, Janice. "A problem shared is a problem halved." I'm grateful and honored to be among so many good folks all trying to turn this ship away from the shoals.
I agree with Meanwhile, Elsewhere that your Chicken Scratch deserves the Pullet Surprise award for writing! An "eggsellent" idea! It's almost uncanny how often your postings lay bare the the ache, the moral outrage, the joy of our collective hearts. Thank you,Elizabeth!
Ah, so kind, Susan. Thank you. I think we live in a state of energetic awareness, which is an elegant way of saying we're all in this together--consciously or not.
Loved this essay, Elizabeth, both the arguments and the writing. For my own part, I try not to agonise over things too much. We do our bit, such as by finding a new use for as much as possible -- including old cat food, which also feeds a family of foxes, magpies and some crows! There is a Jewish proverb I think is very apposite: The work is not yours to complete, but neither are you free to desist from taking part in it.
Ha - the cat food never stayed around long enough to get old when we had cats, but I'm glad you're making such good use of yours. Happy critters! The proverb is spot on and a message for these times, for sure.
Thanks for chiming in, Terry. Good to see you here.
I know what you mean. In fact, our cats are mad. Sometimes they refuse to eat the fodder we give them, and then will scoff heartily of it when we throw it out for the fox.
Elizabeth, this is so smartly written, and so spot on. Have you read Johann Hari's book Stolen Focus? He makes a similar point: that we didn't have a hand in building systems that are actively causing a lot of harm, and yet somehow we're individually responsible for mitigating the harm they're causing. On the one hand, corporations are people! On the other, rugged individualism! We're all responsible for solving our own problems—as well as pollution, addictive technology, etc.
All very grim, BUT I'm celebrating your check—however symbolic—and raising a glass with you. It might be a small win, but it's a win nonetheless!
I haven't read that book, Irena, but I just placed a hold for it on audio from the library. I appreciate the recommendation.
I actually believe it's a problem that we think of corporations as people. Certainly, they're made up of them, but I see that definition as just a legal loophole to give corporations the rights of people without the same vulnerabilities or moral obligations. Doing so obscures who's actually responsible when something goes wrong and allows them to claim rights that belong to citizens. I could go on, but let's just go get a drink, shall we? :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the kind words.
Oh, I completely agree about the absurdity (and the obscenity) of considering corporations as people. That's the horrible catch-22 of American society—corporations have the rights of people without the vulnerability or the moral obligations (beautifully put, btw!), and they put systems in place that cause enormous problems and that actual people are expected to take responsibility for and somehow solve. Addicted to opioids? Your fault! Addicted to your phone? Your fault! Bank foreclosed on your house? Didn't work hard enough! Etc.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's maddening. A drink sounds great right about now. :-)
We want to be seen, for sure. And deserve to be. But there's a difference between being known and being noticed. The channels so many are using to seek visibility now are thin, distorting, inauthentic. It's the opposite of what we really want, right? And yet for many it feels like the only choice.
I'm still chuckling about that post. Thanks for smiling with me. 😅
Elizabeth, you are one talented writer! Of course you are right that all of the guilt for the fallout of the profit machine is being dumped in the individuals’ laps while the executives laugh all the way to the bank, but I just can’t help admire the skill of your writing. So clear, interesting, organized, humorous. I could go on. Bravo!
Goodness, Don. This is one of those comments that is both welcome and wildly unexpected. Thank you for speaking to both the craft and the topic. It sure is affirming when other talented writers offer that sort of observation. With gratitude and respect...I appreciate you.
Nicely said ... fully agree
Ah, many thanks. So glad to know you're here with me for this conversations.
I am ready to re-read HG Wells' "The Tme Machine" to make sure that I was not the star of the book. movie and machine... Sometimes I am convinced I'm part of a time warp and nothing is real... AI is really going rampant, and I guess because I don't understand much about it. it's both good and bad and neither good nor bad.. Recently I had the time of my life because I asked AI a very important question that I knew the answer to... It gave me an incorrect answer... So I called AI again and I said you are wrong this is the correct answer..... To which a responded you are correct and then started giving me the corrected information.. I'm just thinking today of all the frustrated minds that I have corrected a falsehood into a truth and their lives will be better because of my deeds.🤣🤣🤣..... And by the way, I'm convinced that everybody has our data except us....
AI is far from infallible. And even as its accuracy improves, I think thinking people would be wise to not take what it offers as the final answer. Then again, we've already proven ourselves to be otherwise inclined, given the speed at which we've taken to believing what we see/read on social media. I do hope you'll share your prompt and the incorrect response sometime, and thank you for being of service to humanity yet again, Barry!
Gratitude Elizabeth! Again you bring up a query about “Class-Action Case” interactions and the end result. From financial establishments to medical data collections I too have received checks of varying amounts as compensation for technical blunders. My curiosity goes deeper, received and recorded as income, and taxes due?
While I'm sorry for what must have been a mess of complication for you to have received those previous payouts, I'm glad you got them, Kimberly. Thanks for your curiosity. Keep it up!
In college, I took a class called “Cybernetics and Society” taught by a senior professor, who made us read books like “Walden Two” and “Fahrenheit 451.” He warned that technology is a tool that can be used for good or evil, so it needed to be studied and understood properly. Congress is obviously not up to the job. And frankly I wish everyone in IT had to take his class. The name sounds old fashioned now but he was light years ahead in terms of his insight.
That sounds fascinating, Teresa, and your professor must have been a wise soul. From classes like that, to documentaries like "Social Dilemma" and "The Great Hack," we have so many opportunities to have eyes wide open to the dangers of unchecked use of data and technology. Often, in my experience, we don't know what we don't *want* to know.
Thanks for your thoughts.
He was a fantastic teacher who I still remember today. Technology is developing so rapidly it’s hard to keep up, frankly. But the ethics and importance of monitoring technology’s impact on our society are much easier to understand and appreciate.
It's good to know what while my mind is batting around like a moth against a lightbulb, someone is out there writing a cogent piece that puts a shape around my feeling that "somethin' ain't right." Thank you, E. Your Chicken Scratch should get a Pullet Surprise for writing.
😂 Too funny, Stew. Somebody needs to make me an AI trophy!
On a serious note, I am honored to know this helped tame, temporarily at least, one or two of the monkeys in your mind. Writing things down is one of the only ways I've found to get mine to sit still long enough for me to name them.
Cogent, clear grappling with the odd imbalance we all face -- being small cogs in an enormous, planet-engulfing machine. Thanks for your good thinking and writing.
Much appreciated, Stephanie, truly. I'm so much better at grappling knowing I have other good-hearted souls nearby.
I appreciate this so much: "I suppose the best I can do right now is stay alert to what’s happening, keep my sense of humor intact, and resist the idea that my only job is to feel guilty about problems too big for any one person to fix." A good maxim for living in the midst of collapsing and emerging world orders.
Collapsing and emerging. That's key, isn't it? We can see what's caving in, and we can't foresee what's being built. But maybe there are still ways we can influence the designs. I hope so! Thank you, Rita.
There is a concept called "responsibilization." It's the way the culture reframes issues to make them the responsibility of individuals, instead of addressing sources of stress and harm. Your essay illuminates a telling example of this.
That's an apt term and a concept I gather (from a few moments of searching) is not new. It sounds like it tends to originate, most often, with governments. Is that how you understand it?
Appreciate the added conversation, Stew. I look forward to learning more.
History repeating itself is worth repeating, isn't it? I really appreciate the reminder, Elizabeth, because there are days when I am stunned enough by the morning NPR blips that I cannot believe anything so wrong can keep repeating itself, too. This too shall pass? Yes. And today that's easier to fathom.,too, because of you. Great correlations! J
Thanks, Janice. "A problem shared is a problem halved." I'm grateful and honored to be among so many good folks all trying to turn this ship away from the shoals.
I agree with Meanwhile, Elsewhere that your Chicken Scratch deserves the Pullet Surprise award for writing! An "eggsellent" idea! It's almost uncanny how often your postings lay bare the the ache, the moral outrage, the joy of our collective hearts. Thank you,Elizabeth!
Ah, so kind, Susan. Thank you. I think we live in a state of energetic awareness, which is an elegant way of saying we're all in this together--consciously or not.
So good to see you!
Loved this essay, Elizabeth, both the arguments and the writing. For my own part, I try not to agonise over things too much. We do our bit, such as by finding a new use for as much as possible -- including old cat food, which also feeds a family of foxes, magpies and some crows! There is a Jewish proverb I think is very apposite: The work is not yours to complete, but neither are you free to desist from taking part in it.
Ha - the cat food never stayed around long enough to get old when we had cats, but I'm glad you're making such good use of yours. Happy critters! The proverb is spot on and a message for these times, for sure.
Thanks for chiming in, Terry. Good to see you here.
I know what you mean. In fact, our cats are mad. Sometimes they refuse to eat the fodder we give them, and then will scoff heartily of it when we throw it out for the fox.
Elizabeth, this is so smartly written, and so spot on. Have you read Johann Hari's book Stolen Focus? He makes a similar point: that we didn't have a hand in building systems that are actively causing a lot of harm, and yet somehow we're individually responsible for mitigating the harm they're causing. On the one hand, corporations are people! On the other, rugged individualism! We're all responsible for solving our own problems—as well as pollution, addictive technology, etc.
All very grim, BUT I'm celebrating your check—however symbolic—and raising a glass with you. It might be a small win, but it's a win nonetheless!
I haven't read that book, Irena, but I just placed a hold for it on audio from the library. I appreciate the recommendation.
I actually believe it's a problem that we think of corporations as people. Certainly, they're made up of them, but I see that definition as just a legal loophole to give corporations the rights of people without the same vulnerabilities or moral obligations. Doing so obscures who's actually responsible when something goes wrong and allows them to claim rights that belong to citizens. I could go on, but let's just go get a drink, shall we? :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the kind words.
Oh, I completely agree about the absurdity (and the obscenity) of considering corporations as people. That's the horrible catch-22 of American society—corporations have the rights of people without the vulnerability or the moral obligations (beautifully put, btw!), and they put systems in place that cause enormous problems and that actual people are expected to take responsibility for and somehow solve. Addicted to opioids? Your fault! Addicted to your phone? Your fault! Bank foreclosed on your house? Didn't work hard enough! Etc.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's maddening. A drink sounds great right about now. :-)
🍺🍷🍹☕️🥛🧃🧉 <--- all the drinks!!
Empathic and emotional....your words strike many chords
I always appreciate your sensitivities, Jill. Thank you so much.
The Facebook post you saw is, of course, pretty funny. "People want their data protected; they also want witnesses to their indignation."
Yes.
I think in so many ways, people simply want witnesses.
We want to be seen, for sure. And deserve to be. But there's a difference between being known and being noticed. The channels so many are using to seek visibility now are thin, distorting, inauthentic. It's the opposite of what we really want, right? And yet for many it feels like the only choice.
I'm still chuckling about that post. Thanks for smiling with me. 😅