Raising AI

 Ran into a new Science Magazine book review. Another one jumps the rope line...

Can AI Help Us Conquer Fear? 

In the era of AI media, what is most crucial to remember is that the enemy of fear, divisiveness, polarization, and hatred is empathy. Being able to see things from another’s frame of mind, to feel how they feel—that is empathy, and it’s what changes a dehumanized object from your out-groups into a human in your in-group. 

AI needs to be helping us humans to develop empathy. 

     Because empathy is hard: it’s expensive; it’s far easier when safety and security are plentiful; and it’s affordable only to those with sufficient means. 

We’re not talking just about sympathy. Sympathy is when you react to someone’s feelings and thoughts from your own perspective—for example, showing pity or offering soothing words or mannerisms. Empathy, in contrast, is when you share someone’s feelings and thoughts from their perspective. 

Nor are we talking about knee-jerk unconscious reflexive affective empathy, like when you feel sad when someone cries. Or when you wince if you see someone trip and fall. Or when your heart swells up watching a sweet kid being happy to receive an award. (This kind of emotional empathy has been theorized to be related to what’s called mirror neurons.) 

Rather, we’re talking about conscious cognitive empathy, where you truly take yourself out of your own in-group’s tribal mindset and instead put yourself in the head and heartspace of a culturally different out-group, of another tribe. 

Conscious empathy requires carrying a heavy cognitive load, heavier than those who are struggling to feed themselves and their families can typically afford to do take on. 

But just as with other cognitively expensive and difficult tasks—like the maps and contact books on my phone—AI can help us. 

We can no longer afford the “us and them” mindset. “From me to we” is a cliché we need to take much more seriously. We need AI to help us to make the cognitively challenging shift toward empathy so that it becomes far more broadly accessible. 

Human culture is heavily based on linguistic constructs: language shapes how we frame ideas, aspirations, concerns in ways that invoke either fear or trust or joy or anticipation or some other response and promote mindsets such as “abundance versus scarcity.” 

My research pioneered global-scale online language translators, which spawned AIs such as Google and Microsoft and Yahoo Translate. But today our research program has been making an even more ambitious paradigm shift to advance from just language translation to cultural translation because in the AI era it is crucial that we develop AI to help humans with the cognitively difficult task of better understanding and relating to how out-group others frame things. 

We need AI to be democratizing empathy rather than WMDs. We must stop AI-powered fearmongering from driving our civilizations headlong into mutually assured destruction. Even if all our many cultures don’t agree on everything, we need AI to help us with listening to each other, suspending our fear. 

And we all need to be a part of this cultural shift. It takes a village.

Kai, De. Raising AI: An Essential Guide to Parenting Our Future (pp. xiii-xv). (Function). Kindle Edition.

A tale of two rivers

Douro River, Portugal, June 26th

 

Guadalupe River, Texas, July 4th

We returned home on July 3rd. The next day all raging, mucky, towering wall-of-water hell broke loose in central Texas. The flash flood death toll as of tonight is about 120, and continues to rise, with an estimated ~170 people still missing. A ghastly, heart-numbing tragedy.

She is Risen

 Kara Swisher

 

 

I watch the PBS Washington Week religiously. I assert, absent fear of substantive material pushback, that you don't get to be the solo guest interviewee unless Yo' Shit Be Dispositively Tight. 

 

Enjoy.

 

Yeah, Fanboy.

 

I covered the Digital Health startup space in Silicon Valley and beyond (e.g., HIMSS) for a number of years during my 3rd and final stint with the Nevada-Utah Medicare QIO (a side-gig Cosplay "photojournalist"). I had always hoped to encounter Kara Swisher at one of those events. I have long admired her chops. Her tagline used to be "The Grumpy Lady of Tech." Loved it.

 

Magnificent Portugal

Our Douro River Cruise

 

A lot to reflect upon. Portugal is fabulous. Viking is fabulous. Portugal goes back more than 2,400 years. Current population roughly 10,000,000. Imagine a nation of friendly, industrious, creative people with nothing to prove. The Portuguese language is absolutely beautiful, lyrical.

 

We flew into Lisbon. Two days later we bussed up to Porto,
stopping to tour historical Coimbra.

Downtown Lisbon

Coimbra

The Douro River. Going upriver toward Spain we traversed 5 locks, elevating to more than 500 feet above sea level.

The Mateus Palace

Coimbra

 

More to come.

Independence Day

Vacation

 Tons of relevant prior posts & book recs. Read up. back soon.

UPDATE: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BOBBYG?

UPDATE. WE'RE HOME. BEEN ON A VIKING RIVER CRUISE IN PORTUGAL 

Rest in Peace, Ranger

   

We have had Ranger for 7 1/2 yrs. A stray rescue who my son found late on the night of January 15th. 2018 in California. Cheryl and I had to have him put down this morning. He'd become terribly, irreversibly ill, immobilized, no longer eating, incontinent, stone-deaf for more than a year. I am just crushed. The big dogs just don't live long enough. 

 

My scrappy little terrier-mix elder dog Carlos (going on 16) is wandering around the house perplexed.

Donald Trump, Two weeks' Notice on Iran.

OK, shall we rewind the news clips back 4 years?

 

 

 

 

JUST ANNOUNCED, NATIONWIDE THEATRICAL RELEASE IN TWO WEEKS!

 

I  coulda done better with that one. Whatever; a 5 minute Photoshop quickie.

Confidence Man

 

 

I'll likely take shit over this from the huge cohort of Haberman Haters, but, I'm finding this book quite worthy. Particularly given that Trump is now in a position to cause a monumental military mess in Iran.

 

AND, ANOTHER BOOK

 

 

Heard an NPR interview...

Ambassador Mike Huckabee to Donald Trump:

"It is my honor to serve you!"

Mr President, God spared you in Butler, PA to be the most consequential President in a century-maybe ever.

The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice. I am your appointed servant in this land and am available for you but I do not try to get in your presence often because I trust your instincts. No President in my lifetime has been in a position like yours. Not since Truman in 1945. I don't reach out to persuade you. Only to encourage you. I believe you will hear from heaven and that voice is far more important than mine or ANYONE else's. You sent me to Israel to be your eyes, ears and voice and to make sure our flag flies above our embassy. My job is to be the last one to leave.

I will not abandon this post. Our flag will NOT come down! You did not seek this moment. This moment sought YOU! It is my honor to serve you!

Mike Huckabee

The foregoing is the full text of a Truth Social post of Mike's (which Trump re-posted). Note he did not say "an honor to serve the American people."

 

THINGS ARE MOVING QUICKLY

 

Congress didn't get The Article I
Declaration of War Memo, one presumes.

 

UPDATE

Trump’s Gilded Gut Instinct

Wall Street analysts recently began joking that the best way to predict the behavior of President Trump — and make money in the process — was by practicing the “TACO trade,” which stands for “Trump always chickens out.” You can always bet on Trump rolling back a reckless tariff.

This mocking of Trump’s inconsistency, which drives him nuts — “Don’t ever say what you said,” he told a reporter who asked him about it — not only is accurate but also deserves to be more widely applied.

One day he is pushing Ukraine away; the next day he is shaking Ukraine down for its minerals; the next day Ukraine is back in the fold. One day Vladimir Putin is Trump’s friend; the next day he’s “crazy.” One day Canada will be the 51st state; the next day it is the target of tariffs. One day he brags that he hires only “the best” people; the next day more than 100 experts at the National Security Council are pushed out just weeks after many were hired. One day the president hosts a gala at his Virginia golf club for the biggest buyers of his memecoin, who spent a combined $148 million for the chance to hear him give a talk standing behind the presidential seal, and the White House spokeswoman suggests it’s not corruption because the president was “attending it in his personal time.”

Trump is governing by unchecked gut impulses, with little or no homework or coordination among agencies. He respects no real lines of authority, has his golfing buddy (Steve Witkoff) act as secretary of state and his secretary of state (Marco Rubio) act as his ambassador to Panama. He compels anyone who wants to stop him to take him to court, while blurring all lines between his legal duties and personal enrichment.

What is this telling us? We are not being governed anymore by a traditional American administration. We are being governed by the Trump Organization Inc…
 [ Thomas Friedman ]

ARTICLE EXCERPT FROM FOREIGN AFFAIRS

...To avoid a total surrender, Khamenei could also keep the fight going. That might include going for a nuclear breakout. Assuming Iran still possesses its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and retains the know-how, the regime could still try to test a nuclear device, hoping that becoming a nuclear state will restore a measure of its lost deterrence. Tehran could also continue to wage war, aiming to either exhaust Israel’s will to fight or increase support for the regime among the Iranian people. The regime may even hope that Israel expands its strikes, or aim to draw in the United States, believing that if more Iranian civilians are killed, Iranian society will become more sympathetic toward the country’s only defenders: the regime. That “rally around the flag” effect is, at this point, the regime’s last remaining hope to get Iranians on its side.

But increased aggression is a very dicey bet and could leave the regime isolated and broke. The longer the war continues, the greater the destruction the country will face, which would reduce the regime’s capacity to simply operate. If there is no rally around the flag effect, or if it eventually passes, the Islamic Republic’s citizens could ultimately turn on the regime. And if the government secures a nuclear weapon in order to safeguard its hold on power, Iran could end up looking quite a lot like North Korea—a scenario no Iranian would want.

Whatever happens, the Iranian regime has doubtless lost its decades-long conflict with Israel. It will either have to give up its foundational political ideology and seek integration with the rest of the region through diplomatic and economic engagement, or it will need to double down on its beliefs, drawing further into itself. Ali Khamenei and the IRGC have lost; the regional status quo they established is finished.


 More to come...

On the 10th anniversary of the Golden Escalator

In the wake of Donald Trump's June 14th, 2025 DC military parade. 

 

America is not the country of perfectly synced swinging arms. It’s the country of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” That song, by the legendary Duke Ellington, belongs to a genre of music that could only have been invented in America — jazz. As the documentarian Ken Burns explained, jazz was born in New Orleans when and because people from so many heritages were jammed together — the sounds of Africa and the sounds of Appalachia and the sounds of Germany and the sounds of indigenous people colliding to make something new. It was never scripted, always improvisational. Ellington himself made the connection to democracy:

"Put it this way: Jazz is a good barometer of freedom…In its beginnings, the United States of America spawned certain ideals of freedom and independence through which, eventually, jazz was evolved, and the music is so free that many people say it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country."

I may be wrong, but I would wager that societies that have first-rate matchy-matchy uniform aesthetics may look good but fight wars mediocrely, and societies that allow for variety and diversity may give less pleasant aerial shots during parades but fight wars better.

Today is ten years to the day since Trump came down the escalator and changed the course of the country and, in so many ways, changed us. It is a moment to think back and think of how much coarser, uglier, crueler the nation has become in the hands of an unwell man. The daily drumbeat of abductions and cuts and eviscerations and illegal actions and sadistic policy ideas slowly corrodes the heart. We are being remade in Trump’s sickness.

And yet. And yet what the parade reminded me is that Trump, in one regard, at least, faces steep odds. His project depends on turning Americans into something we are deeply not: uniform, cohesive, disciplined, in lockstep.

But we are more hotsteppers than locksteppers. We are more improvised solo than phalanx. We are more unruly than rule-following. Trump has a lot working in his favor as he seeks to build a dictatorship for his self-enrichment. But what will always push against him is this deep inner nature that has stood through time: the chaotic, colorful spontaneity of the American soul. We don’t march shoulder to shoulder. We shimmy.

 

—Anand Giridharadas

Perfectly put. That comes from his Substack. While I'm not a big Substack platform fan, I do have a number of subscriptions. Anand's is among the best I've encountered.

 

UPDATE

    

Donald is apparently going into the mobile phone business.

TRUMP and the associated design are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of DTTM Operations LLC. Trump Mobile, its products and services are not designed, developed, manufactured, distributed or sold by The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals. T1 Mobile LLC uses the "Trump" name and trademark pursuant to the terms of a limited license agreement which may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.. T1 Mobile LLC uses the "Trump" name pursuant to the terms of a limited license agreement which may be terminated or revoked according to its terms. © DTTM Operations LLC

 

Okeee Dokeee, then. Dig around briefly:

The entity which manages US President Donald Trump’s trademarks filed two new applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently to use his name for telecom services.

Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben IP law firm, wrote in a blog post last week DTTM Operations LLC filed to use the trademarks TRUMP and T1.

The requests cover retail stores “featuring mobile phones, cases for mobile phones and battery chargers for mobile phones”.

Gerben explained the applications are filed under an intent to use basis, which means Trump’s company currently is not offering any of the products but intends to do so.

“While a trademark filing doesn’t guarantee a product launch, the specificity of the applications points to serious consideration,” Gerben stated. “It would mark a significant expansion for Trump’s private business, which has historically focused on real estate, hospitality, and branded merchandise.”

He noted if the plans materialise, Trump’s telecom venture “could deliver a MAGA-branded alternative in the mobile space—offering loyal supporters not just red hats, but possibly red phones for their pockets”.

The Trump telecom service or branded phones will compete against US heavyweights Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile US, along with a wide range of MVNO-based services and budget brands.

Gerben noted as of 13 June, a total of 27 trademark filings have been made by companies affiliated with Trump since he took office in January. 

27 trademark filings across the past 147 days since his 2nd inauguration? All while Presidentin' and golfing.

 

TRUMP IN CANADA FOR THE G7 CONFERENCE

 

 

Trump could simply not resist making a fool of himself, going off to gargle inappropriately via his formulaic meandering MAGA grievance rant. Canada’s PM, chairing the conference, had to step in and shut down the Presser.

 

WORLD NEWS SUMMARY

 

 ERRATUM

Don't even get me started on this murderous Minnesota nutcase.

On Father's Day 2025

This Girl Dad's message for Stephen Miller.

    

Click here

Been a surreal weekend, 'eh?

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”

“I’ve known this guy a long time.”

 “He’s not the sharpest bulb.”

—Donald Trump, characterizing Joe Biden, June 10th, 2025

 

ICE in LA

Good luck getting any actual, true news reporting this week.

 

UPDATE

Will things continue to escalate, perhaps culminating in a Trump declaration of "Insurrection Act" martial law in DC on June 14th during his controversial, sure-to-be-angrily-protested self-glorifying military "celebration" parade?

  

Trump says anyone who protests at Saturday's military parade 'will be met with very heavy force'

Donald Trump warned people against protesting at this weekend’s military parade in Washington to celebrate the US Army’s 250th anniversary.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

Law enforcement agencies are preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to attend Saturday’s parade, Secret Service special agent in charge Matt McCool (his real name) said yesterday, according to Reuters.

McCool said thousands of agents, officers and specialists will be deployed from law enforcement agencies from across the country.


The FBI and the Metropolitan police department have said there are no credible threats to the event. [per The Guardian]