The Limits of Science

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There is this strain, especially among popular communicators of science, that if you don’t look at the world through a scientific lens, then what’s the point; you’re just fooling yourself; you’re living in a world of delusions.  

But my pushback to that is, I’m a professional scientist; the vast majority of decisions that I make in my everyday life are not based on the scientific method. When I’m trying to pick what to have for dinner tonight, or who to fall in love with, I’m not using the scientific method, I’m just following my gut —literally when it comes to dinner. I’m just using other tools than the scientific method to arrive at conclusions and decisions.

There are many, many questions that science does not have a solid answer on, and may not ever have a solid answer on. And it’s perfectly legitimate for people to turn to other modes of inquiry and investigation into this beautiful, messy world that we live in, to seek answers and comfort from that.

Astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter quoted in Undark

23 Recent Articles about Teaching & AI

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Survey: How Are Profs, Staff Using AI? – Inside Higher Ed 

What teachers call AI cheating, leaders in the workforce might call progress – Hechinger Report

Teachers Use AI to Grade Student Work. It’s Harsher Than They Are. Teachers Use AI to Grade Student Work. It’s Harsher Than They Are. – Wall Street Journal

AI can't replace teaching but it can make it better – Wired

AI Copilots Are Changing How Coding Is Taught – IEEE 

What's next with AI in higher education? – Phys.org

Morehouse College is Using AI assistants – Chronicle of Higher Ed

Can I Use A.I. to Grade My Students’ Papers? – New York Times

Academic Success Tip: Infusing AI into Curricular Offerings – Inside Higher Ed 

Google and MIT launch a free generative AI course for teachers – Zdnet  

This AI Tool Cut One Teacher's Grading Time in Half. How It Works – Ed Week  

California teachers are using AI to grade papers. Who’s grading the AI? – Cal Matters

Making Progress Against ChatGPT - Inside Higher Ed

A quarter of U.S. teachers say AI tools do more harm than good in K-12 education – Pew Research

How two professors harnessed generative AI to teach students to be better writers – Fast Company

AI, online courses divide students, faculty, administrators – Inside Higher Ed

Professors Ask: Are We Just Grading Robots? Some are riding the AI wave. Others feel like they’re drowning. –Chronicle of Higher Ed

How AI Is Changing The Teaching Profession Forever – Forbes

How a computer science professor is using AI in her classroom – UAB  

Are You Ready To Use AI In Your Teaching? – Forbes

Survey: How Are Profs, Staff Using AI? – Inside Higher Ed 

Why AI Won’t Replace Teachers As Motivators – Forbes

How to Teach Kids to Spot AI Manipulation – Ed Week

The Line

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“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, nor between classes nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart." -Alexandr Solzhenitsyn 

Solzhenitsyn endured many years in a Russian Gulag (labor camp) and could write that statement with conviction. Many men did not survive the terrible weather and the harsh treatment in the Gulag.

Solzhenitsyn was dying while interned — until a fellow prisoner showed him unexpected kindness, changing his attitude and refreshing his spirit. He survived to become one of Russia's most well-read and revered writers

Stephen Goforth

Time Alone

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Find a regular time and place to be alone. People in transition are often still involved in activities and relationships that continue to bombard them with cues irrelevant to their emerging needs. Because a person is likely to feel lonely in such a situation, the temptation is to seek more and better contact with others; but the real need is for a genuine sort of aloneness in which inner signals can make themselves heard. Doing housework after the kids leave for school or paperwork with the office door shut are not being alone in the sense I am talking about.

The old passage rituals provide the person with this experience of deep aloneness, often in a wilderness setting. (Interestingly, the Hebrew word for the “wilderness” in which Jesus, Moses, and Buddha spent time during critical periods of their lives is the same word that means ‘sanctuary.” This unmappable “nowhere” was also, as several of these heroes were explicitly told, holy ground.) Traditionally, time spent in such “sanctuaries” was a continuous period; but you many have to plan your time to accommodate your own life situation. One person manages that getting up every morning forty-five minutes ahead of the rest of the family and sitting quietly in the living room with a cup of coffee. Another jogs regularly after work for a half an hour. Another plays ocean sounds and temple bells on his car stereo whenever he drives along. Still another has cleaned out a little storage room off the upstairs hall and sits quietly alone in there for an hour after supper.

William Bridges, Transitions

21 Recent Articles about AI & Legal Issues

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YouTube will use AI to snip copyrighted music and not silence your whole video – Tech Radar

Three senators introduce bill to protect artists and journalists from unauthorized AI use – Engadget

Chevron’s downfall highlights need for clear artificial intelligence laws - FedScoop 

The AI Shakeup: New Tech Innovations and the Future of Corporate Law – JD Supra

Decoding US Copyright Law and Fair Use for Generative AI Legal Cases – Medium

Two 80-something journalists tried ChatGPT. Then, they sued to protect the ‘written word’ – Associated Press  

Colorado’s Landmark AI Act: What Companies Need To Know – Skadden

Record labels sue two AI startups for copyright infringement – Axios

Deepfakes and the First Amendment: Are Deepfakes Illegal? – Freedom Forum

What Do You Do When A.I. Takes Your Voice? – New York Times

AI Legal Tools Could Be Too Pricey For Those Most In Need – Law360

Drake threatened with lawsuit over diss track featuring AI Tupac – The Verge

AI is creating fake legal cases and making its way into real courtrooms, with disastrous results – The Conversation

Generative AI For Legal Professionals: What To Know And What To Do Right Now – Above the Law 

Gen AI Shows Promise — And Peril — For Pro Se Litigants - Law360 

AI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them. – The Washington Post

 Generative AI Is Challenging a 234-Year-Old Law – The Atlantic

George Carlin’s estate settles lawsuit over AI comedy special – Washington Post

How GenAI can enhance your legal work without compromising ethics – Reuters Legal

Calif.'s Top Judge Launches Task Force To Probe AI Uses - Law360

How Dow Jones is building a framework to tackle AI copyright challenges – Journalism.co

The Law of Priorities

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The most remarkable aspect about John Wooden--and the most telling about his ability to focus on his priorities--is that he never scouted opposing teams. Instead, he focused on getting his players to reach their potential. And he addressed those things through practice and personal interaction with the players. It was never his goal to win championships or even to be the other team. His desire was to get each person to play to his potential and to put the best possible team on the floor. And, of course, Wooden’s results were incredible. In more than 40 years of coaching, he had only one losing season--his first. And he led his UCLA teams to four undefeated seasons and a record 10 in NCAA championships. No other college team is ever come close.

John Maxwell, The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership

7 Webinars this Week about AI, Journalism, Writing & More

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Tue, July 16 - Introduction to Reporting on AI

What: This course is designed for reporters interested in getting started but with minimal or no knowledge of artificial intelligence. We will begin with the basics, covering the history of AI, how the technology works, and key technical concepts such as “neural networks” and “deep learning.” We will also dissect what makes a good AI accountability story, from quick turnaround stories to more ambitious investigations, and dig deeper into a few examples. At the end of the course, those who are interested in learning more are encouraged to register for the AI reporting intensive.   

Who: An Amsterdam-based AI and technology reporter Gabriel Geiger

When: 7 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pulitzer Center

More Info

 

Tue, July 16 - Trauma-Informed Storytelling in Action

What: This session will explore trauma-informed storytelling, a safe and healthy process for your beneficiaries, audiences, and even storytellers. You’ll be equipped with actionable insights and tools to tell trauma-informed and ethical stories that have a huge impact. Participants can expect to gain an understanding of why trauma-informed storytelling matters, learn about the three kinds of people impacted by a story, and leave with resources, tools and actionable steps to integrate trauma-informed practices into your role.

Who: Maria Bryan, Kindsight

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Nonprofit Learning Lab

More Info

 

Tue, July 16 - 5 Ways to Improve Your Website For Better Marketing And Sales

What: This webinar is tailored to business owners at all stages and will delve into strategies to elevate and automate your online presence. He will offer practical tips on an easy-to-understand level, covering topics such as his favorite website platform and theme, as well as how to harness the power of video marketing, optimize user experience, and implement effective sales funnels. Whether you’re just starting out or seeking to refine your digital strategy, this webinar offers practical insights to enhance your website and drive business growth.

Who: Jeff Long, founder of True Focus Media  

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Temple University Small Business Development Center

More Info

 

Tue, July 16 - How to amp up your reporting using LexisNexis tools

What: You’ll learn how award-winning journalists conduct deep-dive backgrounding on people and subjects, how they get names and numbers from LexisNexis’ list of 800 million profiles, and how they use paywalled content and trade journal expertise to generate story ideas and fresh angles. You don’t have to be a LexisNexis subscriber to attend or benefit from this webinar. Our expert panelist will share his screen and walk you through this trove of source material. If you are a LexisNexis subscriber, you can follow along on your own computer.

Who: Barbara Mantel is AHCJ’s health beat leader for freelancing. Brad Hamilton runs an award-winning digital newsroom, The Hatch Institute.

When: 1:30 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Association of Health Care Journalists

More Info

 

Wed, July 17- How to use AI to help with grant writing

What: A live demo and tips on using generative AI tools to brainstorm and refine grant applications. Participants will learn how AI can facilitate the grant writing process, with a focus on practical applications and examples, particularly from small local newsrooms that have successfully used AI to help with their grant applications.

Who: ICFJ Knight Fellow and Newsroom Robots Podcast Host Nikita Roy.

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Online News Association

More Info

 

Wed, July 17- Dashboards: Making Your Data Work for You  

What: Learn how to make your data – from community impact to financial information – more digestible and useful for making decisions. In this webinar, we’ll discuss the purpose and use of dashboard reports, learn the components of useful dashboard reports, and share some examples.  

Who: Catherine Menick

When: 11 am, Pacific

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Propel Nonprofits

More Info

 

Thu, July 18 - Harnessing AI & Machine Learning in Customer Data Platforms for Dynamic Campaign Activation

What: Explore CDP data integration empowered by AI and ML technologies. Through real-world examples, we'll explore how AI and ML enhance the functionality of CDPs, enabling marketers to extract actionable insights, personalize campaigns, and optimize customer experiences.

Who: Frances Davis, Vice President, Integrated AI Marketing & Analytics, Excelligence Learning Corporation Stephen Easter, Director, Analytics Services, Anteriad

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Association of National Advertisers

More Info

AI Definitions: Digital Twins

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Digital Twins – Digital twin technology means replicating something physical in a virtual environment. The twin might be a copy of our physiologies, personalities or the objects around us, such as a video avatar of a person or a statistical model of a complex phenomenon (like earth or weather). The models update automatically as new data becomes available and excels best at statistics-heavy applications. For instance, by analyzing large quantities of health data, it can provide more personalized treatments for a patient.

More AI definitions here.

14 Articles about How Companies are using AI

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11 Articles about the History of AI

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Fulfilling Our Purpose

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God creates each person as an individual and in effect says to each human being: “Become yourself, be the person I made you to be.” The person who is conscious that he lives “before God” thus gains the possibility of an identity that is not exhausted by human relations. Such a person is not forced simply to live like “the others,” but has the potential to say, “I need to live my life this way, since it is what God desires for me, even if it means that I have to break with my society’s accepted ways of doing things.”

C. Steven Evans, Kierkegaard: An Introduction

AI-created Video vs Human-made Video

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Researchers recently tested how audiences liked three types of video: human-made, partly automated and fully automated video. The human-made video did best with audiences, but only slightly better than the partly AI video. Both did much better than the fully AI-made video. The researchers think this supports the use of the hybrid form over fully automated since "audiences like their videos to have a human touch." A key part of making this work, I believe, will be identifying what the audience perceives as indicating a piece of media is AI or human-made. For instance, the researchers note that the audience associated nat sound with video that was (at least partly) human-created. This may translate to other forms of media creation as well. The study is published here and read more about it here.

Stephen Goforth

Learning Wisdom

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Taking our cue from the machinery and the data that dominate our world, we usually view knowledge as something that accumulates piecemeal over time. You start out with a little, and then you gradually pick up more and more. It’s like possessions: they pile up over time. But passive accumulation isn’t the way that you learn the most important things that you know about the world. First you are immersed in the knowledge, then you get distance from it (and even deny it) and then you return to a new relation with it.

William Bridges, The Way of Transition

The Impact of AI on Creativity in a Dozen Recent Articles

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