14 Articles about AI & the US Military

Why the Pentagon wants to build thousands of easily replaceable, AI-enabled drones – Vox

The U.S. Military’s Investments Into Artificial Intelligence Are Skyrocketing - TIME 

U.S. military pits AI against human pilots in first ever dogfight test – Semafor

What War by A.I. Actually Looks Like – New York Times 

Google will provide AI to the military for disaster response – Washington Post

How Ukraine is using AI to fight Russia – Economist

Artificial Intelligence Changing Way Military Health System Delivers Health Care – Dvidshub

Israel offers a glimpse into the terrifying world of military AI - Washington Post

OpenAI drops ban on military tools to partner with the Pentagon – Semafor

Tech Companies Turned Ukraine Into an AI War Lab - TIME

AI models consistently favor using nuclear weapons in war games – Wired

Pentagon explores military uses of large language models - Washington Post

Scale AI to set the Pentagon’s path for testing and evaluating large language models  - Defense Scoop

Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries shows the growing threat AI drones pose to energy markets – NBC Connecticut

How to tell the good people from the bad

Behavior can be good or bad. But people themselves aren't good or bad—though they have the capacity for doing either one. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago, “The line separating good and evil passes right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.”

Evil is not a thing you can point at and say, “There it goes!” or “Here it is!” Evil is a privation. A negation. It's not something in itself. It's like rot to a tree. Without the tree, the rot wouldn't exist. Without a context of good, evil doesn't exist. So, if you want to declare something evil, then you must first come to terms with what is good.

Stephen Goforth

A Happy Life

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. –Carl Jung

6 Webinars this Week about AI, Journalism, Social Media & More

May 16, 2024, thru 2026 - AI Spotlight Series Workshops & Webinars

What: This is a series of webinars & workshops being held over a two-year period designed to equip reporters and editors—whether on the tech beat or any other beat—with the knowledge and skills to cover and shape coverage of AI and its profound influence on society. Some of the questions that will guide the instruction include: Where is AI being used? Where is it working or breaking? Who is being harmed, and who stands to profit?

Who: Award-winning AI reporter Karen Hao, whose pioneering work in the field of AI accountability is regularly taught in universities and cited by governments. Some of the world’s leading technology reporters and editors have co-designed the AI Spotlight Series curriculum and will be instructors in the program. Most of the instruction will be interactive and online. The co-designers and instructors of the AI Spotlight Series are: Lam Thuy Vo (reporter at The Markup), Gabriel Geiger (investigative reporter at Lighthouse Reports), Gideon Lichfield (former editor in chief at MIT Technology Review and WIRED), and Tom Simonite (senior editor at WIRED).

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pulitzer Center

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Tue, April 23 - Social Media 101 for Nonprofits

What: This session includes practical tips and tools for extending your cause and mission via social media. We cover the basics of using social media for your nonprofit organization and give you handy tips for the most useful social media platforms for nonprofits.

Who: Kiersten Hill Director of Nonprofit Solutions

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: FireSpring

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Tue, April 23 - Website Engagement Strategies: Elevate Your Online Presence

What: This session is designed for small business owners and entrepreneurs eager to enhance their online presence, attract more visitors, and convert those visits into tangible business outcomes. This webinar is perfect for anyone within the small business community looking to elevate and improve their website engagement. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to revamp your existing website, this webinar will provide valuable insights and actionable strategies.

Who: Chloe Grim, Photo Specialist; Web Designer at the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center Lien Nguyen, Digital Content Specialist at the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center.

When: 5 pm, Eastern  

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Kutztown University Small Business Development Center

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Wed, April 24 - Learning from the Media: A Conversation with Journalists

What: Panelists will discuss the constraints and incentives they face when reporting, including suggestions for building relationships with journalists and communicating effectively with and through them.

Who: M.R. O’Connor is a freelance journalist and author of the book Ignition: Lighting Fires in a Burning World; Roberto Rosales is a photojournalist who has covered wildland fire in the West and a photography professor at the University of New Mexico; April Ehrlich is a reporter covering lands and environmental policies in Oregon and Southwest Washington at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

When: 1 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Fire Learning Network

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Wed, April 24 - AI Tools for Journalists Part II

What: This hands-on session builds on our Feb “Introduction to AI Tools” session. We’ll explore what these tools can do well (help with social media, headlines, writing tips, coding, photo illustrations) and what they do poorly (write stories, accuracy, etc.) and discuss legal and ethical ramifications of using them.  

Who: Mike Reilley Senior Lecturer, University of Illinois-Chicago

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free for members, $25 for nonmembers

Sponsor: Online News Association

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Wed, April 24 - Disinformation & The Public: How journalists can champion news literacy and empower their communities

What: Participants will learn practices to reach some of the communities most vulnerable to mis- and disinformation campaigns, how to talk about disinformation in ways that instill trust among communities traditionally underserved by mainstream media, and tools to empower members of the public to champion their roles as information clearinghouses in their peer groups and communities.

Who: Tamoa Calzaldilla, editor in chief of Factchequeado and creator of the bilingual Guide for Journalists Covering Latino and Spanish-Speaking Communities; Henry Hicks, manager, U.S. Free Expressions Programs for PEN America; Mollie Muchna, project manager for Trusting News and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism; Kate Starbird, co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington and associate professor in the university’s Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering; Moderator: Delano Massey, managing editor of local at Axios and NPCJI board member.

When: 11:30 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute

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Love Means Putting yourself out of business

The proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gift. We feed children in order that they soon be able to feed themselves; we teach them in order that they may soon not need our teaching. The hour when we can say “They need me no longer” should be our reward.

My own profession – that of a university teacher – is in this way dangerous. If we are any good we must always be working towards the moment at which our pupils are fit to become our critics and rivals. We should be delighted when it arrives, as the fencing master is delighted when his pupil can pink and disarm him. Any many are. But not all.

CS Lewis, The Four Loves

A Dozen Recent AI Prediction Articles

Why small language models are the next big thing in AI – Venture Beat

What’s next for generative video – MIT Tech Review

Thanks to AI, people may no longer feel the need to learn a second language – The Atlantic

Natural language instructions induce compositional generalization in networks of neurons – The Journal  Nature 

AI Will Mean Cheaper Food – Wall Street Journal

The Year Ahead in AI: AI Predictions for 2024 – Expert AI

What an AI-powered future of data science looks like – Fast Company

A.I. Is Learning What It Means to Be Alive - New  York Times

What’s next for generative AI: Household chores and more – MIT Management

 Experts Concerned by Signs of AI Bubble - Futurism

AI Has Lost Its Magic That’s how you know it’s taking over - The Atlantic

How the A.I. That Drives ChatGPT Will Move Into the Physical World – New York Times

Advice from Conan O'Brien

Nietzsche famously said, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But what he failed to stress is that it almost kills you. Disappointment stings, and for driven, successful people like yourselves, it is disorienting.

There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized. I went to college with many people who prided themselves on knowing exactly who they were and exactly where they were going.

My peers and I have all missed that mark in a thousand different ways. But the point is this: It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.

In 2000, I told (Harvard) graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that. But today, I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.

Many of you here today are getting your diploma at this Ivy League school because you have committed yourself to a dream and worked hard to achieve it. And there is no greater cliché in a commencement address than "follow your dream." Well, I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that's okay. Four years ago, many of you had a specific vision of what your college experience was going to be and who you were going to become. And I bet, today, most of you would admit that your time here was very different from what you imagined.

I have told you many things today, most of it foolish but some of it true. I'd like to end my address by breaking a taboo and quoting myself from 17 months ago. At the end of my final program with NBC, just before signing off, I said, "Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen." Today, receiving this honor and speaking to the Dartmouth Class of 2011 from behind a tree trunk, I have never believed that more.

Conan O'Brien, born April 18, 1963

From his commencement address to Dartmouth College (watch the entire speech here)

Love is not

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained. -CS Lewis

How to tell the good people from the bad

Behavior can be good or bad. But people themselves aren't good or bad—though they have the capacity for doing either one. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote in The Gulag Archipelago, “The line separating good and evil passes right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.”

Evil is not a thing you can point at and say, “There it goes!” or “Here it is!” Evil is a privation. A negation. It's not something in itself. It's like rot to a tree. Without the tree, the rot wouldn't exist. Without a context of good, evil doesn't exist. So, if you want to declare something evil, then you must first come to terms with what is good.

Stephen Goforth

Why confusion makes some people creative and other people crazy

Not everyone has the same impulse when it comes to ambiguity. Some people are very uncomfortable with confusion, and their minds jump to quick decisions in the face of uncertainty. Others are content to be confused a while, and may even find it makes them more creative. Even with this article, some may have read the ambiguous headline and been intrigued -- while others may have felt annoyed or daunted.

Psychologists describe the degree to which people seek out certainty as their "need for closure." This trait varies not just from person to person, but also with environmental factors, like fatigue, time pressure and stress.

The need for closure doesn’t have anything to do with intelligence, but it can have a powerful influence on your behavior -- including your capacity to innovate, your predilection for stereotyping, and your ability to make decisions in times of crisis.

Ana Swanson writing in the Washington Post

Love Begets Love

The more children know that you value them, that you consider them extraordinary people, the more willing they will be to listen to you and afford you the more willing they will be to listen to you and afford you the same esteem. And the more appropriate your teaching, based on your knowledge of them, the more eager your children will be to learn from you. And the more they learn, the more extraordinary the will become, If the reader senses the cyclical character of this process, he or she is quite correct and is appreciating the truth of the reciprocity of love. Instead of a vicious downward cycle, it is a creative upward cycle of evolution and growth. Value creates value. Love begets love.

M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

14 Webinars this week about media, journalism, AI & more

Mon, April 15 - Just the Facts: How to Find Your Way in a Media Ecosystem Full of Misinformation

What: This webinar focused on journalists’ obligation to report fairly and accurately. Two fact-checking pros will explain their work and guide journalists on how to use these tools and how to do their own fact-checking for local stories.

Who: Lori Robertson is the managing editor of FactCheck.org; Louis Jacobson has been with PolitiFact since 2009, currently as senior correspondent; Moderated by Chris Roberts, lead author of Doing Ethics in Media: Theories and Practical Applications and SPJ Professional Standards and Ethics Committee member.

When: 1:30 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

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Tue, April 16 - AI, the Digital Landscape, and Misinformation-Busting Superpowers for Students

What: An educator’s guide to misinformation in today’s digital landscape, including a close look at generative AI. In addition to discussing fundamental tools and tips for fact checking and misinformation busting, they will explore how AI technology continues to evolve and how it can even be used to enrich the learning experience. Topics will include:  The state of today’s digital landscape and its implications in an election year; Strategies for helping students determine the credibility of evidence and sources; Best practices for teaching about misinformation and conspiratorial thinking

Who: Brittney Smith, Senior Manager of Education Partnerships, The News Literacy Project; Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design, The News Literacy Project.

When: 5 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: News Literacy Project

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Tue, April 16 - AI is Big. What’s Your Reskilling Plan?

What: This webinar will address: Practical ways to identify where AI will be most effective for your organization; Approaches to develop an L&D program that prepares teams to achieve the AI vision; How to identify the resources required to begin your AI reskilling/upskilling journey.

Who: Jaco Jansen van Rensburg, Ph.D. Vice President of Learning, Sand Technologies

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine Network

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Tue, April 16 - Marketing Trends Nonprofits Need to Know (and Embrace)

What: The 2024 marketing trends that’ll shape your nonprofit’s future and grow your impact, including: Storytelling, automation, search engine optimization and artificial intelligence.

Who: Kiersten Hill, who has two decades in nonprofit management and fundraising. She has raised over $20 million for Nebraska nonprofit organizations.

When: 2 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Firespring

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Tue, April 16 - 30 Minute Skills: Climate Reporting

What: By attending this class, you’ll learn: How to identify and report climate change tie-ins across all beats; How to best communicate dry energy stories or complex science; How to make climate connections clear in everyday weather stories.

Who: Annie Ropeik, independent climate journalist   

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The New England Newspaper & Press Association

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Tue, April 16 - Inclusivity Essentials: Creating Accessible Websites for Nonprofits

What: Learn how to ensure that your website is welcoming to all audiences by using accessibility features and complying with ADA standards. This webinar focuses on practical tips to make your nonprofit's website more inclusive and user-friendly. You'll learn about essential accessibility features, compliance with ADA standards, and how to ensure that your site is welcoming to all audiences. This session is a must for nonprofits looking to enhance their online presence and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Who: Tapp Network's experts.

When: 12 pm

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: TechSoup

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Wed, April 17 – Ethics, Trust & The News: How journalists can build and support a culture of credibility

What: Participants will learn the types of conversations that go on in newsrooms when determining coverage on difficult topics, especially those tied to crises and other disinformation-rich news events; Factors to consider related to language choice, story/coverage framing, and other critical decisions made during the reporting and editing process; Practices to determine validity and value of crowd-sourced content; Coverage considerations that can impact civic participation.

Who: Amanda Barrett, vice president of news, standards and inclusion for The Associated Press;  Anita Kumar, senior managing editor, North America, and standards editor for POLITICO; Natalia Mironova, editor of news standards and best practices for Voice of America; Eileen O’Reilly, managing editor for standards and training for Axios and NPCJI board member; David Peterkin, vice president of news practice for ABC News;  Moderator: Ed Kelley, dean emeritus at Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and NPCJI board member.

When: 11:30 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute

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Wed, April 17 - Election Season & Transgender Rights: Reporting Responsibly in a Divided America

What: A discussion of how journalists can responsibly cover transgender people and the issues they face during an election season.

Who: SPJ's panel of trans and gender non-binary experts.

When: 4 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

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Wed, April 17 - Online Fundraising: How to Raise the Most on your Website, Social Media and More

What: Our experts from Zeffy will delve into the best practices of online fundraising. Learn how to retain 100% of the funds you raise, avoiding the fees associated with traditional fundraising tools

Who: Gaspard Vié & Sammy Goyette of Zeffy

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Nonprofit Learning Lab

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Thu, April 18 - Reimagining Assessment for Creative Thinking and AI

What: This webinar will delve into the dynamic relationship between creative thinking, artificial intelligence (AI), and assessment. In this session, we'll explore methodologies that empower educators to effectively evaluate the creative process in the age of AI.  

Who: Brian Johnsrud Global Head of Education Learning and Advocacy, Adobe; Stacie Johnson Leader of Professional Development at Khan Academy; Amanda Bickerstaff Founder, AI for Education; Ana Herrera Student, 11th Grade; Carl Hooker educator, author, speaker.

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Adobe

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Thu, April 18 - Boost Your Brand Trust and SEO with Author Profiles

What: The SEO advantages and how these pages establish your business as an industry leader.

Who: Matt Larson is the president & CEO of Our-Hometown.com and has proudly served the newspaper industry for 12 years. His company provides a WordPress-based platform that has been customized for newspapers to help them monetize their content online.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $35

Sponsor: Online Media Campus

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Thu, April 18 - How Cognitive Biases make us Vulnerable to Disinformation – and what we can do about it

What: An overview of some of the most common cognitive biases that shape how we consume information, followed by a conversation about how we all can reduce the influence of cognitive biases and become more resilient consumers of news and information.

Who: Kurt Sampsel, Senior Program Manager, PEN America; Thomas Martinez, Managing Editor, Fort Worth Report; Kristy Roschke, Managing Director, News Co/Lab, Arizona State University.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pen America

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Thu, April 18 - Emerging Social Media Trends 

What: In this Web-based presentation, you’ll walk away with: What are the biggest social marketing trends; What are the Small Business social media trends on the horizon; Tips and tricks to get started with some of these social networks, and marketing strategies and tactics.

Who: Ray Sidney-Smith, CEO, W3 Consulting

When: 10 am

Where: Zoom

Cost: $45

Sponsor: Duquesne University Small Business Development Center

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Friday, April 19 - Journalism’s Numbers Game: Reporting Polls Ethically 

What: Are journalists paying too much attention to polls? The dominance of the internet, the dwindling number of landlines and the rising level of public distrust raise questions about the overall reliability and utility of polls. This discussion will attempt to answer those questions.

Who: SPJ Professional Standards and Ethics Committee Chair Fred Brown; Noah Pransky, former national correspondent for NBC; Emily Swanson, director of public opinion research at the Associated Press; and Seth Masket, professor of political science and the director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver.

When: 5 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free but advanced registration is required

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

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13 Things People are Trying to Get AI to Do

The brain-computer interface race is on, with AI speeding up developments – Semafor  

What’s next for generative AI: Household chores and more – MIT Management

Police Departments Are Turning to AI to Sift Through Millions of Hours of Unreviewed Body-Cam Footage - ProPublica

Deal Dive: Can AI fix lost and found? – Tech Crunch 

1 in 3 people are lonely. Will AI help, or make things worse? – The Conversation

Samsung to release Ballie, an AI home robot with a projector, in 2024 – Washington Post

Will Chatbots Teach Your Children? – New York Times 

AI Is Helping Pick What You’ll Wear in Two Years – Bloomberg

Can AI count hate crimes? – Semafor

TurboTax and H&R Block’s AI chatbots are giving bad tax advice – Washington Post

What happens when ChatGPT tries to solve 50,000 trolley problems? – Ars Technica

Can AI Unlock the Secrets of the Ancient World? – Bloomberg

How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class – New York Times

The Aim of Genuine Love

Parents who say to their children, “You should be grateful for all that we have done for you” are invariably parents who are lacking in love to a significant degree. Anyone who genuinely loves knows the pleasure of loving. When we genuinely love we do so because we want to love. We have children because we want to have children, and if we are loving parents, it is because we want to be loving parents. It is true that love involves a change in the self, but this is an extension of the self rather than a sacrifice of the self. As will be discussed again later, genuine love is a self-replenishing activity. Indeed, it is even more; it enlarges rather than diminishes the self; it fills the self rather than depleting it. In a real sense love is as selfish as nonlove.

Here again there is a paradox in that love is both selfish and unselfish at the same time. It is not the selfishness or unselfishness that distinguishes love from nonlove; it is the aim of the action. In the case of genuine love the aim is always spiritual growth. In the case of nonlove the aim is always something else.

M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

The Ultimate Do-it-yourself Project

The most important do-it-yourself project is your life.

18 Recent Articles about Teaching & AI

More Teachers Are Using AI-Detection Tools. Here’s Why That Might Be a Problem – EdWeek

Actionable strategies for integrating AI into the classroom – Higher Ed Dive

Teachers are embracing ChatGPT-powered grading – Axios

The Responsible Use of Generative AI in Education Technology – Epam

Ban or Embrace? Colleges Wrestle With A.I.-Generated Admissions Essays. - The New York Times 

7 AI Tools That Help Teachers Work More Efficiently – Edutopia  

Teachers and professors now using AI as a learning tool – Scripts

Claude AI – PDF Analysis for Teachers – The AI English Teacher  

Will Chatbots Teach Your Children? - The New York Times

AI Will Shake Up Higher Ed. Are Colleges Ready? – Chronicle of Higher Ed

By infusing GPT with its own database of lesson plans, essays and sample problems, Khan Academy improved accuracy and reduced hallucinations. – Washington Post 

How AI Should Change Math Education – Ed Week

How artificial intelligence can help build real intelligence in the classroom – Harvard

Teaching With AI — What You Need To Know – Forbes

UNC Journalism Professors Grapple With Teaching AI as it Upends the Media Landscape - Indy Week

Is early childhood education ready for AI? – Hechinger Reports

Business Schools Are Going All In on AI – Wall Street Journal

Using Generative AI to Teach Philosophy – Daily Nous

17 Articles about the Business of Running an AI Company

What to Know About Tech Companies Using A.I. to Teach Their Own A.I. - New York Times

Google's DeepMind CEO says the massive funds flowing into AI bring with it loads of hype and a fair share of grifting - Business Insider

Amazon Abandons AI Grocery Stores – Futurism

For AI firms, anything "public" is fair game - Axios

Big tech companies are expanding their AI empires using old playbooks - Semafor

Big AI is just going to keep getting bigger - Axios

The Fear That Inspired the Creation of OpenAI - Wired

Google Co-Founder Admits The Tech Giant Got Its AI Image Generation Tool All Wrong - Digg

Google’s AI problems expose deeper industry dilemma - Semafor

OpenAI expands its communications operation - Axios 

More than 100 top AI researchers have signed an open letter calling on generative AI companies to allow investigators access to their systems - Washington Post

Adobe Finds AI Hype Is a Two-Edged Sword - Wall Street Journal

Nvidia reveals Blackwell B200 GPU, the ‘world’s most powerful chip’ for AI - The Verge

The Fight for AI Talent: Pay Million-Dollar Packages and Buy Whole Teams - Wall Street Journal

Google considering making users pay for AI search results – Futurism

How the Ad Industry Is Making AI Images Look Less Like AI  - Wall Street Journal

Google’s AI still giving idiotic answers nearly a year after launch why is it still so crappy? - Futurism

Listening to Children

Why exert effort to focus totally on the boring prattlings of a six-year-old? First, you willingness to do so is the best possible concrete evidence of your esteem you can give your child. If you give your child the same esteem you would give a great lecturer, then the child will know him or herself to be valued and therefore feel valuable. Second, the more children feel valuable, the more they will begin to say things of value.

They will rise to your expectation of them. Third, the more you listen to your child, the more you will realize that in amoungst the pauses, the stutterings, the seemingly innocent chatter, your child does indeed have valuable things to say. Listen to your child enough and you'll come to realize that he or she is quite an extraordinary individual. And the more extraordinary you realize your child to be, the more you'll will be willing to listen. And the more you will learn.

M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

Social Groups rather than Facts Shape our Opinions

Our attitudes are shaped much more by our social groups than they are by facts on the ground. We are not great reasoners. Most people don't like to think at all, or like to think as little as possible. And by most, I mean roughly 70 percent of the population. Even the rest seem to devote a lot of their resources to justifying beliefs that they want to hold, as opposed to forming credible beliefs based only on fact. 

Think about if you were to utter a fact that contradicted the opinions of the majority of those in your social group. You pay a price for that. 

I live in a very limited universe, and so I have to depend on the beliefs and knowledge of other people. I know what I’ve read; I know what I’ve heard from experts. In that sense, the decisions we make, the attitudes we form, the judgments we make, depend very much on what other people are thinking. 

Steven Sloman quoted in Vox

8 Free Webinars This Week about AI, Journalism, Politics, & Disinformation

Mon, April 8 - Not the odds, but the stakes – Covering the 2024 Elections

What: How journalists can address unprecedented challenges to their craft during one of the most consequential elections in its history.

Who: Media critic and author Margaret Sullivan, formerly executive editor of The Buffalo News, and Barton Gellman, a three-time Pulitzer-prize winner, author and journalist who is now a senior advisor to the Brennan Center for Justice.

When: 3 pm, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists, DC Chapter 

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Tue, April 9 - Investigating Elections: Threat from AI Audio Deepfakes 

What: Three experts will share tips, tools, and resources to identify, investigate, and verify potential deepfakes.

Who: Silas Jonathan, a Digital Investigation Manager at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development; Shayan Sardarizadeh, a journalist with BBC Verify, where he covers fake news, disinformation and manipulation on digital platforms; Olga Yurkova, a journalist and cofounder of StopFake.org, an independent Ukrainian organization that trains an international cohort of fact-checkers in an effort to curb propaganda and misinformation in the media; The moderator is Rowan Philp, GIJN’s senior reporter.

When: 9 am, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Global Investigative Journalism Network

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Tue, April 9 - AI Innovator Collaborative

What: We’ll get into both internal policies that shape your use of AI and public-facing disclosures and explanations for audiences.  

Who: Lynn Walsh and Joy Mayer of Trusting News.

When: 3 pm, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Online News Association 

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Wed, April 10 - Framing the disinformation crisis for journalists

What: Learn strategies for coverage that informs and empowers your community and discuss the ways disinformation has affected the practice of journalism.

Who: Tiffany Hsu, reporter on the technology team covering misinformation and disinformation, New York Times; Shannon Jankowski, program director, journalism and disinformation for PEN America; Jay Van Bavel, director of the Social Identity & Morality Lab and associate professor of psychology and neural science, New York University; Moderator: Beth Francesco, executive director of the National Press Club Journalism Institute.

When: 11:30 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsors: The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the American Psychological Association, and PEN America

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Thu, April 11 - AI in Newsrooms: How It Can Help and How It Will Hurt Journalism

What: The good, the bad and the ugly of Artificial Intelligence.

Who: PCLI treasurer Jeff Bessen; Jay Aldred, co-founder of Lede AI; Nikita Roy, Knight Fellow at the International Center for Journalists; Zachary Richner, managing partner and founder of Arrandale Ventures. 

When: 7 pm, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Press Club of Long Island

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Thu, April 11 - Environmental journalism: The good, the bad, the future – and why you are essential Webinar Series

What: In this webinar, top Environmental Health Sciences staff will trace the arc of environmental journalism: Trends, coverage gaps, and the future. We will look under the hood at social media approaches and how journalists are working to reach audiences that neither trust nor consume traditional media. We'll talk about how to pitch stories and make science approachable.   

Who: Environmental Health Sciences Executive Director Douglas Fischer.

When: 3 pm, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health

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Thu, April 11 - Navigating The AI Landscape in Journalism: Opportunities, Applications, and Ethical Considerations

What: The session will not only highlight inspiring applications of AI in journalism but also navigate the crucial discussions around responsible AI use, addressing the ethical dimensions and the imperative of maintaining journalistic integrity. Additionally, we will tackle the pressing challenge of AI’s impact on newspaper websites, exploring both the opportunities and threats it presents, ensuring that attendees leave with a well-rounded understanding of AI’s role in shaping the future of news.

Who: Dwayne Desaulniers stands at the forefront of merging journalism with cutting-edge AI, boasting a rich career that reshaped newsrooms from The Associated Press to WebMD. As a co-founder of NewsStand.ai, he champions AI’s role in sustaining local journalism, ensuring newsrooms stay ahead in the digital era.  

When: 1 pm, Central 

Where: Zoom

Cost: $35 

Sponsor: Online Media Campus 

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Thu, April 11 - 5 Emerging Technologies You Need to Know

What: Learn how these 5 technologies will not only shape your career in the future, but also the priorities of upcoming administrations. The possible pain points in implementation, agency success stories, and where they’ve used these technologies for good.

Who: Adam Leonard, Chief Analytics Officer & Director, Information Innovation & Insight, Texas Workforce Commission; Michael Lawrence Evans, Director of Emerging Technologies, Mayor’s Office, City of Boston; Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk, Chief Innovation Officer, USDA; William Cahoe, Director of Communications and Outreach for 10x, GSA; Francisco Ramirez, Chief Architect, State and Local Government, Red Hat

When: 2 pm, Eastern 

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: GovLoop

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