Your circle of competence
/Billionaire Warren Buffet liked to stay within what he called his “circle of competence,” arguing that a person shouldn’t assume that because they’re good at one thing, they are good at everything. -Anupreeta Das
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
16 Webinars This Week about Journalism, AI, Ethics, Social Media & More
/Mon, Aug 19 - Research for the Newsroom: Practical tools for adding depth to breaking and enterprise stories (4 meetings)
What: Students will learn strategies and tools for finding information in the course of your daily reporting.
Who: Barbara Gray of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York; John O’Neil of Bloomberg News
When: Aug. 19-Sept. 15
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: UT Austin Knight Center for Journalism
Mon, Aug 19 - Climate Solutions Journalism: A Community-informed & Equity-focused Approach (2 meetings)
What: You will learn the key principles of solutions journalism. What is it? What is it not? Why is it important? And how to make it happen, from idea to reporting to completed story. The goal of this program is also to increase the number of news outlets publishing solutions-focused stories on the climate crisis.
Who: Hugo Balta, Solutions Journalism Network
When: Aug. 19 & Sept. 1
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: UT Austin Knight Center for Journalism
Thu, Aug 19 - What AI Still Can’t Do
What: This session will examine the critical gaps in current AI capabilities and explore the advancements needed to elevate its impact across the nonprofit industry. We will uncover where AI technology needs to evolve, focusing on a mix of technology and ethical considerations. Additionally, we will address the human side of this transformation, emphasizing the importance of change management within organizations to foster an AI-ready culture.
Who: Griff Bohm Co-Founder SKY Developer Cohort; Abi Scott DMK Blackbaud
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Blackbaud
Mon, Aug 19 - Using AI Tools like ChatGPT to Help You Launch and Grow Your Business
What: In this workshop, you will learn how to harness AI tools effectively at every step of your entrepreneurial journey.
Who: Daniel Street, Asst. Professor of Accounting & Financial Management, Bucknell University
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop
Mon, Aug 19 - AI in Video Journalism: Uses, Best Practices and Ethics – ONA Minilab
What: This session will cover practical applications, ethics, and best practices for AI in video creation. We’ll examine how AI can improve accessibility, automate processes, and generate insights, while also addressing concerns about content accuracy, algorithmic bias, and journalistic integrity.
Who: Basil Shadid is a documentary film and commercial producer whose credits include Academy Award nominated, Emmy winning, and Audience award winning films.
When: 12 noon, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $25 or free for ONA members
Sponsors: Online News Association, the Video Consortium
Mon, Aug 19 - Social science essentials for local reporters
What: This free one-hour “crash course”—designed specifically for local and general assignment reporters—teaches basic principles about how social science works and ways it can be used to strengthen virtually any news story with a human element, especially this election season. The speakers will lay out key do’s, don’ts, and pitfalls to watch for when including science in your news reporting.
Who: Former longtime Washington Post science reporter Rick Weiss and Ph.D. neuroscientist Dr. Tori Espensen.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: New England Newspaper & Press Association
Tue, Aug 20 - All AI Models Are Not Created Equal: and That’s a Good Thing
What: This presentation explores: Compelling differences in model performance (e.g open source vs. closed, model, vs model); The importance of a healthy, competitive ecosystem in lowering costs and maximizing ROI; Why end users need to rely on a variety of customized models; How to optimize model selection based on price, speed, and quality We'll demonstrate how understanding and leveraging these distinctions can lead to more effective AI implementation across various projects.
Who: Ivan Lee, Datasaur, CEO
When: 12 noon, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Open Data Science
Tue, Aug 20 - AI as Your Image Creation Sidekick
What: You'll learn the power of DALL-E 3 by mastering the art of crafting precise and creative prompts that generate high-quality images tailored to your needs. Discover the secrets of effective image prompt creation Practice advanced image strategies that will save you time and boost your creativity Work through practical exercises and prompt hacks so you leave with the confidence to create images that reflect your imagination.
Who: Shannon Tipton, Owner of Learning Rebels
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Wed, Aug 21 - Emerging Social Media Trends
What: The world of social networks is changing rapidly. Yet, it’s important to know what will still benefit your business and which up-and-comers are worth your time. Come for an overview of the latest social marketing trends, as Digital Marketing Strategist Ray Sidney-Smith walks you through the trends and the latest forecasts! There’s no time like the present to plan your social media marketing and choose the right strategy, networks, and tactics.
Who: Ray Sidney-Smith, CEO, W3 Consulting
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $45
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop
Thu, Aug 22 – Rural Health Journalism Workshop 2024
What: Join us for a daylong virtual workshop of talks, presentations and conversation about some of the biggest challenges in rural health. We’ll unpack the nuances of the rural hospital closures crisis; innovative solutions to health care workforce shortages; the national picture of reproductive health care access; what happened to all that opioid settlement money; and a candid conversation about what people still get wrong about rural America (and why it matters).
Who: A variety of journalists, academics, and health care professionals (see link for a list)
When: 9 am – 5 pm, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Discount for members
Sponsor: Association of Health Care Journalists
Thu, Aug 22 - Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT to Accelerate Your Business Growth
What: In this webinar, discover how AI tools like ChatGPT can revolutionize your business operations and drive exponential growth. Topics covered will include: Understanding AI: An introduction to AI and how it can be integrated into business operations; Practical Applications: Real-world examples of how businesses use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance productivity and customer engagement; Implementation Strategies: Step-by-step guidance on how to start using AI tools in your business with minimal cost and effort; Future Trends: Insights into the future of AI and how businesses can stay ahead of the curve.
Who: Dr. Jeff Bullock, CEO & Founder of PRISM AI Consultants.
When: 12 noon, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop
Thu, Aug 22 - Leveraging AI for Video Research Synthesis and Pitch Creation
What: Participants will learn how to harness the power of Large Language Models (LLMs) to synthesize research documents and create compelling pitches. We’ll explore advanced prompting techniques, discuss security considerations when dealing with sensitive information, and walk through the process of crafting and editing fully-formatted pitch with a bit of AI assistance. Attendees will get access to mock interview transcripts, articles, and sample pitch structures to work with.
Who: Alex Clark is an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University and producer covering AI and misinformation for CBS News.
When: 12:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsors: Online News Association, The Video Consortium
Thu, Aug 22 - What newspapers need to understand about Artificial Intelligence
What: These 70 minutes will be packed with information about: How AI came into being; What AI actually is and how it works (the details, but you’ll understand them); How AI has advanced and the types of AI available today; The dangers and pitfalls of AI; AI tools used by newspapers; Legal and ethical challenges when using AI; and much more!
Who: Newspaper Academy’s News Guru Kevin Slimp
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $69
Sponsor: Virginia Press Association
Thu, Aug 22 - Public Documents and Enterprise Reporting
What: Tips about how to access information and real-world examples of how document digging paid off.
Who: Chris Coates is a senior director–local news for Lee Enterprises and executive editor of The Richmond Times-Dispatch and other journalists.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $35
Sponsor: Online Media Campus
Thu, Aug 22 - What is service journalism, and how do I do it right?
What: Service journalism is more important now than ever, and more publications are hungry for this type of reporting. Let’s get into the weeds about how to find, report, write, and pitch compelling, useful service stories!
Who: Tim Herrera, former editor of The New York Times's service journalism desk Smarter Living, and Allie Volpe, senior reporter at Vox.
When: 4 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $20
Sponsor: Freelancing With Tim
Fri, Aug 23 - The Future of PR: Emerging Trends and Changing Landscape
What: Learn about key drivers of change: technology, consumer behavior, and media evolution. Discover the latest trends: digital PR, data-driven strategies, and social media. Learn how to integrate new tools and technologies into PR campaigns. Understand how to create engaging content for modern audiences.
Who: Nitin Naveen, Vice president-Innovation Strategy, AICorespot; Nandita Sen, Senior Director – Research & Analytics, InfoVision; Brandon Edwards, CEO, Unlock Health; Steve Bauer, SVP & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard St. Louis; Ashley Barton, Senior Vice President & Group Director, 5WPR.
When: 9:45 am – 11:15 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: AICorespot
Whole & Broken
/Our willingness to be whole people is connected to our willingness to be broken people. -Dean Nelson (born Aug. 18)
20 Articles about the Limitations of AI
/Can machine-learning algorithms distinguish truth from falsehood? – The Atlantic
AI models could collapse if trained on their own materials, study shows – Semafor
A.I. Can Write Poetry, but It Struggles With Math – New York Times
OopsGPT OpenAI just announced a new search tool. Its demo already got something wrong. – The Atlantic
A week of nonstop breaking political news stumps AI chatbots – Washington Post
Hundreds of millions of people have tried ChatGPT, but most of them haven’t been back. LLMs might be a trap – Ben Evans Blog
What if the A.I. Boosters Are Wrong? – New York Times
AI Has Become a Technology of Faith - The Atlantic
Why AI can’t replace science – Fast Company
AI Investors Are Starting to Wonder: Is This Just a Bubble? - New York Magazine
It’s time to get real about what AI can and can’t do – Washington Post
Generative AI Can’t Cite Its Sources - The Atlantic
Think AI Can Perceive Emotion? Think Again. – Wall Street Journal
Press Pause on the Silicon Valley Hype Machine – New York Times
In the shadow of generative AI, what remains uniquely human? - VentureBeat
Teenager stuns China after beating AI in math contest – NBC News
The Mystery of AI Gunshot-Detection Accuracy Is Finally Unraveling – Wired
New study on AI-assisted creativity reveals an interesting social dilemma – Psypost
The AI that de-ages Eminem into Slim Shady is astonishingly bad – Futurism
Using synthetic data to train foundational LLMs – Enterprise AI
Creating your own misery
/As long as you live in a society with other fallible humans you will be frustrated and hassled - not merely occasionally - all of your life. The best way to avoid feeling miserable about virtually anything that will ever occur in your lifetime is to admit that you create your own misery.
(Irrational beliefs that interfere with emotional health include..)
I must do well... win the approval of others... or else I will rate as a rotten person.
Others must treat me with considerately and kindly... Other people must not behave incompetently or stupidly.
The world (and the people in it) must arrange the conditions under which I live so that I get what I want when I want it.
Albert Ellis
New Endings
/Real change starts with endings, not beginnings. Change begins with ending something. If you can’t decide what to do next or which direction to go, perhaps it will help to rephrase the question this way:
What do I want to end? What am I willing to end?
Change is not just about starting something new. It’s about bringing something to a close.
Stephen Goforth
Failure
/Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. -Denis Waitley
19 articles about using AI to do specific things
/How To Train ChatGPT To Write In Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic] – Social Media Today
You need to talk to your kid about AI. Here are 6 things you should say. – MIT Tech Review
How to use ChatGPT to build your resume - ZDnet
How to Create an AI Text-to-Video Clip in Seconds – Tom’s Hardware
5 AI-Tools To Convert Blog Articles To Videos In Just Minutes – Medium
How To Build Your Own Custom Chatbot Without Any Code Using ChatGPT Builder – Slashgear
How to Make a Logo Using Midjourney – Midjourney
4 actually helpful uses for an AI chatbot – Washington Post
How to Use AI Tools to Improve Quality of Internet Searches – Voice of America
How to use ChatGPT to digitize your handwritten notes for free – ZDnet
What do people really ask chatbots? It’s a lot of sex and homework – Washington Post
How to use the ChatGPT app on iPhone and Android – Tom’s Guide
OpenAI rolls out voice mode after delaying it for safety reasons – Washington Post
How to Write a Book with AI in 2024 - Geeky Gadgets
Actionable AI – Moz
Meet Stability AI's Stable Video 4D, a nuanced take on AI video generation – ZDnet
Can't Decide Which AI Chatbot Is Best? Poe Says Use Them All – Cnet
Anthropic’s Claude adds a prompt playground to quickly improve your AI apps – Tech Crunch
Helping nonexperts build advanced generative AI models – MIT
Falling in love with your ideas
/Falling in love with your ideas, defending them, and being unwilling to let them go doesn’t increase creativity, it inhibits it. -Aaron Orendorff
20 Articles about Amazing Things AI can do Now
/This AI humanoid robot helped assemble BMWs at US factory - Arstechnica
AI tool outperforms existing x-ray structure methods - Chemistry World
Getty Images Updated Generative AI Pushes Boundaries Of What’s Possible – Search Engine Journal
What It's Like Using a Brain Implant With ChatGPT (Video) - Cnet
Google DeepMind AI system reaches milestone in global math contest – Semafor
How AI Brought 11,000 College Football Players to Digital Life in Three Months – Wall Street Journal
Is AI funnier than humans? This study says so but you be the judge – New York Post
AI model harnesses physics to autocorrect remote sensing data - Phys Org
Meet Kenza Layli from Morocco - the winner of the world's first Miss AI beauty pageant – Euronews
‘We don’t want to leave people behind’: AI is helping disabled people in surprising new ways - CNN
NBC will use AI version of Al Michaels’s voice for Olympics coverage – The Hill
Smashing, from Goodreads’ co-founder, curates the best of the web using AI and human recommendations – TechCrunch
AI is upending search as we know it – Venture Beat
Generative AI Speech-to-Speech Systems and Their Applications – Datanami
How AI is helping judge Olympic gymnastics – The Verge
Closed Doors
/Houdini was a master magician as well as a fabulous locksmith. He boasted that he could escape from any jail cell in the world in less than an hour, provided he could go into the cell dressed in his street clothes. A small town in the British Isles built a new jail they were extremely proud of. They issued Houdini a challenge.
"Come give us a try," they said. By the time he arrived, excitement was at a fever pitch. Houdini rode triumphantly into the town and walked into the cell. He proudly walked into the cell and the door was closed. Houdini took off his coat and went to work. Secreted in his belt was a flexible tough and durable ten-inch piece of steel, which he used to work on the lock.
At the end of 30 minutes his confident expression had disappeared. At the end of an hour he was drenched in perspiration. After two hours, Houdini literally collapsed against the door--which opened. Yes, it had never been locked--except in his mind. One little push and Houdini could have easily opened the door. Many times a little extra push is all you need to open your opportunity door. Most locked doors are in your mind.
Zig Ziglar, See You At the Top
7 Webinars this Week about Writing, Journalism, AI & More
/Tue, Aug 13 - Enhance Your eLearning with Audio Using the All-new Adobe Captivate
What: Discover how to take your eLearning courses to the next level with audio integration in Adobe Captivate. In this comprehensive webinar, you'll learn the importance of audio in eLearning, best practices for recording and editing, and how to seamlessly incorporate audio into your Captivate projects. Our expert instructor will guide you through step-by-step demonstrations, tips for ensuring high-quality sound, and techniques for engaging learners with effective audio. This session is designed to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge to enhance your eLearning content. Join us and transform your courses with the power of audio!
Who: Sharath Ramaswamy Senior eLearning Evangelist, Adobe
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Wed, Aug 14 - Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics
What: A discussion of the recently released the Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics, which focuses on sourcing, framing and language in political news. These best practices were created by NPF and 20 journalist-fellows.
Who: Sonya Ross Editor-in-chief, Black Women Unmuted; Debbie Walsh Director, Center for American Women and Politics; Sameea Kamal Politics Reporter, CalMatters
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The National Press Foundation, Pivotal Ventures
Wed, Aug 14 - A Place Called Vertigo: A Skeptic’s Guide to AI, Large Language Models, and Research Libraries
What: This webinar will offer some potential frameworks for using these tools responsibly and effectively. The webinar will close with a consideration of how these tools might amplify, rather than displace, the roles and values of contemporary research libraries.
Who: Alexander J. Carroll is the Associate Director of the Science and Engineering Library at Vanderbilt University
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Association of Southeastern Research Libraries
Thu, Aug 15 - Mini Lab: AI Tools for Audio Journalists
What: Join us for a quick, facilitated session where you’ll get to experiment with generative AI audio. Participants will explore what generative AI audio is, learn about available tools, discuss ethical considerations, and even create historical reenactments using synthetic voices. It’s an engaging way to dive deeper into the capabilities and implications of AI in the audio space.
Who: Davar Ardalan Founder, TulipAI
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
Thu, Aug 15 – How Fact-Checking Works — And Why it Matters
What: This webinar provides an overview of the main types of fact-checking and what’s involved, and a discussion of the methods used to verify information and how fact-checking helps them tell stories and inform their audiences.
Who: Wilkine Brutus, Palm Beach County Correspondent, Producer, and Host, WLRN Public Media; Laura Zommer, Co-founder and CEO, Factchequeado; Kurt Sampsel, Senior Program Manager, PEN America
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pen America
Thu, Aug 15 – Elevating Diversity in Journalism
What: This panel delves into the critical efforts and strategies newsrooms are employing to enhance diversity on their business desks and beyond. Industry leaders and journalists will share insights and their approaches to creating more inclusive and representative media environments.
Who: Imani Moise, Personal Economics Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Co-Chair of NABJ Business Task Force; Ali Jackson-Jolley, Newsroom Leader; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives, Forbes; Naomi Ishisaka, Assistant Managing Editor, The Seattle Times; Olivia Santiago, Recruitment Lead, Bloomberg; Bowdeya Tweh, Chicago Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal
When: 1 pm
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing
Fri, Aug 16 - Structuring Your Story: Master class on organizing narrative, breaking new
What: This four-hour virtual workshop will feature award-winning reporters and editors. Participants will: Gain go-to story structures that can be applied efficiently and effectively to almost any story. Hone skills for writing sharper ledes and memorable endings. Get inspiration for ways to organize notes, find the telling quotes, work with data, and build out the story. Whether you are an experienced journalist or new to the business you will develop some new approaches to story writing.
Who: Lane DeGregory, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at the Tampa Bay Times; Beth Francesco, executive director, National Press Club Journalism Institute; Wesley Lowery, executive editor of Investigation Reporting Workshop at American University and a Pulitzer Prize winner; Steve Padilla, Los Angeles Times Column One editor; Eric Tucker, national security reporter for the Associated Press
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $65-75
Sponsor: Journalism Institute of the National Press Club
Is Talent Overrated?
/It is mid-1978, and we are inside the giant Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati, looking into a cubicle shared by a pair of 22-year-old men, fresh out of college. Their assignment is to sell Duncan Hines brownie mix, but they spend a lot of their time just rewriting memos.
Neither has any kind of career plan. Every afternoon they play waste-bin basketball with wadded-up memos. One of them later recalls, "We were voted the two guys probably least likely to succeed."
These two young men are of interest to us now for only one reason: They are Jeffrey Immelt and Steven Ballmer, who before age 50 would become CEOs of two of the world's most valuable corporations, General Electric and Microsoft. Contrary to what any reasonable person would have expected when they were new recruits, they reached the apex of corporate achievement.
The obvious question is how. Was it talent? If so, it was a strange kind of talent that hadn't revealed itself in the first 22 years of their lives. Brains? The two were sharp but had shown no evidence of being sharper than thousands of classmates or colleagues. Was it mountains of hard work? Certainly not up to that point. And yet something carried them to the heights of the business world.
Which leads to perhaps the most puzzling question, one that applies not just to Immelt and Ballmer but also to everyone: If that certain special something turns out not to be any of the things we usually think of, then what is it?
If we believe that people without a particular natural talent for some activity will never be competitive with those who possess that talent - meaning an inborn ability to do that specific thing easily and well - then we'll direct them away from that activity. We'll steer our kids away from art, tennis, economics, or Chinese because we think we've seen that they have no talent in those realms.
In our own lives we'll try something new and, finding that it doesn't come naturally to us, conclude that we have no talent for it, and so we never pursue it.
A number of researchers now argue that talent means nothing like what we think it means, if indeed it means anything at all. A few contend that the very existence of talent is not, as they carefully put it, supported by evidence. In studies of accomplished individuals, researchers have found few signs of precocious achievement before the individuals started intensive training. Similar findings have turned up in studies of musicians, tennis players, artists, swimmers, mathematicians, and others.
Such findings do not prove that talent doesn't exist. But they do suggest an intriguing possibility: that if it does, it may be irrelevant.
Geoff Colvin, Why Talent is Overrated
The Lessons of Elders
/Being unwilling to accept defeat—is a guarantee that one will never learn the lessons that must be learned if one is to mature. That is why the elders that we need so badly in our success-obsessed society are not the natural-born winners who rose to the top without a setback. Such people are easy to idealize, but they have little to teach us. What elders need to help younger people learn is that without releasing the fruits of one season, they cannot blossom into the next. Such elders can show us, because they have done it many times, how to let go of who we have been to clear the ground for the growth of who we are becoming. They can help us to understand the transition-related emotions of grief (sadness for what have let go of), disorientation (when we are lost in the neutral zone), and fear (when the challenges of the unknown new beginnings are overwhelming).
William Bridges, The Way of Transition
Questions & Answers
/Rather than puzzling over whether you have all the answers, it's better to focus on the question, "Am I wrestling with the right questions?" Stephen Goforth
AI Definitions: Machine Learning
/Machine learning (ML) - This subset of AI makes predictions or decisions based on patterns it spots in data sets. The process evolves and adapts on its own as it is exposed to new data, improving the output without explicit programming from a human. An example would be algorithms recommending ads for users, which become more tailored the longer it observes the users‘ habits (someone’s clicks, likes, time spent, etc.). Data scientists combine ML with other disciplines (like big data analytics and cloud computing) to solve real-world problems. However, the results are limited to probabilities, not absolutes. It doesn’t reveal causation. There are four types of machine learning: supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning. A clever computer program that simply mimics human-like behavior can be considered AI, but the computer system itself is not machine learning unless its parameters are automatically informed by data without human intervention. Video: Introduction to Machine Learning
More AI definitions here.
Bent to the Illusion
/The Müller-Lyer illusion, a famous optical illusion (involves) two sets of arrows. The arrows are exactly the same length. But in one case, the ends of the arrows outward, seem to signify expansion and boundless potential. In the other case, they point inward, making them seem self-contained and limited. The first case is analogous to how investors see the stock market when returns have been increasing; the second case is how they see it after a crash.
“There’s no way that you can control yourself not to have that illusion,” (Nobel prize winner) Daniel Kahneman told me. “You look at them, and one of the arrows is going to look longer than the other. But you can train yourself to recognize that this is a pattern that causes an illusion, and in that situation, I can’t trust my impressions; I’ve got to use a ruler.”
Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise
4 Fake News Signals from Outside the Website
/Here are some tips for determining if a story is likely reliable. An organization does not need to tick off all these qualifiers in order to be considered authentic and accurate, but the more you see red flags pop up, the more a healthy skepticism is in order.
69. YOUR COMMUNITY. There’s no substitute for knowing people who are well-informed and will let you know when you’ve posted something questionable. These are people you can ask when you have your doubts. Don’t know any experts or researchers, or information junkies from various fields who are critical and helpful? Make some new friends! Developing such a support system is critical for navigating effectively through life. Read some books written by experts.
70. FACT-CHECKING SITES. Does a fact-checking site identify the assertion of the article as a hoax? Check one of the sites listed at the end of this article or type the article’s topic into a search engine and add “hoax” or “fake.”
71. THE OTHER SIDE. Take time to check sites that do not agree with your politics. If you discover they are wrong and perhaps not addressing the best arguments of your side, it is a confirmation you are on the right side of an issue. Or maybe you will discover a weakness in your own reasoning you haven’t considered. Either way, you'll know what other people are consuming, sharpening your thinking.
72. GOOGLING THE TOPIC. If you do a Google search for a topic, remember that reliable researchers do not write material answering questions like “Did the Holocaust exist?” Instead of decent sources, this type of search will bring up conspiracy theorists. Don’t be misled by a search that frames issues as secret plots and nefarious schemes.
AI Definitions: Hallucinations
/Hallucinations – This is when an AI provides responses that are inaccurate or not based on facts. Generative AI models are designed to generate data that is realistic or distributionally equivalent to the training data and yet different from the actual data used for training. This is why they are better at brainstorming than reflecting the real world and why they should not be treated as sources of truth or factual knowledge. Generative AI models can answer some questions correctly, but this is not what they are designed and trained to do.
More AI definitions here.
looking down
/A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down you can't see something that's above you. – CS Lewis