A Guide to Success

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Psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer argues that much of our behaviour is based on deceptively sophisticated rules-of-thumb, or “heuristics”. A robot programmed to chase and catch a ball would need to compute a series of complex differential equations to track the ball’s trajectory. But baseball players do so by instinctively following simple rules: run in the right general direction, and adjust your speed to keep a constant angle between eye and ball.

To make good decisions in a complex world, Gigerenzer says, you have to be skilled at ignoring information. He found that a portfolio of stocks picked by people he interviewed in the street did better than those chosen by experts. The pedestrians were using the “recognition heuristic”: they picked companies they’d heard of, which was a better guide to future success than any analysis of price-earning ratios.

Ian Leslie writing in The Economist

AI Definitions: SQL

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SQL - Structured Query Language (SQL pronounced ess-kew-ell or sequel) is the most widely used method of accessing databases. This programming language can be used to create tables, change data, find particular data, and create relationships among different tables. For data scientists, it is second in importance after Python. Similar in structure and function to Excel, SQL can work with Excel and is able to handle billions of rows in multiple tables and thousands of users can access this data securely at the same time.

More AI definitions here

Diagnosis: AI v Doctors

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“A small study found ChatGPT outdid human physicians when assessing medical case histories.” In fact, “Doctors often were not persuaded by the chatbot when it pointed out something that was at odds with their diagnoses. Instead, they tended to be wedded to their own idea of the correct diagnosis. They didn’t listen to AI when told things they didn’t agree with … But there was another issue: Only a fraction of the doctors realized they could literally paste the entire case into the chatbot and just ask it to give a comprehensive answer." -New York Times

The Purpose of a Spouse

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Not too long ago in a couples group I heard one of the members state that the "purpose and function" of his wife was to keep their house neat and him well fed. I was aghast at what seemed to me his painfully blatant male chauvinism. I thought I might demonstrate this to him by asking the other members of the group to state how they perceived the purpose and function of their spouses. To my horror the six others, male and female alike, gave very similar answers. All of them defined the purpose and function of their husbands or wives in reference to themselves; all of them failed to perceive that their mates might have an existence basically separate from their own or any kind of destiny apart from their marriage. "Good grief," I exclaimed, "it's no wonder that you are all having difficulties in your marriages, and you'll continue to have difficulties until you come to recognize that each of you has your own separate destiny to fulfill." The group felt not only chastised but profoundly confused by my pronouncement. Somewhat belligerently they asked me to define the purpose and function of my wife. "The purpose and function of Lily," I responded, "is to grow to be the most of which she is capable, not for my benefit but for her own and to the glory of God."

M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

Other People are Responsible for the Way I Feel

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A consistent characteristic of imperative people is the desire to persuade others to be just like them. When encouraged to look back to their childhoods, most imperative people can recall a history of strong persuasion. The parents have been so intent on keeping order that their behavior said, “If I can get you to behave in my world, there will be order.” Developmental years were full of relationships that featured arm-twisting, intimidation, or threats.

Jack told me that he had learned early on that it was not safe to be vulnerable. He told me, “I remember a scene when I was only five or six years old. I had just stepped onto the back porch of our home to set something outside when a very loud clap of thunder sounded. Scared to death, I ran indoors, where my father grabbed me and told me to quit acting so ridiculous. Then my mother scolded me for upsetting my father. I was immediately defensive and told them they were both mean. The next thing I knew, I was smarting from a spanking.”

“In a sense you were in school at times like that.” I said, “You witnessed how effectively they persuaded you to be what they wanted, so you eventually learned to do likewise with your family.”

While it is a good thing to express opinions (as opposed to repressing them), it is not healthy for us to become bossy or condescending or explosive in order to get our way.

Les Carter, Imperative People: Those Who Must Be in Control

AI Poems—better than the real thing?

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A new study in the journal Scientific Reports finds that non-expert readers can’t reliably distinguish between poems penned by William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot or Sylvia Plath and ChatGPT-3.5 doing its best impression of each of them. More surprising, readers preferred the AI-generated poems — and were more likely to guess those were written by humans than real works by famous poets. -Washington Post

Winners are more likely to Cheat

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When people succeed in competition against others, it seems to compromise their ethics. It makes them more likely to cheat afterwards," (said Amos Schurr, a professor of psychology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel).

The problem, he says, seems to be a very specific type of success: the kind that involves social comparison, the sort that means doing better than others, instead of just doing well. And he believes it all boils down to a sense of entitlement that beating others in sports, business, politics, or any other form of head-to-head competition seems to foster in victors.

"Dishonesty is a pretty complex phenomenon — there are all sorts of mechanisms behind it," said Schurr. "But people who win competitions feel more entitled, and that feeling of entitlement is what predicts dishonesty."

In other words, when people win against others, they tend to think they're better, or more deserving. And that thinking helps them justify cheating, since, after all, they're the rightful heir to whatever throne is next — "If I'm better than you, I might as well make sure I win, because I deserve to anyway."

Roberto A. Ferdman writing in the Washington Post

12 Articles about AI & the US Military

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The Shape of AI

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Organizations need to move beyond viewing AI deployment as purely a technical challenge. Instead, they must consider the human impact of these technologies. The urgent task before us is ensuring these transformations enhance rather than diminish human potential, creating workplaces where technology serves to elevate human capability rather than replace it. The decisions we make now, in these early days of AI integration, will shape not just the future of work, but the future of human agency in an AI-augmented world. - Ethan Mollick

14 Articles about the Dangers of AI

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The face of death

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Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. 

Steve Jobs

19 Recent Articles about AI & Teaching

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New AI Tools Are Promoted as Study Aids for Students. Are They Doing More Harm Than Good? - EdSurge

Cheating Has Become Normal - Chronicle of Higher Ed

Your AI Policy Is Already Obsolete - Inside Higher Ed 

California Law Requires Schools to Teach Students About AI – Gov Tech  

Is AI Really a Threat to Higher Education? – Psychology Today

Teaching Entrepreneurship Students to Self-Teach With AI - Inside Higher Ed 

Parents Sue After School Disciplined Student for AI Use: Takeaways for Educators – Ed Week  

Colleges begin to reimagine learning in an AI world - Chronicle of Higher Ed 

The art of asking questions: Does AI in the classroom facilitate deep learning in students? – William & Mary  

How universities spot AI cheats – and the one word that gives it away – Telegraph

Colleges Race to Ready Students for the AI Workplace – Wall Street Journal

Owning the Unknown: Teaching and Learning With AI – Inside Higher Ed

What Teachers Told Me About A.I. in School - New York Times 

5 Small Steps for AI Skeptics: Getting academics to teach with AI is a tough nut to crack – Chronicle of Higher Ed

W&M professor publishes children’s book to teach AI fundamentals - William & Mary

I found myself spending more time giving feedback to AI than to my students. So I quit. - TIME 

ChatGPT Can Make English Teachers Feel Doomed. Here’s How I’m Adapting – Ed Week

Some NYC teachers experiment with AI-powered tools, while Education Department develops guidelines – Chalkbeat

What Can AI Chatbots Teach Us About How Humans Learn? – EdSurge

AI abuse in College

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Talk to professors in writing-intensive courses, particularly those teaching introductory or general-education classes, and it sounds as if AI abuse has become pervasive. One professor said she feels less like a teacher and more like a human plagiarism detector, spending hours each week analyzing her students’ writing to determine its authenticity. -Chronicle of Higher Ed

Your #1 (Psychological) Priority

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To determine your #1 priority, ask, “What am I trying to avoid?”

What you are trying to avoid: Stress

#1 priority: comfort

How others may feel: irritated or annoyed

The price you pay: reduced productivity

What you are trying to avoid: Rejection

#1 priority: pleasing

How others may feel: accepting

The price you pay: stunted growth

What you are trying to avoid: Unexpected Humiliation

#1 priority: control

How others may feel: challenged

The price you pay: social distance, reduced spontaneity

What you are trying to avoid: Meaninglessness

#1 priority: superiority

How others may feel: inadequate

The price you pay: overburdened or over-responsible

What you are trying to avoid: Pride

#1 priority: humility

How others may feel: blessed

The price you pay: die to self