A
quick comment or two about the mid-terms. Today, October 24, has been
designated as Unity Day. How ironic that these last two years have been some of
the most un-unifying years in American History. It may not be up to the
division prior to and during and after the Civil War, but it’s probably as
divisive as the years with FDR. And this election will be more about us versus
them than we’ve seen in at least the last fifty years. So, here again, I’d like
to post this sign at every voting station: Due
to an anticipated voter turnout much larger than originally expected, the
polling facilities may not be able to handle the load all at once. Therefore, Democrats are requested to vote on
Tuesday, November 6, and Republicans on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Please pass this
message along and help us make sure no one gets left out.
The Mega Millions jackpot was won yesterday
by one unnamed person in South Carolina, with the option to take it all or
space it out over thirty years. What difference could it possibly make? The pot
was 1.54 billion; the “take it all” would be about $880 million after Uncle Sam
takes his cut. What can one person do with that much money? What do those in
the 1% do with all their money? I guess they just sit back and watch it grow.
To what end, I say? This lucky South Carolinian (Or should that be “unlucky?”) won’t
know what to do with it. Past winners of huge jackpots have told how unhappy they
were with their newfound wealth. Some have even killed themselves. Just imagine
how many relatives, friends, strangers would bug the winner for some of the
money. “Ah, come on, Jake, just a million,” they whine. “You won’t even know it’s
gone.” So Jake and family pack up and move to a new location, like someone in
the witness protection program. Then what do they do? Buy stuff they only
dreamed about in their average past? Like huge luxury boats, really expensive
sports cars, an entire South Pacific island, mansions along the coast or maybe
a castle in Spain? The island might not be a bad idea when the hoards with open
hands descend on them. And they’d probably need to buy a jet to get them there
without too many people knowing where they were going. Personally, I think I’d
rather be one of those who had the first five numbers and won a million. I
think I could figure out what to do with a million but not almost 900 of them.
Another item I saw recently, that
scientists are now using artificial intelligence to create paintings. Which
then leads to that old question: What exactly is great art? Is it in the imagination
of the artist or in his manual skills in creating that art? Why are Picasso,
Van Gogh, or Rembrandt greater than other artists? Is the greatness in the
creator or in the eye of the beholder? I remember from quite a few years ago
when someone passed off canvases done by a monkey and a bunch of people,
supposedly those who knew great art when the saw it, proclaimed it the work of
genius. Hmmm. And if AI paintings, then why not AI music, both popular and
classical? The same questions arise: Is it art or isn’t it? Does it compete
with Bach or Mozart or doesn’t it? Can AI learn empathy to an extent that listeners
will be moved to tears? Can AI be taught to feel emotion? And, finally, can AI
write the great American novel just as so many striving authors have tried to
do in the past? Hmmm. It would require that AI be infused with all the
experiences of all of man from beginning to end in order to create a fictional
world that was believable. Can AI be made creative enough to invent things, like that better mousetrap Emerson told us about? I'm reasonably sure new AI inventions are a done deal. In an essay by Stephen Hawking just before he died,
he warned that one of the greatest dangers to mankind and the world will be artificial intelligence. Just as in Asimov’s I,Robot, can AI have a built-in safety valve that requires it to do
no harm to humans?I hope so. But, wow! Are we in for an exciting but frightening next ten or
twenty years.
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