Category: Science

It’s Everywhere! It’s Everywhere!

Have you noticed how many ads there are now that pumps us full of AI knowledge?

Most are taunting how good and helpful AI is for you and for business.

But is it all it is cracked up to be?

Students are showing some ill effects…..

New research has found a worrying link to memory loss and tanking grades in students who relied on ChatGPT, in an early but fascinating exploration of the swift impact that large language models have had in education.

As detailed in a new study published in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, the researchers surveyed hundreds of university students — ranging from undergrads to doctoral candidates — over two phases, using self-reported evaluations. They were spurred on by witnessing more and more of their own students turn to ChatGPT.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-memory-loss-procrastination

I have stated many times…I do my own research and writing I do not need some program, to do it for me.

Do you know what ELE stands for?  (Look it up!)

The government has started worrying about the use of AI, the dependency….

A report released on Monday that was commissioned by the U.S. State Department warns that artificial intelligence could pose an “extinction-level threat.”

“Given the growing risk to national security posed by rapidly expanding AI capabilities from weaponization and loss of control—and particularly, the fact that the ongoing proliferation of these capabilities serves to amplify both risks—there is a clear and urgent need for the U.S. government to intervene,” the report states.

The report compares the development of AI to the development of nuclear weapons and claims it might “destabilize global security” if it’s not properly regulated. The report says the U.S. government must move “quickly and decisively” to address the threat of AI.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/state-department-commissioned-report-warns-a-i-could-be-an-extinction-level-threat

Can AI destroy our ‘beloved’ and often worshiped system of capitalism?

Some say it is a possibility….

I’ll suggest a few AI mechanisms that will, at the very least, force us to rethink the current models of capitalism.
 
I believe letting AI run rampant through all aspects of our lives cannot and will not end well of us mere mortals.
 
Since I still have my mental capabilities I will not let some program do my thinking for me….I am old and one day those capabilities may be gone if and when that occurs then I may re-think my stance but until then….I will do it my way!
 
But that is just me.
 
I Read, I Write, You Know
 
“lego ergo scribo”

Recycle Or Not

I am one of those ‘tree huggers’ that recycles and have been for decades….but in recent years with so many reports about the useless trend of recycling has got me wondering if I should continue to do so.

There are a bunch of disturbing reports about plastic waste…..

A report released Thursday estimates that countries worldwide are on pace to generate 220 million tonnes of total plastic waste this year, a finding that comes as governments are set to convene in Ottawa, Canada later this month to hash out a binding global treaty to limit the toxic pollution that is inundating waterways and communities across the planet.

The new report from EA – Earth Action (EA) projects that Plastic Overshoot Day—the point at which the amount of plastic waste produced exceeds the capacity of global management systems—will arrive on September 5 this year. Over a third of the total plastic waste created this year will end up in nature, according to the analysis.

On average, each person globally contributes 28 kilograms of plastic pollution per year. Previous research has shown that just 20 companies are responsible for more than half of the world’s total single-use plastic waste.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/plastic-waste-2024

That is a scary amount of waste….but there is always recycling, right?

The most recent article shows me that we all may have been ‘hoodwinked’ by big oil….

The petrochemical industry—including major oil companies like ExxonMobil—knew for decades that recycling was not a sustainable solution to the problem of plastic waste, yet continued to promote it in order to avoid regulation and deceive consumers into continuing to buy and use their products, a report released Thursday by the Center for Climate Integrity reveals.

The report, titled The Fraud of Plastic Recycling: How Big Oil and the Plastics Industry Deceived the Public for Decades and Caused the Plastic Waste Crisis, includes newly disclosed industry documents proving that companies and trade groups knew that plastics could not be recycled indefinitely in the 1980s and 90s even as they launched a massive public relations campaign to sell voters and policymakers on the process.

“This evidence shows that many of the same fossil fuel companies that knew and lied for decades about how their products cause climate change have also known and lied to the public about plastic recycling,” Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) president Richard Wiles said in a statement. “The oil industry’s lies are at the heart of the two most catastrophic pollution crises in human history.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/plastics-industry-lie-recycling

Here is another link to this study….

Explosive new report accuses major corporations of lying for decades: ‘It’s clearly fraud they’re engaged in’

I believe there is a term being thrown around these days….’greenwashing’…..WTF?

Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound. Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.

In addition, greenwashing may occur when a company attempts to emphasize sustainable aspects of a product to overshadow the company’s involvement in environmentally damaging practices. Performed through the use of environmental imagery, misleading labels, and hiding tradeoffs, greenwashing is a play on the term “whitewashing,” which means using false information to intentionally hide wrongdoing, error, or an unpleasant situation in an attempt to make it seem less bad than it is.

So should we continue to recycle?

“No,” Cirino told Salon. “Even if plastic recycling rates were higher, recycling alone could never come close to solving the serious and wide-ranging health, justice, socio-economic, and environmental crises caused by industries’ continued plastic production and plastic pollution, which go hand in hand.” Cirino argued that, given how plastic production has grown exponentially and its pollution problems have likewise worsened, emphasizing recycling over meaningful solutions is at best irresponsible.

“It’s clear recycling is not enough to solve the plastic pollution crisis,” Cirino concluded. “The fossil fuel industry, governments, and corporations really need to turn off the plastic tap, and the UN Plastics Treaty could be an opportunity to do so on a global level—if member states can come together and form a treaty with real ambition. Ultimately, our world must decide what it values: money or life.”

(salon.com)

A couple of years ago I wrote about recycling here on IST….

Do You Recycle?

Ultimately this is one of those issues that the individual has to decide what is best (pause here for side splitting laughter….like most have no care what happens as long as their Mtn Dew is cold)

Me? My family has already started dialing back the amount of plastic we discard…..we care what happens if you do not then that is your problem.

Be Samrt!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–09Apr24

I hope everyone that participated in the viewing of the eclipse used protection….if not then you will have a hard time reading this post.

There some things that have been proven to be true and yet there is a portion of the population that refuses to believe…..(you gotta love misinformation….proponents have done a helluva job)

Here are a few of the facts that some still refuse to believe….

Scientific discoveries are being made all the time, and things that may once have been thought of as fanciful have now been proven to be real. Although debate still rages about things like whether the Earth is flat or round and whether the moon landings happened, there are some things that science has proven beyond doubt, but some people still won’t believe.

An online community discusses scientific findings that still split public opinion and have those who refuse to accept.

https://wealthynickel.com/15-things-that-are-scientific-fact-but-public-opinion-wont-accept-0424/

Some good stuff in that article.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All That Cancer Research

Once again we have arrived at a Sunday and the day that I try to help my readers with subjects that may not be readily available for them.

Since my better half, Sue, has been battling cancer I try to keep up with all the research that is available….and then I read something like this and it just sends me into a spiral….

Cancer research is big business, sorry to pout it that way, and there have been some fraud going on….

Dana-Farber was rocked this January by a blog post by Sholto David, a molecular biologist and internet data sleuth, in which he presented evidence of widespread data manipulation in cancer research published by leading researchers including the institute’s CEO and COO. David reportedly contacted the institute with concerns about 57 papers, 38 of which were ones for which the institute had “primary responsibility for the potential data errors.” The institute has requested retractions for 6 of them and initiated corrections for 31.

These data manipulations, to be clear, were not subtle. (David’s fairly bombastic blog post announcing the evidence calls it “pathetically amateurish and excessive.”) Many of the cases he identifies involved reusing the same images over and over in different figures, with different labels, and with the figures having been clumsily rotated or stretched in Photoshop or a similar image editor. Plots of data collection on different days are mysteriously perfectly identical. Test results are visibly copied and pasted.

It raises the question: Assuming that there was some misconduct behind the copied-and-pasted images, how were people so emboldened to commit such blatant fraud, so publicly, for such a long time? How much grant money was secured on the basis of fabricated data, and how much was the crucial fight against cancer set back by inaccuracies promulgated in these papers?

And perhaps most importantly, is this only the tip of the iceberg?

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24086809/fake-cancer-research-data-scientific-fraud

This story raises questions for me….if the research is faked then are the treatments really doing any good?

What happens to those faking the test results?

Cancer research is a multi-billion dollar cash cow for some….what is the government doing to stop this sort of fraud?

All good question but with few answers.

Sorry to be a bummer on this Sunday.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Climate Agreements

I have been following the climate debate for decades….it all started with Carter and just kept me interested…..I watched the timeline for clean environment pushed forward year after year until we are at the point where 2050 is the target date for a clean environment.

Not to worry there will be another climate summit to reassess that timeline and it will most likely be pushed yet again.

So what do you think of all this ‘kicking of the climate can’?

Personally I think these agreements benefit only one sector…..

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/25/climate-agreements-suck/

Climate agreements suck. There are no real enforcement provisions. Many signatories cheat. Some don’t rep0rt at all. Moreover, reported data is highly suspect. It’s a worldwide scandal recently exposed by YaleEnvironment360.

Evidence of cheating is found in the atmosphere: Global CO2 is on a rampage, skyrocketing upwards like never before, double-to-triple rates of only one year ago, see: CO2 Bursting into the Atmosphere. This is not supposed to be happening. It is twisting the planet’s climate system into a pretzel that doesn’t know which way to turn next. There are plenty of reasons to believe it is going to get much, much worse. The planet’s climate system is already so far whacked-out that it’s breathing fire.

Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions are skyrocketing in the aftermath of the much-touted climate agreement Paris ‘15 when 196 countries agreed to cut to net zero. Oops, wrong, many signatories are “net nothing.”

There is compelling evidence that signatory nations to Paris ’15 don’t give a damn about the agreement or care about Hot House Earth as they cavalierly undercount, when they do report, or they simply refuse to report. As a result, UN climate goals go straight into the trash, worthless.

A little history….the first worldwide climate summit was in 1979….the mandate was “a better understanding of the climate system and the causes of climate variability and change” and “to determine the predictability of climate; and to determine the effect of human activities on climate”.  In practice, the program aims to foster initiatives in climate research which require or benefit from international coordination and which are unlikely to emerge from national efforts alone.

And that agreement has been sliding down the toilet ever since.

So yeah climate agreements suck because it means nothing to the polluters because government will have their backs….until the bitter end.

And that end is not that far away…..but the profits will flow and the planet will eventually burn.

I know a bit dramatic….but what the Hell someone had to say it.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

To Atrophy Or Not To Atrophy

It is a Sunday and as usual I feel I must say a few things about this subject or that….and this week it is a subject that seems to be making news daily,  AI and what it could be doing to our brains.

AI is being used by many people to write their blog posts or their latest novel or paint a picture for them….I have written many times that I do not use it that I had rather do my own research and writing…..but for those that think it is easier and the ‘bee’s knees’ more power to them.

Atrophy:

  • noun
    a decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse
    synonyms:wasting
  • noun
    any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use)

Now for the reason for the definition….

Just like smartphone GPS has harmed our sense of spatial cognition and memory, artificial intelligence may soon impair our ability to make decisions for ourselves — an outcome that would be, one expert warns, “catastrophic.”

In an interview with PsyPost, neuropsychology expert Umberto León Domínguez of the University of Monterrey in Mexico said that his new research shows that AI chatbots may end up not just mimicking our speech patterns, but significantly harming our cognitive functioning in general.

Like many other educators, Domínguez said he’s concerned about how his students are using tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Spurred by those concerns, he told PsyPost, he began to explore ways AI chatbots “could interfere with higher-order executive functions to understand how to also train these skills.”

“I began to explore and generalize the impact,” the researcher said, “not only as a student but as humanity, of the catastrophic effects these technologies could have on a significant portion of the population by blocking the development of these cognitive functions.”

Instead of being a helpful addition to human consciousness, the Mexican researcher argued in his paper that he’s worried about “cognitive offloading,” or the use of AI in place of the types of mental tasks like problem-solving that we currently do the old-fashioned way, by thinking. To use a physical metaphor, over-reliance on AI for thought processes may weaken our minds the way not exercising weakens our muscles — leading, ultimately, to atrophy.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-atrophying-brain

I agree with his findings….although I am not a neuro professional I do have an opinion and that is what separates me from AI.

Just so you know.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–08Jan24

Can you remember Covid?

How about ‘hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)’?

This was the ‘magical’ cure for Covid that was passed around by our fearless leader back in the day.

Sad thing is people believed the crap and died.

In news that’s sure to kickstart a wave of recriminations, researchers have estimated that almost 17,000 people died in six countries during the first COVID-19 wave due to the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an anti-malaria medication that gained viral traction as a potential treatment against COVID even after scientific evidence failed to back up its efficacy.

A team of researchers from France, Canada and China revealed the findings in a new study published in the science journal Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. They arrived at the number after performing statistical analysis on medical and hospital data about excess mortality.

“During the first wave of COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was used off-label despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits,” the researchers write. “Since then, a meta-analysis of randomised trials showed that HCQ use was associated with an 11 percent increase in the mortality rate.”

The scientists looked at data from Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and America.

“Although our estimates are limited by their imprecision, these findings illustrate the hazard of drug repurposing with low-level evidence,” the scientists conclude.

Other existing medications had been repurposed to combat COVID because of their track record in treating viruses, like the HIV/AIDS drug ritonavir, the paper notes.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/deaths-hydroxychloroquine-estimate

This is why you should always consult your medical professional before taking any advice from amateurs.

Covid was tragic enough without idiots adding to the misery of others.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Climate Change Myths Debunked

2024 will be the telling year!

In less than one year we will be running to the polls to vote this way or that…..we have a year of rhetoric, lies, myths and manure to endure until the day we vote. Some will buy into the BS spread while others will be deciding for themselves what is fact and what is fiction.

One of the big issues, besides the economy, will most likely be that of climate change…so I would like to pass on the debunking of most of the rhetoric against climate change.

Climate change refers to long-term changes in precipitation, temperature, and other atmospheric conditions on Earth. It is primarily driven by natural factors such as variations in the sun’s intensity, volcanic activity, and internal processes within the Earth’s climate system.

However, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly contributed to the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions, including gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

These gases trap heat, leading to a warming effect known as the greenhouse effect. The enhanced greenhouse effect intensifies the Earth’s natural warming processes, contributing to the observed rise in temperatures over the years.

he average global temperatures have risen by approximately 0.08 degrees Celsius (or 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade since 1880, and this rate has more than doubled, to a rise of 0.18 degrees Celsius (or 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit), per decade since 1981.

However, the increase in temperatures has come with a rise in skepticism and doubts surrounding climate change. This skepticism, fueled by misconceptions and selective interpretations, weaves a narrative that questions the urgency of addressing our planet’s warming climate.

In this article, we shed light on some of the most common myths and arguments around climate change and provide a counterpoint rooted in scientific evidence.

https://interestingengineering.com/lists/climate-change-global-warming-co2

Our climate is a real and pressing problem…..something has to be done other than what the governments have been doing for decades….kicking the can down the road so as not to upset the corporations that contribute to our governments corruption.

As the world puts to bed the hottest year on record, the Washington Post calls attention to a study suggesting we haven’t seen anything yet. The paper by renowned climate scientist James Hansen—the New York Times notes that it was Hansen’s testimony before Congress 35 years ago that helped put the topic on the nation’s radar—warns that the pace of warming has already begun accelerating at a rate scientists have long warned about. Specifically, the study in Oxford Open Climate Change predicts that global warming is on track to spike 50% in the coming decades, with effects that could be catastrophic, per the Post. However, the above coverage, as well as a story in E&E News, make clear that other scientists disagree.

“That is very much on the high end of the range of estimates that are in the academic literature today,” Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth tells the Times. Michael Mann of the University of Pennsylvania wrote a detailed blog post in rebuttal to Hansen, asserting that “the claim that warming is somehow accelerating now is no more accurate than the false claim, advanced by climate change deniers at the time, that global warming had ‘stopped’ in the first decade of the 21st century.” And Michael Oppenheimer of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton sees Hansen’s warning as useful mainly as a “worst-worst-case scenario,” per E&E.

Hansen predicted as much: “I expect the response to be characterized by scientific reticence,” he tells E&E. The former NASA scientist calls the much-touted goal of keeping warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius “deader than a doornail,” per the Times. While many other scientists agree with that, Hansen differs in warning further that the world is poised to warm by 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. (He does offer more hope on this target, saying that a global push to reduce the use of fossil fuels could keep warming under 2 degrees.) The Times adds context, pointing out that the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius so far and is already seeing worsening heat waves and storms.

When you vote and if the climate is high on your want list then vote to a person that will try to do something constructive….god knows they have done very little in 50 years.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Alzheimer’s: The Great Thief

It is yet another Sunday and time for one of IST’s famous FYI posts.

I recently wrote a post about dementia and the signs to watch….now I would like to do another one on a disease that seems hell bent on destroying a seniors life…Alzheimer’s

I am always worried about losing my mental capabilities as I grow older so I watch for any signs and will act immediately if I spot any…..

While this article is about the UK the signs are the same and I want to help my readers understand and what to look for in the future.

It’s thought that there are over 900,000 people living with dementia, which is caused by Alzheimer’s disease, in the UK. Women are disproportionately affected, being twice as likely to develop the condition than men. Although research on why this is the case is in progress, some factors like hormonal changes (as estrogen has a protective effect on the brain and encourages healthy brain function), differences in sex chromosomes, brain structure, and life expectancy are thought to play a role why someone might enter the stages of Alzheimer’s, per research published in the journal of Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy. 

Other health conditions can also increase the risk, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression, along with lifestyle factors like smoking and drinking alcohol. 

While some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s may seem obvious, they can also appear as symptoms of other conditions – such as symptoms of menopause – which is why, no matter your age, it’s important to know the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

We’re all prone to repeating ourselves sometimes but if this is happening all the time, it could be one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s. Dr Lucy Andrews, an ageing expert and specialist in dementia services with BrainGuard System International, says this includes not remembering something someone has just said, repeating the same story multiple times, or asking the same question over and over again. 

It’s symptomatic of one of the more common signs of Alzheimer’s in general: issues with short-term memory. Along with these social problems, someone might forget where they’ve left something and put everyday items in the wrong place – such as the hairdryer in the fridge or keys in the washing machine. 

“Simple episodes of forgetfulness and confusion are frequently the first signs of dementia,” says London NHS GP Dr Semiya Aziz. “With Alzheimer’s though, the symptoms may not be severe enough to stop the individual from carrying out their daily activities.” When the symptoms become severe, the condition is then categorised as dementia. 

https://www.womanandhome.com/health-wellbeing/early-signs-of-alzheimers/

Those are the signs to watch for in either yourself or your family members.

If signs are there then please consult a medical professional….do not put it off for it will not get better.

Enjoy your Sunday….and as usual….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–29Nov23

Ever heard of ‘Project Q’?

These days there is mounds of hoopla over the use of AI….it is a bane for some and a welcome innovation for others. Some use it to prepare better posts (I do not)….others use it to scam others…..the there is Project Q.

Before moving forward, it should be noted that all the details about Project Q* — including its existence — comes from some fresh reports following the drama around Altman’s firing. Reporters at Reuters said on November 22 that it had been given the information by “two people familiar with the matter,” providing a peek behind the curtain of what was happening internally in the weeks leading up to the firing.

According to the article, Project Q* was a new model that excelled in learning and performing mathematics. It was still reportedly only at the level of solving grade-school mathematics, but as a beginning point, it looked promising for demonstrating a previously unseen intelligence from the researchers involved.

Seems harmless enough, right? Well, not so fast. The existence of Q* was reportedly scary enough to prompt several staff researchers to write a letter to the board to raise the alarm about the project, claiming it could “threaten humanity.”

On the other hand, other attempts at explaining Q* aren’t quite as novel — and certainly aren’t so earth-shattering. The Chief AI scientist at Meta, Yann LeCun, tweeted that Q* has to do with replacing “auto-regressive token prediction with planning” as a way of improving LLM (large language model) reliability. LeCun says all of OpenAI’s competitors have been working on, and that OpenAI made a specific hire to address this problem.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-project-q/

Speaking of the singularity…..

There’s at least one expert who believes that “the singularity”—the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses the control of humans—could be just a few years away. That’s a lot shorter than current predictions regarding the timeline of AI dominance, especially considering that AI dominance is not exactly guaranteed in the first place.

Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET—who holds a Ph.D. from Temple University and has worked as a leader of Humanity+ and the Artificial General Intelligence Society—told Decrypt that he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI) is three to eight years away. AGI is the term for AI that can truly perform tasks just as well as humans, and it’s a prerequisite for the singularity soon following.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a45780855/when-will-the-singularity-happen/

That should give bloggers something to rail about in the coming years.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”