Bits and Pieces, 4 September 2024

Is an AI Energy Crisis Looming? Mark Mills, executive director of the National Centre for Energy Analytics and author of "The Cloud Revolution," discusses how AI and cloud technology could spur economic growth and affect energy grids and climate policies.

So, a Chatbot Did Your Homework The article delves into the implications of using AI chatbots like ChatGPT for educational purposes, particularly when doing homework. It argues that while these tools can produce text efficiently, they fundamentally differ from the educational process that aims at students' intellectual and personal development. The piece critiques the over-reliance on AI for academic tasks, suggesting that such dependency undermines the value of personal struggle and learning, which are essential for genuine intellectual growth. It highlights a cultural shift towards efficiency and productivity over the deeper, more laborious process of education that fosters critical thinking and individual enlargement of the mind, as described by thinkers like Newman. The article posits that using chatbots for homework might be seen as a shortcut but at the cost of diminishing the educational experience's quality and depth. It stresses the importance of preserving critical thinking and individual enlargement of the mind in education, making the audience feel the need to protect these aspects.

Now Even Viewpoint Diversity Is ‘White Supremacy’ The article from The Daily Signal discusses the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) criticism of the Alliance Defending Freedom's (ADF) "Viewpoint Diversity Score" initiative, which aims to promote a broader range of viewpoints in corporate environments. The SPLC has labeled this initiative as promoting "white supremacy" and intertwining it with Christian supremacist ideologies. The ADF's score measures companies' respect for free speech and religious freedom, contrasting with initiatives like the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which pushes for more liberal social policies in corporations. The SPLC's stance suggests that efforts by ADF to challenge what it sees as a monopoly on corporate social policy by leftist ideologies are themselves discriminatory or supremacist. This labeling has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that the SPLC's accusations are an attempt to delegitimize conservative viewpoints by associating them with extremism, thereby stifling debate under the guise of combating hate.

Quote of the Week:

Courage is the only virtue you cannot fake.

- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game