Danielle Levy

So much is going on and being said about AI. While AI is and will be helpful, there are and will be not only dangers but huge consequences. Yet it seems little is being done to address the colossal impact it will have on our society and no doubt our civilization.

A recent newsletter I receive from the news organization Axios, however, called for an AI Marshall Plan. Why? Because Axios, for one, recognizes AI is creating what it calls a revolution and not enough attention is being given to it.  I want to share the gist of at least some of what they suggested.

They suggest actions from a tried mix of government, business and media. At present, for example. Congress is shirking what it could do.  Some of what is asked for would require a political and public awareness and something they call “high-level AI sophistication.” They also suggest a “global American-led AI super-alliance.” Involving other countries is deemed crucial if the US and its allies is to be able to compete and succeed in this existential battle with China. To note, the President opposes regulation which he sees as interfering with the US early lead with AI and the Congress agrees. Further Axios suggests that while CEOs and AI experts are mystified by how the US has alienated allies, they could form their own super-alliance with like minded countries and while playing by US rules could strengthen things like the supply chain. There’s a lot more to this proposed Marshall Plan but you get the idea that much can be done and much needs to be done.

Anyone who owns a pet already knows the advantages. Yet it seems there’s one more they may not have realized. Could having a pet improve our immune system? So far, all the studies point to that.  People who are around animals may not be prone to conditions such as eczema, asthma and other allergies. The benefit has to do with being exposed to the microbiome of animals. Their germs and microbes apparently stay on our skin and penetrate inside us in a way that helps create an immunity. Pets could now be called a new probiotic. 

It began when researchers became aware that there are certain diseases the Amish are not prone to. Of course, they live still in a pre-industrial society and their air is cleaner than ours, but the main factor is that they live with animals. Studies have now been done by other scientists studying the microbiome of pets and their owners, which showed a similarity that can explain why being around animals, certainly having a pet, can help our immune system and more easily resist certain germs.

 This new advantage to having pets seem to open us to question a downside of living in germ phobic societies.

*reposted from the GGID page

You might have noticed a break in the postings on the GGID-Giving Good Its Due page. It is due in part that I, as many others, had difficulty in finding items that would qualify as good. The field of reporting has been taken over by the events of the current US administration. As a citizen and a human being, I consume news of the administration, but politics is not a topic my work focuses on, so finding pieces about something I could call good became a challenge.  

I predictably kept on reading, watching, listening to what is going on, things that do not fit within my value system, things that go against what I believe would be a needed direction for the country as well as for humanity. Like many I was downhearted. And still I kept reading, watching and listening.

 After a while I became more and more impressed by some of the articles and pieces I encountered, by the clarity of some of the journalists, thinkers, others. Their understanding of what is going on, their knowledge, their perceptions enriched my own. And I realized something that we too often forget, that to be able to know what is going on is a good thing, a very good thing.  

A good thing as we know doesn’t have to feel good, it just has to advance us in some way, in this case our comprehension. I also realized that by better comprehending what is going on, I can better cope. And I hope that’s true for you as well.

*reposted from the GGID page