Ben’s List 84
Wondering what AI has in common with HR, Grammy winners & achieving fusion with net energy gain? You’ve come to the right place.
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AI
In an Age of Ubiquitous AI, What Does It Mean to Be Human?
“Of course, artificial intelligence isn’t exactly like an invading tribe with foreign manners — after all, we created it to be like us. (Neural networks, for example, are inspired by the architecture of the human brain.) But there is an irony here: The cognitive skills and ingenuity that made AI possible are now the very ground on which machines are surpassing us. And as the findings of the present research suggest, that may lead us to put more value on other traits.
It’s also worth noting that those cognitive skills still command high status and pay. Could that change if soft skills like warmth and empathy, the ability to nurture growth in others, are valued more highly? Will lawyers and quants be paid less, while teachers and caregivers receive more respect and money?”
WARNING: ChatGPT Could Be The Start Of The End! Sam Harris
HR
How to Manage: Finding Yourself Again
“Who are you now, who do you want to be, and how can you stretch without taking on too much?”
Music
How Grammy Wins and Losses Shape Artists’ Creative Trajectories
“For instance, when Jody Watley won in 1987, her album used contemporary R&B and dance-pop styles; afterward, she veered into the rock/pop genre and urban and house styles. Grammy winners might have gained more bargaining power with their record label and thus more freedom to shape their projects, the researchers speculated.”
Science
Physicists achieve fusion with net energy gain for second time
“US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in December described the achievement of ignition as ‘one of the most impressive science feats of the 21st century.’ In that experiment, the reaction produced about 3.15 megajoules, which was about 150 percent of the 2.05MJ in the lasers.
Initial data from the July experiment indicated an energy output greater than 3.5MJ, two of the people with knowledge of the preliminary results said. That energy would be roughly sufficient to power a household iron for an hour.”
