Getting to Truth About Covid

Last week’s webinar “Justa Chat – What’s on Your Mind?” led off with a brief video of “Jump the Shark” HERE as an often used phrase meaning “the beginning of the end.” Discussion followed about Covid and concerns with the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic HERE and a political initiative to search for the truth as proposed by the UCP in Alberta An Injection of Truth Town Hall  HERE. The reaction to the initiative was skeptical as politics and profits were viewed as likely to jeopardize the objectivity of either government or business in finding the truth; the public is unlikely to trust either one. Even the role of science as a source of objectivity has been tainted by the pandemic. Regardless, the search for truth is too important to be thwarted by skepticism.

When is a vaccine not a vaccine?

Promising is the independent involvement of the courts HERE recently concluding that the Covid-19 vaccine mitigated Covid symptoms but did not meet the criteria to be termed a vaccine – “preventing the spread” of a communicable disease, i.e. small pox. Forced medical treatment to protect the public was therefore unwarranted; natural immunity has proven to be superior to the vaccines.

The global Covid action/ reaction echoes that of Group Think featured in George Orwell’s 1984, also by Barbara Tuchman in The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam and that of William H. Whyte’s corporate analysis and Irving Janis’s research on Group Think.  Each reveal the compelling paradoxes of taking action contrary to one’s own interests. The phenomena is explained as the collective confirmation bias of individual members of a group. Every student should be acquainted with Group Think and the relevance of critical thinking. – Editor

---

Muting the Hype About AI

Chat Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new.  What is new are Learning Language Models and the array of associated apps with the capacity to listen and learn, shape and create, and in time self-develop. Typical of technologies with such broad influence – and ChatGPT in particular, is the rise of “Hype, Hucksters, and Hysteria”. The associated presentation HERE  https://youtu.be/b8UmbNm8gUU includes a brief introduction about change, the relevance of learning, and the array of concerns about ChatGPT and associated Learning Language Models referred to as Artificial Intelligence. Near the conclusion a parent echoes concerns about social media, citing youngsters being unable to distinguish between “likes” and “influence”.

---

Misinformation. How many of our “facts” about society, health, and the economy are fake? HERE  Are Western Nations being actively subverted? HERE

Governing and Government. Voter apathy concerning – 62.3% of eligible voters in Canada cast a ballot, down from 68.3% in 2015 with younger Canadianis far less likely to vote that older Canadians. HERE includes reference to why people vote HERE  Federation of Canadian Municipalities calls on federal government to equip municipalities for financing growth HERE

Artificial Intelligence. Teaming up ChatGPT makes the AI dream work HERE  Prompting ChatGPT to establish panels achieves a similar contribution. AI adoption is surging with organizations reporting cost decreases and revenue jumps in the business units and increased mitigation of the risk of inaccuracy. HERE  and HERE  Also, AI saves deaths in hospitals HERE

Fusion Energy. Updates in fusion energy development HERE with reference to US strategy to achieve commercial fusion energy within the decade. Machine learning further improves the performance of fusion reactors HERE

---

4:30PM MST – Thursday June 13th, 2024

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82390691947

Fomal webinars are suspended during the summer but we will be hosting informal webinars to chat about whatever comes to mind.  Join us!

---

Editor@KEInetwork.net

Visit KEInetwork.net