"Make America Smart Again" (Please!?!)

"An epidemic of stupidity" (The Sequel) Can AI save us from ourselves?

Nov 28, 2023

A lot has been made lately about the potential of Artificial Intelligence (both pro and con, it should be noted). The most high-profile AI applications — such as ChatGPT, a language processing tool — have been developed by OpenAI,1 a research tech company founded in 2015.

OpenAI’s goal is to “develop digital intelligence in the way most likely to benefit humanity.”

A noble cause, no doubt.

As a species, we are remarkably adaptive. Ingenuity and technological advancement have always preceded social change. Yet AI is new and relatively unproven. We still rely mostly on binary logic to think, reason and communicate.

Unfortunately, we’re not faring so well on binary logic, are we? If you regularly follow the news you’d be hard-pressed to find a story and say to yourself, “Now that guy is really smart!” More than likely you’ll hurl poor Alexa at the TV.

I’m cautiously optimistic about AI. But face it. At the rate we’re going, we need all the help we can get.

Burning question: Can AI fix stupid?

You see, over the last decade, humankind has devolved into somewhat of a Darwinistic nightmare. Here in America, our collective IQ is in free fall.

Politics … culture … race … war … gender … climate … media … institutions. Every day we’re dumb at sunrise and even dumber by nightfall. As Columbia University professor and New York Times columnist John McWhorter puts it, our current social climate is comparable to Kabuki Theater.

Better yet, a fourth-grade spitball fight.

Marching Madness

Even a national holiday offered no respite from the absurd.

Remember when New York’s annual Macy’s Day Parade was fun? Marching bands, big inflatables, ornate floats, and a Santa cameo.

Leave it to stupidity to ruin Turkey Day.

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters brought things to a screeching halt by waving signs and gluing themselves to the pavement smack dab in the middle of the parade route.

Even Grimace, McDonald’s anthropomorphic purple mascot trailing in a car just behind the gluey loonies, looked cringed.

Here’s a thought: Rather than having NYPD’s finest unstick the rabble, they should have just left them there.

Justin Timberlake: “Bye-bye-bye”

Poor Justin Timberlake …. how quickly they turn.

**Justin Timberlake at the Western Wall**

A photo of the former NSYNC dreamboat in the Holy Land resurfaced on Instagram last week. Mob outrage was swift (verbatim) ...

"I really really REALLY hate to say this but justin timberlake is a zionist! don’t stream shit!" wrote one person on X.
Another wrote: "idk why ppl are defending justin timberlake... the man who sought out to slut shame and slander britney spears name and humiliate janet jackson. also, he's a zionist!"

Never mind that the photo was taken in 2014. Or that the critics wouldn’t know Palestine from Panama.

Here’s to you, Justin, from your (former) fans …

“It ain't no lie
I want to see you out that door
Baby bye bye bye'“

Dating: 2023

OK, all you single dudes out there looking for an eligible mate, here are your choices …

Target targets itself … again

Remember when Target sold “tucking” swimwear for kids earlier this year? In the backlash of its Bud Light-inspired Pride epiphany, Target’s market cap value dropped by $15.7 billion and shareholders subsequently sued the company.

Well, it appears the retail giant is doubling down on dumb again after it announced Erik Thompson as its new "Senior LGBTQIA+ Segmentation Strategist and Pride Lead."

Thompson, who goes by the handle “GayCruella” on Instagram, posted excitedly about his new role, telling followers He/Him is ready to "make trouble" and that it is now time to "rip that old world to shreds."

Target’s website currently lists products such as “breast-binding” undergarments for girls, a "Pride Christmas Nutcracker Figure" and a "Fabriché Pride Santa" in which Jolly St. Nick is holding a rainbow flag.

In the meantime, Target also announced last month that it is closing nine stores in New York, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco due to organized theft, rampant shoplifting, and violence.

Fighting for social justice is tough work.

Whatever happened to celery sticks?

In 2010, then-First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a nationwide campaign to replace junk food in public schools with healthy fare such as celery sticks and applesauce. Ms. Obama voiced concern for young Gen Z’ers, who all too often dined on soggy tater tots and Doritos.

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. Many of those students grew up to become social media “influencers” on TikTok and Instagram, proudly displaying their chichi physiques to millions of followers.

Meet …. Angela, CeCe and Leyla.

OK, Ms. Obama … your heart was in the right place.

And no. You can’t unsee this.

Headline of the Week

Thousand Oaks, CA — CNN seems to have left out some key information in the story’s headline … like the fact that the protester’s head, belonging to 69-year-old Paul Kessler, was first struck by a bullhorn wielded by Loay Alnaji, a 50-year-old professor of computer science at nearby Moorpark College.

Kessler died the next day.

Prof. Alnaji was later arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault. Apparently, swinging a bullhorn at someone’s head is involuntary, as was Kessler’s fall.

Alnaji has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.