Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The future of AI in medicine

From a friend who has worked at the NIH for many years: “Can AI help doctors make better decisions? At NIH, we brought together scientists and clinicians from across the country to explore exactly that. Their consensus was that with continued research, ethical and responsible guardrails, and strong collaboration, AI could become a helpful and […]

The laws of physics haven’t been repealed by AI

Political events have moved so fast recently that I’ve found it hard to crystalize my thoughts enough to write a post. When that happens, I turn to topics related to science, which are in my wheelhouse. You may have read about how a colonel was rescued deep inside Iran using a technology dubbed “Ghost Murmer.” […]

Anthropic and Pete Hegseth

This one has to go . . . Two forces are stopping sensible regulation of AI. He’s one of them. Pete Hegseth and the AI Doomsday Machine – Robert Reich Which is more important to you? Allowing Pete Hegseth to use artificial intelligence (AI) however he wants, OR preventing AI from doing mass surveillance of […]

AI gumshoe

“Police arrested a man for a burglary in a city he had never visited after face scanning software deployed across the UK confused him with another person of south Asian heritage. “Alvi Choudhury, 26, a software engineer, was working at the home he shares with his parents in Southampton in January when police knocked on […]

Worried About AI?

J.P. McJefferson talking Artificial Intelligence. “’We’ve been here before.’ Every generation has its technological scare story.” Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash Why Should I Be Worried About AI? J.P. McJefferson Thoughts For many people, the current anxiety about artificial intelligence feels overblown. They say, “We’ve been here before.” Every generation has its technological scare story. In the […]

December 9, 2025

Letters from an American Prof. Heather Cox Richardson Since the beginning of Prof. Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters from an American,” I have been a subscriber. I like history reads combined with current political views. The Professor provides interesting pieces covering today’s events and the past. These are not snippets of conversational information; the pieces are […]

Bot docs and the economics of primary care

The way to make money in medicine is to do procedures (colonoscopies, surgery). Primary care physicians, as a rule, don’t to procedures. They diagnose and, when necessary, refer to a specialist for procedures. So primary care physicians don’t make the big bucks. Med school graduates carrying loans from college and medical school are attracted to […]

The business of AI: where’s the intelligence?

The two editors-in-chief, the emeritus editors, and all associate editors but one for the Elsevier scientific periodical Journal of Human Evolution have resigned. In a press release, the editors note, among other complaints, that Elsevier has eliminated the position of copy editor on the grounds that “the editors should not be paying attention to language, […]