Artificial intelligence: Should we put the brakes on AI?

                                         
Artificial intelligence is here to stay.  It has benefits, especially in the medical field.  However, before we proceed full speed ahead, isn't it about time to step back and take stock.  Although AI has some great assets, it also poses some very real dangers.  

Pope Leo X1V warned us of those dangers in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity).  Leo provided his perspective on the worldwide debate on artificial intelligence.  The pontiff implored us to "safeguard our humanity."  He acknowledged that although "a valuable tool," this technology will never possess a soul.  "We must avoid the misconception of equating this type of 'intelligence' with that of human beings," he wrote.  "So-called artificial intelligences do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean."

Leo XIV

Our common humanity must always take precedence over any technology.  Think about all the greatest works of art, literature and music.  Reflect upon the finest of human achievements.  Did Shakespeare use AI to write his plays and sonnets?  Did Leonardo da Vinci require AI to paint the Mona Lisa?  Dud Beethoven, Bach and Mozart compose their music with the aid of AI?  Could AI create the statue of David or paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818, dealt with the consequences of scientific overreach.  We know how that monster was created.

Of course, high tech moguls such as trillionaire Elon Musk tout AI as the be-all and end-all.  Musk envisions an automated future in which work will be optional due to AI and millions of robots replacing many jobs.  He has stated that by 2030, AI will surpass human intelligence.

Musk

It seems we are headed to such a world now, but are people any happier, more fulfilled?  Are they more connected?  Is there more of a sense of community.  I find Musk's vision of the future quite scary because it doesn't take into account our basic humanity.  If Musk really wants to make a difference, he could single-handedly end hunger.  According to UN estimates, ending hunger by 2030 would cost $93 billion a year.  That would be chump change for Musk and well under one per cent of the $21.9 trillion spent on military budgets over the past decade, according to the United Nations.  

By the way, Musk spent at least $277 million backing Trump and the Republicans in the 2024 election, according to documents filed by the U.S. Federal Election Commission.  He was likely the largest single doner of the election, mostly through his personal super PAC. America PAC.  

After Trump won the election, Musk became head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  The richest man in the world did Trump's bidding by cruelly making cuts that hurt ordinary Americans.  He even posed for cameras with a chainsaw, emphasizing is willingness to perform Trump's cost-cutting.  

Pope Leo and Elon Musk do not share the same values regarding technology and AI,  This is not a blanket condemnation of artificial intelligence.  It is only to advocate that artificial intelligence be used intelligently.  

- Joanne

What childeren have learned from Trump

Do you really want your children to emulate Trump?  Are those the qualities of a decent human being?

- Joanne

The world needs to know the truth about Trump's health

 On the eve of America's 250th anniversary, it's truly sad to see that the country has sunk so low that it is being led by a cruel madman.  As a Canadian, I am terribly disappointed about how Trump has destroyed the friendly relationship between our two countries.  He has imposed tariffs which have hurt the Canadian economy and the economy of the United States.  He has insulted Canadians repeatedly and interfered with our sovereignty.  Whether Canadians like it or not, he seems determined to make Canada the 51st state.  But his territorial ambitions don't end there.  He also wants Greenland and Cuba, whether they like it or not.  

Let me be clear.  My quarrel is not with the American people.  My quarrel is with the Trump regime.  Americans and non-Americans alike deserve transparency.  We deserve to know the truth about the health of  a man who holds such power and control over others.  Enough of the lies.!  Come clean! That means you, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  You were shown a video of Trump falling asleep right beside you.  Yet, you denied what we see with our own eyes over and over again.  When questioned in Congress, you lied.  You said you have never seen him fall asleep in pubic.  Remember, Mr. Secretary, that this is a man who once referred to you as "little Marco."  He would not hesitate to throw you under the bus if it suited his own purposes.

Rubio

Secretary Rubio, it is obvious that you have presidential aspirations.  You hope to become the Republican candidate for president in 2028.  To achieve your ambitions, you have sold your soul and you have forsaken the welfare of your own country.  The American people are suffering greatly, as is the whole world, due to the actions and the erratic behaviour of the authoritarian despot in the White House.  An unstable America is not good for humanity.

Trump has ruined the American economy and he has hurt the economies of other countries with his tariffs and his illegal and unnecessary war with Iran.  His war is costing American taxpayers a great deal of money and fueling inflation.  Yet Trump's billionaire friends (hello there Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg) don't care.  They're doing quite nicely, thank you very much.  So is Big Oil.  Meanwhile, Trump continually blabs about building his ballroom and his other vanity projects.  

Unfortunately, Donald Trump seems incapable of transparency.  He will never admit the truth about his physical and mental condition because he believes it will demonstrate weakness.  He only cares about loyalty to himself, not to the United States of America.  Will the Republican Party wake up and show some loyalty to the Republic?   Republicans, by doing Trump's bidding, you are enabling the decline of your country,  Please, somebody, shout that the emperor has no clothes.

- Joanne

Mental Health and the U.S. Presidency

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, is widely believed to have suffered from periods of depression throughout his life.  Contemporary historians and mental health experts believe that Lincoln's "melancholy" would be categorized today as clinical depression.  Nevertheless, despite his personal hardships, Lincoln became one of the greatest American presidents and he preserved the union

Lincoln

Now, let's take a walk down memory lane to the 1972 U.S. presidential election.  The Democratic candidate that year was Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, a liberal who advocated for an immediate end to American involvement in Vietnam.  McGovern chose United States Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as his vice presidential running mate.

A few weeks after the Democratic convention, on July 25, 1972, news reports revealed that Senator Eagleton had checked himself into hospital three times between 1960 and 1966 for clinical depression, receiving electroconvulsive therapy (shock treatment) twice.  He was later received a diagnosis of bipolar II.  

Eagleton acknowledged that the reports were true and McGovern stated that he would support Eagleton '1,000 per cent.  However, after consulting with prominent psychiatrists, including Eagleton's own doctors, McGovern was told that Eagleton's depression could possibly reoccur and endanger the country should he become acting president.  

At the time, a Time magazine poll found that 77% of the respondents said that "Eagleton's medical record would not affect their vote."  However, George McGovern feared that the media's constant reference to "shock treatment' would detract from his campaign.  On August 1, 1972, only 19 days after his nomination, Thomas Eagleton withdrew his candidacy, at McGovern's request.  He was replaced by Sargent Shriver, former U.S. ambassador to France, and former (founding director) of the Peace Corps. and the Office of Economic Opportunity.

McGovern

Eagleton

In the presidential election of November 7, 1972, Republican candidate Richard Nixon and his running mate, Spiro Agnew, won a landslide victory over the McGovern/Shriver ticket.  Then came the Watergate Scandal culminating in Nixon's 1974 resignation.  The Vietnam War finally ended in 1975.  As for Thomas Eagleton, he won reelection to the Senate in 1974 and 1980.  He declined to seek a fourth term in 1986.  He died in 2007 at the age of 77.

Now, fast forward to 2026 and the current occupant of the White House.  Donald Trump is not mentally or physically fit to hold the office of president.  Lincoln and Eagleton may have suffered from depression, but they did not behave like madmen.  They did not threaten their enemies and rant and rave.  They did not behave like authoritarians.  They did not encourage an insurrection to overthrow an elected government.  

Donald Trump is a very unstable man.  He is probably the most dangerous person in the world.  He should not be anywhere near the nuclear code.  If there is a nuclear disaster, all of Trump's sycophants and his billionaire supporters will be complicit.  They are unwilling to say that the emperor wears no clothes. 

- Joanne