The Human Race

Searching for Humanity, Weekend Whats

“The lyric ‘Are we human or are we dancer?’ from The Killers’ song Human poses a question about free will versus conformity, suggesting that people are either truly individuals with consciousness and choice (’human’) or are just following societal expectations and performing actions without genuine autonomy, like actors in a predetermined performance (’dancer’). The phrase was inspired by a disparaging comment from Hunter S. Thompson, who said America was ‘raising a generation of dancers, afraid to take one step out of line.’” It’s notable that I got that description of the meaning of a song questioning our humanity from machine-powered AI. I searched for the lyrics, hoping for a link to the song, but the first result was from AI. I guess that makes me a dancer? Oddly, we’re living in an age when humans are questioning their humanity as machines are being coded to act more and more like humans. In WaPo (Gift Article), Dana Milbank decided to ask a chatbot: How do I regain my humanity “The longer I spent engaging with AI engines, the more I could see them masquerading as human confidants, flattering me and appealing to my human need to be seen and heard, while luring me away from connections with actual humans. I could see why lonely people are falling in love with their chatbots, why vulnerable teenagers might be driven by a chatbot to self-harm.” I asked a machine how to be more human. It was dehumanizing. “Of all the AI engines I asked how I could become more human — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, Grok and Claude — not one of them came up with what would seem to be the most obvious solution: Stop asking computers how I can become more human. Uniformly, the chatbots would not own up to the harm their creators have done.” Not taking responsibility for damage that’s been done? That actually sounds all too human.

+ So who will win the race between machines trying to be more human and humans trying to retain their humanity? Well, the humans have had a hell of a long head start. But the machines have a hell of a lot more funding. Derek Thompson: This Is How the AI Bubble Will Pop. “Tech companies are projected to spend about $400 billion this year on infrastructure to train and operate AI models. By nominal dollar sums, that is more than any group of firms has ever spent to do just about anything.”

2

The Yuck of the Draw

It takes a lot of things to go wrong for the house to lose, and Vegas is facing a lot of issues. Inflation is making visiting more expensive. International travel is down. The once sure thing visits from our friends in Canada plummeted when we stopped treating them like our friends. Oh, and there’s also the little detail that we all now carry around functional casinos in our front pockets. The desert has not been deserted, but Vegas is a lot less crowded. And that worries people in Nevada. And maybe it should worry all of us, because Vegas has often served as a key economic indicator for what’s to come across the country. NYT (Gift Article): What’s Wrong With Las Vegas?

3

Limited Series

Almost everyone I know is escaping the brain-bludgeoning news cycle by watching an endless string of television series. So it may surprise you to learn that LA’s entertainment economy is not booming. “The entertainment industry is in a downward spiral that began when the dual strikes by actors and writers ended in 2023. Work is evaporating, businesses are closing, longtime residents are leaving, and the heart of L.A.’s creative middle class is hanging on by a thread.” WSJ (Gift Article): L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie. “At the end of 2024, some 100,000 people were employed in the motion picture industry in Los Angeles County, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two years earlier, there were 142,000. The primary reason is that Hollywood is making less stuff.” (This helps explain how my wife and I managed to watch everything on every app and every channel. Please, please, make more.)

4

Weekend Whats

What to Doc: “Drawing on over 600 hours of never-seen footage, this is the untold underdog story of Lilith Fair, the women’s music festival of the late 90s.” Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (Hulu) is a really good documentary about the building of a massive festival tour. But it’s about a lot more, including offering some ominous clues about what was coming in terms of our culture wars. But mostly, it’s about good vibes and good music.

+ What to Watch: The first season of English Teacher on Huluwas one of the better TV comedies I’ve seen in a long time. You can catch up on that season and/or get started on season two.

5

Extra, Extra

Gavinizing the Opposition: Trump is threatening to cut federal funding to universities if they don’t sign his highly partisan Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Gavin Newsom just said the schools will lose state funding “instantly” if they do sign it. California vows to ‘instantly’ cut funding to universities that cave to Trump ‘compact.

+ No Mas From Hamas? Trump gives Hamas Sunday deadline to accept Gaza peace plan or face “all hell.”

+ Temple Attack: “Mr. Telzer said he could hear someone pounding from outside, trying to get in the synagogue. Some of the roughly 20 congregants who had gathered for morning services on Yom Kippur, including the rabbi, used their bodies to barricade the large black doors, he said.” NYT: Shouts and Pounding at the Doors: How a U.K. Synagogue Came Under Attack.

+ Health Nuts: “The health insurance subsidies at the center of the US government shutdown fight disproportionately benefit areas of the country represented by Republican lawmakers, posing a potential vulnerability for President Donald Trump’s party in next year’s midterm congressional elections.” (In a odd twist, Democrats could save health care and save Republican lawmakers from themselves if they win this shutdown.) Bloomberg (Gift Article): GOP Districts ‘Supercharged’ Obamacare Use Is Risk in Shutdown Fight.

+ Bari Bari Quite Contrary: WaPo (Gift Article): Bari Weiss to be named top editor at CBS News. (She has never been a reporter and has no experience in TV news. But her politics are what the new parent company wants.) And related: Incompetence Isn’t an Upgrade Over D.E.I.

+ The War on Dinghies: “It’s the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean and the latest since revelations that President Donald Trump told lawmakers he was treating drug traffickers as unlawful combatants and military force was required to combat them. The assertion of presidential powers sets the stage for expanded action in Latin America and raises questions about how far the administration will go without sign-off from Congress.” Hegseth announces latest strike on boat near Venezuela he says was trafficking drugs.

+ Bodies in Motion: A weird story from USC: USC sold dead bodies to U.S. military to train IDF medical personnel. “Medical professionals are also raising questions about whether families of the dead have any idea that their loved ones might be used to train soldiers.”

+ It’s Saudi Doody Time: Dave Chappelle Criticizes Free Speech in America at Saudi Arabia Comedy Festival. “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.” (We are living through the most stupid of times.)

6

Feel Good Friday

“Sarah Mullally, a onetime nurse who became the first female bishop of London, was named on Friday as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to occupy the post, at the helm of the Church of England, in more than 1,400 years.” After Centuries, a Woman Will Lead the Church of England.

+ Inside a tattoo parlour where hateful images are covered for free.

+ Billionaire MacKenzie Scott gifts $70 million for historically Black universities. And Melinda French Gates launches $100 million push for women’s health research.

+ Japan sets record of nearly 100,000 people aged over 100.

+ “One of those users sent me a message and said, ‘Hey, my mom used this meme on Facebook, she has no idea who you are.’ That’s when I realized it had sort of jumped species from our little video game corner of the internet to the wider mainstream audience.” ‘It just happened to be my face’: The SF man behind an immortal meme who is using his face for charity.

+ Woman makes ‘Wheel of Fortune’ history with $1M grand prize win. (That seems like a lot, but after taxes, she’ll barely be able to buy two thousand vowels...)