Luke Kemp’s Goliath’s Curse is a brilliant, unnerving, and strangely hopeful journey through the rise and fall of civilizations. Like Sapiens meets Mad Max, it exposes a central truth: the bigger and more unequal societies become, the more fragile they are. Drawing on thousands of years of history and cutting-edge data, Kemp argues that the real cause of collapse isn’tContinueContinue reading “Goliath’s Curse”
Tag Archives: Artificial Intelligence
The US ‘Healthcare’ System is a Mess
A recent and important PBGH white paper reveals the fundamentally chaotic and arbitrary nature of U.S. commercial healthcare pricing, demonstrating that provider rates have no correlation to quality and vary dramatically without logical justification 😳 Key Findings The study analyzed data from five major employers (including Boeing, Qualcomm, and Denver’s city/county government) across multiple geographicContinueContinue reading “The US ‘Healthcare’ System is a Mess”
Peter Thiel’s Apocalypse
Audio Version (please click for RSS) Overcast Link Faith, Fear, and the Future of Technology Yet another billionaire’s attempt to warp, manipulate and re-interpret the Bible for his own world view? Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor behind some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful technology firms (and JD Vance!), is urging audiences to see the futureContinueContinue reading “Peter Thiel’s Apocalypse”
If AI Can Diagnose, What Are Doctors For?
Dr. Dhruv Khullar’s New Yorker article, “If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For?,” explores how large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are transforming medical diagnostics, blending compelling anecdote with wide-ranging critique. The article opens with the story of Matthew Williams, whose mysterious gastrointestinal illness eluded eight clinicians but was quickly explained byContinueContinue reading “If AI Can Diagnose, What Are Doctors For?”
Pixel 100x Pro Res Zoom
I’ve been fooling around with the new Pixel 10 Pro for the last week (My 10-day Android trial has been a disaster so I am returning it next week for the new iPhone.) Here is a comparison of photos at 100x zoom using Google’s Pro Res Zoom, which works on some sort of artificial intelligenceContinueContinue reading “Pixel 100x Pro Res Zoom”
Dr. Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us
And Why We Must Demand Responsible AI in Medicine It’s time to ask a hard question : Are medical errors really the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Every day, clinicians, no matter how skilled, work against a tide of fatigue, outdated knowledge, limited time, and systemic biases. The cost is measured inContinueContinue reading “Dr. Bot: Why Doctors Can Fail Us”
Faith in God-like LLMs waning
Is Faith in the supposed “God-like” powers of large language models (LLMs) waning as businesses and developers shift their focus to smaller, more nimble alternatives. This trend suggests a significant change in the AI landscape, with important implications for both the tech giants at the forefront and those, like Apple, that have taken a moreContinueContinue reading “Faith in God-like LLMs waning”
Tech Reading List
Lately, I’ve been tearing through some jaw-dropping books about the future of tech, AI, Nvidia’s wild ride, Apple’s journey from near bankruptcy to a trillion dollar plus organization, OpenAI’ and Sam Altman and the high-stakes China vs. America showdown. Take a dive into my handpicked recommendations for an eye-opening look at the forces shaping tomorrow’sContinueContinue reading “Tech Reading List”
Google’s AI Energy Usage?
We (or rather They) did the math There’s been a lot of debate around the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, particularly the electricity, water, and carbon involved in running large language models. New research shared by Google suggests that, at least for its Gemini models, the per-prompt footprint is much smaller than many have assumed. According toContinueContinue reading “Google’s AI Energy Usage?”
The Risks of “Seemingly Conscious AI
Click for Audio Version (AI Generated 😬) This is an area that I’ve been thinking about for some time. What if an an AI model took control of a corporation, which in the US has certain rights mirroring personhood (see Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision?) Would the AI model then be able to legally actContinueContinue reading “The Risks of “Seemingly Conscious AI”
Dr Bob, Brain Mechanic 