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AI LIABILITY COMMENTARY

Proponents of artificial intelligence are not stopping pushing their tech on the public despite the legal headwinds. In fact, it seems the new industry is emboldened by the general public's fascination with typing in words and getting immediate outputs in graphic images or text articles. It really does not matter to these users that the results are fake. Fake is the new reality. But they should care. It is instant gratification like pulling the slot machine arm and watching the wheels spin. Once many people find you can get paid for being lazy, and the boss does not care about the quality or legal significance of the work, then everyone loses in the long run.

A medical group tested chatGPT for pediatric medical diagnosis. It is touted that machines can do tasks faster than a trained human expert. If one puts in the symptoms into the AI generator, in seconds it should provide the correct answer. The result of the experiment: 90 percent of the diagnoses were wrong.

A lawyer in New Jersey used a AI program to write a legal brief that he filed on behalf of his client with the court. Legal briefs are important documents that present facts and legal case law to support your client's position in a dispute. Here, the brief was riddled with errors, including nonexistent case citation with quotes. The lawyer apparently never checked the AI brief. His opposing counsel did and raise the glaring errors to the court. The lawyer was sanctioned by the judge. There is also possible further license discipline in that case.

The reason is simple. People hire professionals for their expertise. Their ability to solve problems. But those consults and representation cost money. Money apparently some people are not willing to pay. Even major global law firms are bowing to clients who want to reduce legal costs by using AI programs to interview clients, prepare memoranda and draft basic documents. It seems crazy since lawyers should be first to understand the risks and legal liability of using unproved technology.

People use tools in their trade all the time. But it is not a substitute for their own knowledge, talent and expertise.

A plaintiff's lawyer for a harmed client can easily point to the fact that chat GPT is known for its rambling hallucinations and error filled responses to show in a malpractice case the defendant breached the standard of care in representing the plaintiff.

The problem is AI does not have clinical or practical experience in any given field. It cannot recognize whether certain facts are significance or not and how to find the right path to the solution. It is modeled after keywords not experience in retained human knowledge. A doctor examining a child can quickly determine whether it is the common cold, COVID or some other disease and confirm it with clinical tests. AI does not function in that manner. It cannot ask the patient if this hurts, or that hurts, or how the symptoms manifest or whether there is some environmental aspect to the case like an allergy or food poison at play. Just think of the parent whose medical clinic uses AI to misdiagnose their infant - - - don't you think a jury would say the clinic was grossly negligent in relying on AI over a licensed physician?

The media only focuses in on the copyright issue at play with AI but the scope of liability is much greater. Anyone using AI as a substitute for their own work is playing a dangerous game of negligence roulette.

There will be a rash of these type cases in the near future. The original promoters of the technology will have sold out long before the legal dam breaks. Platforms will go bankrupt, plaintiffs will feel angry, and the cultural damage will be done.

cyberbarf

GHOST TOWN ELECTION NEWS

A generation ago, politicians went from state to state giving speeches to convince voters that they could solve the nation's ills. They would publish detailed platforms on the various issues like the economy, jobs, foreign policy, social issues, etc. One could read these platforms to find what the candidate actually stood for prior to entering the voting booth.

But this year's US presidential election has neither candidate campaigning or giving detailed insight on the world's issues. President Biden's advisers keep him away from the public and press conferences to limit the potential criticism that he is old and feeble. Former president Trump merely bellows at the TV cameras about his legal woes as some irrational conspiracy against democracy. And the moderate middle class voter is left with no good choice in November.

What has created this Ghost Town election cycle?

First, politics has gotten so sleazy the average businessman or woman is not willing to give up their job to have their reputation, their family history and fake news drag them through the public morass. It is not worth the pain and personal cost to run for office.

Second, politics still costs hundreds of millions of dollars to pursue high office. The only way to do so is to prostitute one's self to donors, special interests and career politicians. The way to the top is to learn the ropes at the local level, make a splash at the state level and gather enough sound bites to appease national party directors.

Third, it is now image and style over substance. A good politician is more an actor than a statesman. He or she needs charisma not knowledge. He or she needs a bully mentality more than command of the bully pulpit.

Fourth, you need access to influential talking heads. The news cycle today does not cover actual news since journalism costs too much money to hire reporters to actually go out into the field and interview people. Talking heads spout opinion over facts. Over time, people have been trained to accept opinion as fact. In fact, the internet has caused like minded people to find others with the same opinion as some form of validation of their views (whether they have any basis in fact or not.)

With this backdrop, it is no wonder why voter apathy is at an all-time high. It also shows why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. , a nut case in his own right but to some less of nut than the front runners, is gaining some traction as the None of the Above ballot choice.

When people go to cast their vote, the precincts may themselves look like ghost towns. A few people who feel obligated to stick around even though the place is old, sad and dying. Does it bode well for America? No. Can it change in the future? Perhaps, but how does one re-boot a ghost town when the general public seems not to care.

cyberbarf

WATCHER WHAT YOU ASK FOR CYBERCULTURE

The First Law of the Internet Universe is Everything is Free.

When consultants told corporate America to Gold Rush claim their space in cyberspace by giving away their content for free, the cash cows were let loose from the barn. Users were quick;y conditioned to free content. If someone paywalled them, you could find the same thing in a mouse click. It has been a hard pull to get people to support creators.

Platforms began to have ad sharing programs based on content, views, subscribers and engagement. Some platforms paid popular streamers to their platforms to gather better advertisers and more views. Channels supplemented their income sources by selling merch, opening a patreon account for followers and in-content product placement. But there are so many full time content creators it is hard to be seen and even harder to maintain an audience.

Watcher, a YouTube channel with almost 3 million subscribers, announced in April that it was leaving YT to start its own streaming platform, WatcherTV. The founders reasoning was that they were too dependent on ad revenue to create the quality content they make (which meant more videos to meet ad algorithms). They said the channel would start at $5.99 month subscription which everyone can afford. It would also have premium tiers to give subscribers exclusive content and access to the channel's hosts.

The backlash was immediate and severe. A Reddit user called it a scam. He compared GMM's Mythical Society fan club's 4 tiers (including one free) having more perks at less money than WatcherTV. (GMM has 6 times more subscribers on their free YT channel that Watcher.) Other SNS Internet pundits leveled the insensitivity of Watcher's remarks that $6/ month is not affordable to everyone, especially when you are not getting any real value for the expense. Really, the ability to ask questions is what the free comment section is all about. Also, one pundit said that Watcher had at least 12,00 patreon supporting which could bring in $5,000-$25,000/ month. Since Watcher did not say it was in financial trouble or shared their metric and revenues, critics concluded it was a greed play.

Within two days and a loss of 200k subscribers, Watcher founders did another YT video to apologize for their announcement. They acknowledged the pricing and platform change offended many of their loyal supporters. In a major backtrack, they sad the new platform would show their new content a month in advance of the free release on YT. Also, all prior YT content would remain free on YT. The concession may be too little too late.

And just as the early Internet Gold Rush. Ticked off Watchers have many alternative free YT channels like GMM, Smosh, or the Try Guys. In fact, there is so much content on YT, IG and TikToc no one has enough time to watch a sliver of it.

iToons

cyberbarf

FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET

Ads of the World reported that in the Netherlands, McDonald's has set up billboards that have the scent of french fries about 200m from its restaurant locations. It is a red billboard that only smells. The smell is the advertisement. It is supposed to trigger sensory memories of fries to get passerbys to visit their nearby restaurants. Is the smell of french fries like a lure to bait people follow the scent to buy food? Probably, since mankind is turning into an immediate gratification species.

Source: neatorama

Chess is an incredible intelligent strategy game. Over the decades, chess masters have been trying to find new complications for the board game. Remember STAR TREK's 3D chess set? Recently, the US Patent Office granted the application of Craig Coulter this unique design. It consists of two complete chess boards and four chess sets attached to a drum to allow 2 or 4 person play. It literally makes you head spin.

Source: neatorama

It is one of those unifying national moments. When the total eclipse sliced through the middle United States, there was a mini-mania of people driving hundreds of miles to witness the totality of the moon blocking the sun. It was such an event hotels in rural America were charging up to $900/night for rooms. People got their special glasses, their lawn chairs and stared into the sky. It was a moving experience. It was cool. It was something that time travels are humanity back to are first ancestors who viewed this universal wonder. The world was flooded with eclipse photos. But many were fake - - - AI generated or photoshopped. Why? Why?

Source: facebook

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THE WHETHER REPORT

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STATUS

Question: Whether anyone knows or cares about this year's Summer Olympics?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether high inflation and strong US dollar will hurt the global economy?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether music production apps are killing artists and the music industry?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

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