Saturday, November 22, 2025

AI is NOT a Gun, a Wrench, or a Pencil

From the moment primitive man discovered fire, it was used for good and bad purposes.  The one who wields an instrument typically has control of the benefits…or the harm…resulting from that use.  It is pointless for man to try and bottle up creativity, innovation, and evolution; they are all inevitable.  The real challenge is attempting to institute ethics, morals, and legal restrictions on how those advancements might be incorporated into the world around us.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is clearly smack dab in the middle of this reality.

 

But there is a rather unique aspect of AI that should concern us all.  That is the fact that someone must install the fundamental assumptions and premises into AI that will ultimately be used to determine the responsive conclusions and answers we receive from AI.  As the old saying goes…Garbage in, Garbage out.  In the case of AI, the consequences of the initial logic download into the application will be equally as important as the application of the technology…and the consequences will be dramatic.  Elevating the potential abusive and irresponsible use of AI is the fact that the initial logic download, the parameters and data that will ultimately craft the AI responses, will be largely hidden, ignored, or might be intentionally deceptive.  Who” will imprint the brain behind the AI application and will we even know that information?  Perhaps a larger question is… “Will we even care?”

 

The advent of computers hinged upon the binary system…a simple yes or no…a zero or a one.  If we compare AI to initial computer technology, the expansive capabilities and broad applications that we are about to experience with AI will be as trigonometry is to simple arithmetic; they will be far more complex and subjective.   No doubt, Dr. Victor Frankenstein pondered whether the brain he placed in the cranium of his creature was evil or good.  How thoughtful, transparent, and ethical will the people be who install the driving forces behind AI applications?  Will they adhere to accepted and universal truths and facts, an objective view of the world…or… will they be tilted or biased in a subjective fashion in an effort to influence the ultimate application?

 

Consider the gun, the wrench, and the pencil…the ultimate verdict on their use is largely in the hands of those who possess the instrument.  But in the matter of AI, there will be a hidden dimension to this equation …an additional creative layer…whereby the creator of the AI application has the ability to not only predict and control its logic, but to also affect who might use it, how it might be used, and the impact of that usage.  How will it be marketed?  How will it be applied?  How will it be evaluated? 

 

It is not unreasonable to expect that there will be different versions of AI applications that do the same tasks, but simply do them utilizing different approaches…different fundamental points of view.  People might choose a simple, basic, to-the-point version that provides fundamental utilities…such as yes/no or right/wrong.  Others might choose a multi-layered, complex version that not only addresses a wider range of tasks, but might also offer a unique and surprising method of logic. We might see AI versions for kids, AI versions for young adults, or AI versions for the elderly.  It would not be surprising to have a liberal AI version or a conservative AI version.  People might choose AI applications that align with their religious beliefs.  No doubt, there will be AI applications that encompass new concepts in sexuality, morals, and ethics. In other words, much as a person might go online and find validation for their own ideas and opinions within the cyber universe…they might also find that same validation by choosing an AI application that thinks like they do.  That is, of course…assuming we are advised as to the AI’s thinking.

 

Raising children has always been a monumental challenge for parents.  I have often remarked to my son and daughter that the challenge of raising their offspring will be markedly more difficult than it was for me and their mother.  Oh sure, many of the fundamental life lessons dealing with right and wrong, good and evil, morality, ethics, love, compassion…they remain constant and eternally essential. But the plain and simple fact is that today’s youth are faced with many more options to go down the wrong paths in this world.   Even though new technology has always brought with it moral, ethical, legal, and practical questions surrounding its usage; the inescapable reality is that new technology is advancing at remarkable rates and its application concerns and complexities are multiples of what new ideas presented us with decades ago. 

 

AI is large and it is in our face.  It is not going away.  We can only hope that our culture, our society, our government, our nation, and our world are ready for the remarkable possibilities…both good and bad…that are part and parcel of this new technological wonder.  As long as we as a collective remain cognizant of the fact that AI is a product that reflects its creator’s intent…then it will be nothing more or nothing less than the most recent technological innovation in our rapidly evolving world.  Let’s move on to the news of the day.

 

One of the myriad…and most impactful…applications of AI technology will be in the field of education.  Our national, state, and local educational systems continue to evolve and struggle in their quest to not only define their fundamental missions, but to successfully accomplish those fundamental missions.

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/a-college-student-speaks.php

 

https://jonathanturley.org/2025/11/17/how-to-reverse-the-dumbing-down-of-american-higher-education/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/harvards-disappointing-grade-inflation-report/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/20/college-finance-congress-should-call-a-spade-a-spade-and-see-schools-for-the-bad-actors-they-are/

 

The new buzz word in today’s media is AFFORDABILITY.  There are two ways (at least) to look at this issue.  The first one is the undeniable fact that Donald Trump left America at the end of his first Administration with a robust economy that was on the verge of explosive performance.  That potential was snuffed out by the total incompetence, economic and otherwise, of the subsequent Biden Administration.  The second point is also undeniable and clearly supported by indisputable data; that being that the Biden Administration left our national economy in a colossal mess at the end of his term.

 

It is patently unfair for the Trump Administration to be held accountable for the crippled economy it inherited from the Biden Administration.  It is simply not reasonable to turn a ship as large and complicated as the national economy around in one year when it has been steaming full force in the opposite direction for four years. 

 

However, it is perfectly reasonable to state the reality that the Republican Party, led by President Donald Trump, now controls (though marginally) both Congress and the White House.  While we should not hold them to the impossible task of turning things around inside of a year, we should clearly hold them responsible for the steps they take and the progress they make towards that effort.  That clock is ticking.

 

No single issue will have more impact on the upcoming mid-term elections than our national economy.  It appears that Trump and the Republicans understand that, but they had best keep it foremost in their thoughts and efforts if they entertain any dreams of remaining in control of our government. 

 

https://newcriterion.com/dispatch/blame-biden-for-the-affordability-crisis/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/the-affordability-crisis-who-is-to-blame.php

 

I personally find President Trump’s approach to foreign policy to be fundamentally pragmatic, reasonable, equitable, and appropriate in balancing all the considerations that go into that proposition.  While not perfect in all aspects, he has instilled a refreshing return to competence, consistency, and strong leadership into that function of the Executive Branch.  Here are some of the balls he is trying to juggle…

 

https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/11/14/brits-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown/

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/bolivian-clock-no-longer-striking-thirteen/

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/21/the-trump-mbs-summit-another-huge-trump-foreign-policy-win/

 

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/the-green-chinese-communists.php

 

And while China continues to practice rank hypocrisy in their energy and environmental pursuits, our nation has established what I believe to be a common sense approach to its energy sector that not only bodes well for our future energy demands, but will also dramatically spur our economy and bolster our national security.

 

https://amgreatness.com/2025/11/17/reality-caught-up-to-climate-change/

 

https://freebeacon.com/energy/qa-with-interior-secretary-doug-burgum-on-energy-dominance-and-gavin-newsoms-shrinking-california/

 

I am always amused by the limitless egos possessed by our members of Congress, especially our multi-term U.S. Senators.  They continually refuse to be held accountable for their actions and remarks, they treat their constituents as if they were fools, and they are always far too anxious to apply rules to the citizenry that do not apply to themselves.  Here is a good example and how they repeatedly refuse to see past the ends of their noses when making laws and regulations.

 

https://reason.com/2025/11/19/lindsey-graham-is-outraged-about-federal-surveillance-powers-that-lindsey-graham-helped-create-and-expand/

 

In my past career, I was fortunate to be marginally involved in my employee organization’s lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.  I will venture to say that the closest thing we have to governing royalty in America is a multi-termed United States Senator.  This fact is not only evident in the behavior of these elected officials, but also in the design and furnishings of their Senate offices and buildings. When you walk through the halls of the Senate, everything seems like it was built to a larger scale…like it was super-sized.  Perhaps that was to accommodate the super-sized egos (most, not all) of the people who dwell therein.

 

Most, not all, of our Senators are convinced that they are far more qualified to run this country than whoever the person is residing in the White House.  Here is my tribute to our vainglorious (most, not all) United States Senators…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHEfSzUbh3s

 

 

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AI is NOT a Gun, a Wrench, or a Pencil

From the moment primitive man discovered fire, it was used for good and bad purposes.   The one who wields an instrument typically has cont...