not only does the U.S have no official religion, we're supposed to be officially no religion.

This isn't like "English technically isn't the official language of the U.S, but it's okay that most official business is conducted in English", this is blatant and deliberate flaunting of the base rules.

Hope no one minds if I throw in uninformed thoughts.

I suspect the docs are job-focused, just trying to get an accurate diagnosis. Meanwhile, those around Trump want to know how long they have and what to prepare for, to the degree that they pay any attention (they are not good at long term)

I'm also too ignorant, but I suspect the answer is "Insurance companies" followed by "lawsuits". If some anti-vaxxer sues over getting "bad" advice, and that advice was indeed contrary to this "professional" decision, it all comes down to convincing a (also medically ignorant) judge.

My autistic self just realized my efforts to communicate clearly and to anticipate counter arguments is all in vain.

Oh man, I was so pissed in my early years when I'd ask how a word is spelled and I'd be told "look it up in the dictionary".

Because looking up a word by alphabetical index is so convenient when YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SPELL THE WORD.

This probably benefited me but the rage remains.

Pretty sure you mix all that, plus the damage Long COVID does to the brain, and you get a perfect storm of "we're fucked." Season it with AI, and it's pretty easy to see why kids today are just disillusioned with everything. Why bother when they can ask ChatGPT to do it for them? ⤵️

I'd love to see that potential debunk if you can give any clues. (Ironically finding it would require an effective web search, so ...)

I lack your confidence in Google as they have made several "ridiculous" moves already. If they are increasing their bottom line, they'll consider that success.

I can see Google no longer uses the words I type in search, but switches to other words. When I then add quotes to try and force the issue (of doing the search I requested) it ignores the quotes and gives me results that will not contain the requested word(s). SEO is not to blame for that.

Great summary. Being willing to realize you're wrong isn't the easy route, but it's not an awful experience. But that's based on practice and caring. It was a lot harder initially, and feeling good about your progress without internal shame is great.

That all starts with caring.

This is what drives me mad about people who say AI will "inevitably" continue down its current disastrous path, and that everyone has to learn how to make the most of it.

There are actual people with agency making decisions about AI, and they're mostly sociopaths.

I was a 90% match to Milhouse from the Simpsons. I definitely should feel attacked from that accuracy.

I regularly underestimate the range of fire spreading from lava. Many a mining trip ends in my return to a shell of a home.

My wife desperately wanted to tame cats but gave up on Minecraft after slapping way too many ocelots in the face with fish.

Sympathies.

I agree with you, but with the simple problems a new student understands in my field, LLMs ARE very rarely wrong. I've been trying to convince them not to rely on the thing that seems so easy and helpful, and they just don't believe me until the topics get deep enough, which is too late.

Total agreement on the results!

My teachers that said I wouldn't have a calculator in my pocket as an adult now look foolish, but the teacher that let us use a calculator only after passing a test without one was brilliant, because I can estimate a 20% tip or see if a sum "looks wrong".

I think it's more like calculators than Google, since it can replace the entire work.

My students just don't believe me and rely on it. About halfway through the semester the problems get complex enough that the LLMs can't keep up, but by then they've missed months of fundamental skill development.

…papers in the past 4 months alone demonstrating that over-reliance on "AI" tools diminishes critical thinking capacity & prevents students from building the kinds of foundational skills which allow them to learn more complex concepts, adapt to novel situations, & grow into experts.

This is so bad.