Saturday, April 22
Friday, April 21
AI Replaces US Jobs
The growing strength of artificial intelligence threatens millions of jobs, but if regulators stay away, the emerging tech may make society wealthier and more productive.
History has repeatedly shown the same result for other technological advances dating back to the Industrial Revolution, economist Peter St. Onge said.
"Throughout history, we've gone through tremendous technological revolutions. Generally, technologies kill jobs," St. Onge, with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "What happened? Well, you know, we had lots of new jobs. Almost nobody today works on a farm.
"This is sort of the way of the world," he added. The reason why you see technological improvements for any labor-involving function is in order to kill jobs - which is also known as saving work.
St. Onge pointed to the early 1800s, when most people worked on farms, and how the dawn of the mechanization of agriculture killed such employment as farmers turned to machines instead of hiring teams of laborers. READ MORE...
Not A Fan of Law Enforcement
I have heard reports for other law enforcement officers that cops break the law in order to catch criminals and put them in jail. To me that is an abuse of power. It also makes people dislike law enforcement, having less and less respect for those who wear the badge.
Yes, it is true that for every bad cop there is at least one good one, maybe two and while that helps, it does not solve the problem of police corruption.
I have been stopped for speeding several times and when I ask why me and not someone else who was driving beside me... the answer is always, you were the easiest one to catch. So, law enforcement alway lets others go free because they have managed to stop one. That is not fair.
They should all be stopped or none at all.
I have never been brutalized by a cop and while I am thankful for that, I can imagine, it would be a bad experience as the cops are likely taking out their anger on the one they are beating.
The more cops abuse their job and more the rest of us resent and disrespect them.
I was an instructor at a technical school where we taught Criminal Justice course. I met quite a few cops who had to take my classes. In class they are nice guys, friendly, and easy to talk with. But, I supposed on the job, they are not like that at all, as everyday could be their last day alive. It is a job that I would never want.
I am not necessarily happy or pleased with all the violence and crime that is taking place inside our big cities but I am not surprised by it at all. The people are tired of police mentalities and attitudes. As a whole, people out-number law enforcement and the only way the police can acquire the advantage is with other items like a water canon.
The blacks have taken it upon themselves to make it an issue it is between white cops and them... while that is admirable on their part, I think it is foolish. Cops are against everybody that fits the PROFILE. It has nothing to do with color. If you want to change the PROFILE, then blacks should stop commiting crimes.
As a white senior citizen, I perceive blacks as commiting more crimes than whites. I perceive blacks sell more illegal drugs than whites.
As a white senior citizen, I perceive that whites commit more white collar crimes than blacks which to me is far worse because it involves more money.
When I see Mexicans, I think of the Mexican Drug Cartels... whether they are members or not, in my mind, that is who they are. PROFILING...
US Dollar Abandoned
As the BRICS nations have made their opinion on the currency known, more countries are moving away from the US dollar as a reserve currency. Moreover, the collective has recently expressed its desire to diminish the prevalence of the greenback within international trade.
Now, various figures are speaking out on both sides of the development. Specifically, Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to comment on the matter. Stating that the potential unseating of the US dollar’s dominance would be the “biggest defeat for our country in its history.”
As the BRICS nations have made their opinion on the currency known, more countries are moving away from the US dollar as a reserve currency. Moreover, the collective has recently expressed its desire to diminish the prevalence of the greenback within international trade.
Now, various figures are speaking out on both sides of the development. Specifically, Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to comment on the matter. Stating that the potential unseating of the US dollar’s dominance would be the “biggest defeat for our country in its history.”
Now, amidst these actions from the BRICS nations, more countries are moving away from the US dollar as a reserve currency. Importantly, the American currency is threatened by the rising prominence of China as an economic juggernaut. READ MORE...
Thursday, April 20
AGI in ChatGPT
It’s an interesting time in tech, especially with the ChatGPT craze that has put Microsoft front and center again and has even buoyed the hopes of companies like Micron that have seen a 13-year low in memory and storage but know that generative AI will inevitably fire up demand for memory chips.
On the one hand, companies want to try out ChatGPT 3.5 for cost savings with such tasks as content creation and data analysis. On the other hand, hundreds of tech leaders and scientists have recently argued against large experiments with AI that are more powerful than today’s ChatGPT and can pose profound risks to society.
There’s a great deal of middle ground between those two viewpoints, and it’s worth tracking what’s being said.
A survey by a workforce management software company called Workyard looked at 1,000 small to mid-sized digital companies and found 40% are already using ChatGPT 3.5 for automation. It isn’t clear how much the companies are relying on the tool, but Workyard concluded that it could result in cost savings.
For example, Workyard said ChatGPT 3.5 for automating social media management could possibly cut the cost of recruiting and overseeing social media managers by up to 90%. A simple online post for a product when sent to ChatGPT 3.5 under the supervision of strategists could save up to $200 a post, according to Workyard.
Using the tool in email outreach can save up to 24 cents per email based on the average cost of sending an outreach email that can reach 20 cents to 30 cents, including labor, email marketing software, data acquisition and more.
Also, for blog posts, content creation savings could be from $90 to $300 on average per post, compared to the normal cost of $100 to $500 to create social media captions, blog post headers and product descriptions.
One of the biggest areas of focus for chatbots has been for customer service. Workyard said using AI software and downsizing customer service teams can reduce employee expenses by $15,000 a month. ChapGPT- based AI tools cost $500 a month, compared to $3,000 per worker in a 10-person team. READ MORE...
Retire in Comfort
First - retiring means that you are not working full time for yourself or an employer. It means you could do nothing each day or work on hobbies that generate a little spending money. It does not mean dropping down to 30 hours a week or even 20 hours a week. I would say 10 hours a week or less would qualify as being retired.
Second - comfort is defined differently by different people. Comfort is also defined differently depending upon one's geographical location as it revolves around the cost of living in that location.
Third - being retired, in my opinion, means that you are debt free, regardless of how much money you have in your retirement plan. If you have debt, then that obligation means that you are not necessarily work free.
Multi-millionaires who have debt have no reason to worry as their money earns more interest than interest on their debt, so their are making money, in essence.
But, I am talking about only 1-10% of the population. The other 90% do not have that luxury.
Back to Comfort Retiring...
Here in East TN where I live, the cost of living to pay for essentials and taxes is right around $3,000 each month. I would say the range is $2,500 to $4,500...
The average amount of Social Security is about $1,200-$1,500 each month. If we go with the lowest amount and double it for a couple, we are looking at $2,400 each month.
If we say that the average cost of retired living is $3,500, then, that couple only needs $1,100 each month.
OR, $13,200 each year
OR, $132,000 ever decade
OR, $396,000 every three decades
Note: if one retires at 67 and lives 30 more years, then they are 97 years old which is longer than the average life span... so, $400,000 is plenty of money...
However, what about extras?
-->Like a car every 10 years - about $60,000 taking into consideration trade in value.
-->Like 4-6 vacations each year - about $8,000 each year for 15 years or $120,000.
-->Like out of pocket medical expenses or $220,000 on the outside
Therefore, now a retired couple will need another $400,000.... added to the $400,000, we are looking at around $800,000.
INTERESTINGLY - the average value of a home in the US is about $300,000.
Add these two together and one's retirement needs are $500,000
WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF COMFORT?
Answering this question will determine what your retirement will look like.
My retirement comfort is different than yours. I require very little to feel comfortable. My current home is larger than I really need. My current yard is larger than I really need. We have no debt. I eat healthy which costs more than buying garbage food. I exercise regularly for free by walking around the neigborhood. I live in a very quiet neighborhood. I drive my vehicle less than 9,000 miles each year. Our home was renovated before we retired to accommodate the handicapped. I enjoy being alone and spend my days writing. I don't care if my writing is published or not... the fact that I complete a lengthy novel is recognition enough for me. The only television I watch is FOX News in the mornings.
My retirement is comfortable and enjoyable, relaxing and fulfilling. I have no desire to have anything more than I already have. I don't work for money. I work for myself and am content. I keep wondering what I would do if I had tons of money and I think I would give it to charity.
What I find interesting is that millionaires and billionaires who have private jets, do so because they want to fly ALONE... with all that money, they still just want to be alone.
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