Dr GPT Will See You Now
After the past couple weeks of news ingestion, my physical and mental symptomology reads like a list of potential side-effects described at the end of a prescription medication commercial. I was about a tenth of the way into the list — nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, dry mouth, constipation, insomnia, rash, itching, swelling, difficulty breathing, blurred vision, hearing loss, laptop-phobia, phone allergy, FOBI (Fear Of Being Informed), and a strange full body-covering orange-y jaundice — when my doctor interrupted to say it was time for him to see his next patient. Maybe I should have started with ChatGPT. Many of us have long been presenting our doctors with the results of a Google-powered self-diagnosis. But AI could take things to the next level. In a small, interesting study, ChatGPT actually outdid human doctors when it came to diagnosing illnesses, even when those doctors were armed with ChatGPT. Gina Kolata in the NYT (Gift Article): A.I. Chatbots Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness. I tried to test AI with my own list of symptoms, but ChatGPT said it didn’t have any available appointments until mid-February.
Under the Influence
We’re all living through the I’m doing my own research era. So where are people getting their information? When it comes to news, a lot of people are starting with news influencers, not journalists. “About 21% of U.S. adults are turning to news influencers for information, with most saying creators ‘helped them better understand current events and civic issues,’ according to the study. The number was higher among young adults, with 37% of people ages 18 to 29 saying they turn to influencers for news.” 1 in 5 U.S. adults get their news from social media influencers. I’m both worried that people are getting their news from news influencers and that I might be one.
Shock and Awful
“We girls woke up to a country that would rather elect a man found liable for sexual abuse than a woman. Where the kind of man my mother instructs me to cross the street to avoid will be addressed as Mr. President. Where the body I haven’t fully grown into may no longer be under my control. The boys, it seemed to me, just woke up on a Wednesday.” Naomi Beinart, a high school junior, on what it felt like on campus last week. NYT (Gift Article): I’m 16. On Nov. 6 the Girls Cried, and the Boys Played Minecraft.
+ And David Remnick on what it feels like at The New Yorker (and a lot of other places) this week as the cabinet picks are made. Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Wonders. “Trump’s nominations—in their reckless endorsement of the dangerously unqualified—look like the most flagrant act of vindictive trolling since the rise of the Internet. But it is a trolling beyond mischief. All these appointees are meant to bolster Trump’s effort to lay waste to the officials and the institutions that he has come to despise or regard as threats to his power or person. These appointees are not intended to be his advisers. They are his shock troops.”
Street Cred
“We see right through the unshowered soul living in a car by the beach, or by the Walmart, or by the side of the road. But he’s there, and he used to be somebody. He still is. A firsthand account of homelessness in America.” Patrick Fealey in Esquire on his life as The Invisible Man. “People pull in to visit the lighthouse or the beach or wherever I am, see me, and immediately park somewhere else. All day long. They are so afraid. I know I look disheveled, but I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with me intellectually or spiritually. I know I could look better, but I just don’t see what the big deal is.”
Extra, Extra
Going Out with a Bang: “The U.S. will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied longer-range weapons to conduct strikes inside Russian territory, a long-sought request by Kyiv.” It’s an obvious reaction to the results of the election and what they might mean for Ukraine. So is this. US to send military contractors to Ukraine.
+ Shocking News: “Just a week after winning several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed ‘there is no such thing as Palestinians.'” Some Arab Americans who voted for Trump are concerned about his picks for key positions. (They missed subtle hints like every word he’s ever uttered and every deed he’s ever done.)
+ FCC What He Did There? “Carr was a contributor to the conservative Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025,’ an initiative that developed a blueprint for the next Republican president to overhaul the federal government, and wrote the section discussing the FCC.” Trump’s latest hire is a boon for Elon Musk’s SpaceX — and a hit to Big Tech.
+ Deport in the Storm: “Half of the voters surveyed were instead asked whether they’d favor deporting those immigrants ‘even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs and no criminal record’ – and support for deportation dropped to 40% among that group, with 60% opposing.” Are people in favor of mass deportation? It depends how you ask the question. (Whether public opinion will matter is another question entirely.)
+ Morning Woe: “For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, why wouldn’t we? Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country.” MSNBC ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Meet With Trump in Bid for ‘New Approach’ to Coverage. (Let’s hope that approach doesn’t include genuflection.)
+ Taylor Made: “To recap, or precap: That’s four distinct Taylor Sheridan shows, each releasing a new episode—two episodes, in Landman’s case—on the same damn day. We’re past peak TV, and the industry is downsizing, but Sheridan must have missed the memo … On the seventh day, God rested. Taylor Sheridan showed up for four different jobs.” From Yellowstone to no stone unturned, Taylor Sheridan basically creates every show now (and he appears in a lot of them, too.) The Ringer: Introducing the Taylor Sheridan Equinox.
+ Blue Wave: “Over the past week, Bluesky’s growth has exploded, more than doubling to 15 million-plus users as people seek alternatives to X, Facebook and Threads. It has rocketed to the top of Apple’s and Google’s app stores as the most downloaded free app. Its ascent has been so rapid that the company has been forced to grow up practically overnight.” How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth.
Bottom of the News
Tons of hype. No substance. Left with a depressing feeling. The Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight was the perfect event for our moment in time. Or as Colin Jost put it on SNL: “Last night, Mike Tyson and Jake Paul teamed up to defeat everyone watching.” Will Leitch in the NYT (Gift Article): Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Is the Absurd Spectacle We Deserve.
+ At times, it seemed like Netflix was using streaming tech from Tyson’s prime. Maybe the blurred buffering was a feature not a bug. Either way, more than 60 million people tuned in. And you know what that means. ESPN: After Tyson-Paul, don’t be surprised if we see this type of spectacle again. (Compared to some of the other spectacles we’re seeing, this one doesn’t seem half bad.)
+ OK, back to normal sports and fandom. Even in death, college football fans want to be at their favorite stadiums.
