Unreasonable Facsimiles

(Fair Use)

Religion has traditionally had the monopoly on resurrection.  Not so much anymore.  Science has been creeping farther and farther into that domain.

Those who have lost loved ones may soon be fooled into thinking that technology can bring them back.  As audio and visual replications become highly sophisticated, folks may soon be virtually attending their own funerals.

This holographic trend has been dubiously compared to watching videos of loved ones long after they’re gone.  Such videos, however, have not been interactive.  When doppelganger avatars begin to talk back, it’s a whole new ball game with many potential strikes.

And what might AI prompt the deceased to say? Would it be anything like what a spiritually resurrected mother, father, husband, wife, son or daughter might proclaim?  Will they speak of wonders that resemble heavenly accounts, or will they simply disclose where the life-insurance papers are hidden?

 Resources

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/ai-can-allow-us-to-talk-to-the-dead-but-is-that-healthy-204447488.html

 

Can't cuddle a burger

(Photo by Niranjan Arminius)

 When Lawrence Fox learned that the cows on a friend’s farm were to be sold for beef, he had an epiphany.  Why not buy them and begin cuddling his way to health and wealth?

Anyone who’s had the urge to release supermarket lobsters into the nearest ocean can relate. 

Fox then proceeded to bring his plan to fruition.  Aptly named Cow Cuddling Co, his enterprise is “designed to promote calmness and improvements in mental health…”  Clients have reported feeling so much better while cozying up with the herd.

Now known as “cow therapists,” these bovines are currently worth more alive than dead.  After all, only the most dedicated of foodies would cuddle up to a burger.

Resources

https://cowcuddlingco.com/these-cows-saved-my-life-the-queensland-farm-offering-healing-cattle-cuddles/

Rogue Robot

Marvel's "Rogue"
(Fair Use)

If and when robots revolt, the results can be revolting.

A Tesla bot recently dug its metallic claws into an unsuspecting human.  While blood trailed from this “engineer’s back and arm," witnesses were left with more questions than answers.

As artificial intelligence seeps more and more into our lives, one question seems particularly disturbing: Can such an attack be premeditated by the robot itself?

Safety measures can certainly be implemented, but will some be readily sidestepped by savvy bots?  It is currently said, "Guns don’t kill people, people kill people."  That might now be the case, but what will occur as devices become smarter?

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2023-12-27-tesla-robot-attacks-engineer-at-texas-factory/?mid=1207871&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline4_readmore

Does the punishment fit the crime?

Carl Lutz's Letter of Protection
(Public Domain)
                                                        

What happens when an allegedly “good” kid posts “a detailed plan” to gun down worshippers at a synagogue?

After pleading “true” to this charge in juvenile court, the youth was ordered to attend therapy, to be on probation for one year, to refrain “from using the internet without adult supervision,” and to write a book report about Carl Lutz.

Lutz was a Swiss diplomat who had been stationed in what was then Mandatory Palestine.  While there, he witnessed the mob lynching of “an unarmed Jew.”  This may well have inspired him to save the lives of more than 62,000 Jews during World War II.

Will summarizing Lutz's heroics change the trajectory of an impressionable youth’s life?  Or will it merely be one more bump on the road to nowhere?                                                    

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2023-12-19-teen-who-planned-mass-shooting-at-synagogue-ordered-to-write-a-book report/?mid=1203081&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline2_readmore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lutz