Up Close and AI
Over the past ±18 months, AI has become all the rage. Everyone seems to be clamoring about the jobs it will eliminate; about the jobs it will create; how it will make our lives better; how it will ruin civilization; how it will have a greater impact on the world than anyone can imagine. Some are comparing it to Guttenberg and the Internet.
It’s either going to be our savior or our downfall. Or somewhere in between.
The Tearsheet has made a conscious effort to stay away from AI – with one glaring exception. About a year ago, we featured a piece on AI and then the following month asked it to write a follow-up to our original article. Which it did. We published it as is. It was interesting. Not very informative or entertaining. But interesting.
What’s the point
The point is that, for all the potential good that may arise from AI, in our day-to-day lives – whether it’s personal, business, education, or whatever – it all still requires the personal touch. An endless lineup of political and business leaders, psychologists and other scientists caution about the necessity to maintain and nurture personal contacts and relationships.
People still buy from people. People still hire people. And as distasteful as it may sound on some levels, people still have to live with people. All that we’re saying is to not be too quick to jump on the AI bandwagon and ditch your personal contacts and interactions. As screwed up as the world may be and regardless of how many idiots are out there running around, there are still few sane and hearty souls milling about.
At the end of the day, as great as AI may be (or could become) you still need the personal.
“We are here on earth to do good unto others. What the others are here for, I have no idea.”
— W.H. Auden, British-American poet
BUSINESS UPDATE
One in a billion.
Roughly 69 percent of the nearly 760 U.S. billionaires listed by Forbes are founders who started companies. While another 27 percent are made up of heirs who inherited their fortunes.
— Forbes
Elementary
Some people have called Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – author and creator of famed detective Sherlock Holmes – the father of forensic science. His pioneering practice of having Holmes regularly employ such techniques such as fingerprint analysis, examining tire tracks, analyzing handwriting, studying soil samples and other trace evidence formed the backbone of forensic science. Doyle also had Homes extensively use analytical chemistry to analyze blood residue and toxicology to detect poisons. His practice of tying spent bullets to murder weapons was used in literature 15 years before it became regular police procedure.
Although Doyle (through Holmes) began using forensics regularly in the 1890s, the first formal police laboratory was not established in London until 1912. According to author Roy Schwartz, “Holmes inspired future generations of forensic scientists to think scientifically and analytically.”
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
― Sherlock Holmes
from The Sign of Four
Another day older and…
With U.S. household debt at a record level and credit card debt topping $1 trillion (according to NextAvenue.org) that still pales in comparison with the federal debt of more than $34 trillion, 500 billion – as of yesterday (March 14, 2024), according to U.S. Department of the Treasury.) That’s more than $102,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.
Luck of the Irish? St. Patrick first went to Ireland as a kidnaped slave.
— factretriever.com
Over the top. On December 22, 1891 S. Wheeler patented the toilet paper roll showing paper being dispensed over the top – not the bottom.
— Google Patents
A place to lose your lunch. Contrary to what one might think, the term “vomitorium” was a Roman word meaning “the name for the entrance to a stadium.”
— Common Myth Conceptions
It ain’t cheap. Turnover can cost an employer as much as 150 percent of an employee’s annual salary.
— HR Brew
Takes a lot of guts. Six people were arrested recently on charges of illegally importing goose and duck intestines from China.
— Fox News
Be it ever so humble. Remote workers were 35 percent more likely to have their jobs cut in 2023 than their in-office peers.
— The Wall Street Journal
Pete & repeat. “Dermatoglyphics” (the study of fingerprints) and “uncopyrightable” are the longest English words with no repetition of a letter.
— QI
Thread bare. After nearly 1,000 years, Japan held its final “naked man festival.” Canceled due to the declining population in the area.
— UPI
You betcha. 41 Percent of U.S. adults entered a casino during 2023.
— forbes.com
Cheaper by the dozen. According to reports, a German man was voluntarily vaccinated 217 times against Covid-19. He showed no signs of ever being infected with the virus.
— mirror.co.uk
The Month of March
Month of the Month
Here’s a thought: March is International Ideas Month. You may think we’re kidding… and maybe we are. It’s also Humorists Are Artists Month.
Today is March 15th – and a great pairing. It’s Brutus Day and Buzzards Day. We’ll excuse you if you miss it because today just happens to be World Sleep Day.
Question of the Month
What do music icons Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Irving Berlin, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder have in common?
No fair reading between the lines.
Quote of the Month
“Business is a game, and as with all games, the team that puts the best people on the field and gets them playing together wins. It's that simple.”
— Jack Welch,
chairman & CEO of General Electric
between 1981 and 2001
Get a Headstart
If you have ever thought about including a newsletter in your marketing communications toolkit, before you begin, download our free digital booklet – Getting Started with Your Newsletter – to get some basic questions answered as well as a little inspiration to nudge you forward. Be sure to check out “Something Special” at the end. Download your copy.
A Gridiron MBA?
Maybe that’s not possible, but there is much you can learn about business from football in the book, Hard Hitting Lessons. The subtitle says it all, “Some not-so-obvious business lessons learned from playing football.”
Get your copy here!