Thinking in new ways, or maybe letting a machine do your thinking

We are about to start building small nuclear plants all over the country so anyone who wants to can make more of this "art"

- Walter Kirn

For decades, we have been hearing from advocates of "green energy" that nuclear plants cannot be considered as a replacement for fossil fuels to provide energy for homes and businesses. I haven't seen this argument used much against the proposals to build small nuclear plants to power Artificial Intelligence capacities. Where are the campaigns to cover the countryside with solar panels or windmills to power AI?

AI and Copyrights

Sam Altman (born April 22, 1985, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American entrepreneur who was president of the start-up accelerator Y Combinator from 2014 to 2019 and chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI beginning in 2019. He has been compared to tech visionaries, including Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and is known for his belief that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will be able to do anything that humans can.

But Sam is starting with things that humans have done. And often copyrighted.

Last week in this space, we noted that government entities in Canada were going way overboard in "land acknowledgements" at the start of public meetings. These acknowldements are theoretically directed toward the descendants of various indigenous groups, but are not very useful to them. Although one recent court ruling concerning aboriginal property rights in Richmond, Canada could be.

Here's an interesting view on intellectual property.

I think Sam Altman should have to recite "intellectual property acknowledgements" every time he speaks in public

— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) August 12, 2025

ARS TECHNICA via Instapundit, AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified:

AI industry groups are urging an appeals court to block what they say is the largest copyright class action ever certified. They've warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic's AI training now threatens to "financially ruin" the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement.

I guess we're not finished with this issue. Perhaps we should get some clarity sooner than later.

More New Thoughts

New(?) thinking from the NYT

Checking in on the New York Times. https://t.co/rAq2AwBgcb pic.twitter.com/HSbIiAsL4Y

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 15, 2025

Someone actually changing their thinking:

Confession: I actually used to be part of the “blacker than black, ‘cause I’m black, y’all…” crowd.

First time I watched “Blazing Saddles,” I hated it. I thought it was racist. I remember watching it with some fraternity brothers and damn near causing a scene because they were all laughing while I was pissed they could laugh at something so racist.

Post college, rookie cop, newly into my right-leaning, conservative awakening, I had a girlfriend who wanted to do a movie night. She said she wanted to watch her favorite comedy, “Blazing Saddles.” After asking if we could watch something else and her being dead set on wanting to watch it, I gave it a new shot. I was prepared to be mad, though, just in case.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.

Point is, to everyone who still views the world through a racial lens, there’s a whole world out there that you could enjoy if you simply take off those lenses. It’s holding you back and you don’t even realize it.

12 Fun Facts about Blazing Saddles

Original Trailer

Weekend

The Week In Pictures: Democrats All-In For Crime Edition

Yesterday was V-J Day, and Powerline posted a piece by Bill Campenni:

Today — August 15 — marks the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japan. Actually, it was August 15 in Japan, but more accurately August 14 on this side of the Date Line. And yet today I can find little notice or commemoration of this date. It was probably the zenith of American power and patriotism, which has been an exponentially decreasing quotient ever since.

There is a personal component to this day. I was five-year-old visiting relatives in suburban New Jersey and my mom decided to take me over to the City to see a Giants game at the Polo Grounds. (We were Yankee fans, but they were out of town that day.)

On the subway segment to the Jersey PATH trains after the game, mom decided to stop at a now long-defunct Childs restaurant in mid-town for a quick supper. So we get off at the Times Square subway stop and come up to the street to be greeted by probably a million, give or take another half million, people yelling and dancing and celebrating. It was a terrifying scene for a runty little five-year-old. I asked mom what was going on and she read off the moving electric news sign on the Times building “The War is over! The War is over!”

When you see that historic photo of the million(s) jammed into Times Square on V-J Day, yep, that’s me right there. No, not that sailor guy – that little speck over by the copy of the Statue of Liberty at the far end.

Even for a little kid, the importance of that moment was not lost. . .

Today, a scan of the media shows nearly none of the that historic day will be remembered or solemnly celebrated.

Few will have the joy that I was so lucky to experience on that wonderful day in 1945.

It was “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Over There” in one glorious medley. You should have been there.

A very interesting thread on what Japan is like since V-J day.

Music

God Bless America

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, August 9, Getting respect for the past wrong in Canada

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 11:02 AM

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