Future Focus:
Artificial intelligence is altering the fabric of truth. If you don’t believe me, I invite you to read this story about how thousands of unsuspecting tourists were recently lured to Buckingham Palace in hopes of visiting a magical-looking Christmas Market.
This is not the first case of AI deceiving people, and it certainly won’t be the last. The long-term impact of these seemingly innocuous ploys could be more serious than you might think. At a macro level, the public’s opinion of AI is already dangerously low and as these “fakes” grow more numerous and more nefarious (elderly people are already being lured into dangerous situations), there could be a serious backlash against AI.
On the upside, I continue to believe that one of the more unexpected developments which may stem from the AI revolution will be that people return to more time-honored and trusted methods of communication. In the near future, I believe face-to-face communication within and among families, friends and communities will grow in both popularity and importance. In short, the old ways may become new again.
Farm Focus:
Culture and human behavior don’t always change quickly, but they can–and do–change. Cigarette smoking, while not entirely eliminated, is now widely understood to be bad for your health, and it is uncommon to be allowed to smoke indoors. Similarly, after DDT was found to be harmful for wildlife and CFCs were discovered to be contributing to the Ozone Hole, those chemicals were banned around the world.
I believe much the same will happen with PFAS–also known as “forever chemicals.” A new report has found that millions of pounds of these dangerous chemicals were sprayed on a number of crops, including grapes, tomatoes and almonds, in California from 2018 to 2023. In the past few years, farms in Maine, Michigan and Texas have also shut down because of the presence of these chemicals.
The chemical industry and, perhaps, some large agricultural interests will attempt to deny, discredit and deflect attention away from the dangers of these toxic chemicals. They may be successful in the short-term but, in the long run, science and the truth will prevail.
If you’re a farmer, I encourage you to learn more about PFAS and then keep your distance from them–for your sake and the sake of the public.
Faith Focus:
As a spiritual practice, I continue to write daily about spiritual matters of interest to me. Below is a list of this week’s posts. I try to keep each post to no more than 200 words–meaning you can read each post in a minute or less. If one catches your attention, I invite you to dive in.
The Sacrament of the Present Moment
The Question of Nuremberg: How?
Better Questions (and a Possible Answer) to What Lies Before Birth and After Death
Bonus Article
P.S. From 1987 to 1989, I served as a young intelligence officer aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). This Saturday, November 22nd, is the 62nd anniversary of JFK’s assassination. It is also the 50th anniversary of the USS Belknap-USS John F. Kennedy accident–an incident which resulted in the deaths of 8 U.S. Navy sailors. I have been invited to give a presentation on the leadership of President John F. Kennedy at the Remembrance Reunion for the event. This article, The Leadership of Lt(jg) John F. Kennedy, looks at only one aspect of JFK’s leadership–the humility he demonstrated as a young naval officer during the most harrowing days of his wartime experience.
