Eric J. Shea

MD #neurology #neuroscience #cognition #psychology #paragliding #hiking

[Prof. Feynman @ProfFeynman]

If you think you understand it, try building it.

[Daron Acemoglu @DAcemogluMIT]

Dear followers,

Over the next few days, starting today, I will post a number of threads on AI. My focus will be on uncomfortable questions for our current AI discourse. I am doing this because I feel that the public conversation on AI is not tackling the big issues and dangers, and what I view as important questions are not being asked by industry insiders and the media.

I must preface these posts by saying that I am not an AI scientist, so my understanding of some of the issues may be faulty. And I do not claim to know the answers to these questions. My aim is to make a small contribution by emphasizing the questions that I believe are important but are being neglected.

Thank you

[nature @Nature]

There is growing concern that AI can blunt memory and reasoning. Science shows ways to keep the brain sharp

https://t.co/YRIn9nXFux

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

Deutschland: Es wird nicht gebaut.
Renner: Wir verändern uns nicht schnell genug.
@jeanremyvonmatt Geschwindigkeit allein ist keine Strategie.
@JoeKaeser Und am Ende muss es jemand umsetzen.
@PatrickEBoyle Es wird nicht gebaut.
Warum eigentlich?
https://t.co/fpXytUAx7H

[nature @Nature]

Scientists who use large language models (LLMs) to help them with their research will spend less time refining their work and instead jump quickly to fresh projects, according to a modelling study.

https://t.co/8NY5aUzPfj

[Richard Straub @rstraub46]

I totally agree with @EmmanuelMacron . Europe must finally find ways to punch its weight. The question is how. Political leaders such as @Bart_DeWever might help to show the way.

We will have this discussion from a management and leadership perspective at the @GDruckerForum in Vienna, in November.

@lukasmandl

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

Much of the AI conversation remains trapped in yesterday’s business logic:
You can’t automate your way to innovation.
You can’t cut your way to growth.
"When you're an axe, everything looks like headcount."
@briansolis

Recommended reading:
https://t.co/GKhIxC9mCH

[Harvard Medical School @harvardmed]

HMS microbiologist Braden Tierney found a microorganism his team calls “Chonkus,” which is remarkably efficient at consuming carbon dioxide. Now he’s searching for other microbes doing remarkable things that humans could make use of. (via @NPR) https://t.co/vXQhnBB0SR

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

Free Digital Session
Global Peter Drucker Forum @GDruckerForum
The Care and Feeding of Innovation
with
@AmyCEdmondson and @RogerLMartin
moderated by @JuliaKirby

June 22nd, 2026

#druckerforum #peterdrucker #management #leadership #innovation

https://t.co/CYY25p8G4J

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

#AI agents and the loss of human control:
@WyattTessari urges the world's AI leaders, the USA and China, to start negotiating an international AI treaty — as proposed by the @UN Security Council in 2023.
@antonioguterres @MelissaFleming @gioasempre https://t.co/KwlsFj0qyF

[How To Prompt @HowToPrompt__]

MIT's Nobel Prize-winning economist proved that AI is mathematically guaranteed to destroy human knowledge.

They published a massive NBER paper modeling the long-term impact of AI on human cognition.

And they found the most alarming conclusion in the AI literature so far.

It’s called "Knowledge Collapse."

Here is how human progress actually works.

When you struggle to solve a complex problem, you generate two things:

General knowledge about how the world works, and context-specific knowledge about your exact problem.

Normally, humans acquire both at the same time. You do the hard work to solve your specific problem, and in the process, you learn a general principle.

You share that principle. That is how human knowledge grows.

Then comes Agentic AI.

AI is incredibly good at giving you the exact, context-specific answer you need right now. It hands the solution to you on a silver platter.

So you stop doing the hard work.

And because you stop doing the work, you stop generating the "general knowledge" that society relies on.

Acemoglu calls it the "knowledge-collapse equilibrium."

When AI reaches a certain accuracy threshold, the incentive for humans to learn drops to zero.

Nobody verifies. Nobody explores. Nobody discovers new fundamental truths.

Society gets increasingly sophisticated automated outputs, while our actual capacity to generate new knowledge quietly erodes.

But here is the most terrifying finding in the paper.

Welfare is "non-monotone" to AI accuracy.

That means as AI gets more accurate, society actually gets worse off.

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

This effectively rations anyone driving 290,000+ km annually.
Oh wow.

This is simulating politics, not actually doing anything. Real rationing would be drastic.

This is a weak attempt to slow down "fuel tourism" and a refusal to fix pricing disparity with neighboring countries.

[The Culturist @the_culturist_]

"There is a deep human need for beauty, and if you ignore that need in architecture, your buildings will not last, since people will never feel at home in them."

— Sir Roger Scruton

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

"Today it is Venezuela, tomorrow it could be any other." Gabriel Boric, President of Chile

Yes. Especially if we let go of a romantically naïve worldview.

Moral outrage does not create international leverage; strategy and the cultivation of one’s own strength do.

[Isabella Mader @IsabellaMader_]

If Europe suddenly tried to sell its holdings of U.S. debt:
– There wouldn’t be enough buyers at current prices.
– Prices would collapse instantly.
– Sellers would incur enormous losses.
That’s why China spent a decade unwinding its position in small steps.
cc @WSJ

[Richard Straub @rstraub46]

The "Hyper-Asperger Engine" – Grok 4.0 is super impressive. But… will it solve humanity’s problems?

The challenges @elonmusk faced while serving in the White House were different in nature. No amount of analytical brilliance can override the social, emotional, and power-driven dynamics that govern human relationships.

Grok can ace PhD-level physics, write flawless code, and dominate math Olympiads. But ask it to mediate a diplomatic conflict, rebuild trust in a fractured team, or navigate the nuance of human suffering —and it falls flat.

In the end, progress depends not on how smart our machines are, but on how wise, empathetic, caring and socially intelligent we are.

These questions will be at the heart of the discussions at the @GDruckerForum. Peter Drucker famously said the computer is a moron—it can only provide answers, not ask the right questions. Perhaps it’s time to redefine what kind of morons Grok, ChatGPT, and other AI systems really are. 😉

Of course, this technology holds immense potential to boost the productivity of knowledge work and unleash a wave of unprecedented innovation—but we must put it in its place. That requires a deeper understanding of human nature, human relationships, and the way our societies, communities, teams and tribes function. Philosophers and Anthropologists will help...

AI Experts React: Elon’s Grok 4 Is Now #1 in AI —This Changes Everything w/ Emad, Salim & Dave #182

@MicheleZanini @CRCinnovation @stevedenning @LaurentChoain @wlassl @JuliaKirby #DruckerForum #Grok4 @andrewtghill @parmy @adwooldridge @bill_fischer @veitdengler @AgendaAustria @FranzSchellhorn @antonellamei @andrepietri @th_sattelberger @WinfriedFelser @AmyCEdmondson @TeresaAmabile @A_WittenbergCox @gilliantett @IsabellaMader_ @IlseStraub1

[Global Drucker Forum @GDruckerForum]

How does leadership evolve in an AI-shaped world?
Join our free Digital Session on June 24, 3–4:30 PM CET— led by Johan Roos, exploring insights from our AI Voice Agent pilot.

More information 👇🏻
https://t.co/JsRJmZ7dKZ
#DruckerForum #AI #Leadership #NextManagement

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

WORKING LONG HOURS MAY BE SHRINKING YOUR BRAIN...

Logging 52 hours a week doesn’t just wear you down—it physically changes your brain.

MRI scans of overworked healthcare staff revealed structural shifts in key regions that handle memory, focus, and emotions.

Parts like the middle frontal gyrus and insula showed abnormal growth—your brain working overtime to survive the stress.

These aren’t harmless tweaks. Long hours are linked to higher risks of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline.

One global report blamed overwork for 745,000 deaths a year.

Worse, this damage isn’t easy to undo. Quit the grind and recovery is possible—but slow.

So if your schedule looks like a punishment, your brain probably agrees. It’s not just burnout. It’s biology.

Source: CNN / Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

[Excellence Health @excell_health]

Too many people are on a petroleum diet.
https://t.co/rcIOizK3Xg

[Excellence Health @excell_health]

If processed food brands would be honest about their ingredients
via @thewarriorcenter on #instagram
#health #lifespan #healthspan
https://t.co/rb4upgy9Nz