Paul D. Fernhout

The biggest challenge of the 21st century is the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

The biggest challenge of the 21st century is the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

It would have been Robin Rochlin Cooperman's 40th Princeton Reunion recently. Wishing all the best to her friends and family -- especially tomorrow. @raicoop Robin might have appreciated this new Princeton USG Mental health initiative: https://t.co/1MVIfCWOxJ

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Thinking yesterday on my friend from college Robin Rochlin Cooperman (& her family) on the 15th anniversary of her death. Two things I previously wrote in her memory as ripples from her life & laughter continue to spread: https://t.co/pgXyrANJql https://t.co/wiBju0AWPv @raicoop

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@fchollet @fchollet Great insights. And a great analogy on making a ball rounder. See also my reddit comment on evolutionary-psychology-related thinking on this by me circa 1985: https://t.co/bFIANuXM2z

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@Yoshua_Bengio Thanks for the insightful interview: https://t.co/GxgASwjdGw I've thought on AI risks & rewards since 1970s, summarized: "The biggest challenge of the 21st century is the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity."

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

See also the essay I put together in 2010: https://t.co/57dG1qfMJo "It outlines towards the end four major alternatives to mainstream economic practice (a basic income, a gift economy, stronger local subsistence economies, and resource-based planning)." @vkhosla

[Vinod Khosla @vkhosla]

AI will transform economies and need a rethink of capitalism & equity. Labor portion of economy (vs capital) will decline sharply. Should we eliminate preferential treatment of capital gains tax and equalize to ordinary income? 40% of capital gains taxes are paid by those with income >$10m/year! This video is just the professions being automated in our current portfolio!

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

https://t.co/pym65bgudx "... the utensils are too [long and] unwieldy to serve oneself with. In hell, the people cannot cooperate, and consequently starve. In heaven, the diners feed one another across the table and are sated." https://t.co/jA8FSjJnwg

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@elonmusk @elonmusk Glad to read you are finally getting more sleep! https://t.co/JVHG9rY4sa

More health-related ideas: https://t.co/VIr7ylNlY6

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@elonmusk resources to reach a higher level of your potential:
* Bullies to Buddies: How to Stop Being Teased and Bullied Without Really Trying
* Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew P. Walker
* William C. Norris: Portrait of a Maverick

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Sen. Bernie Sanders suggests "AI Could Wipe Out the Working Class" https://t.co/3FUR1chHQg

Some comments by me on that: https://t.co/uJEc1ypT8y

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Thinking of Robin on what would have been her 62nd birthday: https://t.co/D1StZn95Zj https://t.co/pgXyrAOhfT
@RainaCoop

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Added the Humor Project to the High-Performance Organizations Reading List: https://t.co/zmXsdm0MHg
and on how their Humor Conference could have benefitted Robin Rochlin Cooperman (to do something positive for the 7th anniversary of my learning of her death). @raicoop

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Thinking yesterday on my friend from college Robin Rochlin Cooperman (& her family) on the 15th anniversary of her death. Two things I previously wrote in her memory as ripples from her life & laughter continue to spread: https://t.co/pgXyrANJql https://t.co/wiBju0AWPv @raicoop

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Hacker News post I just made related to work, burnout, unions, and more: https://t.co/BPhYC7CjbE

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@ianbremmer @ianbremmer @paulg Paradoxically this article suggests to decrease overall US govt expenses will require hiring *more* government employees to better supervise contractors or do things cheaper in-house (and thus @DOGE needs to change its strategy): https://t.co/HQXcEaccla

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Suggests reducing US govt expenses requires more employees to supervise federal contracts: https://t.co/HQXcEaccla "Voters are right to want a less bloated and wasteful government. But Elon Musk’s plan will fail because the most inefficient parts lie outside it." @elonmusk @DOGE

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@sjgadler @sjgadler the most important & neglected idea in AI safety/policy is the #irony of the tools of abundance made possible through AI being misused due to scarcity fears, as I wrote about in 2010: https://t.co/VrW4ojxlhm

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

Have to wonder if Sam Altman @sama has read Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep"?

Especially given cheery optimism in his recent post on how superintelligent AI will soon solve all our problems for us:
https://t.co/h6X7CYauir

See also my sig and: https://t.co/ToqJlstBXH

[Alfie Kohn @alfiekohn]

A researcher who discovered that the benefits of academically oriented pre-K classrooms quickly fade and even turn negative explains in simple language how that happens. Why a "scripted, academically focused curriculum" for young children makes no sense: https://t.co/m13RH3hmwH

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

UBI-related remote programming job for anyone interested: Full-Stack Software Engineer at AidKit https://t.co/MsUP9FJgV7 @AidKit_Tech

[Scott Santens @scottsantens]

Another day, another successful multi-year test of universal basic income. This time in Uganda:

"Simply transferring money to people living in poverty works. They then invest it in food, clean drinking water, education and a sustainable house with solar panels. These are the main findings of a study by the University of Groningen that examined an initiative by INclusion, which was the first Dutch NGO to launch a universal basic income project in Uganda in 2020."

"The universal basic income project started in August 2020 in the village of Welle, Uganda, in cooperation with the Ugandan NGO AFARD. The village then had 350 inhabitants, more than half of whom lived in extreme poverty. For the past three years, INclusion gave all the inhabitants of Welle - adults and children - 15 euros per month, without conditions."

As a result of the #UBI:

✅️extreme poverty has decreased from 55% to 10%

✅️food security increased significantly, as did access to clean drinking water

✅️elementary school participation increased from 70% to 87%

✅️there was 75% less dropout from work and school due to illness

✅️many residents built new, more sustainable homes

✅️residents also invested in land for agriculture

✅️the percentage of households owning cattle increased from 9% to 49%

✅️ownership of solar panels increased from 19% to 74%

"Given all these positive changes, it is not surprising that the residents also told the interviewers that their stress has greatly decreased - such as daily worries about food and medicine - and that they are now more optimistic about their future."

"The basic idea is that people living in poverty know best themselves what they need, and that they are also the most motivated to improve their own situation. That idea is confirmed by this project and other research on this topic. When you give people living in poverty the opportunity to improve their own living conditions, with a little help, they grab it with both hands."

We don't need any more tests. Some country just needs to be the first to actually do it.
https://t.co/uIEEu9VvFz

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

@raicoop Thinking on your mom yesterday and how I would have liked to tell her about this How to Process Emotions course by Emma McAdam: https://t.co/xDWnYZ99fd Explains the difference between short-term coping skills vs. emotion processing skills which help us thrive & be happy long-term

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

I also dedicated the "Health and Wellness" section of the High Performance Organizations Reading List to the memory of Robin Rochlin Cooperman: https://t.co/VIr7ylNlY6

[Paul D. Fernhout @pdfernhout]

A recent Slashdot comment I wrote on automation and related wealth inequality risks requiring new ways of thinking to achieve healthier happier societies: https://t.co/RhrnII1bFC #anwot #abundance #ubi