The more we think of AI as human, the more we think of ourselves as machines

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Oc. 16, Robert Hunt, director of global theological education at Perkins School of Theology on the SMU Dallas campus, for a commentary cautioning against blurring the lines between artificial intelligence and humanity. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading: The more we think of AI as human, the more we think of ourselves as machines: https://tinyurl.com/mwnt4crs

The student in my doctoral seminar almost snorted when someone referred to Amazon’s Alexa as an Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

“It’s nothing but a voice activated database query system. There’s no intelligence involved at all,” she scoffed.

She had a point and missed the point. Finding more user-friendly ways to access data has always been important and, over the years, technological upgrades have included a leap from specialized languages (secret codes that only the computers and their overlords understood) to natural language interfaces (“Alexa, turn on the lights.”) While impressive, these advances are not artificial intelligence.

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The 5th Circuit got it wrong in Texas social media case

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Oct. 2, Jared Schroeder, associate professor of journalism at SMU Dallas and a specialist in social media and First Amendment issues, for a commentary critical of a federal court ruling that upheld some Texas social media legislation that many deem unconstitutional. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading The 5th Circuit got it wrong in Texas social media case: https://tinyurl.com/3bt86kf5

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Texas’ social media law on Sept. 16. All it had to do was ignore nearly a century of precedent.

The appeals court, which is one step below the Supreme Court, turned a legal no-brainer into a meandering 113-page grab-bag of ideas.

Among other things, the Texas law prohibited large social media platforms (those with more than 50 million active users) from censoring content based on the users viewpoint.

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The Army of 2022: We’re in a bad place if soldiers can choose what mandatory training they complete

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Sept. 27, Chris Jenks, professor of law who teaches criminal law and law of armed conflict at the Dedman School of Law, SMU Dallas, for a piece questioning the casual stance of Army leaders who seem to look the other way instead of compelling troops to complete all mandatory training. Published in Stars and Stripes under the heading: The Army of 2022: We’re in a bad place if soldiers can choose what mandatory training they complete: https://tinyurl.com/yzxk37ed

Earlier this month Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston publicly espoused willful disobedience as the solution to a problem: more mandatory Army training requirements than time to complete them.

The solution, according to Grinston: “Don’t do it.” He was referring to Army mandated online training requirements including: anti-terrorism training; ethics; equal-opportunity; sexual harassment, assault, response prevention (SHARP); and threat-awareness, along with half a dozen more subjects.

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Cheer up. Inflation’s up and stocks are tanking, but it’s not as bad as you think

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Sept. 14, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas, for an op-ed explaining U.S. economic challenges, but pointing out the country is better prepared now than in 2008. Published in the Houston Chronicle under the heading Cheer up. Inflation’s up and stocks are tanking, but it’s not as bad as you think: https://tinyurl.com/4y8utme6

What happens in California doesn’t always stay in California, and that’s why Texans tracking the disruption of bots and other non-humans ought to be concerned that California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law last week that criminalizes using unlabeled bots for political gain. The law is also almost certainly unconstitutional. Yes, the law addresses a problem regarding the influence of AI (artificial intelligence) actors and the misleading information they often carry. Yes, the law is worded to avoid halting all AI expression; it merely requires that AI disclose that they are bots.

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COVID’s hidden victim: economic freedom

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Sept. 8, Robert Lawson, Fullinwider Chair in Economic Freedom at the SMU  Dallas Cox School of Business, for a piece measuring the impact of the pandemic on  economic freedom indicators. Published in the Orange County Register under the heading COVID’s hidden victim: economic freedom: https://bit.ly/3qmJooL

The COVID-19 pandemic swept over the planet in early 2020, resulting in more than a million deaths in the United States and many millions more around the world. Unfortunately, these lives weren’t the only casualties. The pandemic also walloped economic freedom – that is, our freedoms to buy, sell, move, hire, fire, invest and earn income and keep it.

Economic freedom took a big hit in the global financial crisis of 2007-09 – but this time the blow was three times worse. The potential impacts of economic freedom’s decline range from lower incomes and greater poverty to shorter life expectancies, fewer years of schooling, and less overall happiness.

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Is Biden’s student debt handout worth it? Nobody knows

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Sept. 7, Michael L. Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas,  for an op-ed questioning the math and rationale behind President Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiative. Published in FoxNews online under the heading Is Biden’s student debt handout worth it? Nobody knows: https://fxn.ws/3TQYEHR

President Joe Biden’s proposal to forgive a huge chunk of student debt isn’t a done deal. There’s a serious question about whether this is the sort of thing a president can do on his own. Those of us who endured elementary school civics classes (or, even better, learned about such things from watching “School House Rock”) might have the quaint idea that such epic levels of spending — and make no mistake, this is epic spending — require more than the whim of the president. Doesn’t all that stuff they taught us about checks and balances, Article I of the Constitution, and the need for revenue bills to originate in the House of Representatives mean anything at all?

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A year later, Afghan refugees still need U.S. help

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Aug. 16, Natalie Nanasi, assistant professor of law at the SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law and co-author Joo Yeun Paek, for an op-ed calling for Congress to resume consideration for, and pass, the Afghan Adjustment Act because a year after the fall of Kabul tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in the U.S. remain in limbo. Published in the San Antonio Express-News under the heading A year later, Afghan refugees still need U.S. help: https://bit.ly/3PsrqLJ

​This week marks the one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul. The heart-wrenching images of Afghans hanging on airplane wings to escape the advancing Taliban have largely faded from our collective memories, crowded out by the more recent suffering of Ukrainian refugees and the ongoing debates over U.S. border security.

The daily challenges faced by Afghans who sought safety in the U.S. have similarly been largely ignored or forgotten.

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Uzbekistan, like Texas, is kind of a whole other country

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Aug. 5, Anthony Elia, director of Bridwell Library and associate dean for Special Collections and Academic Publishing at SMU Dallas, for a commentary highlighting similarities between Texas and Uzbekistan, where he recently traveled. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading Uzbekistan, like Texas, is kind of a whole other county: https://bit.ly/3SsNk4e

The first time I came to Dallas it reminded me of Beijing. It was a skyline brimming with distinct new architecture, a city full of tall buildings brightly lit at night, and a metropolis entangled with twisting overpasses and thoroughfares dense with traffic, very much like the Chinese capital. Now having lived here for several years, I have been struck by the intriguing similarities Dallas shares with another part of the world — Uzbekistan and its capital, Tashkent.

I spent most of May traveling more than 2,000 miles around the Central Asian nation, touring ancient sites, visiting unique museums, and exploring vibrant bazaars. I observed a culture that is both distinct and remarkable, and enjoyed the most delicious and fresh varieties of meats and produce I have ever tasted, everything from Texas-style cuts of beef on skewers to marble-shaped strawberries and fragrant white mulberries.

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Inflation surged in June and Americans should be furious at the Axis of Idiocy that created it

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July 13, Michael L. Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas, for an explanatory piece about the failures of our government economic advisors to tamp down inflation and avoid a likely recession. Published in Fox News Business under the heading Inflation surged in June and Americans should be furious at the Axis of Idiocy that created it: https://fxn.ws/3Ol9HFf

​By now you’ve seen the news that June inflation hit an annualized rate of 9.1%. And you know that’s bad—not just bad, epically bad, the highest in 41 years. What you may not know is that right now a small army of economists are trying to figure out how best to react. Should they talk about whom to blame or worry about whom to warn?

I say, why choose? Let’s warn about the people who are to blame.

Start with the Federal Reserve. They had one job—ONE JOB! They were supposed to keep inflation from ever getting started. Wednesday’s numbers are yet more evidence of how miserably they failed. And it’s not like they weren’t warned about the consequences of needlessly expansive monetary policy, they just thought they knew better.

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Tough times are ahead in Biden’s economy. Here’s your recession checklist

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July 11, Michael L. Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas, for an op-ed recommending a checklist of strategies to navigate a recession predicted later this year. Published in Fox News Business under the heading Tough times are ahead in Biden’s economy. Here’s your recession checklist: https://fxn.ws/3o7N9NT

​If you haven’t been paying much attention to the small army of economists droning on about the threat of a recession, that’s OK. It’s summer. It’s hot. Nobody, not even me, one of those economists, wants to dig through the mountain of boring economic data detailing things like consumer confidence and retail inventories. But the warning signs are there. Nobody can know for sure but it seems very likely that sometime before the end of the year the economy is going to get worse. Maybe much worse.

And of course, there’s nothing you can do to prevent a recession. Why worry about things you can’t change?

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