While workers worldwide ponder how AI might affect their livelihoods – a topic on the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week – that question is no longer hypothetical in the translation industry. Apps like Google Translate already reduced the need for human translators, and increased adoption of generative AI has only accelerated that trend.…
Madeline Cash reflects on her boomer mother’s use of ellipses. When I texted to thank her, she responded, ‘Enjoy . . .’ Why not Enjoy period or Enjoy exclamation point? Did she resent the gift? Are the treats poisoned? There’s an extensive online discourse on the Baby Boomer generation’s penchant for ellipses. ‘OK . . .’ ‘Thanks…
My auditory processing disorder makes it hard for me to process speech when I can’t see the speaker’s lips. My wife is being treated for an ear infection. We are asking each other “What?” after somebody coughs, after we ask each other “What did you say?” and after we answer each other “Never mind.” In…
The following comment appeared recently on one of my YouTube lectures, “Historical Context for American Literature.” American???? So where are: CANADA, MEXICO, GUATEMALA, CUBA, COSTA RICA, BRAZIL, CHILE ARGENTINA, PERÚ, COLOMBIA, PANAMÁ, URUGUAY, PARAGUAY, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, VENEZUELA… ETC ETC ETC. STOP SAYING THE UNITED STATES IS AMERICA! Here’s how I responded: Geography and names…
Clanker is a derogatory term used to insult AI and its products and services such as delivery robots, therapist chatbots and automated customer service. Why try to hurt the feelings of something that, oh wait, has no feelings? Like most slurs, it has more to do with the speaker using it than the object of…
Ever since DuoLingo announced it was pivoting away from human workers to AI, I’ve enjoyed my visits with the spunky little owl less and less. Today’s switch from the “hearts” system to “energy” was just too much. It used to be, you could keep doing lesson after lesson as long as you answered correctly…
Students say they appreciate AI’s ability to organize ideas and improve flow, but many also recognize that what comes out often feels “robotic,” emotionally flat, or uncanny in tone. Still, convenience almost always wins. Reflection is hard, and AI makes things easy. I don’t fault students for wanting help. Writing about your life, especially the…
A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that the government…
Here’s my letter responding to an recent article about the future of the student newspaper I advised for over two decades. A pause. The Seton Hill University student paper is on what my English department colleagues described in a recent email as “indefinite hiatus.” At the time, we didn’t know for how long. I was…
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“If you and your partner regularly use these phrases, it’s a sign that you’re already a mentally strong couple,” (psychotherapist Amy Morin) says. “And if you don’t yet, you can start implementing them and find that you’ll grow stronger both individually and as a unit.” —MSN “I’m going to tell you something that may be…
When I went off to college to be an English major, my father (who passed last December at 90) told me a story about how his respected professor at Northwestern University spent a whole lecture on the seven levels of symbolism in Melville’s Moby-Dick. Being of an analytical mind and precise mind, my father copied…
Two years after the release of ChatGPT, it may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission to power AI products. Yet the notion remains disturbing to many artists and professionals who feel that their craft and livelihoods are threatened by programs. Transparency is generally low: Tech companies tend not to advertise whose…
Yes, Duolingo is free and I’ve learned a lot. No, I don’t like the psychological manipulation. I’m still using it but I changed my user name. Similar:How Exactly Do You Catch Covid-19? There Is a Growing ConsensusFrom the Wall Street Journal: At a Marc…CultureLiaisons (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 2) Picard is Marooned with…
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What is this? I do not like this change, @duolingo (For some reason I can’t practice to recover from an error.) Similar:Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: 'You'll grow stronger both…”If you and your partner regularly use t…CultureThinking about physical therapy and cheerful, chatty older gents…I feel like I’m living in a…
How can you tell if a space alien is a friend or an enemy? One spaceman has that decision to make in Tom Godwin’s “Cry from a Far Planet.” Listen to Dennis Jerz read the science fiction classic to discover the answer. Similar:For the record, if I should happen to be murdered by someone with…
Dr. David von Schlichten honors the spectrum of motivations (not always financial) featured during Seton Hill‘s “Celebration of Scholarship.” Similar:Google: "how can u" vs. "how can an individual" is not really about grammar Yes, I got a chuckle over this, but …Culture6 Problems with our School SystemI spend a lot of time re-educating my st…AcademiaU.S.…
Gotta love how this reporter worked the spelling variations into the story. Meet Ben F orgers (we wish we were making this up). The founder of the accounting firm hired by Donald Trump’s social media group has used 14 variations of his name in filings with the industry regulator, far more than any other US…
Spring and Fall Gerard Manley Hopkins [to a young child] Márgarét, áre you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving? Leáves like the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? Ah! ás the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By and by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of…