Dear Subscriber,
TGIF! Hope you’ll have a great weekend.
As most of you know, I’ve been testing and “playing with” the new ChatGPT4openAI software for writers. Although it proves to be an excellent resource at one’s fingertips for quick searches and information, there are serious flaws for authors (like me) who want accuracy and truth about history and the current political and science forces (you can’t separate the two) at work in our society.
What’s very strange about the onslaught of A.I. is that it’s very anti-political in nature. It refuses to give any knowledge about U.S. politicians and what they believe and/or represent. The programmers at ChatGPT4openAI, for example, have no database evidence of Donald J. Trump’s belief in superior genes, even though he is on the record stating it hundreds of times.
The program of A.I. also has the incorrect definition of “eugenics.” It doesn’t reflect the definition of it given by it’s creator, Francis Galton, who appears in my third Portia of the Pacific mystery:
Does eugenics mean well born or good genes?
Eugenics in the United States
In 1883, Sir Francis Galton first used the word “eugenics” to describe scientifically, the biological improvement of genes in human races and the concept of being “well-born”. He also mentioned the “breeding” concept, using racehorses as an analogy.
And yet, the present knowledge base of A.I. has no record of Donald Trump telling the public about his belief in “good genes” and “good breeding” from heredity being the sole determinant of genius and better physical health?
In addition, my current serial Auschwitz Dancer hinges upon the false belief called “Racial Science” by the Nazis in World War 2. The connection to present science is there also.There are groups that support the concept of “genetic engineering” being a very valid method of creating a superior breed of human. There are also countries that claim they have already used Crspr and other technologies to eliminate abnormalities that can be traced to the human gnome.
So, our future of accepting A.I. as the method of reflecting what people actually say is quite suspect and politicized.
Not only this, but fiction publications are already screening out most fiction that covers anything politically or historically controversial. In Florida, it’s even more blatant, with Governor Ron DeSantis using his powers to censor science and other books that are controversial or unacceptable to his political agenda, even if they are true. Librarians, who support my own controversial fiction 100% and also distribute it and sell it, are suing Governor DeSantis over this issue of Free Speech and Access to controversial publications that disagree with the governor’s political agenda.
So, the CEO of ChatGPTopenAI, Sam Altman, tried to appeal to Congress to regulate this conundrum of political favoritism, which is probably why his program won’t give any evidence of a specific politician’s beliefs (like Trump’s belief in genetic superiority), even though there are recordings of Trump’s own words out there for the public to see and hear already.
This is very ironic, as most of these politicians not only don’t understand how A.I. works, but they don’t understand science. Of course, true scientists have known this for generations, especially guys like Dr. Carl Sagan, whom I met while working at Caltech.
Take, for example, politicians and their ignorance of Climate Science, which is one of the simplest to define environmental dangers we face. There are 139 present elected members of Congress who deny that “human-caused climate change” actually exists, despite the world-wide scientific consensus. No matter how much science may scream bloody murder, these folks have deaf ears. I, for one, have a litmus test for anybody I choose to vote for: they must believe in worldwide Climate Science.
Speaking of Climate Science and the Environment, I wrote a Civil War historical novel called Iron Maiden, an Alternate History that’s based partly on the science of Dr. Jared Diamond of U.C.L.A. in his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. As with virtually all of my fiction, I pose historical truths that relate directly to what we’re experiencing today. In other words, if we study the problems of yesterday, we can determine possible solutions for those of today, despite those authoritarians who want to change and/or (in the case of communists and other totalitarians) erase the negative mistakes of history.
Please take care of yourselves, keep fighting the good fight, and protect our libraries from censorship and decay.
James Musgrave
EMRE Publishing, San Diego
