Dakota Beacon

What Will the Effect of AI be regarding Online Purchases?

I’ve been burned a few times recently by sophisticated e-mail scams and fake websites and there is much more to come in the future. Expect such activity to expand exponentially as hacking thieves have their way with the rest of us law abiding citizens. And expect any government intervention to penalize online businesses and customers alike while having little effect on criminals.

If you own or are thinking about investing in AI, buy at considerable risk. If you thought Bitcoin, Solyndra, Enron, Bernie Madoff, Climate Change, Global Warming, Global Cooling, the “Infrastructure” bill, the Unaffordable Care Act (Like your Plan… Keep your Plan), the flying car in the Jetsons, Al Gore’s carbon credits, Vice President Harris’ Border Solutions, Presidents Nixon’s and Biden’s “Peace with Honor in Vietnam and Afghanistan”, Vivek Ramaswamy’s  Inheritance Tax Plan, election rigging Zucker-Bucks, remote voting drop boxes, vote by mail, and thousands of other marketplace scams on American taxpayers foretold  a dicey future, wait until you see how quickly the combination of AI availability and Internet scams reduce Amazon and other online giants to a bankrupt relic of the past. Yes, AI will be the best thing ever for main street small businesses.

What about Driverless Trucks?

I visited Highland Valley Copper near Kamloops, British Columbia when they switched to “on the fly” shift changes in the late 1980s. Highland Valley announced on April 10, 2019, “There’s no shift changes, there’s no breaks – they just run.” Highland Valley Copper is private property and a “controlled environment”. In other words, no-one without the proper training on mine site safety practices can enter the property… especially the haul roads where the driverless trucks reign supreme.

Regarding driverless vehicles on Interstate Highways, only one question comes to mind… “How many pedestrians, bystanders, motorcyclists, compact car drivers, and others in the path of driverless vehicles will have to be maimed and die before state and federal governments decide that the death and mayhem on the highways, combined with the loss of jobs… must be stopped. The era of “Vehicles don’t kill People, Drivers kill People” will be replaced by “Vehicles and Drivers kill People.” If politicians continue to “go along to get re-elected”, they are doomed to be soundly beaten at the polls by “sensible and practical” replacements.

What about “Hands Free” vehicle driving?

You’ve seen the commercials on television. Our first reactions to anything new are always the most honest. What were your initial thoughts? How do you like the “automated braking” if you have it on your car? How do you like it if your brakes automatically pump themselves on ice? How do you like a myriad of computers on your car or truck?

Is AI the problem?

No, the problem is how quickly Walmart decided that you would rather check out and bag your own groceries… even if it meant the closing of stores due to cheating at the checkout on top of the shoplifting that preceded such cheating. Does Walmart give a rat’s behind about the loss of real jobs in major cities?

Ask yourself if Federal Express, UPS, and their competitors are planning to lobby congress with big bucks for driverless vehicles on our highways and streets. And whose interest do they have in mind when trying to influence lawmakers? I think you have the intellect to know or sense that selfishness is rampant and that only one-fourth of legislators are selfless (my experience tells me 1/6 of Ds and 1/3 of Rs are selfless, your experience may differ from mine).

What happened to Common Sense?

I believe “Common Sense” left when the Millennium (year 2000 for those of you in Rio Linda) arrived and congressional concern with budgets retreated; and we are about to experience what ultimately happens when politicians focus only, as always, on their re-election with little concern for the generations that arrive after they die. Fasten your seat belt… like a UND hockey game….… ”It’s Gonna be Rough!”

Love = Work + Courage