Donald Trump, our founders and God
As we approach America’s 250th birthday, I believe the founders of our great country had a lot in common with 47.President Donald Trump and our founders were men of vision and courage. They put it all on the line for this country, including their futures and their very lives.
Trump’s story is one of entrepreneurship. His father left him a small real estate business building homes for low to moderate income people. Against his father’s wishes, he went into the corporate market building some of the greatest buildings in the world. He took it a step further. Most great entrepreneurs are content to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Trump knew that our great country had been in decline for years and decided to do something about it.
Some of you may recall that when Trump was hit with an assassin’s bullet, I sent a letter to the Detroit Free Press, which they published, saying that God saved Trump on that fateful day. I don’t think our Founding Fathers could have created what would become the greatest country on earth or Donald Trump could have overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds to save our country from the brink, without God’s help.
Happy 80th birthday, Mr. President.
Patrick Gilligan
Sterling Heights
A simple solution to an ongoing problem
I have a simple solution to the Gordie Howe Bridge opening impasse: Simply rename it the Donald J. Trump Bridge. At least until the midterm elections, in November.
Philip Christie
Belmont
AI development is moving too fast
In response to last week’s letter writer from Saint Johns, who boldly believes in the promise of AI, all I have to say is that as a society we, the people, have the power to advance or proceed, at a speed of our own choosing, any technology that we feel is a benefit for the greater good.
If you ask me, the big tech CEOs like Sam Altman and Clay Magouyrk are nothing more than modern day snake oil salesmen who make bold promises as if AI will cure all ails. They stand to gain a tremendous amount of wealth so long as we all commit to taking a leap of faith with them. They are asking us to give up vast tracts of land, air and water to advance unproven technology.
The writer himself acknowledges tech-executive hyperbole.
It would be wise to consider advancing AI from a cost-benefit analysis. According to the Associated Press, “the environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world’s largest countries.” When discussing the environmental impact of AI, we cannot continue to dismiss the real-world consequences with phrases like “alarmism” or “fearmongering.” It is prudent to consider the impact new technology will have on a world that our children and grandchildren will inherit long after we have gone. We cannot put the genie back in the bottle.
If there is a benefit that outweighs the environmental impact, I don’t see it. The fact that it’s more often making the headlines because the president is up late at night using it to create unhinged machinations does not support your position very well.
Although it may be true that AI can do large computations to unlock medical research, it is most likely being used by college students to cheat on writing their term papers.
We already have the internet. If I want to know something I can look it up. I can refer to reliable news or information sources; I can write and compose my own thoughts. I can form my own opinions. I don’t need a device to think for me.
AI should be brought to scale in a much slower and more responsible manner.
Bearing in mind there are real world costs such as the loss of jobs that could occur, the lives and reputations ruined by so called deepfake videos, the impact it could have on our democracy if used in a nefarious manner by political bad actors, the spread of disinformation, its use by the military industrial complex as a weapon of mass destruction and the continued degradation of the planet to consider, it is prudent to proceed with caution.
Slow down, stop forcing it upon us. The verdict is still out on how revolutionary AI will be but as inventions go, it looks more likely to be a global sized vape pen and less like Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press.
Eddie Dee
Novi
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump has a lot in common with our Founding Fathers | Letters
Reporting by Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
