Author: rickrosnerorg

Ask A Genius 1537: U.S. Supreme Court Conversion Therapy Debate and AI Energy Demand

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Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors faces a U.S. Supreme Court challenge framed as free-speech, raising tensions between professional standards and religious pseudoscience. Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner argue evidence, ethics, and patient protection should prevail over rights claims. They compare outlawing a dangerous, ineffective “therapy” to banning lessons in flying. In parallel, U.S. power demand is projected to hit new records as AI, cryptocurrency, and electrification expand, potentially eroding emissions gains unless clean generation, storage, and efficiency scale quickly. The pair endorse science-based policy, guardrails on harmful practices, and pragmatic energy planning to align liberty with wellbeing.

Ask A Genius 1536: AI Ethics, Grigori Perelman, and Storytelling

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In this dialogue, Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner explore a wide range of topics, from Robin Williams’s daughter objecting to AI-generated clips of her late father, to Rosner’s discomfort at being compared to mathematician Grigori Perelman. The conversation touches on ethics, memory, self-presentation, and cultural sensitivity in an age of artificial media. Rosner expands into personal reflections, weaving in anecdotes about his family life in Albuquerque and speculative narratives about Los Angeles in the 1970s. The exchange highlights the tensions between authenticity and fabrication, personal identity and public image, while underscoring the importance of storytelling in shaping perception.

Ask A Genius 1535: Future Politics, Digital Avatars, and Global Flashpoints

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Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner explore a spectrum of future-shaping issues, from AI-driven cultural policies to the politics of international crises. Rosner imagines “Single Avatar Policies” (SAPs) regulating digital replicas of dead celebrities, tightly controlled to prevent brand dilution and protect jobs. Jacobsen turns the conversation toward global flashpoints: Russia’s drone war against Ukraine and NATO’s cautious responses, Sanae Takaichi’s rise in Japan as its first potential female prime minister, and North Korea’s military buildup. Domestically, they discuss U.S. shutdown politics, Trump’s controversial tactics, civil rights violations, and the economics of California’s refineries. Together, the dialogue maps the areas where technology, politics, and society intersect.

Ask A Genius 1534: Sean “Diddy” Combs Sentenced, Nicholas Roske Plot, and Trump’s Coin Controversy

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Rick Rosner parcels Alien Earth into ten-minute rations, landing on the six children uploaded into super-strong synthetic adults. He doubts the show’s glossy mind-transfer fidelity by 2120, noting Nibs’s PTSD and delusional pregnancy after the Eye Midge attack. The Peter Pan naming frames ageless “Lost Boys,” adding textured worldbuilding; quirkiness matters. Alien Earth’s Maginot ship evokes the Maginot Line—impressive yet fatally bypassable. Rosner contrasts this care with Altered Carbon’s one-trick future. He then pivots to politics: a recent appeals-court blow to broad tariffs may temper inflation and reshape 2026 incentives, potentially sparing Republicans pain that higher prices could have delivered.

Ask A Genius 1533: American Politics in Crisis, Accountability, Shutdowns, and Social Backlash

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Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner discuss the troubling state of American politics, highlighting impunity among leaders, the government shutdown’s threat to 6.7 million reliant on WIC, and the dangers of stochastic terrorism fueled by propaganda. They examine the sentencing of Elizabeth Wolfe for a racially motivated attack on a Palestinian-American child, Apple’s removal of ICE-tracking apps, and economic instability with job reports now relying on private firms like ADP. Positive news includes FDA approval of a generic mifepristone, though legal challenges loom. Broader concerns include U.S. plans to defund international diversity initiatives, reflecting deep cultural and political regression.

Ask A Genius 1532: AI Slop, MLB Chaos, and Trump-Era Shocks

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A lively dialogue between Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner explores AI slop economics, the probability-heavy chaos of MLB playoffs, and the political weather under Trump: shutdown brinkmanship, tariffs, and their impact on farmers. The conversation flags weak Hatch Act enforcement and a heavy-handed higher-ed memo, then pivots to culture with Nirvana's Nevermind lawsuit. Security-state instincts surface via Pentagon polygraphs and NDAs, before a reality check on military promotions and expertise. Across topics, the throughline is randomness meeting power: how small samples, blunt policies, and culture-war theatrics distort outcomes while institutions struggle to identify, reward, and protect genuine competence. The stakes are public trust, policy, and fairness.

Ask A Genius 1531: U.S. Government Shutdown Sparks Economic and Political Chaos

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The U.S. government is entering its 15th shutdown since 1981, halting economic reports, slowing air travel, and suspending scientific research. Rick Rosner argues Republicans welcome the shutdown as leverage for Trump to weaken government institutions, while Democrats hope it erodes Trump’s approval. The shutdown threatens jobs, federal paychecks, and market stability, with echoes of the costly 2018–2019 shutdown. Broader chaos looms as Trump pushes extreme policies, including mass firings, new tariffs, and confrontations with universities. Critics warn these maneuvers risk U.S. credit ratings, economic growth, and institutional trust, amplifying dysfunction unseen since the Civil War era.

Ask A Genius 1530: AI Hype vs Reality: Efficiency and Externalities

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Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner examine AI’s hype cycle and trajectory. Building on Cory Doctorow’s skepticism, they agree short-term disappointment is likely while acknowledging domains where machines surpass humans. They debate consolidation of AI firms, sunk costs, and the environmental and privacy externalities of massive compute. Rosner’s Packard analogy frames current systems as brute force; future efficiency may reshape economics or plateau. They contrast adoption with value, noting smoking and fads, and caution against simplistic energy comparisons. Chess wins and 20-watt brains illustrate capability versus cost. The pair end on emergence: human priorities are messy; AI may inherit them.

Ask A Genius 1529: Is “Alien: Earth”’s Wendy a Mary Sue?

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Rick Rosner critiques Alien: Earth through the lens of classic science fiction tropes. He sees Wendy, the hybrid lead portrayed by Sydney Chandler, as fitting the “Mary Sue” archetype: overly competent, with few visible flaws, much like Ripley in Alien (1979) but with heightened powers. He contrasts this with films like The Long Kiss Goodnight, which justify character abilities within the story. Rosner also highlights the “idiot ball” trope—characters making foolish choices to advance the plot—common in Alien films. His larger point: science fiction demands knowledge of its tropes to avoid lazy storytelling, as with time travel clichés.

Ask A Genius 1528: Alien, Neverland Finale—Eye, Umbrella Killer & AI Crash

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Rick Rosner tells Scott Douglas Jacobsen the Eye—T. ocellus—reanimated Arthur’s corpse, Boy Kavalier is imprisoned, hybrids hold Neverland, and Xenomorphs heed Wendy. Weyland-Yutani moves to seize specimens. A melon-umbrella plant, tentatively D. plumbicare (Species 37), kills by dropping a canopy and consuming victims. Season two likely escalates island conflict. Rosner rates the eight episodes solid, canon-respecting, with design echoes of Alien and Aliens. They pivot to AI: citing Cory Doctorow, Rosner predicts an investment crash; Jacobsen counters with near-term utility and warns about emergent agency. Both agree LLMs aid tasks but are not replacements in medicine or counseling. just yet.