Rick Rosner talks about James Comey's cryptic "86 47" tweet sparked backlash, with critics accusing him of inciting violence against Trump. Experts argue the phrase more likely implies political rejection. The controversy echoes past misjudgments by Comey and others, as media attention shifts from substantive issues like Republican tax proposals.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner explore Iran’s uranium enrichment, nuclear weapons technology, Cold War infrastructure, and the precarious nature of deterrence. The discussion connects historical context, personal experience, and AI ethics with the global risks of nuclear ambiguity, accidental or deliberate launch, and destabilizing power shifts in future governance.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How can you construct feelings into robots if that can be done? Rick Rosner: Well, an editorial in the LA Times this morning asked, "Are you going to be mean to your phone when it has emotions?" It suggested that phones might have emotions within the next 10 years. That's plausible. I forget exactly …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1240: Constructs with Contructed Feelings
Rick Rosner: Let's talk about jewelry for a moment. In the realm of gold-coated pieces, quality varies widely based on how thick the gold layer is. For instance, a gold wash is the lowest-quality coating—if you buy a piece of jewelry with just a gold wash, that layer will wear off within a decade or …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Are American billionaires and political elites becoming more odious or less odious? Rick Rosner: It depends on your time frame. For one thing, we didn't always have billionaires. But if you're talking about the top one-hundredth of one percent of Americans, your time frame is a century, 50 years, or even 70 …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1238: The Odious Gilded Age with Electric Cars and Nike Sneakers
Rick Rosner: Also, it would help if you got into interviewing more high-profile celebrities—, the People Magazine type. You've already done thousands of interviews with hundreds of people. Have you ever counted how many people you've interviewed? It's probably at least 500. It would help if you interviewed some big-name celebrities because it's fun, and …
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Any homework related to generating great topics is fine. You had an idea involving “apple carts.” What do you mean by “apple carts” here? Rick Rosner: Well, there is a range of opinions about AI—some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. Those on the pessimistic side are sometimes called “doomers” because they think …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1214: Apple Carts and AI Coaxing Humanity’s Wills
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: A few days ago, Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealth Group (the parent company of UnitedHealthcare), was fatally shot in New York City. Reports suggest the shooter took a bus to the city and waited for 10 days, apparently targeting Thompson, who was there to speak at an investors' conference. Rick …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1213: The Murder of Brian Thompson
Rick Rosner: Fox News named Trump "Patriot of the Year" tonight at some ceremony. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Is that what they call it? Like their annual version of Time's "Person of the Year"? Rosner: I don't think it's an award that has existed before—unless I'm wrong. Cynical people on Twitter are saying this is just …
Continue reading Ask A Genius 1212: Patriot of the Year Latitude
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How do you feel about the Trump situation coming up in a month? Rick Rosner: Carole is more nervous than I am, but, you know, there are reasons for both optimism and pessimism. On one hand, most Americans oppose many of his policy goals. On the other hand, many Americans aren't paying …
Rick Rosner 