Artificial intelligence didn’t used to be the obvious answer to every problem, notes @emoss.bsky.social. But AI approaches have moved into domains such as medicine, criminal justice, materials science, e-commerce, and more. Why is this so?

New from me in @publicbooks.bsky.social ' Technology section: "Toward a Realpolitik of AI" reviews three excellent books by @bialski.bsky.social , @randomwalker.bsky.social and @sayash.bsky.social , and @garymarcus.bsky.social .

Economics

Such a necessary, timely, well-made argument that pulls focus back to where it should be: actual harms. But also, putting Bayesian thinking in its appropriate place by pointing out how using Bayesian statistics is good when you can ground your expectations in actual reality and bad when you cannot.

So if I understand this argument correctly, AI is inaccurate, insecure, and unaccountable. Therefore … the US military should build its own. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/o...