Over the past few years, AI has grown exponentially in use by the general public. ChatGPT is used by every student now; Google Gemini is the first thing that pops up when you search; and basically every social media platform is full of AI-generated images and videos. Understandably, this development has drawn significant backlash, with many concerned about the future implications of AI’s growing presence in our world. However, AI can be a powerful tool for good, and quite frankly, it is clearly here to stay. Many critics of AI oppose it due to environmental concerns. A particularly common claim is that AI uses up too much of our freshwater. AI actually accounts for a very small share of American water usage. In fact, its daily use in on-site data centers is dwarfed by bottled water consumption, and its total water use is small compared to that of golf courses, residential city use, and even peanut and bean farming. You would actually have to prompt Google Gemini around 1,500,000 times to consume as much water as just one hamburger. However, fearmongering videos about AI using up all our water get much more engagement than looking at the facts. AI has already begun to deliver immeasurable benefits to our society across fields such as medicine, technology, and defense. For instance, AI can reduce drug development time for pharmaceutical companies from 5 years to 18 months. The AI model Chief, developed by Harvard Medical School, has achieved a 94% accuracy in cancer detection and can predict tumor variations and patient survival. The Automated Driving System, known as Waymo, significantly outperforms the human driving population, with 88% fewer property damage claims and 92% fewer bodily injury claims. AI can bring about a much better future rather than the impending doom many fear. Of course, there are many concerns that AI is coming for our jobs. Only time will tell, but rather than rejecting the software that will shape the future, it is beneficial to make yourself familiar with it and use it as a tool alongside your own human thoughts. Rather than fearing AI as an unstoppable threat, society should focus on learning how to use it wisely, ensuring that this powerful technology becomes a tool that benefits humanity rather than something we unnecessarily resist. Acknowledgement: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author, not necessarily Our National Conversation as a whole.
By Alexia Silva
The Department of Justice recently announced charges against ISIS supporters, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, after they allegedly attempted to detonate two explosive devices within close proximity to Gracie Mansion, home to Mayor Mamdani. The incident arose on March 7, during a counter-protest of right-winger, Jake Lang’s anti-Islam protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer.” The situation quickly got out of hand, with the counter-protesters, referring to themselves as “Run Nazis Out of New York City,” being the ones to throw the bombs at Lang and his constituents. According to the FBI, the young Pennsylvanian men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS by attempting to detonate explosive devices in a crowd. This alleged act of terrorism included metal shrapnel being packed into the explosives. The first bomb was thrown towards Lang and his fellow protestors at 12:15 pm by Balat, but it did not detonate. Immediately after throwing the first device, Balat ran down the block and received the second explosive device from Kayumi. Once he ignited the second device, Balat dropped the explosive near several NYPD officers, which also did not ignite, and ran away, with the two being tackled and arrested by the police shortly after. Following their arrest, Balat stated to the NYPD officers, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet . . . We take action! We take action!” Additionally, he stated, “If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it.” While at the NYPD precinct, Balat wrote on a piece of paper the following: “All praise is due to Allah, lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar!” Kuffar is an Arabic term referring to non-believers, while “Die in your rage” is a slogan used by ISIS. The investigation remains ongoing and is being handled by the National Security and International Narcotics Unit for the Southern District of New York. Currently, the two have been charged with lighting a pair of improvised explosive devices, providing material support to ISIS, and face the potential of receiving terrorism charges. Some have commented on recent reports from CNN have spun the story to give the illusion that the anti-Islam protesters were the ones throwing the bombs. The outlet stated in a recent post: “Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day, enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather. But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim outside protest at Mayor Mamdani’s home.” After receiving significant online backlash for the deceptive phrasing of the attack, CNN had to take down its posts. Mamdani’s office stated that the situation was a “crusade against Islamification,” despite the attackers being ISIS sympathizers who made death threats to “kill Jake Lang” before the first bomb was thrown. Ultimately, Jake Lang’s argument that people who come from third-world countries with radical Islamic ideals are not compatible with Western culture was proven in his favor by the attack.
By Alexandra Miskewitz
Hegseth Iran Presser Cold Open – Saturday Night Live SNL portrays another Iran press conference, and this time Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth hit such diverse pop culture references as Papa Roach and Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid,” and his Jamaican accent, all while acting like a frat bro. During Q and A with the press corps, Hegseth shows off his chops as “White Hamilton” by rapping about his drinking. Pete gives some time to Ashley Padilla’s Kristi Noem, who describes her new office for Shield of the Americas as a WeWork outside of Denver, heavily implying that Trump is trying to exile her after her Homeland Security firing. Iran Boasts It Has Destroyed Hundreds Of US Missiles With Its Own Buildings – The Babylon Bee The Babylon Bee does its best to turn the perpetual carnage of the Iranian landscape into a joke by having Iran claim it is strategically destroying US missiles by having its buildings be hit by them. This joke is heightened when a regime spokesman brags about the “missing” missiles before strategically placing himself in front of one. And of course the navy isn’t sunk, it’s going underwater to avoid detection. Does Your Country Need A Regime Change? A Quiz – McSweeney’s In this very cleverly written piece for McSweeney’s (whether you agree with it or not), the author responds to the President’s claims that Iran needs a regime change by designing a neutral set of questions designed to test regime change necessity. As the questions unfold, it’s clear that while situations like a dictator naming things after himself and trying to create his own currency could apply to Iran, there are clear similarities to President Trump. The author makes this explicit with sublinks to other articles detailing Trump’s activities that could be loosely described as megalomaniacal. And then the article ends with the author saying, “If you answered yes to these questions, you should non-violently protest your leader.” A not very subtle call to action against the current President. Kristi Noem Reassigned To Scarecrow Role At USDA – The Onion The Onion captured the abrupt downfall of recently fired former DHS secretary Kristi Noem by now having her role reduced to being a scarecrow. The best joke was the White House having her gradually adjust to being a scarecrow by having her wear a giant burlap hat at Washington functions. And of course, even in satirical fiction, her new career as a scarecrow couldn’t end well, as she is fired due to a failure rate of crops. Kristi Noem Ponders New Role – The Humor Times In this satirical piece, President Trump praised the recently fired DHS secretary. “She did a good job, for a skirt.” Noem’s new post in the Shield of the Americas is described as being directly involved in shooting boats full of illegal immigrants and providing assault weapons to ICE. In a stark statement, Noem defends her new role, “I shot my own dog, I killed three Americans in Minneapolis, this job is baby stuff.” A very dark take on Noem’s DHS firing.
By Jason Luna
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