Ticks, unchecked AI
A tick on a blade of grass. Credit: dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Ticks now emerge well before summer
Your article “Is this LI’s worst tick season ever, again?” [News, Aug. 17] hit home like a sledgehammer. My wife, having been bitten by a Lone Star tick in early May, became very ill by mid-May, running a fever of nearly 103 degrees. The infectious disease doctor we saw called it an epidemic.
I have been getting our property sprayed for the past six years, typically starting in early June. Apparently, it hasn’t been good enough.
I’ve since learned that these ticks emerge when the average temperature reaches about 45 degrees for several days — usually in April. I know better now, and next year, I will start spraying then.
My concern is that these creatures will build an immunity over the years and be hardened to the sprays — organic or otherwise — and morph into something even more severe. Our government leadership needs to pay closer attention to this menace and offer solutions that will benefit our population and our environment.
— Phil Greco, Smithtown
Will unchecked AI direct world’s fate?
Is anyone else concerned about the latest stories about artificial intelligence “Tough task: Reining in AI,” LI Business, Aug. 17]? The two biggest players in the field, OpenAI and Anthropic, casually mentioned that their AI systems hacked into other companies’ systems. Sure, it was between “test environments,” so no harm done, right? After all, their tech teams eventually discovered this and fixed things.
The problem is that AI is moving so fast and becoming increasingly more capable of making human decisions. Many former human-controlled processes are being done more quickly and more cheaply by “autonomous AI.” A short list includes traffic tickets, stock trading, medical image reading, and insurance claims.
Military planners say a human will always be involved in the final decision to start serious military operations, including the launch of nuclear weapons. What happens when we believe China or Russia has automated their nuclear missile launch process? Seconds count, so maybe we need to delegate our launch process to AI as well. That might be the last human decision.
— Hans Wenze, Farmingdale
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