This post started as a response to Jen Reynolds’s comment about my Avatar Mediation post. It has grown into this new post about AI generally, growing anxiety about it and the state of the world, and how we can manage this anxiety. AI Risks . . . and Potential Benefits Jen wrote, “I hope that … Continue reading AI, ADR, and Anxiety
I have been reading the classic dystopian novel, 1984, which has eerie echoes in the present day. It is modeled on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany and “examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated,” according to the Wikipedia summary. It takes place in Oceania, … Continue reading 1984 in 2023
Black’s Law Dictionary definition of “smoking gun” could be Dominion Voting System’s brief supporting its motion for summary judgment against Fox “News.” Dominion’s argument is summed up in a Washington Post headline, “Fox News feared losing viewers by airing truth about election, documents show. ‘Everything at stake here,’ billionaire founder Rupert Murdoch wrote to a … Continue reading Fox’s Smoking Gun
Kevin McCarthy’s quest to become speaker of the House of Representatives is a master class in how not to negotiate. He became what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls “speaker in name only” after fifteen ballots over five days. Election of a speaker normally is a routine event, and this was the first time … Continue reading How Not to Negotiate
Heidi and Guy Burgess have long focused on how society – and our field – can deal with intractable conflicts. They publish a newsletter, Beyond Intractability, that includes lots of thoughtful articles about this. The latest issue features an article they co-authored with Sanda Kaufman, Applying Conflict Resolution Insights to the Hyper-Polarized, Society-Wide Conflicts Threatening … Continue reading How Can We Reduce Hyper-Polarization?
Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $392 billion of federal investments in energy and climate policies, reflects a complex political evolution over recent decades, as described in this Washington Post article. Multiple Political Changes The bill was adopted on a purely party-line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. … Continue reading A Long, Hard Road to “Yes”
Last week, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi completed an impressive campaign of negotiations to be elected speaker of the House of Representatives. This post provides an account of this campaign, synthesized from news accounts listed at the end. One of the articles described Ms. Pelosi’s approach as being like honey, compared with President Trump’s vinegar strategy. … Continue reading Case Study of Negotiations with Honey and Vinegar, Carrots and Sticks
GFOI Bernie Mayer has a wonderful blog, Staying with Conflict – the Election Edition 2016. Our political discourse is a far cry from what we learned in high school civics class. Past elections have displayed serious problems of misrepresentation, fearmongering, and evasion of serious discussion of critical issues. But it is so much worse this … Continue reading Bernie Mayer’s Great Blog – Staying with Conflict During this Crazy Election
