Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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With the rapid rise in internet use among children, the dangers of online exploitation have grown alarmingly. Children’s access to the internet has become nearly ubiquitous, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote learning, online gaming, and social media are now integral to daily life, meaning more children, even preschool-age children, are regularly online, often unsupervised and unprotected. This new reality demands that we consider not only physical safety for our children, but also the dangers they are facing online. The S...
Artificial Intelligence or A.I. has gone from science fiction to a reality. This technology continues to evolve and find new applications in the world, including the world of medicine. With any new advancement, there are pros and cons to be considered when implementing it into regular use, especially in medicine. In 2023 the Journal of Medical Internet Research published an article where they had ChatGPT take two of the three USMLE exams. Step 1 is taken by third-year medical students and all...
Online learning seems new, but it’s older than you think. The field’s predecessor, distance education, can be traced back centuries. From Sir Isaac Pitman, who taught shorthand by correspondence in 1840, to lectures broadcast on the radio in the early 1920s, all the way through to the early 1990s when colleges and universities took advantage of the newly minted World Wide Web and began to offer online education programs, it has evolved alongside technological advances. In those early days of the internet, online learning was an adjustment for...
Several items I cherish most in life are found in a recipe box atop the refrigerator. The other, tucked away in my office in the file cabinet. The items have two common threads. They are handwritten in cursive by Grandma Larson and my parents. Dad’s and Grandma’s pieces have similar attributes: precise penmanship, straight strokes, perfect loops. Mom’s handwriting is a bit more fanciful, letters strung together with sweeping lines, curlicues highlighting each capital letter. If I ask any of my...
What does it mean to be authentic? Credible. Trustworthy. Real. Genuine. These synonyms for the 2023 word of the year, as selected by the folks at Merriam-Webster, make an important statement about the times in which we live. In an interview with the Associated Press, editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski said searches on the dictionary’s website for the definition of “authentic” are normally high. But in 2023, Sokolowski reported searches were “boosted to new heights.” “We see in 2023 a kind of cris...
Researchers are investigating how artificial intelligence can help improve Nebraska crops. Although AI has become a popular new topic for many, researchers have been discussing, for several years, the ways this technology may help the future of farming. Unlike what most people mean when they talk about using generative Large Language AI models like ChatGPT, Michael Tross, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln complex biosystems graduate student, said researchers are using AI to generate more than...
Technocrats are voicing concern about the safety of artificial intelligence. Should we let them take charge of figuring out how to regulate it? Alarmism in online articles generates sensational news and keeps the marketing machine running. The more hype, the more clicks, the more visits, the more money. Unfortunately, online news surrounding artificial intelligence has not been spared by this trend. Artificial intelligence refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that would typically...
Last week’s column focused on optimism. I figured it was appropriate as we were ready to open a new chapter for the new year. The column included examples of how optimism leads to improved mental and physical health. It focused on the “glass half full” mindset, which translates to positive thinking. It even included a quote from Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” I believe in every single word and idea in that column. But ... I did not write it. I “suggested” it. Last week’s column was an ex...
