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Adam and Jeff welcome a good friend of the Omaha Bugle, Chris Eddy, back to the program, for an unprecedented third appearance--an honor that would typically be reserved for presidents, kings and deep-pocket program sponsors. Chris provides Adam and Jeff with an update of his campaign to win the 25th Congressional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In particular, he talks about his recent win of the GOP nomination and his upcoming electoral battle with his Democratic opponent. Chris discusses the importance of bringing common sense to Washington, D.C., and reports that inflation and immigration are the two biggest issues cited by most of the thousands of voters with whom he has spoken. He also talks about the uneasiness that many voters have about the inability of the federal government to control its morbidly obese spending programs. Of particular concern is the fact that mandatory social programs and interest on the debt will swallow up almost the entire budget if things do not change in the next two decades--leaving nothing for defense, education or any other worthy discretionary programs such as possible broadcasting subsidies for the Mandarin version of the Omaha Bugle podcast.

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The third and final installment of the epic discussion of artificial intelligence by Adam and Jeff marks yet another towering contribution to the intellectual legacy of Western civilization. Adam points out that artificial intelligence has merely accelerated the trend toward greater technical sophistication while increasing the vulnerabilities of nearly every aspect of modern society. Jeff argues that our computerized world is increasingly vulnerable to unauthorized users who are able to inflict massive damage to databases and electronic systems alike. The fact that an electric power grid could be disabled by high-school aged hackers playing hooky is a scary thought, especially when you consider how quickly society degenerates into a sort of moldy, dusty preindustrial abyss when the power gets shut off for a few days. On a brighter note, Adam points out that hacking the power system will not affect his ability to shoot looters with his guns. The fact that people create algorithms which arguably enable machines to think in ways not originally contemplated by the programmers is of great concern but Jeff is not optimistic that global leaders can agree to a set of binding principles to restrain the malevolent aspects of AI--especially when everyone assumes the worst motives of their adversaries.

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In their continuing efforts to point out that artificial intelligence has nothing to do with preservatives and food dyes, Adam and Jeff continue their discussion regarding various issues posed by recent advances in the field. Certainly they are both keenly aware of the fact that AI has helped to create a self-generating surveillance state in which everyone with a phone can collect photos and data and essentially provide enormous amounts of information to virtually anyone who might wish to access that information--whether for good or evil. As far as the ability of AI to offer predictive algorithms as to when future crimes will occur, Jeff suggests that we already have a pretty good idea where we want to focus our policing efforts based upon where most crimes have occurred in the past. Adam and Jeff are also both concerned about the lack of privacy and the fact that any conversation overheard by a cellphone usually brings about a torrent of advertisements for products that might have been referenced in that particular conversation. Jeff is quite adamant that he does not want to have a virtual assistant such as Alexa in his household as he already has too many people telling him what to do. Adam and Jeff also wonder about complaints that AI could be biased because most of the scientists in the field are male and from leading developed nations. Jeff's best suggestion is that everyone learn English as a universal language for commerce and science so that they are not excluded from advances in AI. Finally, Adam brings up Asimov's three laws of robotics which basically were designed to prevent humans from being strangled by sentient robots while they slept.

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Never reluctant to showcase their artificial intelligence about matters of culture and politics at fancy cocktail parties, Adam and Jeff consider some of the pressing concerns about the brave new world of artificial intelligence. They also discuss the fine line between extremely sophisticated calculators and sentient machines that are able to reason independently of any inputs or commands. They point out that many pioneers in the AI field want to restrict or limit its use even though it is likely that bad actors and bad governments would evade or simply ignore any global treaties restricting the uses of AI. Although Jeff has great faith in the wisdom and judgment of government regulators, he is concerned that there are very few bureaucrats who know enough about AI to be able to offer meaningful regulations. Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics are cited by Adam as a possible general code that could be incorporated into the development of future AI applications but there is always the nagging concern that nasty countries will do whatever they can to take advantage of any self-imposed limitations undertaken by other signatories to AI-related treaties.

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Having returned from their worldwide concert tour as the opening act for Taylor Swift, Adam and Jeff discuss the idea proposed by both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that college be made free to everyone. They consider the staggering amount spent each year for post-secondary education and the number of households filing tax returns to determine that the actual bill for "free college" for each taxpayer each year would amount to thousands of dollars. Jeff points out that a government mandate that everyone be able to attend college for free would simply result in the schools jacking up the tuition as much as possible because college would be a basic right available to all--no matter how qualified or motivated each student might be. As college loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, lenders have no incentive to restrict the amounts of money they loan to applicants. As a result, there is an enormous amount of money sloshing around in the system which merely encourages schools to keep jacking up their costs year after year. Jeff points out that college is supposed to be a learning experience and not a 4-year visit to an amusement park so there is no reason that education costs cannot be contained. Unfortunately, the vast expansion in recent decades in non-teaching (e.g., administrative staff) has compounded the incessant rise in college costs.

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Presidential politics experts Adam and Jeff offer their opinions as to how Joe Biden could be enticed to leave office. This podcast was recorded before Biden decided to end his quest to be the 2024 Democratic nominee and subsequently misfiled by an intern who happens to be the daughter of the chairman of the board of the Omaha Bugle. The intern was subsequently promoted to news bureau manager and the podcast is being posted for its historical value. Also of interest is the fact that the podcast was recorded in the Omaha Bugle bomb shelter so the sound quality is a little off but that may be of little concern if the bombs start falling. Anyways, Adam and Jeff offer the several possible ways that Joe Biden could be enticed to resign the presidency before the end of his term including impeachment (for which the Democrats have become very proficient in filling out the paperwork), an Article 25 removal of President Joe Biden based upon his unfitness for office, and, most importantly, a golden retirement package that would give the Biden family tens of millions of dollars in cash, create a slush fund to build a presidential library twice the size of the Obama library, and provide million-dollar annuities for all the Biden grandchildren (or, at least, the ones whom the family decides to acknowledge).

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Noted political analysts and green belt judo students Adam and Jeff compare notes on the first 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Adam managed to sit through the entire debate believing that he had stumbled onto an hour-long parody on the Comedy Channel. However, Jeff was more fortunate, having elected to go to an all-you-can eat buffet while the debate was on and thus missing the entire performance. However, both correspondents drew similar conclusions: Joe Biden was floating around in space and Donald Trump was shadow boxing and no one in the country who listened to the debate emerged the better for the experience. Biden's performance caused his loyal political allies to call for Biden to get off the ticket--which only goes to show that politicians form the most long-lasting friendships. Trump, for his part, merely had to breathe in and out steadily for an hour to cruise to an easy win. The White House blamed Biden's political advisors who had helped him prepare for the debate for his poor performance because they were apparently responsible for him rambling on incoherently and staring off into space. Biden's performance will probably not earn an Emmy but it did cause all of his potential replacement candidates such as Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris to pinky-swear that they have absolutely no interest in Biden's job . . . until such time as they are forced to accept the job for the good of the country.

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Adam and Jeff, who know almost everything about everything and are not reluctant to regale their listeners with endless facts and opinions, consider why the U.S. military continues to shrink even as the defense budgets continue to rise. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer defense contractors available to bid on weapons systems that are increasingly complex and costly. Jeff points out that high-tech weaponry is also more vulnerable to technical glitches and may not be as durable as older weapons systems in battlefield conditions. The Pentagon has also outsourced much of its manufacturing capabilities so that the U.S. Navy, for example, builds very few ships because it no longer has neither the shipyards nor the skilled personnel to do so. This loss of defense manufacturing capacity has forced the United States to rely on foreign suppliers--some of whom, such as China, may not be totally concerned with our welfare. In sum, Adam and Jeff believe that the entire military weapon procurement system needs to be streamlined with less emphasis on cutting edge technology with its incessant change orders and cost overruns and more emphasis on sheer numbers. After all, even the most sophisticated weapons can fail in a hostile military environment.