How AI is affecting America’s mental health crisis

Listen to this post:

The headline was “How AI is affecting America’s mental health crisis.” Wait, America has a mental health crisis? When did that happen? Where did it begin? Holy cow! How are we going to handle all of these crises at the same time?!?

If we are to believe the politicians and town criers, we have been in a constant state of crisis all our lives, all of it caused by an endless series of hobgoblins from which only they can save us.

And yet somehow we seem to muddle along day by day. 

I shall now employ a writer’s cliche: turning to the dictionary definition. According to the American Heritage online dictionary, a crisis is “a crucial or decisive point or situation, especially a difficult or unstable situation involving an impending change.”

In other words, nearly every day we face a crucial turning point as we navigate a “difficult or unstable situation” and a potentially horrifying change that could happen any day now.

And yet, to quote the prophet Tom Petty, as I love to do, “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.” So — was it really a crisis or one of H.L. Mencken’s imaginary hobgoblins, again to cite another of my favorite quotes?

It’s a rhetorical question, of course. (I will trust you to look up the definition of “rhetorical question” on your own.) Things may be alarming in the Menckien sense, but we are not in crisis. We do not need the politicians and town criers to save us; they just say that to get the votes and clicks they need to carry on — vultures feasting on carrion (see what I did there?).

By the way, I did not depend on AI to write this little screed. The built-in AI wanted to finish my words and sentences for me — and I’m driving it crazy by not changing the spelling of the word “Menckien,” which I believe I may have just made up.

Hey, as long as someone (or AI) has already determined that it’s effective clickbait, why don’t I steal the headline for today’s blog? And speaking of clickbait, here’s an adorable photo of Summer as a puppy. If this post goes viral, we can blame it on artificial intelligence, the other party, and our plague of ongoing crises.

Allen the Alien, Chapter 4

Listen to this post:

Our story thus far: Allen, an emissary from somewhere else out there, has been making friends with a tribe of rubber ducks here on Earth. Young Tommy, son of Cupcake and a very observant and forward lad, has unraveled Allen’s secret. Instead of further deflecting Tommy, Allen has requested a meeting with their leader.

The leader had a big smile that made Allen immediately uncomfortable. He didn’t trust people who smiled too much.

“It is a great honor to meet someone from beyond the stars,” the leader said.

“It’s not that far away,” Allen said.

“Well, it’s farther away than Osaka,” said the leader. “Oh yes, I’ve heard about your little white lies.”

“Ask him why he’s here,” said little Tommy, which earned him a “shush now” from his mother, Cupcake.

“Well, yes, as I understand it you’re some kind of emissary,” said the leader. “By the way, people call me Ellie. You might say I’m the president of our little tribe.”

“Tribe? It was our understanding that a group of ducks is called a flock, or a waddling,” Allen said. “Is tribe a more proper term?”

“Your understanding is correct, sir. When we’re flying, ‘flock’ will do nicely, and on the ground we are indeed a-waddling.”

“Oh, enough of this!” Cupcake cried. “Allen, my son believes you are here to conquer the world.”

“Tommy has a vivid imagination,” Allen said. “I come in peace, representing a federation of planets that are ready for space travel. Your forays to your moon have attracted some attention.”

“Well, yes,” said Ellie, “although I must admit our species has made only a few modest contributions to the space program.”

“Really?”

There was an awkward silence.

“Ducks don’t fly to the moon!” Tommy blurted.

“Are you here to offer us a seat in your federation?” Ellie said.

“I wonder if I should be speaking with the species in charge of your space program.”

“I’m not sure they would take you seriously,” said Count Duckula, who stood by Ellie’s side.

“Why is that?”

“The humans don’t think of us as an advanced species,” Duckzilla said ruefully.

“You seem advanced enough for me,” Allen said.

“Well, then,” said Ellie. “How do we begin?”

There was general cheering and applause, but Allen noticed that Tommy looked skeptical.

Influence

Listen to this post:

It seems many people aspire to be an influencer when they grow up. And if you are among them, congratulations; you’re already there.

There’s some study that says your income will be the average of your five closest friends, and I’ll bet someone once or twice read a book or watched a movie that you recommended. 

What I’m trying to say is: Every darn one of us influences those around us all the time. We’re all influencers.

Our choices determine what kind of influence we have. You’ve no doubt seen the memes that say things like “Share a smile, they’re contagious” or “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” Those memes exist to acknowledge your influence and encourage you to use this superpower for good.

So, again, if your goal is to be an influencer, congratulations. You’ve done it. I can’t guarantee you’ll get rich or even make a living at it, but you are definitely having an influence on everyone you meet.

What’s that? You don’t want to be an influencer? You don’t want to be noticed? People should not see you as a role model? Darn. I can’t help you there.

My only advice, for what it’s worth, is to do your best to be the best version of yourself. As long as you’re a born influencer, you may as well be good at it.