Born in Berlin, N.H.; bachelor of arts, major in journalism, Northeastern University; master's degree in urban studies, Southern Connecticut State University; was an editor and reporter at New Haven Register, an editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a reporter at The Meriden Record-Journal. Now a freelance writer and editor.
#people #machines #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #hospitality #jobs #tasks The Chase ad portrays the man in the self-driving car and the robot serving him coffee (not the way he wants it) with the song, “Tired of Being Alone” playing in the background. Chase promises that when you go into its offices, you’ll have real people to serve you. Machines are great for some tasks. They can actually replace some people for menial tasks. But, the line should be drawn for public-facing jobs. Chase is correct. People should serve people. The advancement of AI holds great promise, perhaps for some back-of-the-house tasks, to use a hospitality term. But, the front of the house should be people. Of course, robots could bring things to the people who serve. In fact, part of the reason people go to banks, restaurants and other public spaces is to interact with people. That isn’t to say that some tasks could not be automated. For example, one could envision going into a restaurant, choosing a seat yourself, placing an order via a computer, laptop or tablet and, when finished, paying the bill via that same device. But, there should be actual people to consult if there are questions about certain menu items, and to bring the food to the table. Can anyone envision asking a machine whether a certain dish is spicy? If it comes to that, how could anyone believe what the machine is saying? Hospitality, by definition, is human-to-human contact. People serving, or caring for, people. Much of banking, meanwhile, has become automated. You can make a withdrawal or deposit by ATM. But, you can’t get financial advice – at least good, reliable advice about your personal situation – from a machine. Of course, if you don’t need advice and just need to, say, buy a mutual fund or a CD, a machine can probably do that. But, the point of the Chase ad is that we, as people or as customers, prefer interacting with people. We can only hope that Chase, and other institutions like it, prefer using people, rather than machines, to serve its customers and clients. You can certainly cultivate relationships using electronic devices, Web sites and social media. But, it is definitely not the same as talking to someone in person. Such mechanical interactions have prompted lots of loneliness and, as has been alleged, created mental health issues, particularly among younger people. A young person who’s grown comfortable with online interactions may have difficulty with interpersonal interactions in a workplace. The lesson here is that not only is it good business to have real people for customers and clients to talk to, it’s also good for society. When given the choice of talking to a real person live, or communicating online, one should always choose the former. That isn’t to say that online communication doesn’t work in some scenarios. In the 1964 Broadway musical “Funny Girl,” Barbra Streisand famously sang: “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” Whenever you are able to interact with someone in person, you should. When you do, consider yourself lucky. Peter
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #jobs #careers #EmbracingChange #optimism #flexibility #Imagination An old question asks: Do you see the glass as half full, or half empty? As AI advances, that question could be very important to your prosperity, or even survival. We all know that AI is coming. We all know it will change things as we know them. We don’t know how it will change us. It could be the best thing to ever happen. It also could be the worst. But, as has been discussed, circumstances do not define us. How we react to them does. We’ve also discussed the importance of optimism and flexibility. We should add imagination into the mix. You may never have imagined doing X. But, what if you did? How will it benefit you? How will it help you navigate changing times? If you see changes around you, try to navigate them before you are forced to. That may require imagining yourself doing something you never thought you would It’s hard to give specifics here, because we really don’t know what’s coming. If you fear the unknown, chances are you may be left out. If you anticipate the unknown, you might be able to live through it. If you embrace the unknown, you could be a winner on the other side. Change will be constant. You may have to reroute your path many times. You may advance to one thing, but that thing may be obsolete shortly after you achieve it. Currently, people are hired for job X, but that changes to job Y shortly after. Jobs X and Y may soon be done by machines, and you then have to think about doing job Z, which could also change. You can look at this pattern and see chaos and turmoil. But, amid most chaos and turmoil, there is opportunity. It may be hard to find at first, but those who will succeed never stop looking for it. In this new age, pigeonholes become rabbit holes. Going with the flow will be not just desirable, but necessary for success. Remember that going with the flow is different from coasting. Those who coast will be toast. Those who go with the flow may find challenging paths, but still take them. Machines can’t do everything people can do. If you have what seems to you to be a mechanical job, it will probably be obsolete soon. AI should be rightly feared. At the same time, it must be embraced. Those unafraid to walk into scary situations will benefit the most from it. Those who continue to fear it will not. AI can be like an infectious disease. You may not know when, or whether, you will be affected by it. But, vaccinating yourself so that you can navigate it will help you find your path within it. Contentment with the status quo is deadly. Fearing the unknown is normal. Constantly looking for your correct path amid the changes will be absolutely necessary. So, rather than worry, scurry. Rather than wait for the inevitable, look for the incredible. The unknown can be scary. But, properly navigating it can be merry. Peter
#YoungPeople #graduations #flexibility #CareerChanges #jobs #economy #technology Decades ago, when a young person heading into adulthood did not know what he or she was going to do for a living, perhaps that person took a trip to “find himself (or herself).” Adults, perhaps his or her parents or parents of the person he or she was dating, may have scoffed that the kid “had no direction.” (They often secretly assumed the kid had no ambition). But in today’s new world, “having no direction” will not only be common among young people, it may be an advantage. The job market of the future is uncertain. AI and other technology will make once necessary jobs obsolete. It likely will create other types of jobs, many of which we don’t know about yet. The question then becomes: how does one prepare for such uncertainty? The one thing any young person can do, if it does not come naturally, is to become flexible. One becomes flexible by presuming he or she will change careers multiple times. It’s been said that corporations are people, too. Corporations must be flexible to survive changes they may not yet know are coming. People must do the same thing. When pursuing education, study something you love, without regard for how it will apply in the job market. This isn’t to say that a person should spend a small fortune – God forbid going into debt – on an education that will be “useless” for employment. But, today, no matter what a person is educated to do, it may not be what the person will do for a living. If one hears a graduation speech that advises one to “find his or her passion,” it may good advice in these times. Passion didn’t always pay bills, but with uncertainty, the student presumably gets some enjoyment by finding his or her passion. Along with flexibility, a person will also have to be bold. He or she may have to try things he or she had never thought he or she would do. Boldness, combined with hard work, often leads to innovation. He or she may have to keep reinventing a working persona throughout life. Finally, the old advice of “find something and stick with it” may no longer apply. Certainly, if something works you should stick with it, as “Cora” said in the old coffee commercial. But, if you can see that what you are doing is going to change, or go away, you need to look for something else before the change arrives. If you can anticipate change from where you sit, your employer will eventually see it, too. Keep learning new skills. As a young person with an entire life ahead, constant learning will not only be desirable, but mandatory. So, as one embarks on adulthood, the world you see today will likely not be the same as what you will see throughout your life. Analyze the cost of any job. Will the cost of commuting etc. be worth the paycheck you get? Prepare, but don’t have your heart set on one thing. Don’t be afraid, though uncertainly may try to overwhelm you. And, always be ready for change, because change will be a constant. By whatever means necessary, be optimistic. Pessimism will feed on itself, but optimism always provides an appetite for new adventure. Truly, if you are young, have a nice life. Peter
#saving #investing #stocks #mutual funds #bond funds #equity funds #FeedThePig A man rides on the step of an ice cream truck. He spots another man, dressed as a piggy bank, walking down the street. He jumps off the ice cream truck, tackles the pig-man, and drops some cash in the slot on the pig-man’s head. “Same time next week?” the man asks. “Well, of course,” says the pig-man. This TV ad from feedthepig.org is meant to encourage people to save a little regularly, preferably every week. The ad is supposed to alert savers that it takes effort and discipline to be a good saver. You have to commit to it every week – or however often you get a paycheck. You have to make sacrifices and take risks, like riding on the step of a moving truck and tackling the pig-man. In this economy, however, trying to save can be difficult. Gasoline prices are high, as are food prices, rent and other living expenses. To be able to save, however little you can, from each paycheck requires intentionality. The pig-man, too, is symbolic. If you really want to save, you should put the money into a savings account, rather than a piggy bank or under a mattress. As the savings account grows, you may want to graduate to a certificate of deposit (CD), which generally pays a bit higher interest than the savings account. But, you have to tie up your money for the period of the CD, lest you pay a penalty. Given that you must tie up your cash, the difference in interest rates between the accessible savings account and the CD has to be worth it. You should discuss this with your banker before making that commitment. As your CDs grow in value, you can then think about other investments that require small risk, but much better return. Mutual funds fit this category, as do bond funds, equity funds etc. You may need better advice than your banker can give you for these vehicles. That advice often comes at a cost so, again, make sure the cost is worth it before embarking on that journey. Your financial adviser may encourage you, as your account grows, to invest in individual stocks. Make sure the money you put into those is money you can afford to lose. If you go this route, you may have a mix of losses and gains. Some losses can be deducted from your income tax return. If you go this route, resist the temptation to invest in “the next big thing.” These are shiny objects that don’t always materialize as promised. If your adviser comes off as an aggressive salesperson trying to get you into “the next big thing,” find a different adviser. Building wealth is not easy. It takes effort. It takes sacrifice. But, if you do it successfully, managing risk along the way, it will pay off over time. Also, as you make the difficult wealth journey, make sure your big purchases, like a home, are worth your effort. And, it’s OK to enjoy some ice cream or other pleasures along the way, providing that you spend with care. Peter
#days #eras #labels #innovation #inventions #AI #technology The 1950s and early 1960s were considered “Happy Days,” as the 1970s TV show called them. The late 1960s and early 1970s might have been considered “Hippie Days.” The late 1970s and early 1980s might be called the “Early Tech Days.” One could describe later periods in various advanced degrees of “Tech,” as the technology revolution proceeded. But, how would you describe our “Days” today? Technology continues to advance. AI is coming, if not already here. Many of today’s jobs will either not exist, or be completely revised, in coming years. The way we interact with institutions and other people changes by the minute. Decorum, in many instances, has been upended. Individual security – physical and economic – seems to be deteriorating. So, what will we call this era? Even more pressing: how will we live through it? Age will become an important factor. The younger a person is, the more thought must be given to life decisions. The younger the person, the fewer the expectations there will be for life to be predictable. The way to survive currently and in the future will be unlike those of the younger generation’s parents or grandparents. Some principles should remain intact: spend less, save more, be kind to one another etc. But, even following those principles, what practical outcome will a young life have over the next decades? We may live longer. We may have fewer children. Old institutions of household, employment and lifestyle may disappear. How much education we may need will also vary. Expensive education will be, well, optional, particularly if the payoff isn’t worth the cost. Still, in such a time of upheaval, innovators will emerge. These innovators will have to reinvent not the wheel, but the circle of life. Will these inventions pay off for everyone? Will everyone be able to assimilate into this new life? Perhaps not. But, determination, introspection and pure grit will help people not only survive but also thrive in this new environment. Not only will people have to choose their paths more carefully, but they may also have to change direction quickly, and numerous times, throughout their lives. The old song says, “Happy Days Are Here Again.” But the “Happy Days” of decades past will not return, no matter how much we may want them to. How we label these times may be irrelevant, though it may be a fun academic exercise. How one finds his or her place in these times will be far more important. Peter
#crazy #sanity #government #elections #politics #IsCrazyWorking “We’ve tried sanity for a long time, and it hasn’t worked. Why not try crazy?” That was a sentiment expressed a few years ago, as presidential administrations changed. Given the enhanced polarization that produced, do you think “crazy” is working? Politics never used to ruin family relationships. It never used to ruin friendships. Today, by many accounts, it has done both. If’ you’ve experienced lost friendships and family relationships, do you think “crazy” is working? We never saw people in high places dehumanize others, regardless of their inner personal opinions. Now, we see people in high places advocating violence against those who disagree with them. If’ you’ve witnessed that, do you think “crazy” is working? If you’ve seen prices for goods and services rise, making your life more difficult, while those who are already well off receive even better treatment financially, do you think “crazy” is working? If you’ve seen someone start a war, and now finding few ways to get out of it, do you still think “crazy” is working? It must be said that before “crazy,” not everyone got to where he or she wanted. No system gives everyone everything. There was always government overreach, the rich always seemed to get richer etc. But at least those in power talked about real fairness. To be sure, real fairness for everyone at all times may be impossible to achieve. But, before “crazy,” we had a sense that people in power, for the most part, had their hearts in the right place. We saw people win and lose elections with some degree of decorum and grace. The loser always congratulated the winner. Since “crazy,” that’s not always the case. Do you want your children to grow up under “crazy?” What could they learn as they observe not only the behavior of those in power, but also the response from their parents to “crazy?” What do your children learn when they see adult relationships and friendships dissolve over “crazy?” Does it make them want to establish good relationships in social, family, work and worship settings? There is much to think about here, and very little time to think about it. You may be wise the next time you vote – if you are eligible, PLEASE VOTE – you may not want to choose “crazy.” Instead, you may want to choose those candidates who will stand in the way of “crazy.” You may want to choose candidates who will undo all the “crazy.” If you still think “crazy” is working, talk to as many others as possible to see whether they agree with you. Peter
#Beatitudes #Bible #meek #peacemakers #persecuted #Christians #religious “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” These are two of the eight Beatitudes found in the gospel of Matthew in the Bible. This passage tells the story of those who are weak, mourning and persecuted being rewarded by God. But, some who practice Christianity today would rather reward those who have much. It is they who should inherit the earth. The meek be damned. Power and riches don’t necessarily equate to strength. In fact, many of those who have gone through challenges have much more strength than those for whom good fortune came naturally, or through family. The Bible tells us that those who face the most challenges are the strongest among us. When one prays for successful war, God may not answer. It’s clear from the Beatitudes that He prefers peacemakers. One can achieve strength and use it to make peace. But, merely using strength to show off what one can do is not peacemaking. It is the opposite. Some Christians today prefer to reward prosperity. Prosperity is not a sin unless it leads to greed and taking advantage of others not as fortunate. Indeed, prosperity combined with humility, generosity and integrity is a virtue. Jesus taught that we should love thy neighbors as thyself. That implies we should love our neighbors regardless of appearance or circumstance. Discrimination is a sin. Taking advantage of others less fortunate to enrich oneself is a sin. If your neighbor wrongs you, you should continue to love him as you try to right that wrong. Retribution is a sin. We should all comply with laws based on values Christians, and those of other faiths, hold dear. Arresting someone who is merely complying with the law is a sin. We should welcome those who come into our midst with open arms. Of course, they should come in peace, and they should come to do no harm. Those are bona fide Christian teachings. Anything that diverts from those teachings is something other than Christian, or any other faith. So, as you conduct your daily lies, think of the Beatitudes. Live by them. Treat others as you would wish to be treated. Always search for peace, not conflict. Of course, if you are attacked, you should defend yourself. But, never be the attacker. If you face challenges, face them with your own strength, and with help from your neighbors. If your neighbors will not help you, they must live with that. Blessed are the meek, persecuted and those who seek peace. These are the true saints among us. Peter
#JobMarket #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CollegeDegrees #UnemploymentRate It’s been said that a college degree will open more doors than just a high school diploma. But, according to an article by Sydney Ember in the New York Times, there are fewer employers showing up at college job fairs. In fact, the article states, the unemployment rate for college graduates between ages 22 and 27 surged to 5.6 percent at the end of last year. It quotes an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That rate outstripped the overall 4.2 percent unemployment rate at the time. “For those who were employed, more than 40 percent held jobs that do not typically require college degrees, the highest level since 2020,” the article reads. The Times story was also published March 26, 2026, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The job market probably will be in flux for many years to come. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, and other economic factors, jobs will change. The need for people will change. The article also provokes a thought: Though no education is a waste, one will have to think long and hard before committing a lot of money to college in the future. Definitely, if you don’t think you are college material, don’t waste your money, thinking a degree will somehow pay off later. AI can do a lot of things. It can accomplish menial but necessary tasks that seem to waste human time. Robots don’t need bathroom or lunch breaks, vacation time or sick time. Still, there will be a need for humans to repair them when they break down. Machines can copy. They can perform tasks based on past patterns. But, they are no substitute for human intuition, innovation or creativity. Machines also do not need college degrees to perform any tasks. So where does all this leave a young person trying to create an adult life? We’ve gone through uncertain times before. The Industrial Revolution and the invention of the computer changed work for many people. Though some people’s lives radically changed, society survived. This will be another one of those times. We as people may have to rethink how we work, how we make a living and how we advance financially. Progress cannot be stopped, despite the efforts of those who want to take the U.S. back to another bygone era. AI may also change our lifestyles. It will certainly make some chores easier, but it may make other things more challenging. Therefore, it will be incumbent upon us, particularly the younger generations, to rethink how to make a good life. That may mean thinking about whether to go to college. If you decide to go, will the investment pay off? If you have to go into debt to do it, can you pay it off in a reasonable amount of time? And, if you get a job somewhere, how long will it last? What are you going to do when one day you suddenly have lost your job? Despite these potentially difficult decisions, it’s best to stay optimistic. Pessimism and self-doubt can scramble your thought process. Regardless of what you decide, know that AI is here to stay. How can you best live with it? Peter
#vaccines #PolioVaccine #Rotary #polio #RotaryInternational #PurplePinky In an opinion piece, two academics from New York University’s Medical Ethics section touted the success of the polio vaccine, as it comes up against vaccine skeptics now regulating the nation’s health. The piece, published in the April 1, 2026, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, even had a photo of Elvis Presley getting his polio vaccine shot backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Nathaniel Mamo, MA, and Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., rightly say that polio is close to being eradicated BECAUSE of the vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk through research funding by what was then called the March of Dimes. But, what the doctors fail to mention is the role of Rotary International in distributing the vaccine worldwide, as it still does. By Rotary’s count, polio cases are down to a few in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the academics point out, the vaccine skeptics argue that sanitation has improved enough to prevent an increase in cases. Sanitation has improved, but the poliovirus can easily spread if enough people decide not to get vaccinated. By extension, they may not get their children vaccinated. If the disease spreads, all of Rotary International’s efforts over many decades will not have been wasted, but the progress will be slowed. Certainly, getting all those folks in all those countries vaccinated was no small task. Rotary faced all kinds of obstacles to get the vaccine into people. In fact, on April 28, 2026, Rotary District 6780 in East Tennessee will have its annual Purple Pinky Day. Buy a box of 10 doughnuts from participating Dunkin’ stores for $25, and proceeds will be matched 7.5 times toward the eradication of polio through vaccinations. If you live in East Tennessee and you’d like to participate, contact your local Rotary club to order your doughnuts. If you don’t like doughnuts, you can also donate money to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign. Those donations also will be matched 7.5 times. The clubs will be taking doughnut orders through April 9 (April 13 for some clubs), and the clubs will advise you on how you can pick up your doughnuts. If you don’t live in East Tennessee, check your local Rotary club to find out when they will have Purple Pinky campaigns. It’s called Purple Pinky Day because, as people got their polio vaccines, one of their pinkies was dipped in a purple dye to tell those distributing the vaccines that they had been vaccinated. So, the NYU folks are correct. We all should be vaccinated against polio. Science has demonstrated for decades the vaccine’s effectiveness. And, one can thank Rotary International for spearheading the campaign to help those around the world who may not have ready access to the vaccine get it. Polio and other diseases are either preventable, or their effects can be minimized through vaccines that have been properly tested. Those who cast doubt on proven vaccines are doing a disservice to the nation, the world and overall health. But, creating and testing vaccines and making them available may not be enough. Organizations like Rotary have to make it their mission to make sure the vaccines are widely available. If it succeeds in eradicating polio, Rotary undoubtedly will move on to conquering other diseases worldwide. Distributing vaccines is the most effective and efficient way to do that. Peter
#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #jobs #Amazon #AIInvestment #PreparingForAI Your salary and benefits are so good, you can buy your daughter a big scoop of ice cream. Or, you can comfortably take your girlfriend out on a dinner date. These scenarios come from Amazon recruiting ads on television. But, how long will you have a job, if you work for Amazon, or anywhere in manufacturing? Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, is investing $100 billion in AI that could ultimately eliminate many manufacturing or warehousing jobs. Bezos is spearheading a new $100 billion fund to buy and modernize industrial manufacturing firms with AI, often utilizing technology from his own startup, Project Prometheus. Prometheus, focused on physical AI simulations for aerospace and defense, launched with $$$6.2 billion, according to The New York Times. If people don’t have jobs, will the U.S., state and local governments have to tax robots? That is being debated today, according to reports. AI seems to be the wave of the future. But, we don’t yet know exactly what toll – or benefit – AI will have on working people. Certainly, some jobs will be created, but many others will be eliminated over time. And, from all indications, that time is not too far off. So, if you are a relatively young person who works in manufacturing, or for companies like Amazon, and have a great salary and benefit package, how long do you think you will have it? It may be wise to start preparing for – not just thinking about – what you will do next. Of course, that is much easier said than done. Sometimes, it’s often hard to project where your skills might be useful. You may be matched perfectly to your current job, but jobs go away. Or, jobs change. Or, you may have to look at your environment to see what other jobs you could learn. You may have to do this on your own time. Your employer, no matter how currently generous he or she may be, likely will NOT be thinking about you as the workplace evolves. It also may be difficult for some to project what his or her workspace will look like in, say, five, 10 or 15 years. It is a time for people with detail-oriented jobs to look at the bigger picture. The details of your job may be important now. But, imagine a machine doing the same thing. If perfected, or even if not, a machine likely will do a job faster than a human. Will it do it as well? Will the company care about the quality of human touch? If the machine does a good-enough job at a faster rate at less cost to the company, it could be very easily embraced. AI, robots and other technology are NOT substitutes for human talent. Perhaps we should think of this in foodie terms. The small farmer who raises grass-fed beef without any artificial enhancement to the cattle will produce great meat. But, overprocessed meat is cheaper. What do you think most consumers will buy more of? We can’t stop AI. But, we’ve gotten enough warning that we should ALL be preparing for it. Peter
