I literally just found a card with my grandmother’s driver’s license from May 1929 certifying that she “attended the required number of lectures given in the Safety Instruction Course for Women Drivers conducted by the Newark Safety Council” and including the motto “a chance-taker is an accident maker”
In a media landscape that is deliberately overwhelming with political coverage, it's not only nice to read about topics that remind us of our shared humanity and connection to the natural world, but it’s also necessary to keep our minds fresh and ready to encounter the next intentionally harmful headline without as much urge to recoil. Thank you for these stories!
As someone fascinated by both technology and animal welfare, the prospect of bridging the communication gap between species is extraordinary. The fact that we can now detect not just pain and distress, but potentially more nuanced emotions like frustration or contentment, opens up huge possibilities for improving animal welfare.
Reading this got me thinking about what I call "shower legislation" – I'm not sure if anyone else does this, but I often find myself drafting idealistic laws in my mind while getting ready for the day, imagining pie-in-the-sky utopian solutions to society's problems. I know these visions would not survive contact with political reality, but there's something therapeutic about drafting laws for a better world during otherwise-mindless routines.
For years now, I've been refining one particular idea that feels relevant given the article about animal facial recognition. What if we could create a legal framework that properly acknowledges animals' contributions to human survival and wellbeing? I envision a classification system with three distinct categories, each with its own set of protections and responsibilities.
The first category, Friends, would encompass companion animals. A law in this category might require all pet owners to obtain a license through mandatory training in recognizing their pet's emotional states and meeting species-specific needs. Regular assessments at veterinary checkups using AI facial recognition technology could verify that pets aren't experiencing unnecessary distress and are genuinely thriving in their homes. Of course, the technology isn’t perfect and a face scan shouldn’t be the sole reason why some authority would judge a pet owner unfit, but maybe it could trigger a more thorough review if the vet’s office finds that an animal is showing signs of psychological abuse.
The second category, Workers, would include livestock and service animals. Here, a potential law could mandate that all commercial farming operations maintain specific "happiness metrics" for their animals, measured through automated systems that track facial expressions and body language throughout the day. Every animal product would carry a clear welfare rating, and consumers could demand their grocery stores stop carrying products from operations that don't meet certain happiness thresholds.
The third category, Stewards of Balance, would cover wild animals, some of whose roles maintain environmental equilibrium. A law for these animals might require any development project to demonstrate, through AI-assisted wildlife monitoring, that it wouldn't disrupt critical species behaviors or cause undue stress to local wildlife populations.
I know this is purely theoretical – the practical, political, and economic hurdles would be immense. But seeing how AI is already helping us better understand our animal colleagues makes me wonder if we're getting closer to a time when we can be better stewards of the other species sharing our planet.
When we think about what roles a government should have, for me I would say two of the most important is caring for the vulnerable and voiceless, and protecting everyone from being collateral of capitalism. And while certain applications of AI sound scary, I think there are plenty of ways it can be used for good. I am looking forward to following this technology closely!
I also appreciate your view that government's most important roles are "caring for the vulnerable and voiceless, and protecting everyone from being collateral of capitalism" 💖 SPOT ON.
These were all interesting, but the one on cars gave me a chuckle. I'm the one in our home who knows the most about cars, but my dad often worked on ours and if he was fixing something on mine, I was asking about it. I'm the one at the dealership who is asking all the questions. But I'll admit if I don't want to do something on a car, I'll bump it off to I have to ask my husband even though I'm going to make the decision. LOL Also I've hit an age where I don't care what I drive as long as it has good gas mileage and gets me from point A to B. Would the upgrades be nice? Sure, but my car is paid for and that's way more valuable than the upgrade.
Interesting article on the AI interpretation for animals especially for Dog emotions. We are in the process of “quality of life” rating for our 16 year old beagle and wish I could snap a picture and get even more information on her.
Alright! Nannie Helen Burroughs is pretty BA, y'all. The link to the National Parks Service website goes even more in depth. Suffragist, civil rights activist (for Black folks and women), and educator. Burroughs faced discrimination from within and without her community and still got the job done.
I found each of these stories intriguing and thought provoking. The story that stuck out to me the most was the article about AI being used to understand animal emotions and what they are thinking. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would do for people. My child was nonverbal for years when he was young and there are still many children and adults that are nonverbal for many reasons. What would technology like this do for the quality of life for those individuals and also the caretakers, their medical teams, their teachers?
Thank you for your beautifully articulated journalism. You are a talented writer and I appreciate all that you provide us!
Thank you Sharon for being a great writer and for sharing such fascinating stories, especially about animal feelings and behavior. Your great sense of humor about dogs are thinking always brings a smile! You capture their personalities so well. 🫶
I found the one on cars interesting. I worked at a Ford dealership for 16 years (1985-2001). Salesmen always catered to the woman rather than the man and the service department always catered to the men.
My grandmother lost her mom at 6 mos old in 1918 to the Spanish flu. My Great grandfather always felt guilty about her not having her real mother in her life and to say she was spoiled is an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, she worked hard her whole adult life, but as a child she was given everything on a silver platter. In 1934 he gifted her a Ford Model T for her 16th birthday. It was “used” but she loved it. She was very proud of being the first female to own a car in Topeka KS.🤣🤣 She named the car Bessie R Willow and she used to talk about driving her girl friends around (it had a rumble seat) and making all the boys jealous because she had a car and they didn’t. A couple years later she got in an accident (someone hit her) and a piece of glass cut her forearm really bad. She could never flex her hand all the way back again and had the deep scar the rest of her life, but her memories of that time were so vivid and she loved telling everyone that would listen about them. ❤️❤️
I like the first one about Nattie Helen Burroughs. Reminds me of the lady in your book who was a teacher and opened a school. but I found the one about women and cars pretty interesting.
I literally just found a card with my grandmother’s driver’s license from May 1929 certifying that she “attended the required number of lectures given in the Safety Instruction Course for Women Drivers conducted by the Newark Safety Council” and including the motto “a chance-taker is an accident maker”
Those reckless women drivers 🤪
I can’t get the first story to open. The other 2 stories’ links work.
If you click on the ‘raise enough money’ link it works - hopefully the others get fixed too!
Me too. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. The link didn’t work in the app either.
In a media landscape that is deliberately overwhelming with political coverage, it's not only nice to read about topics that remind us of our shared humanity and connection to the natural world, but it’s also necessary to keep our minds fresh and ready to encounter the next intentionally harmful headline without as much urge to recoil. Thank you for these stories!
As someone fascinated by both technology and animal welfare, the prospect of bridging the communication gap between species is extraordinary. The fact that we can now detect not just pain and distress, but potentially more nuanced emotions like frustration or contentment, opens up huge possibilities for improving animal welfare.
Reading this got me thinking about what I call "shower legislation" – I'm not sure if anyone else does this, but I often find myself drafting idealistic laws in my mind while getting ready for the day, imagining pie-in-the-sky utopian solutions to society's problems. I know these visions would not survive contact with political reality, but there's something therapeutic about drafting laws for a better world during otherwise-mindless routines.
For years now, I've been refining one particular idea that feels relevant given the article about animal facial recognition. What if we could create a legal framework that properly acknowledges animals' contributions to human survival and wellbeing? I envision a classification system with three distinct categories, each with its own set of protections and responsibilities.
The first category, Friends, would encompass companion animals. A law in this category might require all pet owners to obtain a license through mandatory training in recognizing their pet's emotional states and meeting species-specific needs. Regular assessments at veterinary checkups using AI facial recognition technology could verify that pets aren't experiencing unnecessary distress and are genuinely thriving in their homes. Of course, the technology isn’t perfect and a face scan shouldn’t be the sole reason why some authority would judge a pet owner unfit, but maybe it could trigger a more thorough review if the vet’s office finds that an animal is showing signs of psychological abuse.
The second category, Workers, would include livestock and service animals. Here, a potential law could mandate that all commercial farming operations maintain specific "happiness metrics" for their animals, measured through automated systems that track facial expressions and body language throughout the day. Every animal product would carry a clear welfare rating, and consumers could demand their grocery stores stop carrying products from operations that don't meet certain happiness thresholds.
The third category, Stewards of Balance, would cover wild animals, some of whose roles maintain environmental equilibrium. A law for these animals might require any development project to demonstrate, through AI-assisted wildlife monitoring, that it wouldn't disrupt critical species behaviors or cause undue stress to local wildlife populations.
I know this is purely theoretical – the practical, political, and economic hurdles would be immense. But seeing how AI is already helping us better understand our animal colleagues makes me wonder if we're getting closer to a time when we can be better stewards of the other species sharing our planet.
When we think about what roles a government should have, for me I would say two of the most important is caring for the vulnerable and voiceless, and protecting everyone from being collateral of capitalism. And while certain applications of AI sound scary, I think there are plenty of ways it can be used for good. I am looking forward to following this technology closely!
Fascinating, I love these ideas ‼️
I also appreciate your view that government's most important roles are "caring for the vulnerable and voiceless, and protecting everyone from being collateral of capitalism" 💖 SPOT ON.
These were all interesting, but the one on cars gave me a chuckle. I'm the one in our home who knows the most about cars, but my dad often worked on ours and if he was fixing something on mine, I was asking about it. I'm the one at the dealership who is asking all the questions. But I'll admit if I don't want to do something on a car, I'll bump it off to I have to ask my husband even though I'm going to make the decision. LOL Also I've hit an age where I don't care what I drive as long as it has good gas mileage and gets me from point A to B. Would the upgrades be nice? Sure, but my car is paid for and that's way more valuable than the upgrade.
Interesting article on the AI interpretation for animals especially for Dog emotions. We are in the process of “quality of life” rating for our 16 year old beagle and wish I could snap a picture and get even more information on her.
Alright! Nannie Helen Burroughs is pretty BA, y'all. The link to the National Parks Service website goes even more in depth. Suffragist, civil rights activist (for Black folks and women), and educator. Burroughs faced discrimination from within and without her community and still got the job done.
I found each of these stories intriguing and thought provoking. The story that stuck out to me the most was the article about AI being used to understand animal emotions and what they are thinking. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would do for people. My child was nonverbal for years when he was young and there are still many children and adults that are nonverbal for many reasons. What would technology like this do for the quality of life for those individuals and also the caretakers, their medical teams, their teachers?
Thank you for your beautifully articulated journalism. You are a talented writer and I appreciate all that you provide us!
Nice to see AI being used for something other than attempting to replace jobs done by creative pros.
Thank you Sharon for being a great writer and for sharing such fascinating stories, especially about animal feelings and behavior. Your great sense of humor about dogs are thinking always brings a smile! You capture their personalities so well. 🫶
Molly is thinking about the Thanksgiving turkey
These were interesting stories that were a relief to read. Thank you.
Yes and very inspiring and fun!
I found the one on cars interesting. I worked at a Ford dealership for 16 years (1985-2001). Salesmen always catered to the woman rather than the man and the service department always catered to the men.
My grandmother lost her mom at 6 mos old in 1918 to the Spanish flu. My Great grandfather always felt guilty about her not having her real mother in her life and to say she was spoiled is an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, she worked hard her whole adult life, but as a child she was given everything on a silver platter. In 1934 he gifted her a Ford Model T for her 16th birthday. It was “used” but she loved it. She was very proud of being the first female to own a car in Topeka KS.🤣🤣 She named the car Bessie R Willow and she used to talk about driving her girl friends around (it had a rumble seat) and making all the boys jealous because she had a car and they didn’t. A couple years later she got in an accident (someone hit her) and a piece of glass cut her forearm really bad. She could never flex her hand all the way back again and had the deep scar the rest of her life, but her memories of that time were so vivid and she loved telling everyone that would listen about them. ❤️❤️
I like the first one about Nattie Helen Burroughs. Reminds me of the lady in your book who was a teacher and opened a school. but I found the one about women and cars pretty interesting.
Love these!!
I can’t open either.
Can’t get to the rest of the story…