Is ChatGPT a milestone in AI technology?

At the end of last year, OpenAI, an AI laboratory invested by Microsoft, released a powerful AI language model ChatGPT, which can simulate human language behaviors and interact with users. However, Microsoft’s recently promoted new Bing combined with ChatGPT has fallen into arguing. In fact, ChatGPT replies that it understands multiple languages and code writing. Someone builds system diagrams using ChatGPT. It even writes different poems on the same subject. For each question, ChatGPT will provide different answers every time, not just one standardized answer. Its flexibility is indeed surprising. ChatGPT’s poems about Spring: ChatGPT can quickly become popular all Continue reading Is ChatGPT a milestone in AI technology?

Fast food vs. Home Cooking

Fast food has become a staple for nearly every American’s diet. The relatively inexpensive and quick food option seems like a great alternative to cooking at home, but is it really better? Approximately 37% of American households eat fast food once a day. With that high proportion, Americans roughly spend the same amount of their income on fast food as they do on home-cooked food. Although fast food is seemingly quick and inexpensive, it does have some hidden costs as well. Fast food is relatively high in sodium, saturated fat, and calories. This high consumption of red and/or processed meat, Continue reading Fast food vs. Home Cooking

Are EV’s really the future?

Environmental damage is a growing concern worldwide, and rightly so. The world has never been warmer than it is today, and the acceleration of global warming will only continue as humanity fails to change its ways. It is no longer a suggestion to reduce our emissions but rather a necessity that governments have been forced to acknowledge and address. As a result, many industries have begun re-imagining their production methods in an effort to reduce the size of their carbon footprint on the environment. The automotive industry has made the most noticeable changes with their focus on electric vehicles, or Continue reading Are EV’s really the future?

Turkey’s Natural Earthquake and Economic Shock

In the past two days, a piece of news has swiped my screen. On February 6, local time, two 7.8-magnitude earthquakes hit Turkey. So far, thousands of people have been killed and over 10,000 injured in Turkey and Syria. And now, those grim numbers don’t seem to stop their rise in the slightest. This is Turkey’s worst disaster in over 80 years. Apart from the time of silence and the fever discussion on humanitarian aid, we have to think about a more severe question, how will this disaster deal with Turkey’s fragile economic system? In recent years, Turkey has been Continue reading Turkey’s Natural Earthquake and Economic Shock

Fast Fashion: Affordability at a Cost

Fast fashion has become popular in recent years and has become a topic of moral debate. Fast fashion can be identified as “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market in retailers in response to the latest trends” (Oxford Dictionary). Due to their inexpensiveness price tags and quick turnover, these brands are often popular. Fast fashion gives consumers an affordable option to get in on current fashion trends. However, their affordability and quick turnover to keep up with trends come at a high price. Fast fashion companies are known to exploit their workers and release high amounts of pollutants from production. Clothing Continue reading Fast Fashion: Affordability at a Cost

The eggnomics of the Avian flu

The other day I was grocery shopping at my local Safeway. I have been very aware of what I have been purchasing recently to budget successfully this year, as it was a goal I set at the start of the new year. I have been looking carefully at each dollar I can spend crafting. A plan on how much I can spend on gas, groceries, and leisure each month. One staple within my diet has always been eggs. The excellent protein content and healthy fats at a relatively low price have always been a staple on my list. However, on Continue reading The eggnomics of the Avian flu

AI vs. the artist, the economics of the art market

With the introduction of many different advanced AI technologies, there has been a divide between creative minds and the creators of the technology. Many of the creators of these digital technologies have started to get into conflicts with many artists. Many lawsuits have begun to emerge on the charges that the machines and automated art creators have used forgery and plagiarized the works of these artists’ stylistic choices and ability to commercialize, exploit and turn something of beauty into profit. To fully understand this, we need to take a step back. This conflict has started to emerge due to the Continue reading AI vs. the artist, the economics of the art market

The Whole Can Be Less Expensive than the Sum of Its Parts Pt. 2:

This is a continuation of blogpost #2. While it’s clear that a weird phenomenon is taking place, it isn’t clear what the crux cause of the broader market situation. The question still remains why was I rcenetly able to buy a prebuilt PC from MSI that was less expensive than if I had bought the parts individually? Let’s generalize this scenario: Scenario: Given two computers with the equivalent (equivalent here meaning performance-wise) parts where: one of which is pre-built and the other of which is self-assembled, how can the situation arise where the pre-built is less expensive than the self-assembled?                                                                  Continue reading The Whole Can Be Less Expensive than the Sum of Its Parts Pt. 2:

The Whole Can Be Less Expensive than the Sum of Its Parts Pt. 1:

This post is a continuation of my first blog post. In the first post, I mentioned pre-built computers—computers with parts pre-assembled by manufacturers—can be a cost-efficient alternative to a custom-built computer—computers with individual parts bought and assembled by the consumer. This should strike you as strange as it violates common sense. This is implying computer parts plus the labor to assemble those parts cost more than solely computer parts. You might be wondering why is this the case If you recall from blogpost #1, GPUs are one of the essential parts of a computer. They have always been traditionally expensive, Continue reading The Whole Can Be Less Expensive than the Sum of Its Parts Pt. 1:

Unretirement

Unretirement is once again trending up and returning to levels that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. Unretirement is a phenomenon in which someone who retires enters back into the labor market within a year. The unretirement rate reached 3.2 percent last month, compared to pandemic levels of just 2 percent. The image below shows the unretirement rate from 2019 to 2022.  The rise in unretirement could be attributed to several factors including the rising cost of living, rising inflation, and the return to in person events following shutdowns caused by the pandemic. Plus because the current job market Continue reading Unretirement