To the Editor,
I gotta say, Mr. Roose sounds like your typical tech enthusiast, all excited about generative A.I. and seeing it as an opportunity rather than an enemy. As a history professor, I’ve got a different perspective. I assign books that aren’t available on the internet to limit the A.I. tools’ ability to respond to essay prompts. Because let me tell you, A.I. is the enemy here.
What I really want is for students to read books that challenge them, that make them appreciate the complexity of the past. And writing, struggling to find the right words and structure, that’s how you really learn and think deeply about a subject. Shortcuts like using A.I. tools for essays just disconnect students from the intellectual engagement that can make their college experience transformative.
Julie Hessler
Eugene, Ore.
To the Editor,
Kevin Roose makes the argument that since all kids are using A.I., schools should just accept it. But let me tell you, we tried that with cellphones, and it was a disaster. Letting phones into classrooms was a mistake we’re still trying to fix. So maybe we should be a little more cautious when it comes to A.I.
I’m a former high school teacher myself, and I’ve seen the negative effects of technology in the classroom. We can’t just blindly embrace A.I. without considering the consequences.
Jeremy Glazer
Philadelphia
To the Editor,
Kevin Roose’s column got me thinking. Imagine if a biologist released genetically engineered seeds all over the place without properly testing them first. They’d face a lot of criticism, right? Well, that’s exactly what developers of generative A.I. products have done to education. They’ve released a product that makes cheating easy and hard to detect, and it’s wreaking havoc on our educational system.
We need to start holding these developers accountable for the consequences of their actions. How can they just create something that allows for widespread cheating without safeguards? It’s outrageous.
Conrad Berger
Hyattsville, Md.
To the Editor,
I read Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser’s essay about the crisis in cosmology, and while they make some good points about the exciting issues in cosmology, they missed one important aspect. The standard theory of cosmology has actually passed numerous tests and is a good approximation of what happened.
See, I introduced the ideas of dark matter and dark energy to make the theory fit the evidence better, but even I didn’t expect it to work as well as it did. However, I do believe that these theories are still too simple and will eventually be replaced by a better theory. There are still unanswered questions about the rate of expansion of the universe and how galaxies formed.
But let’s not jump to conclusions and assume there’s a crisis in cosmology. We’re constantly seeking new problems and challenges to guide us towards a better theory.
P. James E. Peebles
Princeton, N.J.
To the Editor,
Jesse Wegman’s piece about trial by jury and Trump’s fate got me thinking. He talks about the power of 12 ordinary citizens coming together to determine someone’s guilt or innocence. But here’s the thing: Trump doesn’t need all 12 jurors to acquit him, he just needs one. And he’ll spin that as a total vindication, even though it’s not.
There’s nothing stopping one of those jurors from simply voting not to convict, whether out of fear, bribery, or pure partisan affiliation. Trump’s statements and actions are all part of his strategy to find that one juror who will save him.
In “12 Angry Men,” justice depends on the impartiality of the jurors, but that’s impossible in this situation.
Michael Dee
Dallas
To the Editor,
The article about G.O.P. lawmakers pivoting to birth control caught my attention. It’s interesting to see Republicans, especially Republican women, expressing support for contraception in the face of increasing abortion restrictions. And as the leader of a contraception access initiative, I welcome their support.
But support alone isn’t enough. We need government funding at all levels to make birth control more accessible and affordable for women. Public funding for birth control has been proven to improve health outcomes and save costs.
So let’s not just talk about it, let’s take action and increase funding for these programs.
Bonnie Kapp
Columbia, S.C.
