The flagship Fantasy Free Economics blog got hacked and will be down for a short time. The light of reality has a lot of opposition. I am used to these things. My experts tell me it will be up again by Wednesday of next week.
I answer questions on Quora. The elites of the world ask questions, certainly AI based. Why? Perhaps they are testing AI based chatting software. Maybe they are holding a finger up in the air to tell which way the wind is blowing. Or, they could be figuring out ways to launch multitudes of AI based chats across cyberspace. Millions of AI posers espousing anointed opinions, as a new way to impose their will on society.
I have answered questions for Bill Gates and Vice President Vance. The following question was asked by Elon Musk. Continue reading
Posted on January 30, 2026 by jamesq
This applies to all of us in the great unwashed – not so much the country’s leaders. Among the general population, the right and left have a great deal in common. Start with ignorance. Reading is a waning activity.
86% of Americans now get their news digitally, with only 7% relying on print newspapers.
Over 50% of adults get news from social platforms like Facebook or YouTube, where the “reading” involved is often limited to headlines or short captions rather than full articles. The proportion of U.S. adults who read for pleasure daily dropped by 40% between 2003 and 2023. Engagement fell from roughly 28% of the population in 2004 to just 16% in 2023. Continue reading
Ronald Reagan set the precedent first by embracing the Full Employment act of 1978 – which changed the economy from free market…. to planned. Since that time, the rich have done the planning. All administrations since have followed Reagan’s lead. It has been nothing but deficit spending and money printing ever since. The rise of the government -made billionaires followed. Continue reading
“When Times Got Really Weird” is a folk-style narrative song that serves as an allegory for societal collapse, the loss of self-reliance, and the dangerous allure of authoritarianism in times of crisis.
The lyrics depict a progression from economic hardship to spiritual desperation, and finally to a total loss of freedom. Below is an interpretation of the song’s key themes and symbols:
An expert is one who uses words and phrases that lend credibility by creating the illusion of competence. Experts’ language sets them apart from the great unwashed from whom they derive their incomes. Do they know more than you? Sure.
However, they are better off if you are convinced that you know nothing at all. Using fancy words and phrases turns out to be an ideal way to make themselves appear necessary.
How honest are AI search engines? Here is what I am initially finding. One is honest. The other is quite deviously more interested in trying to lower my interest in the question.
Is it okay for world leaders to have been present on the Epstein Island where underage girls were the main attraction, being raped and exploited and treated as totally innocent under the law?
I asked the question above on two completely different AI search engines, Meta and Ask AI. Each answer yielded completely different answers. Meta gave a soft pedal type of answer, giving the benefit of any doubt, to any luminary who might be implicated in the files. Also, META changed the subject by shedding doubt that there was evidence of any world leader being on the island. I accused no one in particular. On the other hand Ask AI gave a great thoughtful answer and answered only the question I asked.
The situation involving Epstein Island – also known as Little St. James…. is a serious and disturbing case of alleged human trafficking and exploitation. Multiple allegations have been made against Jeffrey Epstein and some of his associates regarding the exploitation of
underage girls on the island. Regarding world leaders, some have been associated with Epstein, but there’s limited publicly available
information confirming their presence on the island. Any potential involvement or knowledge of the activities on Epstein’s island would require a thorough investigation. Multiple investigations and lawsuits have been conducted, and some individuals have been convicted of crimes related to Epstein’s activities. However, specific information about world leaders’ involvement or presence on the island is not widely available or confirmed. Would you like more information on the Epstein case or related investigations?
Ask AI The question of whether it is acceptable to have been present on Jeffrey Epstein’s island, given the documented crimes of sexual abuse and exploitation of underage girls, is unequivocally no. Presence on the island, particularly for individuals who were aware or should have been aware of the illicit activities, implies complicity or at the very least, a severe dereliction of moral and ethical responsibility. The ongoing nature of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation makes the involvement of prominent figures in such activities particularly egregious, as it directly undermines efforts to combat these crimes].
According to www.iAsk.Ai – Ask AI:
The legal and ethical ramifications of being associated with Epstein’s activities are profound. Legally, individuals present on the island could face scrutiny for potential involvement in or facilitation of the crimes, obstruction of justice, or other related offenses, depending on their level of knowledge and participation [3]. Ethically, any association with such egregious acts of child abuse is morally reprehensible. For world leaders, who are expected to uphold justice, protect vulnerable populations, and set an example of ethical conduct, involvement or even mere presence in such a context represents a catastrophic failure of their duties and a betrayal of public trust [4]. Their role should be to actively combat human trafficking and pedophilia, not to be implicated in it. The continued prevalence of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation underscores the critical need for leaders to be beyond reproach in these matters.
The propensity to be loyal to what a person is born into…. and most all of what he is familiar with – is instinctive. Folks are loyal to their alma mater or any school they might be attending. They are loyal to their town or neighborhood. The list goes on.
The propensity to be loyal is a human instinct. Such an instinct has been necessary because, over eons, it has been necessary for the survival of the human species. In the modern world, such an instinct can and often does work against the welfare of the individual. Life and history move rapidly – while instincts take eons to change and accommodate sociological changes.
One might be asked. Are you a loyal American? In today’s world an interesting answer might be, “My loyalty is conditional.” When using natural law, people and institutions are treated according to how they function, and not according to how they are defined.
The United States is defined as a republic. Does it function as a republic? To what extent should an individual be loyal to an institution which is not what it is deemed to be?
As you may know, I think and live in the light of reality. The developers of AI don’t. I will get to that.
For myself ( academic, author and researcher) so far, AI has been a complete blessing. What I can accomplish in little time and effort now is amazing. But…. I don’t pay anyone a dime.
The first question I asked is: What exactly is going to be the profit engine that enriches those who are expecting to get rich?
AI will definitely do these things.
Boost productivity: AI automates tasks, letting people do more valuable work.
Create new products/services: AI helps build new offerings, like personalized shopping or AI-generated art.
Improve existing operations: AI makes things like manufacturing or customer service more efficient.
Personalize everything: AI understands customers better, leading to more targeted marketing and sales.
Trying to personalize everything will lose money for them. Online vendors are clueless when it comes to anticipating consumer demand. There is nothing new in online marketing. Consumers are immune to their marketing techniques. They are completely cost – conscious and are becoming irritated at those who assume they know what folks are thinking.
I haven’t found a way AI will be used in every home in the United States alongside computers, etc. That may be forthcoming.
Here is where the war begins. Furious competition will develop within the AI community. Aspiring AI profiteers will try to destroy one another. AI search engines are biased with respect to any search where the answer could possibly raise doubts about the existing order of things. Nothing critical of the Affordable Care Act will ever be said. As an experiment, try an AI answer to “Who killed JFK ?” Only Baidu’ AI search lists other possibilities. The Facebook AI search is so biased that it is ridiculous. AI searches are all biased but not near to the extent traditional search engines are. AI will never be perfect. AI is quite inept at abstract thinking. The only human nature it understands is that of those who developed it.
There are no genuine traditional search engines. Google is an advertising company. You only see what Google wants you to see. The emergence of AI will compromise Google greatly. The following are previous posts that focus on the headwinds big tech faces.
Because of AI’s enormous costs, lobbying efforts will be made to gain government subsidies. Those may be forthcoming but this is not a good time to ask taxpayers for monetary gifts.
AI searches will break the backs of most tech companies. Big tech cannot prosper if they are unable to control and manage what people think and do. They are already losing that battle. Big Tech had already been losing this battle prior to the advent of AI and its bubble, albeit not stock prices.There are many elephants in the room that no one sees.
AI will be with us from now on. It will greatly enhance the efforts of academics. It will cause the loss of jobs. New jobs will be found. This always happens when superior technology is introduced.
Most importantly, the initial market failures of AI entrepreneurs will crash the stock market and usher in the 2nd great depression – one even greater than the first one.
They are selling what the public will never buy. AI will eventually then be put to higher and better uses as time passes. The second rat will get the cheese.
There are two questions. What an entity knows?, How well does an entity use what an entity does know? In doing AI searches, I have noticed that an inquiry that asks a completely non-controversial question, gets a genuine, sometimes extraordinary answer. Ask a question that threatens the existing power structure and a non-threatening, often ambiguous answer is generated.
Thinking in the light of reality allows one to see what is obvious. One thing is for certain. AI is already being used to manage the thought, understandings and opinions of the public.AI is apparently quite inept with respect to abstract thinking and genuine human nature.
AI does not understand human nature. The folks developing AI do not think in the light of reality anymore than anyone else. AI will reflect their mindsets.
Only billionaires and politicians will have the means of using AI to its full potential.
So, how long will the public be able to retrieve honest information by way of AI? Not, long, because the elite depend upon controlling the minds of ordinary people in order to accomplish their goals.
They will compete with one another for power and control.
The world we live in is governed by the laws of dominance and subservience. There is no way to escape the system until our tenure here is complete.
Most people are unwilling to entertain the idea that most of what we do in aggregations of people is instinctive and that we have inborn propensities that are always present. `
Two of the instincts are to exalt our species and exalt ourselves as we interact with others in in the various aggregations we belong to. Because we are so important and special to ourselves, it is normal to expect that others view us in a similar light.
Democracy favors any group or person who has political power.
Here is a general idea for how this works out.
15% of the population controls 90% of the wealth. This group uses the principles of democracy to pass laws that benefit them alone and dictate policy to our government. This causes a wide income gap between the super rich and everyone else.
The upper 15% have the most money. They use their money to manage public opinion. The public, therefore, does not mind.
The bottom 85% have enormous potential power and could easily change the system so that democracy serves them. Why don’t the people use that power for their own benefit?
Citizens treat government as if it were their guardian. They unwittingly think that their representatives are working on their behalf, trying to do what is best for society. They are not. Elected representatives act out of self interest just like other human beings. This is human nature.
Plain and simple, democracy works for those with political power, provided that they have the will to use it to pursue their interests
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Show me where in the constitution it is written that the job of the U.S. president is to guide the U.S. economy.
Tell me how a president acting as CEO of a nation is compatible with free market principles.
Then point to a case in history where Tariffs along with a trade war has done anything but destroy the economy of every country which participates.
Now who benefits from a president taking such actions? Is it you the citizen? How is this all working out for you personally at this time?
Or, is it an elite group that lobbies relentlessly for policies from which they alone profit while all others suffer?
Is it really a good idea for U.S. citizens to grant any president dictatorial powers? How has this worked out historically for other countries which have done the same?
I have been asking experts to explain exactly what artificial intelligence is. So far, not a one has given a cohesive answer. That doesn’t mean it is not anything. Never discount this kind of development, even though it may not have any personal utility to you at the moment. Every new invention I can remember, got dismissed by many as something that would never catch on…. automobiles, computers, smartphones and so on. AI, most likely will change the world. Based on initial observations as to how it is being used now, it is a destructive joke of a development.
Is it good for further enslaving the global population? AI is being used in an attempt to do just that. So far, it has only created a degree of online chaos, that is driving folks offline. It is a great money saver for the online industry but, is that worth the business it is running off? Continue reading
