The World and Everything in It: August 13, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. My name is Steve Miller. I live in Alpharetta, Georgia and I'm an alternative career coach. I hope you enjoy today's program.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Good morning! The Boeing Starliner that took astronauts to the International Space Station in June, it’s not bringing them back anytime soon.

AUDIO: They're kind of stuck because their ride isn't fully approved for return.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today, families of American hostages in Gaza hold onto hope, even as the conflict intensifies.

And what some black voters are saying in support of Donald Trump.

AUDIO: Should we look at someone and say, You know what? Because you're not my shade, I'm not going to vote for you?

And later AI tools and America’s work ethic.

BUTLER: It’s Tuesday, August 13th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BUTLER: Up next, Mark Mellinger with today’s news.

MARK MELLINGER, NEWS ANCHOR: U.S. sends help as Israel braces for Iran attack » U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine and an aircraft carrier to the Middle East as Israel braces for a possible attack from Iran.

The strike would be in retaliation for recent assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warns it could come as early as this week.

KIRBY: It is difficult to assert, ascertain, at this particular time, if there is an attack by Iran and/or its proxies, what that could look like. But we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks. Which is why, again, we have increased our force posture and capabilities in the region, even in just the last few days.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military says it takes any statement by the country’s enemies seriously.

HAGARI: [Speaking in Hebrew]

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari adds Israel’s defenses are at peak preparedness. But he says the military has not yet outlined any safety precautions for the public.

Gaza war ceasefire talks latest » Cease-fire talks to pause the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza are scheduled for Thursday. But the question is: Will Hamas show up?

It’s threatening not to, unless mediators agree to implement points of agreement worked out last month.

The Biden Administration is hopeful Israel and Hamas will both come to the negotiating table, saying it’s time for the fighting to end and the hostages to be released.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel…

PATEL: We believe that there has been headway made. But we need to finalize this agreement, continue to close and bridge some gaps, but we believe that an agreement is possible.

If the talks happen, they’ll be in Cairo and negotiators will return to a framework laid out by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar earlier this year.

Iran sending Russia hundreds of ballistic missiles » Iran is preparing to send hundreds of ballistic missiles to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Reuters, which broke the story, reports dozens of Russian military personnel are in Iran getting trained on how to use the satellite-guided weapons.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says…

JEAN-PIERRE: The White House has repeatedly warned of a deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We’ve also warned both parties about further strengthening this partnership.

The new shipment of missiles would expand Russia’s ability to strike close-range targets.

The Biden Administration says the U.S., its NATO allies, and its G7 partners are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran goes ahead with this move calling it a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Trump says Iran hacked campaign » The Trump campaign says Iran has stolen some of its sensitive documents in a cyberattack.

New York Times national security journalist David Sanger says…

SANGER: What we’ve got is some disparate pieces of information that may add up to that, but may not.

Trump’s campaign says Iran stole its documents to disrupt the presidential election.

The FBI is investigating the claim, which comes after a Microsoft report highlighted attempted foreign interference in this year’s election, specifically mentioning Iranian activity.

Iran denies any involvement, but it does have a history of cyberattacks, and it’s threatened retaliation against Trump over a 2020 drone strike that took out a top Iranian military leader.

Trump-Musk live chat on X » Speaking of the former president, he sat down for a live interview with Elon Musk last night on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

The start was delayed by what Musk said was a DDOS, or Distributed Denial of Service attack which targets a server or network by flooding it with fraudulent internet traffic.

But once it was up and running, the two men spanned a wide range of topics: from illegal immigration to Trump surviving last month’s assassination attempt.

TRUMP: It's very much – I say – an act of God. It's a miracle that it happened. And I'm honored by it. I'm honored by it.

Trump says he plans to go back to the town where the attempt happened -Butler. Pennsylvania- for another rally in October.

School reimbursement » A federal court in Maine has reinforced a previous ruling keeping some religious schools from qualifying for state tuition reimbursements. WORLD’s Christina Grube reports.

CHRISTINA GRUBE: The state of Maine runs a voucher program, reimbursing families in rural communities tuition to attend a nearby private school, rather than launching state run schools for isolated communities.

State law dictates that schools must either allow all religious expression or none at all in order to qualify for the voucher program.

The law also gives the state’s Human Rights Commission the final word on how schools teach topics like gender and marriage.

A Catholic school sued the state last year, saying the requirements to qualify for reimbursement discriminate against religious schools, potentially forcing private schools to teach ideals against their religion.

The school asked for a temporary pause to the law’s enforcement which the court rejected last week.

The ruling noted that while the law did have serious constitutional issues, the court still rejected the claim, believing the case would ultimately have no merit.

For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Flight delays in space. Plus, Georgia voters looking for a change in leadership.

This is The World and Everything in It.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 13th of August. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Before we get started today, I want to tell you about an opportunity for families with school-age kids.

If that’s you, I’m sure you’re aware this week is the unofficial end of summer as your kids reopen their textbooks—either around the kitchen table or in a local classroom.

And to kick off the start of the new year, WORLD has a special offer. From now till September 30th you can get three months of WORLD Watch—that’s our daily current events video program for students—three months free.

Brian Basham and his team of reporters are beginning season five, not only covering the news, but providing engaging and educational features that round out a range of study.

Stories like this one from yesterday…

AUDIO: Remember these two? Astronauts Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore climbed aboard the International Space Station in early June…

To watch the rest of that story and to get three months of World Watch on the house, visit: worldwatch.news/radio.

BUTLER: And speaking of astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, up first on today’s program, stuck in space.

AUDIO: …three, two, one. Ignition.

EICHER: Back in June, NASA successfully launched an Atlas rocket with a Boeing Starliner capsule on top carrying the two astronauts. On their way to the ISS several helium tanks sprang leaks, and a few of the maneuvering thrusters went offline. The crew was planning a return trip 8 days later, but NASA delayed that flight until it could figure out what went wrong.

SCOTT HUBBARD: A crew delayed or stuck on the space station is uncommon.

BUTLER: Scott Hubbard is former Director of NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. He says being stranded on the Space Station is nothing like being in a lifeboat.

HUBBARD: They've got water, food, air. Station is a very well-supplied place these days. They're kind of stuck because their ride isn't fully approved for return.

EICHER: Boeing says it believes in Starliner’s ability to return home safely. But NASA on Wednesday said it’s working on a backup plan. It involves bringing the astronauts home on a SpaceX flight early next year.

BUTLER: What does this disagreement mean for private-sector partnerships in space? Joining us now to talk about it is Michelle Hanlon. She’s a law professor at the University of Mississippi. Her speciality is air and space law.

Michelle, good morning.

MICHELLE HANLON: Good morning. Paul, thanks for having me here.

BUTLER: Well, let's start with a big picture kind of question. How did we get from the Space Shuttle Program to NASA now working with companies like Boeing and SpaceX?

HANLON: So, it's actually been a progression. We've been supporting commercial space. It's been the U.S. government policy to support commercial space since Ronald Reagan, really. And each president has supported that, primarily because space is really expensive. And we've seen entrepreneurs can do it more cheaply, and we've seen that in gangbusters with SpaceX. And so what, when we came off the shuttle program and started thinking about, of course, you know, we had no flights to Space Station except through the Russians. And so, it was really a sort of a true gift to be able to have a commercial entity in Space X, be able to take our astronauts there, so we didn't have to rely on the Russians.

BUTLER: So from your position, how have Space X and Boeing done so far in meeting their contracts with NASA.

HANLON: I mean, it's very clear that SpaceX has had multiple trips to Space Station with cargo and with humans, and Starliner Boeing's first attempt has stranded two humans. Stranded might be too strong a word, but has left two humans on Space Station a little bit longer than intended. They were thought to be there just for eight days, and now rumor has it, they might not come back till 2025. For the record, I would note, I think both of those astronauts are very happy to stay up there as long as possible. So, I think it's hard to be a bystander and look at these metrics, right? It's very easy to applaud the success of SpaceX and sort of kick Boeing when it's down. Boeing has not had a good decade between the Boeing Max and these issues with Starliner. But you know, Boeing is a tried and true. Boeing got us to the moon the first time. I wouldn't count Boeing out at this point, and I hope that the government continues to support them.

BUTLER: You know, when this news first broke, I remember seeing a lot of social media posts about it, and, you know, I was just wondering, wow, people seem to be piling on. Boeing. Do you feel like that attention is unmerited?

HANLON: Absolutely. You know, when we look at every time there's a flight goes down, right, we don't, we don't, the general public doesn't really understand, you know, who was doing the maintenance, what was the issue? There's a lot of things that go into making a plane work properly. So I'm not saying Boeing is off the hook for the Boeing Max. Absolutely not. But some of the other issues that we're seeing, you know, there's a lot of parties and a lot of players involved. With respect to Starliner, you know, I mean, the jump to this sort of conclusion that the Starliner is broken and it's unsafe and so forth. I actually, I'm going to throw a little bit of blame around here, and I'm going to blame NASA a little bit. The, there's been a lack of transparency. There's been a lack of, I don't want to call it honesty, but, you know, I call it the the creep. When you're at an airport and the airline says, "Oh, we'll be delayed 10 minutes," and then 10 minutes later they say, we'll be delayed another 20 minutes, and then 20 minutes later, we'll be delayed 10 more minutes, and you end up being delayed five hours. But you're told in these little drips and drops, and I feel like that's what NASA has been doing with Boeing. There's a much bigger picture that there are a lot of smart people at NASA looking at, but they're sort of trickling out this news to the general public, and that's really not helpful for Boeing in this particular situation.

BUTLER: So why do you think they're doing it that way?

HANLON: I think two things. I think that they are a very cautious agency. You know, when if you look back in history, they're the only space agency other than Roscosmos who have lost humans in space. And of course, more humans have been sent by NASA to space than any other, but it's still, it's a burden, and they don't want to be the ones to bring danger, again, to humans in space. They're also operating under this cloud of Shuttle, you know, going back and looking at what happened with the Shuttle missions, understanding what mistakes were made, understanding where decision points went wrong. I think we're in a major sort of overthink of, okay, you know, we need to learn from history. What did we learn from Shuttle? And we have a lot of people in the room giving opinions, giving thoughts, worrying and so forth. But I think fundamentally, look. those two humans, they are safe where they are right now. They are happy where they are right now. What is the point of risking their lives if we don't have all the answers? We have time this time. This isn't Apollo 13, "They only have a certain amount of oxygen," right? We have time. So let's do it right. Let's let's all sort of step back, breathe in deeply, and wait and see if we can fix it.

BUTLER: So with the Starliner capsule not working at full capacity, what do you think NASA will do next? Are they going to accept Boeing's assessment that it will get the job done? Or do you think they'll turn to someone like SpaceX for help?

HANLON: So, the government, particularly this administration, really doesn't like monopolies. So, I think if it's not Boeing, then we're going to find another, and that's an important thing to do. You know, we don't want SpaceX to own all of launch into low Earth orbit and beyond. And so there are a lot of companies starting out rocket launches. There are companies that are focused on small sat but may be able to convert later. You know, I think that a lot of money has been invested in Boeing, and as a taxpayer, I would say, "Hey, let's stick with them," because they have a history. They do have, they have made mistakes, but they can overcome those. And right now, there is no competitor even close to SpaceX. You know, we're waiting to see what capacity Blue Origin has, but they haven't been able to show anything at this point either.

BUTLER: Michelle Hanlon is a professor and Executive Director of the Air and Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Michelle, thanks so much for joining us today.

HANLON: Thank you, Paul.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Americans still held by Hamas

This week, Hamas rejected yet another potential cease-fire deal,  and pressure continues to mount on the Israeli government to try to get those hostages home, held since October 7th, the day of one of the worst single-day attacks on Jews in history.

So far, some 100 of about 240 have been released, and it’s unknown whether the rest are dead or alive.

Meanwhile, Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel following the killing inside Iran of a man said to have been a key figure in the October 7th attack.

How might all this affect diplomatic talks?

WORLD Radio’s Mary Muncy reports.

MARY MUNCY: On Friday, October 6th, Orna and Ronen Neutra told their son, Omer, they would talk to him tomorrow. They were in New York and he was in Israel working with the Israeli Defense Forces. They were trying to figure out what they would do for his birthday the next week.

ORNA NEUTRA: We always check the news, you know, having a son on the other side of the ocean.

It was 11:30 at night New York time and 6:30 in the morning Israel time… on October 7th.

NBC NEWS: Hamas has launched a surprise attack within Israel’s borders.

PBS NEWS HOUR: Gun battles raged for hours in communities across southern Israel.

CBC NEWS: There are also reports of Israeli civilians and soldiers being held hostage.

Omer’s parents tried calling him.

ORNA NEUTRA: He didn't answer. He's usually very responsive.

He wasn’t seeing their WhatsApp messages either.

ORNA NEUTRA: By early Sunday morning, we already knew that he was abducted and taken captive.

By Sunday evening, the Israeli consulate formally informed them that Hamas had taken their son hostage. Now it’s been 311 days

RONAN NEUTRA: In our case, we are not even sure that our son is alive. There is no sign of life, and we just being terrorized on an ongoing basis since October 7.

The hostages are likely being held in inhumane conditions and without adequate food and water, though no third parties have been allowed to visit them.

Aviva Siegel is a preschool teacher in Israel. She told Westchester Reform Temple about her 51 days in captivity.

AVIVA SIEGEL: They did whatever they want to whenever they want to. They starved us and just sat and ate in front of us.

She was captured with her American husband Keith and held with him and two young girls.

SIEGEL: They didn’t give us water for hours, for days while they were drinking in front of us.

The Siegels were transferred several times. Once to a hole in the ground, where they couldn’t stand. She says they ran out of breathable air there several times and were left gasping on the floor. Siegel lost over 20 pounds before Hamas released her.

SIEGEL: After the Holocaust Jews all over the world said, “Never again.” But it’s happened again. Keith is still there.

Hamas is still holding at least five Americans hostage, and the terrorists have not released any proof that they or any other hostages are still alive.

Last week, White House National Security Advisor John Kirby said the administration is trying to negotiate a cease-fire that will bring the hostages home.

JOHN KIRBY: Every passing day is one more day that these hostages are in increasing danger.

Kirby says not making a deal with Hamas would mean sacrificing the lives of the hostages.

The most recent deal would have released some of the hostages in exchange for a cease-fire… but Hamas rejected it on Sunday.

BILL ROGGIO: This is Hamas’ major bargaining chip.

Bill Roggio is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He says Israel is not likely to agree to Hamas’ terms.

ROGGIO: Israel wants those hostages back. Hamas is not going to give them up, unless they get what they want or unless the military takes them by force.

Roggio says if Hamas is allowed to have a safe haven in Gaza, it will lead to more attacks… and possibly more hostages.

ROGGIO: Hamas stated goal is the destruction of Israel. It's not a two state solution.

Since October 7th, Israel has been attacked on two fronts. Hamas in the south and the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah has been firing rockets into the north. That’s combined with their efforts against the Houthi rebels and Iran itself.

Then the Supreme Leader of Iran ordered the military to “harshly punish” Israel after Israel assassinated the leader of Hamas in the Iranian capital. And that’s stoked fears of a full-fledged war with Iran.

Roggio says if Iran attacks, negotiations for hostages will likely go out the window, since Israel just wouldn’t have the bandwidth. Besides, he says Hamas likely wouldn’t be willing to negotiate anyway.

ROGGIO: It could read that situation as ‘well, if Iran and Hezbollah are fighting Israel, they could actually win. They may actually be able to survive. Why would they hand over those hostages and negotiations?’

Orna and Ronen Neutra know there is a lot of politics around getting their son back… but they don’t think that should keep him from coming home.

On Omer’s 22nd birthday, the week after he was taken, they gathered with some of their community. They baked a cake, lit candles, and talked about Omer until the flames went out.

ORNA NEUTRA: He's a big goofball, but also very serious. Sleep wasn't important. Where he fell asleep eventually was even less important. Once he came, he came for a visit from Israel, and he kept talking about how he missed his bed. And then I find him asleep on the carpet in the living room, like, ‘what? Get in your bed!’

Now, Orna and Ronen spend a lot of time talking about their son to anyone who will listen, hoping someone will help him come home. But in the meantime, they’re praying Psalm 23 over him.

ORNA NEUTRA: [RECITING PSALM 23 IN HEBREW]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Remember that scene in Toy Story where the mean kid played the claw machine game and went rooting around among the squeaky toys?

SOUND: [SCENE FROM TOY STORY]

He spotted a Buzz Lightyear and a Woody and was beside himself with delight.

Now that’s the movies, not real life. But sometimes it does imitate art.

This real story is situated about 60 miles south of famous Punxatawney Pennsylvania. Employees at Meadows Family Fun Mini Golf spotted, what else? A live groundhog. There he was stuck among the prizes in the claw machine inside the arcade.

SOUND: [SCENE FROM GROUNDHOG DAY]

Not Phil the groundhog. Just the groundhog. They called the game warden … and the company that has the key to the claw machine … rescued the groundhog, and released him into the wild.

A much happier ending than the ordeal that awaited Buzz and Woody … if you know what I mean.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 13th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: ethnic minorities and the 2024 election.

While 80 percent of black voters are registered Democrats, a recent New York Times/Siena poll shows former President Donald Trump has nearly tripled his support among registered black voters since 2020.

EICHER: WORLD’s Lindsay Mast talked to some black voters in Atlanta about why they support the former president.

LINDSAY MAST: Before the Trump rally in downtown Atlanta earlier this month, a line of people snaked through the streets and parking lots outside the Georgia State University Convocation Center. It was a blazing hot August day–90 degrees and sunny.

An hour and a half before the start time, word spread—the doors were closed. No one else was getting in. People crowded onto the sidewalks around the arena to watch and listen to a Jumbotron broadcasting what was going on inside.

AUDIO: [Sound of rally police]

A woman in heels and a miniskirt wore a fake ankle monitor, an allusion to Trump’s legal challenges. One group wore matching shirts that read “Latino Catholics for Trump.”

A white Chevy Suburban drove by multiple times. Chalk paint on the windows demanded “Honk if you’re MAGA.”

Also circling the area: a mobile billboard truck showing an ad highlighting comments made by and about Trump, bolstering claims that he’s racist. According to The Hill, the Democratic National Committee debuted that ad at this rally. Atlanta has a population that’s 36% black–it’s home to Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and several historically black colleges and universities.

Some sound from the ad:

ADVERTISEMENT: “The black guys counting my money I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes every day because laziness is a trait in blacks.” He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?

The final words, in print on the screen? ‘You shouldn’t.’

So, how does that kind of message influence black Trump supporters? I asked a few people who came out to support him that day why they were there.

GREGORY SAMUEL: Everybody's here for the same reason. Man, everybody wants change.

Gregory Samuel brought his wife and their two young kids. They didn’t get here early enough to get inside. Samuel’s wife told me he worked till midnight the night before so they let him sleep in. The whole family wears brand new Trump hats. Samuel says he’s worried about the future.

SAMUEL: Now, with all this inflation, like we barely can afford groceries, gas prices are out of whack. I mean, everything is just crazy right now, and this is a scary time for our kids as well, with the way schools are going as well with the agendas they have on, like transgender, male, female, and then at the ages, they're presenting that to kids. And I thought it would be perfect to come out here and support these men that believe in the true American family, the true American way.

Samuel says he used to be a Democrat but that Trump’s first presidency changed his mind.

SAMUEL: Who else wants another politician? Nobody, you know. I would rather have a businessman in there, because this country is a business at the end of the day. He already showed you what he can do, the policies he put in place for us, the child tax credit. Put money back in families' homes, and it was a nice amount of money, too, to help us get over that edge.

Keon Young is 30, an entrepreneur who says he makes money using TikTok and AirBnb. He says he no longer trusts the Democratic party.

KEON YOUNG: I feel like the Democrats have led our country astray. I feel like they've sold our country out to foreign countries, and I feel like we need to make America American again.

MAST: Have you always felt that way, or what was that like? Was there a turning point for you?

YOUNG: To be honest, I've always felt that type of way. I feel like the Democrats try to take advantage of the black vote. They think it's just a guaranteed easy vote when it's not. And you’re gonna see it this November - you’re gonna see it at the polls.

MAST: What do you think when you see the signs? I don't know if you saw there was an electric truck rolling around saying Donald Trump is racist, and Georgia voters know that.

YOUNG: I feel like. I feel like a lot of people are misunderstood. They've been programmed to ways that have been programmed in their heads since they were children, like their parents are Democrats, their parents have always taught them that anyone who's Republican is a racist, so they have a misconception in their head about that. And I feel like a lot of people are just stuck on that.

One woman, Nicole, wouldn’t give her last name but told me she’s a Christian. She said her political views started to pivot when her faith didn’t always align with the policies of the Obama administration. This will be her third time voting for Trump.

NICOLE: Should we look at someone and say, You know what? Because you're not my shade, I'm not going to vote for you. Clearly, we've all lived under his presidency, his presidency, and we I know for me and my family, we were way better where finances is concerned, we were way better. That was not–we traveled more, we explored more, we enjoyed life more. It wasn't a time where I had to look back and say, Wait, hold on, wait, wait, maybe my coupons are helping. 

MAST: What do you say when people say, well, Trump's character is flawed and faulty and would disqualify him?

NICOLE: I love that question, why? Because every last one of us are. That's why we need a savior. Every day we wake up, we are blessed to breathe new air and wake up and see the beautiful sun. We have the opportunity for us to say, you know what, Father, I got it wrong yesterday. I said this, I did this. My attitude was just ugly. Father, I repent. That's an opportunity to change your mind.

The people I spoke to said they’re tired of the role race has started to play in the election. That they wish people would research the candidates’ records. That they think another Trump presidency is the way to get a future they can feel good about.

SAMUEL: Everybody wants a better life. Everybody wants another, better four years, like we did have. Everybody wants to prosper. Everybody wants to feed their families, you know.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lindsay Mast in Atlanta, Georgia.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 13th, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. World Opinions Commentator Brad Littlejohn now on the false promises of artificial intelligence.

BRAD LITTLEJOHN: If you watched the Olympics this year, chances are you noticed the steady parade of strikingly tone-deaf AI advertisements filling the commercial breaks. One, for Google’s Gemini, features a young girl striving to imitate her idol, track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. In a voice-over, her father says that she “wants to show Sydney some love,” and asks Gemini to write a fan letter to the Olympic hurdling champion. The ad soon went viral for all the wrong reasons.

Media scholar Shelly Palmer writes, “I flatly reject the future that Google is advertising. I want to live in a culturally diverse world where billions of individuals use AI to amplify their human skills, not in a world where we are used by AI pretending to be human.”

Other AI ads, however, were only slightly less overt in their anti-humanism. In a Microsoft Copilot ad, an employee realizes he hasn’t adequately prepared for an important work meeting. He quickly pulls up Copilot and asks the software to summarize 150 pages worth of material into key points for his presentation. His face lights up as he imagines wowing his co-workers with the snazzy charts and slides.

It’s not hard to believe that many of us, in such a pinch, might ask technology to help bail us out. What beggars believe, however, is that any of us should feel proud of it. Indeed, in many pursuits, the pride we feel in an achievement is directly proportional to the amount of blood, tears, toil, and sweat it took to get there. Riding a ski lift may give you the same breathtaking views as scaling a mountaintop on foot, but chances are the latter will provide far richer and more lasting memories. In some pursuits, we recognize that taking shortcuts isn’t just lame; it should be a source of shame.

Besides, we used to have a word for having someone else write a presentation for you and passing it off as your own: cheating.

The problem is that although we may know better, when it comes to action we tend to follow the path of least resistance. AI can be a very powerful tool, doing hours worth of mind-numbing grunt work in seconds so we can focus on higher-level thinking, creating, and communicating. But it can be tempting to let it start doing that for us as well. We begin by letting the AI correct our spelling, and soon find ourselves letting it draft entire emails. What begins as a supplement can quickly become a substitute, if we’re not careful.

It is particularly ironic that ads about such technology should fill the airwaves in between showcases of real human beings pulling off truly astonishing feats of real human achievement at the Olympic Games. When we discover that some record-breaking swim or jump was fueled by artificial performance enhancers, we are rightly scandalized. How much more so if we discovered the swimmer wasn’t human at all! “But why?” the AI enthusiasts might ask. “If it’s amazing to watch someone long jump 30 feet, wouldn’t it be even cooler to have a world where robotically-assisted athletes jumped 50 feet?” Google’s marketing team might think so, but the rest of us know better.

I’m Brad Littlejohn.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: A prominent pro-Palestinian Democrat in the House loses her primary in St. Louis. We’ll talk about it on Washington Wednesday. And, efforts in Brazil to protect children from a life of crime and drugs. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes:  “Salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; ​​He is their strength in the time of trouble. ​​And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them because they trust in Him.” —Psalm 37: 39, 40

Go now in grace and peace.

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