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2024 by the Numbers 

A presidential election, summer Olympics, two regional wars, and a stock market reaching all-time highs all contributed to a year we will not soon forget.  Here are some other notable statistics from 2024 as defined by their numbers. $ 36.2 Trillion – The national debt as of 12/4. That represents $ 107 Thousand per U.S. citizen or 123% of US GDP.1 $ 7.1 Trillion – Current annual U.S. Federal spending.2 $ 2.1 Trillion – Current U.S. Federal Deficit.3 $ 2.0 Trillion – The amount a proposed advisory committee of the incoming presidentialadministration believes the Federal Budget can be reduced.4  $ 1.0 Trillion – Current yearly interest on the national debt.5 $ 56 Billion – Elon Musk’s twice judicially-denied pay package at Tesla.6  50 Billion – The number of internet users worldwide as of October 2024 which amounted to 67.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.2 billion, or 63.8...

10.03.2023
Artificial Versus Human Intelligence

Artificial Versus Human Intelligence

It seems that Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence are invading every part of modern life. According to recent news reports, over 80% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted one of the new large language AI models.[1] Goldman Sachs estimates that AI adoption could enable a 1.5% increase in labor productivity resulting in an increase of 1.1% per year of Gross Domestic Product (GDP – the total value of all goods and services produced by the economy). Given that our GDP normally averages around 2.5%, a 1.1% addition to our average GDP could represent a 40% increase, significantly impacting corporate earnings and market valuations across the economy.[2] Certainly, AI models can organize, summarize, reconcile, and interpret labeled data beyond human capacity, but can they duplicate the more intangible aspects of human endeavors? These models increasingly mimic human behaviors and beg an intriguing question: are they more than just a better abacus that...