I don’t disagree, but the article isn’t talking about for-profit universities. Private and for-profit are not the same thing (though it doesn’t go out of its way to point out the difference). Most private universities in the US are nonprofit. From the article:

There are about 3,700 two- and four-year public and private degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States. That’s already down from a peak of 4,726 in 2012. Almost all that have closed since then were private, for-profit schools, which enjoyed a brief boom before crashing under the weight of consumer discontent and increased regulation.

Many converging reasons explain why private, nonprofit colleges and universities, too, are now under existential strain.

None of that changes the fact that tuition is so absurdly out of control that it certainly feels like a scam. There are a ton of reasons for these rising costs. But for most schools, profit actually isn’t the reason.

I think that given human nature, there will certainly be some providers who overly rely on it. There are already therapists and other professionals who cut corners where they shouldn’t in a variety of ways. Probably the most common example of this is when therapists write bare-bones notes with practically no useful information to bridge one session to the next. That’s been happening since documentation was a legal requirement.

However, as always, any serious professional is going to take the time to do it right. They will understand how to use a tool effectively while keeping their skills sharp. In my field, with this tool, that would mean every note is read and edited so that it is truly useful. For example, editing the content of the note so that it can be interpreted through the therapist’s theoretical orientation.

I would hope that training programs and continuing education providers emphasize that any note they sign, including one generated by AI, is one that they are still legally responsible for. So it behooves them to always read it thoroughly and check it for accuracy.

With any new tool, certain skills will diminish but new skills will be developed. So writing skills may suffer, but good therapists will be good at editing and using effective prompts to get a good note.

Also, for what it’s worth, documentation skills and intervention skills are very different. I have known a few excellent therapists who were absolute shit at documenting. These therapists tend to be so naturally gifted and intuitive that they don’t need to document very well to be effective. And many therapists write very good notes but are mediocre at the actual therapy. So, at least for now, I tend to see the potential pros as outweighing the potential cons. That could change though!

I understand those concerns and I think there’s validity. But there’s also enormous potential for benefit.

I know of several therapists who are very good at being present with a client but terrible at documentation. And if one of these has a busy day or two it is easy to get behind. By the time they get around to writing the note the details are very fuzzy. Human memory is notoriously unreliable. A therapist I respect has said that if you’re writing a note 24 hours or more after the session, you’re probably writing fiction. A tool like this has the potential to greatly help the documentation process. But I agree that it should never become a replacement. I thoroughly read all my notes and often make edits to make them more relevant to me.

An attorney I know who specializes in representing therapists and regularly conducts legal and ethics trainings has also said that from a legal standpoint, when comparing human to AI generated notes, the AI notes are usually superior. They contain details like quotes and they automatically include all the stuff that matters for legal or insurance requirements. This attorney is VERY risk averse and honestly I thought she would have been against this, expecting horror stories like artifacts. Her opinion was a factor in me trying it out.

Again, I stress that this is a tool and not a replacement. When I read through a note, I am considering the things my clients said and my interventions to see if it matches up. It’s not perfect but it is very good and I’ve regularly been surprised with how helpful it can be.

I can’t know for certain, as I’m not on the product side of things. But I do know that HIPAA standards are very rigorous and if it were discovered that they were intentionally misleading therapists and clients then it would invite a class action lawsuit that would be insanely large.

I do ask for and document my clients’ consent, though, so if anyone is not comfortable with it that’s fine. I just write the note the old fashioned way. Most are fine but a few have said they don’t want to and it’s not a big deal.

Yes basically, but since it is HIPAA compliant the recording is automatically destroyed when the note is saved. Also no protected recordings are used to teach the AI. The therapist can also choose from a number of different case note formats that might focus on different things

I’m a therapist. I use HIPAA compliant AI to generate my (editable) case notes for my sessions now. Not only is it a huge time saver to simply edit a generated note as opposed to making one from scratch, but in many cases it takes more detailed notes, including quotes from clients.

I have heard of other therapists and medical doctors also using AI to help with diagnosing.

The danger is when therapistsdon’t review the content to check for accuracy. Because occasionally it will generate something not really reflective of what the therapist might have been doing, or it might lack detail that the therapist might have otherwise inclused. But more often the stuff it comes up with is surprisingly accurate.And editing is even easier when you can just tell the AI something like, “include more details about how the client noticed their pattern of putting their own feelings last,” and it just does what you asked. You don’t necessarily have to edit manually, though you can.

There have been many organized protests against Trump since he took office. I’m not sure how much press they’ve received outside the US. Though many still support him because they are indoctrinated into the MAGA cult, I would say that most (over half) of Americans are against the war for a variety of reasons.

The problem is that there is not much we can do in the short term to create change. Our system of government does not have an effective means to recall a leader.

The threat of legal action does little to deter this administration. For one thing, it’s slow. For another, they’ve shown that they can and will ignore court orders and this far don’t suffer any consequences. Finally, the administration has done as much as possible to install loyalists and remove honest people in every part of government, including the legal system.

Impeachment is a joke. Even if the process was started again, Republicans in the Senate would never convict one of their own.

So the average citizen doesn’t approve of what is happening but don’t see any effective means to change. It’s a very helpless feeling. Many disgruntled communities have been able to create some change in their local government but even changing political parties is not real change. We still have 2 right wing parties bought by special interests. I think many of us just try to do good where we can in our own sphere of influence.

Is this epic fury?

Depression is a label used to describe a combination of symptoms, but the cause of this combination can differ from person to person. That’s why in some cases meds and exercise might not help. Unfortunately there’s just still a lot we don’t know about the different causes.

As an American, 2020s and it’s not even close. The rise of Christian nationalism empowered by the Republican party has led to the loss of bodily autonomy and LGBTQ+ rights in red states. We have alienated our international allies. ICE has become Trump’s gestapo, literally ripping families apart and terrorizing cities. Blatant gerrymandering. Inflation is out of control. And we have a literal pedophile in office. I was born in the 80s and I can confidently say it has never been this bad in my lifetime. I am not even sure that we will have a fair election to begin to undo this damage.

Vibrate.

Reports now coming in that it was their son, Nick. Tragic

I recently went to one for the first time with my adolescent son. It was a blast!

We basically went in with the mentality of being curious and flexible. For example, we had the con schedule ahead of time and had highlighted some things we definitely wanted to do, but we left the door open for opportunities that might be more interesting.

The con had some things that were always accessible like an arcade with Japanese games, a board game library, etc. It also had things you had to sign up in advance for like if you wanted to do a DnD one shot. Some things you just had to show up on time for like hearing voice actor panels and some things you have to be on time AND pay extra for like autographs and photos with featured guests. I would say my biggest advice is to make a budget with some wiggle room and then stick to it. It’s very easy to overspend because there is a lot of cool merch.

Think ahead about food options. There was a vendor on site with limited options and some food trucks outside. But many attendees didn’t realize that showing your wrist and to restaurants in walking distance would get you discounts or free items. It pays to look at the convention program to see what deals are available. Bring a water bottle because they may not allow outside food or drinks, but most places will let you fill up at the water fountains.

Also think ahead about parking if your con isn’t near public transit. We had to pay something like $25 to park in a lot that was a block away because the on site parking was completely taken by the time we got there (an hour before the doors opened).

This year we just did a one day pass though the con itself is 3 days long. We did this because we had no idea what to expect and didn’t want to overcommit. We might do more next year but we will definitely do it again. If you do decide to do multiple days consider the extra costs for food, parking, merch, etc and plan accordingly.

Aside from that, I really wish we had cosplayed. We didn’t because my son was embarrassed to, but he regretted that when we got there and saw people of every age and gender in costumes of every level of quality. A cheap homemade costume will fit in as much as a pro cosplayer, especially if you put a spin on it like gender bending or a character in a different time period. Sometimes the intentionally terrible costumes were more popular than the super detailed ones!

Imagine a government holding corrupt officials accountable

I used to be into it more in high school and college. My hometown teams were winning and it was a great bonding experience with other guys and my dad.

After I had kids and was working full time, I didn’t have time. Not to mention I was an early cord cutter, so I couldn’t follow games like I used to when I had cable. Another factor was that the research on CTE made watching American football feel gross.

I came to realize, I didn’t really miss it all that much. I will watch an occasional game here or there if it’s special, but otherwise meh. There’s plenty of other things I either have to do or would prefer doing instead. Maintaining a home and kids’ activities take a lot of time. When I do have free time I’d rather play a game or watch a good show. I will keep up with the headlines just so I can have a conversation with my dad or father in law about whatever is happening, but it’s pretty minimal at this point.

This approach worked great for Biden, let’s see how well it works for the Orange

Soon to be rebranded as Paramaga, to cater to “the middle”

I think they mixed up Russia and Ukraine

If you don’t care about gaining muscle and mainly want to lose fat then the fastest way to do that is reducing calorie intake. In other words, diet, diet, diet. And not just as a temporary thing, but as a long term endeavor. Otherwise you will gain everything you lost back.

For perspective, on average running a mile burns 100-150 calories. A plain donut has anywhere from 150-400 calories. So if you have a donut you will need to run at least a mile to cancel it out, probably more. Or you can simply eat healthy by skipping the donut and focusing on lean meats, veggies, and healthy fats. Processed foods and sugary foods are about the worst you can eat for losing fat, so avoid them outright.

I have also found that intermittent fasting helps a lot for losing fat. The longer you go without replenishing calories, the longer your body stays in ketosis, where your body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose. The hardest part is the first week or two, but your body will adjust and the hunger pangs do go away. Pick a realistic schedule and stick to it where you only eat in a certain window of time. 16:8 is great for starting off, where for 16 hours a day you don’t eat anything (water is fine), and for 8 hours you can. So for example you could avoid eating until 11am, and you would have until 7pm to have additional meals. After 7 you stop eating untill 11am the next day.

Also drink lots of water. Often time when your body feels hungry, you don’t actually need calories, you probably need water. Water also helps you feel more full so you will want to snack less. In fact, if you tend to drink sugary drinks like soda, replacing everything with water will have noticeable results pretty quickly. If you’re a coffee drinker, learn to drink it black if you don’t already. There’s virtually no calories in black coffee or tea.

Exercise is great and there are many good reasons to exercise. I highly recommend it. It will help some with losing fat, especially cardio, but not if you don’t change your diet. I would put more effort into changing (and maintaining) your diet at first if you want to lose fat.

Spells and chanting…