Experience vs. Intellect

Hooray for spooky season — colorful trees, crisp air, costume contests, and cheerful gatherings around cornhole games and firepits at tailgate parties! If you're looking for something festive to do, be sure to check out our abundant events calendar on pages 6-10 for seasonal fun close to home.

Speaking of spooky season, many people are a little skittish (or, in some cases, totally freaked out) about artificial intelligence (AI), what it can do, and how it can be utilized. Senator John Albers' feature, "AI and Regulation: Progress vs. Responsibility" on pages 20-22, will shed some light on where things stand with government oversight and safe usage of this powerful technology.

But it's also important to remember that while AI is a quick and convenient tool with numerous practical applications, it's limited by its inability to feel and empathize or elicit those same qualities in those who use it.

For example, AI may be able to tell you everything you want to know about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks — what you'll see, how to get there, the best time of year to visit — it can even tell you what the weather was like on a specific date if you ask it. What it can't tell you is how you will feel standing among trees that are, on average, the size of a 26-story building. It can't tell you what the combination of leaves, bark, moss, soil, and other vegetation smells like when you close your eyes and inhale deeply. You can only know these things if you go there yourself.

"It is spiritual bypass when the experience is through the intellect. This is an innocent way to protect oneself from feeling. Whatever guidance is resourced from the experience will be limited to the mind's understanding." -Dr. Maura Moynihan

May your October be filled with core-memory-making moments that can't be described in words.

Cheers