We live in times when so many of us find it increasingly difficult to focus on just one thing at a time. When we do not have sufficient time, our technological devices enable us to be in multiple places all at once. But it comes with a cost. Modern technology has split our concentration into smaller bits, scattering them in many directions. As we have become more technologically savvy, we also seem to have lost our ability to live in the present ~ a place where we actually want to be without stress and distractions.

Although we can connect with just about anybody with a touch of a finger, we often find ourselves unable to engage in genuine, one-on-one communication. On the one hand, technology has made us more efficient and productive but, on the other, we find that our attention is scattered and our lives marked by stress and complications. Consequently, we are not always mindful when we are communicating with ourselves or with others. So what exactly is mindfulness? It is the act of consciously focusing your mind in the present moment without judgment and without attachment to the moment.

It can help us become more aware of what is going on for us both internally and externally. We become more present to the here and now. Professor Emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, defines mindfulness as the awareness that arises by paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, world renowned Zen Master and author of several books on mindfulness, the term mindfulness refers to keeping ones consciousness alive to the present reality.

Although practicing mindfulness has become highly popular in the United States in recent years, it is an ancient practice introduced by Hindu and Buddhist spiritual leaders over 2,500 years ago as a means of calming the mind and gaining insight into the impermanent and interdependent nature of the self. There are now many leading experts on mindfulness in the United States who teach how to harness the power of mindfulness and how it can be used to manage stress, center ones self, see more clearly, live more fully, step out of routine thought patterns, and open hearts and minds.

There are also numerous books written by experts on mindfulness that show us ways how to live in the present moment with ourselves and with others. This is accomplished by engaging in different kinds of meditation techniques, which emphasize the cultivation of keen awareness to experiences in the present moment without any kind of analysis or interpretation or having any kind of attachment to a particular outcome. Kabat-Zinn and many neuroscientists in the United States have helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine, demonstrating that practising mindfulness improves both our physical and psychological wellbeing resulting in positive changes in our health, attitudes, and behaviour.

According to these experts, mindfulness techniques benefit us in a number of important ways; it helps relieve stress, lowers blood pressure, reduces chronic aches and pains, helps with sleep, reduces gastrointestinal problems and, finally, mindfulness is good for our heart. Mindfulness also improves our psychological wellbeing. American psychotherapists now use mindfulness meditation extensively to treat depression, eating disorders, anger, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, among others. Medical research findings also indicate that mindfulness contributes to a positive attitude.

Being mindful also helps us to become fully engaged in activities, while increasing our capacity to deal with adverse events. By focusing on the present, people who practise mindfulness have reported that they dont easily get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past. They also seem to be less preoccupied with success that boosts ones ego and they are also more capable of forming deep and meaningful connections with others. Since mindfulness has so many important benefits for us, whether they are connected with our physical or emotional wellbeing, mindfulness training has certainly become tremendously popular with many major organizations in the United States.

Companies like Adobe, Amazon, Ford, General Mills, Google, Target, and Goldman Sachs, to name a few, have all instituted mindfulness training for their employees so that they are healthier, less stressed and more focused on their jobs. Mindfulness experts are also training CEOs of major corporations on mindfulness techniques. Business leaders who practise mindfulness report that they now perceive issues more objectively; they can form deeper relationships that are empathic, and they are not driven by their ego and pride as they learn to be humble. These business leaders often mention that they are also more productive, more creative in solving problems, more satisfied with their jobs and are less stressed in challenging situations.

The growing popularity of practising mindfulness in the United States is not just limited to big corporations. Now mindfulness training is imparted to the US military and the US Department of Defence, which have invested millions of dollars to identify ways for US defence personnel to become more focused and less stressed in their work. Even educators in American high schools are turning increasingly to mindfulness training for students, teaching them how to concentrate in the classroom and deal effectively with stress. Many high schools in the United States are also investing time and money to train high school teachers about mindfulness.

At this point, a reader may ask how can one practise mindfulness? Although there is actually more than one way to such practise, the goal of mindfulness is to always be in the present moment. This is achieved by focusing on our breathing as we meditate. When we meditate, we pay attention to the thoughts and sensations that distract us but we do not try to fight them. Nor do we pass any judgment on them. We just observe these thoughts and sensations and go back to focusing on our breathing again. Our goal is to allow our mind to refocus on the present. Here are four popular mindfulness techniques, which all involve meditation. There are obviously many more approaches to achieving mindfulness.

1. Basic mindfulness meditation ~ we need to sit quietly and focus on natural breathing. We must allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to our focus on breath. 2. Body sensations. In this technique, we are supposed to observe the subtle sensations in our body such as an itch or tingling without passing any kind of judgment and let them pass. We must notice each part of our body in succession from head to toe. 3. Sensory ~ Here we practise observing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. We name the sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch without judgment and let them go. 4.Emotions ~ In this mindfulness technique, we allow emotions to be present without judgment. We practise a steady and relaxed naming of emotions such as joy, anger, frustration, while accepting the presence of the emotions without judgment and letting them go.

While all this may seem to be a new-age approach to our holistic wellbeing, hard medical evidence demonstrates that we can train our brains to function differently and that brains can adapt and rewire. This phenomenon, known as neuroplasticity, suggests that there are concrete and provable benefits to exercising the brain by engaging in mindfulness. It is precisely because of this scientific component that mindfulness has gained so much traction with people who might otherwise find this to be spiritual mumbo jumbo. According to Richard J. Davidson, founder and chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, There is a swathe of our culture who is not going to listen to someone in monks robes, but they are paying attention to scientific evidence.

Davidson and his coresearchers published a scientific paper in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, demonstrating that Buddhist monks who had spent at least 10,000 hours of meditation time had brains with more functional connectivity than folks who never meditated or meditated in small doses. These monks also had a higher state of consciousness. Of course, most of us will never have the capacity to meditate at the level of a monk. But neuroscientists seem to be convinced that there is hope for far less experienced meditators because by engaging in mindfulness meditations, they will have more capacity for a working memory, more focused attention and less stress in their lives.

(The writer is Professor of Communication Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles)

The rest is here:

Focus without Stress - The Statesman

And for some that means turning to relaxation and breathing techniques that have been around for centuries.

Since as long ago as the ancient Greeks crystals have been used to achieve physical, emotional and spiritual balance.

Today people from all walks of life swear by their power and turn to them to help ease their stress and anxiety worries.

When Patsy Parr, who lives in Kinver, began having difficulties sleeping she too decided to use crystals to give her an emotional boost.

I was having severe problems with night terrors I used to imagine people were coming to get me in the night, says the 27-year-old.

Desperate to find a solution, she was inspired to try crystal healing while attending a reiki retreat in Glastonbury with her mum Samantha and sister Gemma.

As well as easing her night-time anxiety, the marketing director also began using them to steady her nerves ahead of important presentations.

But Patsy, who at 16 found herself on X-Factor alongside Olly Murs and Jedward as part of the girl band Belle Sorelle, found clutching a crystal at her time of need wasnt always convenient.

It was chunky and big I needed something better to help my stress and anxiety, she tells Weekend.

This led her to design a range of bracelets to help with meditation and mindfulness inspired by the Taoism philosophy of living in harmony.

Its about going with the flow of life and not against the grain and having a positive mindset, explains Patsy who runs the business alongside Samantha and Gemma.

There are six different bracelets the sky blue and royal indigo tones found in Sodalite are said to stimulate creativity. The Tigers Eye, with its deep chocolate and caramel tones, oozes wisdom. Rose Quartz is well known to be calming and represent unconditional love.

Gunmetal grey Hematite boosts energy, Snowflake Obsidian is associated with power and strength, Amethyst evokes peace, calm and spiritual awareness.

The idea is that they can be used to practice mediation. The wearer can hang the bracelet on their middle finger and use their thumb to rotate each bead towards themselves. When the reach the silver disc, they reverse the process.

As each bead is rotated, they can take a breath and there is an empowering mantra which can been repeated.

For example for amethyst, which represents peace, focus and protection, the suggested mantra is I am peaceful and safe and for sodalite, which is used for confidence, communication and creativity, its I am calm and confident.

The best stones are sourced from all over the world and then they are handcrafted locally where the lovely silver disc is hammered by hand and can be given an initial. Each bracelet is individual and totally unique.

I use mine which is Tigers Eye before I have to do a big presentation, I feel very confident when I wear it. says Patsy.

We wanted something that we believe in, is positive with its message and is beautiful to wear, adds the entrepreneur.

Gemma, aged 35, found the meditation techniques useful while working as a flight attendant and was also able to help passengers who were feeling nervous about being up in the air. As cabin crew for Emirates I would always take five minutes before a long-haul flight to get in the right zone.

Counting the beads on my woo way bracelet, breathing and saying the mantra does this really quickly. I would often lend my bracelet to passengers who were nervous of flying- so they could relax and enjoy the flight.

Sodalite is my favourite it helps with communication and creativity and can relieve hormone problems and give a sense of balance and calm. I love the blues and indigo hues in the stones. says Samantha.

If I have a big business meeting Ill use mine to steady myself before I got in, she adds.

The bracelets, which are all unique, have already attracted celebrity fans including Trinny Woodall who has been seen wearing one in an Instagram video. While Manchester City and England footballer Gill Scott has also purchased a bracelet.

The business has been named Woo Way inspired by the Taoism concept of wu weiwhich means effortless action.

The idea is that rather than chasing after everything you let it come to you, explains Patsy, who believes mindfulness and meditation has many benefits.

Meditation can help you sleep, relax the mind and body, boost your energy, bring balance and give a feeling of peace and well being, she adds.

The mother and daughter partnership has been delighted by the response to the bracelets since they were launched in October.

A lot of young people are anxious and really struggle with mental health but they dont know what to do.

I think Woo Way can help lots of different people, no matter what path you are on. Weve got a lot of young footballers wearing them. They say it helps them with pre-match stress.

Patsy believes that channelling energy into something positive such as taking time to calm down before a stressful event can help to relieve negative feelings. Im not saying they are magical but having something to focus on can help distract you from whats going in in your life, she says.

See http://www.wooway.co.uk

See original here:

Living in harmony: The Kinver woman using crystal healing to treat stress and anxiety - expressandstar.com

Take part in a free boot camp with GFX

Fitness enthusiasts looking to shake up their daily workout routine can head over to Bay Avenue in Dubai for a free boot camp conducted by GFX gym. The session will take place on Saturday, February 29, from 9.30am to 10.30am on the lawn next to the Skate Park in Business Bay. Trainer Ryan Watts will take the group through various body-weight workouts, including burpees, squats, planks and lunges. Participants who are 18 years or older can register for the event through the GFX app or call 04 425 5940. All you need is your own mat to sweat it out on.

XYoga returns to Dubai

Dubais much-loved fitness festival is back, and will be taking place XYoga Dubai returns to on Kite Beach on Friday and Saturday, February 21 and 22, from 8am to 5pm. Participants can expect two days of complimentary classes, talks, workshops and meditation sessions, geared towards all ages and fitness levels.

XYoga Dubai Organised in conjunction with Dubai Holding, the event includes offbeat sessions such as acro yoga, live piano flow, jivamukti yoga and Arabic yoga. Some other styles that will be introduced this year include budokon yoga (a mix of martial arts and callisthenics), a pain and movement workshop, andplus Dad & Me, and Mummy & Me, classes. Traditional yoga practices such as ashtanga, kundalini, vinyasa flow and beginners yoga will also be available.

Meanwhile, the festival will kick off with a morning class on the Friday led by Bollywood actress and model Esha Gupta. Other international yogis expected to attend are Australian adventure yogi Sjana Elise and yoga bro Jacob Manning. The Art of Living institute, which focuses on yogic breathing, will also offer classes.

Yoga Market comes to Abu Dhabi

Bodytree Studio is bringing back its popular Yoga Market event, providing residents of the capital with back-to-back classes on all things health, wellness and mindfullness. On Friday, February 21, the studio will open its rooms and outdoor area for classes and workshops for all, even children. Guests can expect to find Nancy Zabaneh teaching kundalini yoga at 10am, while a Back to Basics: Your Journey to Low Waste talk by Sarah Siblini at 2.30pm will look at how to cut back on waste and become more sustainable. New to this years lineup is 15-minute Shiatsu massage tasters, as an expert gives guests the opportunity to indulge in mini-massages, and a private sound healing session. Finally, those attending can end the day with the popular Soul Awakening music event by Kirtan Dubai group. The event will take place from 8.30am-4pm and is free to enter. However, tickets to workshops and classes are priced at Dh200 for the day. For more information, contact 02 443 4448 or info@bodytreestudio.com.

Yogafest makes its Al Ain debut

After its many outings in Dubai, the free-to-attend wellness event Yogafest is coming to Jahili Park, Al Ain, for the first time on Thursday, March 5, from 6pm to 9.30pm and Friday, March 6 from 8am to 6pm. The festival will include a number of workshops, classes and talks on all things health and wellness, and is open to all age groups and abilities. Guests can also expect themed tents for yoga, meditation and family time, as well as indulge in some retail therapy at the marketplace where vendors will showcase sustainable products. While entry is free, registration at http://www.eventbrite.com is mandatory. Dont forget those yoga mats and water bottles, either.

Try the fasting-mimicking ProLon diet

Its been rumoured to do everything from stimulating weight loss to reversing the effects of ageing. And now ProLon, the worlds first five-day fasting mimicking diet, has launched in the UAE. ProLon was developed by Dr Valter Longo, author of The Longevity Diet. Dr Joseph Antoun, chief executive and chairman of the board at L-Nutra-Inc, the company that owns ProLon, says Longo saw a connection between fasting and ageing. Five days of fasting stresses the body enough that it goes into a process of rejuvenation, which is good for weight loss and anti-ageing. When the cell stops seeing calories coming from the outside, it starts eating the debris within - its a process of clean up called autophagy, he says ProLon is a plant-based meal programme that follows this strategy and provides meals for five-day periods in a month in grab-and-go boxes. When one isnt following the diet, they can go back to what they were consuming earlier, although a pescatarian or flexitarian diet, ie a diet with mostly vegetables and fish, is recommended. A standard ProLon box comprises of nut bars, kale crisps, olives, soups and herbal teas, with specific instructions on when these should be consumed, and calories consumed on a daily basis range from 700 to 1,100. The Prolon diet is available online for delivery, and is priced at Dh1,150 for a five-day meal plan.

A daily cuppa may be good for bone health

Heres another reason to savour your cup of coffee in the morning. A recent study looked into the association between coffee consumption and bone health, and found that people who habitually drink the beverage had a higher bone mass density that non-coffee drinkers. Published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the report analysed the coffee consumption habits of 564 people. Three metabolites, in particular, were associated with an increase in bone density in the population, and also, a decrease in the risk of fracture, said Dr Chad Deal of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The study is particularly of interest as the relationship between coffee and bone health has been studied before with conflicting results; past research has suggested that the more caffeine a person drinks, the more calcium leaves the body. For all those folks who drink lots of coffee and are concerned about [its] health effects, this is good news, said Deal.

Lifen One to host immersive meditation workshop for men

On Friday, February 28, German sound artist and meditative healer Hansu Jot (pictured above) will host the Mens Immersion workshop at Lifen One meditation centre. The session includes short lectures, kundalini yoga, breath work, sound healing, chanting and interactive exercises aimed at finding purpose, fostering healthy relationships, increasing emotional intelligence and generating prosperity. It, and aims to provide a safe space for men to explore their spiritual side. Jots premise is that men should hold the space of clarity and connection [to] allow spiritually empowered women to relax and thrive. Set to take place from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, the workshop is priced at Dh250.

Updated: February 23, 2020 04:49 PM

Read the rest here:

From free yoga to bootcamp classes: the UAE health news and events you need to know about - The National

Dr. Luis Perez-Breva

Luis Perez-Breva is an MIT professor and the faculty director of innovation teams at the MIT School or Engineering. He is also an entrepreneur and part of The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Luis works to see how we can use technology to make our lives better and also on how we can work to get new technology out into the world. On a recent AI Today podcast, Professor Perez-Breva managed to get us to think deeply into our understanding of both artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Are we too focused on data?

Anyone who has been following artificial intelligence and machine learning knows the vital centrality of data. Without data, we cant train machine learning models. And without machine learning models, we dont have a way for systems to learn from experience. Surely, data needs to be the center of our attention to make AI systems a reality.

However, Dr. Perez-Breva thinks that we are overly focusing on data and perhaps that extensive focus is causing goals for machine learning and AI to go astray. According to Luis, so much focus is put into obtaining data that we judge how good a machine learning system is by how much data was collected, how large the neural network is, and how much training data was used. When you collect a lot of data you are using that data to build systems that are primarily driven by statistics. Luis says that we latch onto statistics when we feed AI so much data, and that we ascribe to systems intelligence, when in reality, all we have done is created large probabilistic systems that by virtue of large data sets exhibit things we ascribe to intelligence. He says that when our systems arent learning as we want, the primary gut reaction is to give these AI system more data so that we dont have to think as much about the hard parts about generalization and intelligence.

Many would argue that there are some areas where you do need data to help teach AI. Computers are better able to learn image recognition and similar tasks by having more data. The more data, the better the networks, and the more accurate the results. On the podcast, Luis asked whether deep learning is great enough that this works or if we have a big enough data set that image recognition now works. Basically: is it the algorithm or just the sheer quantity of data that is making this work?

Rather, what Luis argues is that if we can find a better way to structure the system as a whole, then the AI system should be able to reason through problems, even with very limited data. Luis compares using machine learning in every application to the retail world. He talks about how physical stores are seeing the success in online stores and trying to copy on that success. One of the ways they are doing this is by using apps to navigate stores. Luis mentioned that he visited a Target where he had to use his phone to navigate the store which was harder than being able to look at signs. Having a human to ask questions and talk to is both faster and part of the experience of being in a brick and mortar retail location. Luis says he would much rather have a human to interact with at one of these locations than a computer.

Is the problem deep learning?

He compares this to machine learning by saying that machine learning has a very narrow application. If you try to apply machine learning to every aspect of AI that you will end up with issues like he did at the Target. Basically looking at neural networks as a hammer and every AI problem as a nail. No one technology or solution works for every application. Perhaps deep learning only works because of vast quantities of data? Maybe theres a better algorithm that can generalize better, apply knowledge learned in one domain to another better, and use smaller amounts of data to get much better quality insights.

People have tried recently to automate many of the jobs that people do. Throughout history, Luis says that technology has killed businesses when it tries to replace humans. Technology and businesses are successful when they expand on what humans can do. Attempting to replace humans is a difficult task and one that is going to lead companies down the road to failure. As humans, he points out, we crave human interaction. Even the age that is constantly on their technology desires human interaction greatly.

Luis also makes a point that while many people mistakenly confuse automation and AI. Automation is using a computer to carry out specific tasks, it is not the creation of intelligence. This is something that many are mentioning on several occasions. Indeed, its the fear of automation and the fictional superintelligence that has many people worried about AI. Dr. Perez-Breva makes the point that many ascribe to machines human characteristics. But this should not be the case with AI system.

Rather, he sees AI systems more akin to a new species with a different mode of intelligence than humans. His opinion is that researchers are very far from creating an AI that is similar to what you will find in books and movies. He blames movies for giving people the impression of robots (AI) killing people and being dangerous technologies. While there are good robots in movies there are few of them and they get pushed to the side by bad robots. He points out that we need to move away from this pushing images of bad robots. Our focus needs to be on how artificial intelligence can help humans grow. It would be beneficial if the movie-making industry could help with this. As such, AI should be thought of as a new intelligent species were trying to create, not something that is meant to replace us.

A positive AI future

Despite negative images and talk, Luis is sure that artificial intelligence is here to stay. At least for a while. So many companies have made large investments into AI that it would be difficult for them to just stop using them or to stop the development.

As a final question in the interview, Luis was asked where he sees the industry of artificial intelligence going. Prefacing his answer with the fact that based on the earlier discussion people are investing in machine learning and not true artificial intelligence, Luis said that he is happy in the investment that businesses are making in what they call AI. He believes that these investments will help the development of this technology to stay around for a minimum of four years.

Once we can stop comparing humans to artificial intelligence, Luis believes that we will see great advancements in what AI can do. He believes that AI has the power to work alongside humans to unlock knowledge and tasks that we werent previously able to do. The point when this happens, he doesnt believe is that far away. We are getting closer to it every day.

Many of Luiss ideas are contrary to popular beliefs by many people who are interested in the world of artificial intelligence. At the same time, these ideas that he presents are presented in a very logical manner and are very thought-provoking. The only way that we will be able to see what is right or where his ideas go is time.

Link:

This AI Researcher Thinks We Have It All Wrong - Forbes

AI and machine learning have something of an image problem.

Theyve never been quite so widely discussed as topics, or, arguably, their potential so widely debated. This is, to some extent, part of the problem. Artificial Intelligence can, still, be anything, achieve anything. But until its results are put into practice for people, it remains a misunderstood concept, especially to the layperson.

While well-established industry thought leaders are rightly championing the fact that AI has the potential to be transformative and capable of a wide range of solutions, the lack of context for most people is fuelling fears that it is simply going to replace peoples roles and take over tasks, wholesale. It also ignores the fact that AI applications have been quietly assisting peoples jobs, in a light touch manner, for some time now and people are still in those roles.

Many people are imagining AI to be something it is not. Given the technology is still in a fast-development phase, some people think it is helpful to consider the tech as a type of plug and play, black box technology. Some believe this helps people to put it into the context of how it will work and what it will deliver for businesses. In our opinion, this limits a true understanding of its potential and what it could be delivering for companies day in, day out.

The hyperbole is also not helping. The statements we use AI and our products AI driven have already become well-worn by enthusiastic salespeople and marketeers. While theres a great sales case to be made by that exciting assertion, its rarely speaking the truth about the situation. What is really meant by the current use of artificial intelligence? Arguably, AI is not yet a thing in its own right; i.e the capability of machines to be able to do the things which people do instinctively, which machines instinctively do not. Instead of being excited by hearing the phrase we do AI!, people should see it as a red flag to dig deeper into the technology and the AI capability in question.

SEE ALSO:

Machine learning, similarly, doesnt benefit from sci-fi associations or big sales patter bravado. In its simplest form, while machine learning sounds like a defined and independent process, it is actually a technique to deliver AI functions. Its maths, essentially, applied alongside data, processing power and technology to deliver an AI capability. Machine learning models dont execute actions or do anything themselves, unless people put them to use. They are still human tools, to be deployed by someone to undertake a specific action.

The tools and models are only as good as the human knowledge and skills programming them. People, especially in the legal sectors autologyx works with, are smart, adaptable and vastly knowledgeable. They can quickly shift from one case to another, and have their own methods and processes of approaching problem solving in the workplace. Where AI is coming in to lift the load is on lengthy, detailed, and highly repetitive tasks such as contract renewals. Humans can get understandably bored when reviewing highly repetitive, vast volumes of contracts to change just a few clauses and update the document. A machine learning solution does notnget bored, and performs consistently with a high degree of accuracy, freeing those legal teams up to work on more interesting, varied, or complicated casework.

Together, AI, machine learning and automation are the arms and armour businesses across a range of sectors need to acquire to adapt and continue to compete in the future. The future of the legal industry, for instance, is still a human one where knowledge of people will continue to be an asset. AI in that sector is more focused on codifying and leveraging that intelligence and while the machine and AI models learn and grow from people, so those people will continue to grow and expand their knowledge within the sector too. Today, AI and ML technologies are only as good as the people power programming them.

As Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence put it, AI is neither good nor evil. Its a tool. A technology for us to use. How we choose to apply it is entirely up to us.

By Ben Stoneham, founder and CEO, autologyx

More:

Removing the robot factor from AI - Gigabit Magazine - Technology News, Magazine and Website

Of the many ingredients that go into quality healthcare, comprehensive patient data is close to the top of the list. No one knows this more than Mayur Saxena, CEO and founder of Droice Labs. Saxena created his startup while he was pursuing his doctorate degree at Columbia University, and working at healthcare company conducting clinical trials on new medication. Hes energized by the plethora of opportunities to improve healthcare using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Mayur Saxena, CEO and founder of Droice Labs, is energized by the plethora of opportunities to improve healthcare using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Patient data is notoriously disorganized and complex, he said. With machine learning, healthcare professionals can organize that information to better understand the disease of every patient and reach them faster with interventions that improve their lives. Its an amazing feeling when you talk with someone whos recovered from an illness because they received the right care.

The idea behind Droice is to make messy data neat, so people can spend less time organizing it and more time analyzing it.

Insights drive personalized patient care

The startup has collected data from 50 million patients in working with healthcare providers, payors, and government organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Healthcare professionals in hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, medical device manufacturing, and insurance rely on Droice Labs natural language understanding (NLU) technology. NLU make sense of patient information in multiple languages from anywhere such as electronic medical records (EMR), insurance claims, research reports, and medical devices.

Our machine learning system takes all the data about an individual into account, and breaks it down so that a doctor, pharmaceutical scientist or healthcare insurer can understand patients better and faster, said Saxena. Instead of repetitive, disparate one-on-one diagnoses and follow-up care, were automating personalized care for a much larger patient population. With shared insights across a large patient population, physicians can chart disease progress and prescribe the best treatment plan. Clinical research into new drugs that took years could be reduced to days or weeks.

Saxena said that one hospital reduced the amount of time it took to arrive at an appropriate diagnosis for patients by over 20 percent.

SAP.iO Foundry opens up world of healthcare opportunities

Droice Labs recently participated in the latest healthcare-focused accelerator program at SAP.iO Foundry New York. It was one of seven up and coming startups working with hospital system providers, employee health and wellness solutions, medical devices, and health IT.

Weve learned so much about customers in the healthcare industry from SAPs sales and product teams, said Saxena. These large organizations have unique needs, and were grateful for the opportunity to partner with SAP, a company with a massive presence across so many geographies. Weve gained valuable insights about strategic global selling and scaling our technology to meet the unique requirements of these customers.

The Droice Labs machine learning platform is now downloadable on the SAP App Center.

Turning long-time passion into thriving startup

Droice Labs reflects Saxenas long-time personal and career commitment to healthcare. After earning his undergraduate degree in bioengineering and biomedical engineering, he worked in high-performance computing in Singapore before arriving in the United States. Thats when he acted on his passion, exploring how AI and machine learning can help improve patient care, and potentially eradicate disease.

Were looking at data from hundreds of thousands of patients a day, helping improve their care pathways across the healthcare system, said Saxena. We have the technology to work with patient data at scale. Im most excited about working together with recognized healthcare experts using state-of-the-art technology to address major challenges in this complicated, regulated industry.

Digitally trustworthy strategy

In an environment where patient concerns and regulations around data control continue to increase, Saxena emphasized his companys strategy of digital trust.

Everything we do is designed to respect individual patient privacy, he said. We dont possess related identifying data on patients, and we remove any identifiers. Working in a mission critical environment like healthcare brings a set of responsibilities. If there is a population suffering from disease, and by looking at their information we can partner with healthcare providers to help make their quality of life better, thats what well do. But we dont participate in business models targeted to specific individuals.

Saxena expected his companys rapid growth trajectory to continue, and it was easy to see why. According to Gartners 2020 CIO Survey, AI is the healthcare industrys top game-changing technology. These analysts predicted 75 percent ofhealthcare delivery organizationswill invest in an AI capability to explicitly improve either operational performance or clinical outcomes by 2021.

Originally posted here:

AI Is Top Game-Changing Technology In Healthcare Industry - Forbes

Jim Prosers new biography on Jordan Peterson portrays him as a Christlike figure plagued by personal demons. Yet the real devil here is in the details.

What does one say about Jim Prosers new biography of Jordan Peterson, Savage Messiah: How Dr. Jordan Peterson Is Saving Western Civilization? The first thing is that its not a biography, at least not in the modern sense of Boswells Life of Samuel Johnsona text thats extensive leveraging of archival records, eye-witness accounts, and interviews effectively bestowed the genre with a veneer of objectivity thats defined it ever since. By contrast, what Proser offers us hereas can be inferred from the titleis essentially a Christ allegory: one in which Peterson is portrayed as being the lone individual capable of saving Judeo-Christian Enlightenment values from the vipers of postmodern neo-Marxism, resurgent since the anti-Western movement of Occupy Wall Street. And should one dispute Petersons candidacy for comparison with Christ on the grounds that the latter was put to death for his sermons whereas the former has become rich off of them, Proser constantly reassures us of the mental anguish Peterson has endured on account of neo-Marxist aggression, which at one point, literally surrounded him, invaded his classroom, threatened his career and the future stability of his family.

Given the apocalyptic sense of importance Proser assigns to Peterson, many readers may be curious as to just who he is. In 2016, Peterson first attracted widespread notoriety for his publication of a video on YouTube, Professor Against Political Correctness: Part 1. The video, which featured Petersons voiceimagine Kermit the Frog trying to evince the air of a truth-telling patriarchdubbed over a handful of black-and-white PowerPoint slides, was austere. It was also factually dubious: in it, for instance, Petersona Canadian, who currently teaches at the University of Torontoconfuses Canadian jurisdictions, waxing on about the threat posed to academic freedom by the Canadian governments effort to legislatively protect gender-nonconforming individuals seemingly unaware that his own vocation falls under provincial mandate. Naturally, few noticed, and Petersons was able to parlay his burgeoning star as a professor capable of legitimating the intellectual pretensions of the alt-right into a best-selling book two years later, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. 12 Rules for Life, which builds on Petersons efforts to map Jungian archetypes onto neuroscience in his earlier book Maps of Meaning isat bottoma pop psychology book sprinkled with a few inchoate philosophy references (Peterson succeeds in misreading numerous thinkers throughout the book, including Heidegger and Derrida). However, by this point, the question of Petersons academic bona fides was largely a moot one. His nonstop polemicizing against the leftwhose ideology he coined the neologism postmodern neo-Marxism to describe, sloppily compounding differences a more rigorous thinker wouldve bothered to delineatesupported by his nonstop lecture tours, had already resonated with a mass audience. 12 Rules was just the tour souvenir.

That Petersons elevation to fame occurred relatively recently poses a distinct problem to Proser as a biographer. Jordan Peterson is 57 years oldhardly an upstart. Yet as he was not a public figure prior to his fiftieth year, writing a genuinely comprehensive biography wouldve required undertaking substantial research to supplement Petersons own accounts (part of the appeal of Petersons books and lectures lies in the way he frequently recounts stories supplied from personal experience). But whether out of laziness (or whether out of a desire not to impinge upon the soupcon of prophecy Peterson has built up around himself), Proser instead elects to use the books first half to furnish his readers with an assemblage of chronologically organized anecdotes about Petersons life derived from none other than Peterson (and virtually all readily available elsewhere). The best thing that can be said about this part of the book is thatin so far as the events in question occurred prior to his transformation into the public intellectual par excellence of the Rightits impossible to say categorically that theyre wrong (though one does get the sense that taking them at face value would be a bit like seeing a long cut of Purple Rain and mistaking it for authentic biography). The worst thing that can be said is that Proser here does the exact opposite of what a biographer should do, inflating Petersons personal mythology rather than slicing through it.

The word mythology is not used here loosely. Peterson, who believes that the world is not made of matter but out of what mattersdeep, brohas in his past works compared his travails to those of mythological and religious figures. Given that Peterson makes clear in Maps of Meaning that he believes there is a symmetry between neurobiological structures and mythic archetypes, it can be argued that this is less preposterous than it seems (even as this argument itself is complicated by the fact that the mythological examples Peterson makes to use it are disproportionately Western). For Proser, however, it is not enough that Peterson simply be an avatar of common experience. Instead, his stress on Petersons world-historical confrontation with SJWs (social justice warriors) infuses even his relaying of the events of Petersons early life. When Peterson refuses to go to church and rejects religion, he, may have felt something like Dantes Inferno. When he experienced depression as a young man, he was, Odysseus traveling through the land of the dead to learn of his future. To top it all off, in Prosers account, Peterson was dogged as a youth by none other than Satan (!) himself, who decided to,be patient with the young man who was so bright and seemed so enthusiastic. Not that his patience was infinite: after Peterson interrupts a college drinking party by shouting about God and war and love and other things he didnt know a lot about, the, Prince abandoned his drunken prospect to suffer in his well-deserved vomit. These kinds of descriptions, coupled with the books title, make you wonder if Proser hasnt forsaken the vocation to which he wouldve been best disposed: that of a metal lyricist.

Petersons reception during the early stages of his academic career, was, as Proser explains, not much different than the one he encountered assailing besotted college students with his philosophic theses at house parties. At least so far as his colleagues were concerned. After serving as an assistant professor at Harvard for five years, Peterson failed to acquire a tenured position there due to, in his own words, a lack of presence of mindwhatever that means. Even at the University of Toronto, a prestigious albeit considerably less prestigious institution, Peterson was nearly rejected by the psychology departments search committee on the grounds that he was too eccentric. Throughout his description of these events, Proser is so committed to portraying Peterson as a concentrate of titanic significance that he fails to countenance the possibility that his academic work just might not be that good. But while hardly a model of intellectual rigor, whats also clear from this part of the book is the way that Petersons indisputable skills as an orator furnished him with opportunities well above his academic station. At Harvard, he purportedly built up a cult following among his studentswho also nominated him for the Levenson Teaching Award in 1998, which he subsequently won. And a few years into his stint at the University of Toronto, he landed a gig delivering lectures on Maps of Meaning for a publicly-funded broadcaster, TVOntario (which also invited him to frequently serve as in interlocutor on The Agenda with Steve Paikin). Predictably, Proser fails to notice the irony thatwhile Peterson frequently rails against the oppressive diktats thrust upon him by politically correct government apparatchikshe is also a product of government, having received a quotient of support throughout his career denied to many of the postmodern neo-Marxists whom he regularly decries.

Its at this point in Prosers bookas Petersons public visibility begins to increasethat it degenerates into deep nonsense. Absent extensive research, and unmoored from the coming-of-age narrative that undergirds its first half, the latter part of Savage Messiah is a mess of phrases copied verbatim from public websites, tidbits of Petersons lectures, and Prosers crass polemicizing. Much of it is, moreover, factually inaccurate. The competition for the worst burst of prose in Savage Messiah is a fierce one. But in Prosers description of the political ascent of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we seem to have found a winner:

Arriving just in time, young Justin ascended quickly to the leadership of the NDP. Then riding the wave of progressive outrage over the repeated defeat of their agenda and the rise of traditionalist voices like Jordan Peterson, he led the Liberal Party to a sweeping national victory in 2015. The Liberal Party went from third place with 36 seats to a dominating 184 seats, the largest increase by a party ever in a federal election. He was sworn in as prime minister of Canada on November 4, 2015.

To be clear, the Liberal Party and NDP (New Democratic Party, though Proser elsewhere refers to it in the text as the National Democratic Party) are, in fact, completely different political organizations. Nor is this the only example of Proser sloppily conflating different political traditions: at another point, he declares that Sartre and French pro-fascist writer Louis-Ferdinand Cline as exponents of different forms of Marxism (though perhaps Cline is indicted here because he actuallyunlike Peterson or Prosertook the time to read Capital). And for the coup de grace, we learn that anti-fascist Antifa fighters are none other than the modern-day version of the violent Black Shirts, the voluntary, paramilitary wing of Benito Mussolinis Fascist Party of Italy. Oh, and in case you wondering: the cause of the violence of Antifa is possibly the theory of toxic masculinity.

Whats disturbing about these kinds of claimsapart from the fact they made it by an actual copy editoris that its not clear that describing them as errors fully does justice to the mind in question. Some may be oversights. But one also harbors the suspicion that Proser is so in the thrall of a conspiratorial vertigo that he thinks hes offering up the unvarnished truth. This speaks to the fundamental flaw of Savage Messiah: that it never even momentarily allows the facts to stand alone. Of course, narrative structuration is the essence of biography, and it would be unreasonable to expect any author to not bring some kind of predisposition to a project dedicated to a figure as divisive as Peterson. But if Prosers goal is to honor Petersons work, his exaggeratedly hagiographic approach actually has the opposite effect. If Petersons brilliance is so self-evident, why is it necessary for Proser toin arguably the most surreal moment in a book rife with themcite student ratings on ratemyprofessor.com in order to attempt to discredit one of his ideological opponents? Moreover, one gets the sense that Proser, who identifies openly as a follower of Petersons work, has not even fully assimilated it. Where Peterson, for instance, has criticized the adoption of identity politics by both the right and leftalbeit been more severe in his condemnations of the latterProser is alarmed by an Amazon.com product review that refers to a two-decade-old journal as, seeking to abolish the white race. Likewise, where Peterson couches his misogyny in improperly applied statistical data, Proserwhos elsewhere described women as having a last fable dayis hardly so discreet. For him, should we examine the subtext of one of Petersons lectures, it is clear that its not right-wing authoritarians, but women who most wanted to control speech.

Savage Messiah is a colossal embarrassment. But if its most disquieting passages can credibly pass themselves off as analyses of Petersons work, is it solely Prosers? Petersons has mastered the art of disavowal: of selectively deploying statistical data in order to infer bigotries he then can subsequently distance himself from. This book is just another example: as Proser explains in the books epilogue, Peterson gave it his assentbut never in a way that would impede him from later disowning its contents. Maybe, then, its not Peterson but, rather, Proser who manifests the archetypal traits of the Messiah. Jesus, after all, let himself be pinned down.

Conrad Bongard Hamilton is a PhD student based at Paris 8 University, currently pursuing research on non-human agency in the work of Karl Marx under the supervision of Catherine Malabou. He is a contributor to the text What is Post-Modern Conservatism, as well as the author of a forthcoming book, Dialectic of Escape: A Conceptual History of Video Games. He can be reached at konradbongard@hotmail.com, and a catalogue of his writings can be found on Academia.edu.

Read more here:

A Jordan Peterson Biographer Missing the Mark - Merion West

Im not a disciple of Dr. Petersons. But he has inspired and helped to heal me with his words, and I admire him most for the example that hes set with his own life: the courage to stand up, with shoulders back and face the darkness.

Fred Hammon, a sixty-five-year-old bass player and mechanical engineer living in Los Angeles, was the subject of Tony D. Senatores November, 2019Merion Westarticle The Best Argument For Jordan Peterson: My Friend, Fred.

Hammon discovered Jordan Peterson by chance on the Internet one day, while caring for his wife who is suffering fromFrontotemporal dementia. Upon seeing Petersons lecture where he describeshow his father-in-law lovingly cared for his wife during an illness, Hammon was particularly struck by Petersons advice to,stand up straight and fully face the darkness, and what you discover is at the darkest part is the brightest light. Hammon describes this as a transformative moment for him, which led him to re-center his own approach to taking care of his wife and dealing with his own sadness at witnessing the state of his wifes health.

Hammon, who self-identifies as a centrist liberal and was influenced by the counterculture movement of the 1960s, does not consider himself a disciple of Petersons. Rather, he simply finds some of his Petersons lessons and advice to be intensely helpful in his own life. In light of the discussions generated by Senatores article about Hammon, as well as Jordan Petersons own recent health issues, Hammon joinsMerion West to provide more background on his relationship to Jordan Petersons work.

Mr. Hammon, you were the subject of a widely-read Merion West article in November about how Jordan Peterson personally helped you so much. Can you briefly explain how Jordan Petersons work has been so impactful in your life?

From when I first was exposed to Jordan Peterson, I liked him. Sometimes, of course, its hard to know when someone is mirroring your own thoughts but just saying it betteror is actually providing you with new information in a way that resonates and inspires. As far as helping me, Im going through the most difficult chapter of my life so far. My wife is suffering from and ultimately dying from the advanced stages of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

I had been living in fear and hopelessness, as well as from guilt for not being able to save her. I had pretty much shut down in many aspects of my life and started drinking a lot in order to avoid the day-to-day terror. If you read the article in November, you already know the story about me hearing Jordan talk about standing up and facing that horror head on with courage and seeing a brightness beyond. I believe him when he says that what it is that I need to find is to be found precisely there. It has helped to pull me out of my despair. Im functioning much better and looking for value, as opposed to throwing in the towel and dying along with wife.

I realized that I can be of no real use to her if I continued to circle that drain. I now think more about how I can help her on her journey and find sweetness and value along the way. It still isnt easy, but Ive managed to crawl a good way out of depths of that hole that I was living in, and hearing Jordan Petersons advice was very important for doing that.

In a sense, Tony Senatore, the author of that article, asserted that so many criticisms written about Jordan Peterson are academic or theoretical; however, the fact of the matter is that Petersons work is practically helping many peopleand that latter point ought to take precedence. Is this a view you share?

If you mean that the proof is in the pudding so to speakI suppose. People listen to Jordan Peterson, and they find him inspirational in positive ways. Im not an academic; Im not in a position to judge Jordan Peterson along those lines, and neither, for that matter, are most of his critics. Beyond that, if you take the time to review his lectures and debates, he answers a lot of the questions posed by his critics, if people would listen. He spends a lot of his time answering tough questions. I wish he werent so ill at present. I enjoying hearing him debate his detractors.

From a football blogger citing Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as problematic because of having invited Jordan Peterson to talk to his team, to efforts to draw a connection between Peterson and Nazis, to the vitriol Peterson received when his recent health problems came to light, what is driving this anger towards Peterson?

This is asking me to understand the mind of some people on the Left who get angry and highly emotional towards anyone who holds an opinion just to the right of theirs. When he gets slammed by university humanities professors like the one who was gloating over his illness, my first reaction is: The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Its as if they fear that they cant defend themselves against his arguments using reasoned language, so, instead, they express hatred and vitriol towards him.

As we have learned recently, Jordan Peterson has, unfortunately, been undergoing a number of health issues in the past few months. Is there anything you would say to other people wholike youhave found Petersons work so impactful and are trying to deal with learning about his health issues?

Jordan Peterson is human, and, therefore, he is both vulnerable and fallible. He has neverin my recollectionever claimed to be anything other than that. He often sounds like he thinks that hes right all the time and comes off with arrogance, but then he admits to changing his mind mid-lecture sometimes after hearing his own thoughts said out loud. It happens in debates too, in real time, when he is presented with a better argument. Ive seen it.

The man is intellectually honest, in my opinion, which doesnt mean that hes right. Hes been open about his depression and health issues. How can he not be seen as anything other than courageous or, at the very least, admirable given, what hes been doing with his life: both helping people who need help, as well as courageously being open about his own health issues?

In addition to the points you already mentioned, are there any other lessons from Jordan Peterson that you think have the potential to be particularly helpful to other peopleand not just young peoplebut perhaps people of all ages?

Im not a disciple of Dr. Petersons. But he has inspired and helped to heal me with his words, and I admire him most for the example that hes set with his own life: the courage to stand up, with shoulders back and face the darkness. The first time I ever noticed him, he was doing precisely that. Hes not perfect, and I would warn anybody against those kinds of perceptions. Its his own life. That doesnt take away from his good examples and advice.

Im a pretty good bass player now, and I might even inspire some younger bass players locally; but, there will become a point when Im not as good. Having said that, I wish Jordan the best on his recovery, and I expect more lectures and writings from him. No pressure.

Editors note: If you would like to share an account of how Jordan Peterson has helped you, please get in touch with us at submit@merionwest.com

Articles authored or co-authored by Staff.

See more here:

Jordan Peterson: the One Who Helped Me When I Most Needed It - Merion West

Video shows the driver of a yellow Mustang dragging a truck through a downtown Boise parking garage on Valentine's Day.

BOISE, Idaho A driver accused of causing extensive damage to multiple vehicles in a downtown Boise parking garage, should not have been behind the wheel, according to Idaho court records.

The driver of the Ford Mustang was caught on camera dragging a truck while hitting 10 other cars in the hit-and-run crash on Friday, Feb. 14.

The video, provided to KTVB by Jordan Peterson, has been making the rounds on social media.

He could've killed somebody, that really freaks me out, said Paul Pacheco, the owner of the truck seen dragged in the video.

Less than 24 hours after Fridays hit-and-run, police identified Demariea Dawkins as the Mustangs owner and a person of interest. On Tuesday, they called him a suspect.

According to Idaho Court Records, a judge sentenced Dawkins to seven years probation after he pleaded guilty to DUI and resisting arrest in Ada County in 2018. Records also show Dawkins driver's license was suspended for five years.

He knew what he was doing, he was purposely ramming my truck into other cars to get it unhooked off of his car, Pacheco said. So that's how the other 11 cars got taken out in the process in the garage.

Pacheco and his wife were downtown for Valentine's Day when they realized they forgot something in their truck.

When we got off the elevator, there were cops everywhere, there was debris everywhere, Pacheco said.

He first thought someone stole his truck, but later spoke with police and saw the video.

"When I saw the condition of it, what went through my mind was how can people be this way? It's frustrating, it hurts, Pacheco said.

Boise Police later found the mustang abandoned, but Dawkins was nowhere in sight.

As of Tuesday, police told KTVB, they still don't have Dawkins in custody but say once they do, he'll likely be arrested.

We are going to be charging him with multiple charges, one count of reckless driving, one count of driving with an open container and 11 counts of leaving the scene of an accident, due to the 11 vehicles that were damaged at the scene, BPD Sgt. Loren Hilliard said.

Here is the original post:

'He could've killed somebody': Victim in Boise 11-car hit-and-run crash reacts to wild video - KTVB.com

A Bombardier advertising board is pictured in front of a SBB CFF Swiss railway train at the station in Bern, Switzerland, Oct. 24, 2019.

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

Re Democracy Gets Schooled In Quebec (Editorial, Feb. 14): It is with sadness that we are witnessing the demise of school boards in Quebec. School boards are one of Canadas oldest forms of democracy and, despite their occasional flaws, have permitted local priorities to be addressed in our school systems. Now, such initiatives in one province must emanate from the bureaucracy in Quebec City.

Would a provincial government ever have introduced French Immersion in elementary schools? It was a school board in Saint-Lambert, Que., that pioneered this, responding to demands of parents wanting to ensure their children would be able to participate in a bilingual country.

Story continues below advertisement

This led to boards in Ottawa and elsewhere to pick up on what has proven to be a very popular and successful program.

Provincial control of curriculum, testing, teacher negotiations and funding has, over the years, reduced the scope of school boards to innovate. Now, with Quebecs example, they look to be an endangered species.

Alex Cullen Ottawa

While Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms does offer guarantees of minority language instruction across the country, it makes no specific mention of the right to elect and maintain minority linguistic school boards.

In Mahe v. Alberta from 1990, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether the clause implicitly gave this right. It concluded that Section 23 clearly encompasses a right to management and control and in some circumstances warrant an independent school board. However, these circumstances were never clearly outlined nor defined.

Moreover, history shows that in any case, since 1982, successive Quebec governments have shown no compunction in attempts to ride roughshod over Charter rights whenever it suits a purpose. Now that French boards will be legally abolished, it will surely only be a matter of time before those pesky English boards suffer the same fate.

History shows that centralized government control of education has remained a major objective in Quebec since the days of la Rvolution tranquille. With all school boards gone, that aim would come to fruition, and along with it another nail in the coffin of the Anglo community in Quebec.

Story continues below advertisement

Alan Scrivener Cornwall, Ont.

Re Bombardier To Depart Commercial Plane Business (Report on Business, Feb. 14): Imagine if Canada had invested more than $1-billion into medical research and the hospitals to house it, instead of supporting Bombardiers airplanes. Quebec would have first-rate hospitals full of first-rate professionals, and we would have a very useful result of such an investment.

Could we keep this idea in mind for future use of public money? We will always need hospitals.

Barbara Klunder Toronto

Re Family Control Preserved Bombardiers Independence But At Huge Cost (Online, Feb. 7): The story of Bombardier, a great Canadian business that looks to have lost its way, could have been easily avoided. I do work in succession planning and corporate culture, and this seems like a classic case of the founding family not having the insight to plan for bright new leaders to further build a strong culture of innovation and global competitiveness.

Sometimes, family-run businesses in this country lose sight of their critical stewardship and the need to embrace change, along with deeper commitments to preserving Canadian identity and protecting taxpayer investments where government money is involved. I find it heartbreaking, to say the least.

Story continues below advertisement

The C-series (now renamed the Airbus A220) is one of the most sophisticated aircraft flying, built from the ground up in Canada. Now, our Canadian engineers are left to work for the other guys. Airbus scored big on this with a bargain-basement price.

Alexander Lutchin CEO, Executive Coach Global; Toronto

Re Toronto Police Chief Orders Officers To Stop Using Clearview AI Software (Feb. 14): If this software can be used to catch and incriminate those involved in child torture or pornography videos, I say to hell with privacy concerns. Sometimes we have to submit to things for the common good.

Alison Dennis Kingston

It is well documented that eyewitness testimony is notoriously inaccurate, fraught with human error and complicated by individual bias, even when it is sincere. So what is a police service to do? If a reliable application in the artificial-intelligence toolbox can be more accurate, why not put it to good use?

Lets say we perfect facial-recognition software to the point where it dependably separates multiple sets of identical twins, then it is ready.

Story continues below advertisement

Honouring offenders rights to privacy should be lower on the rights and freedoms hierarchy than the right to safety. Might there be abuse of the application? Of course. That is why it should be regulated.

Hugh McKechnie Newmarket, Ont.

Re In The Ghoulish World Of Online Snark, Toasting To Metastasis Is A Virtue (Feb. 13): I believe columnist Robyn Urback is right to to criticize how social media weaponizes the illnesses of outspoken persons for odious gotcha payback, falsely framing it as karmic justice. Serious critics of Jordan Petersons exclusionary ideology should know better and separate his person from his public persona.

When a public person becomes sick, their humanity should deserve our cathartic pity. Instead of defaulting to ill will and schadenfreude, we should identify with the sufferer and express compassionate solidarity. If ad hominem attacks are wrong in debates over ideas, then they should be wrong when involving ailments. In battle, doctors are known for treating the wounded enemy with the same dedication afforded their own. As current events show, there is no connection between good ideas and good health.

When it comes to illness, we should all be on the side of goodwill toward others. The state of his ideas is a different matter worthy of rigorous disagreement. I wish Mr. Peterson well his ideas, like everyone elses, need a healthy defence.

Tony DAndrea Toronto

Story continues below advertisement

I believe the online virtue of schadenfreude points to something even more disturbing: We hypocritically prize ourselves as a society intolerant of hatred, while at the same time indulging in it. The only issue becomes who or what should be its proper target: the right or left? Conservatives or liberals? Jordan Peterson or his opponents?

To hate at all is to corrupt ones soul. Disagreeing or even condemning others should only be justifiable in so far as we dont lose sight of their humanity. And thats what happens when we hate the antithesis of genuine virtue.

Paul Salvatori Toronto

Robyn Urbacks column reminded me of graffiti I once read on the wall of a university washroom stall when I was a grad student. It read: God is dead, signed Nietzsche. Below that was written: Nietzsche is dead, signed God.

Frank Foulkes Toronto

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today.

Read the rest here:

Feb. 18: The story of Bombardier could have been easily avoided. Readers react to Bombardiers fortunes, facial recognition, Jordan Peterson, plus...