In two recent public speaking engagements, I made a comparison between the obesity epidemic in various pockets of the globe and AI. Several people came up afterwards and said that was the best analogy they'd heard, so maybe it's worth repeating here. Also, I feel like this one will hold up a while.

What I said was some recent CDC figures show that something like 55 percent of the average American diet comes from processed or highly processed "foods," and the numbers are even higher for kids. In a similar way, so much of what AI produces is akin to highly processed data: Its myriad origins are murky at best, you often don't feel great after using it a while, and if you are exposed to it too much it might just freaking kill you.

@briankrebs More things to consider: Food deserts. No safe places to walk. No safe places to play. Endocrine disrupting chemicals. Environmental racism leading to disproportionate rates of health issues that interfere with exercise and metabolism. A pandemic that causes long term post-exertional malaise, heart disease, and diabetes among other things. BMI based on white men, so obesity stats based on it are racist and sexist. Mixing up aesthetic standards and health.

Blaming health issues primarily on individual choices is deeply ableist and has a disturbing history.

Please talk to people who really know about public health.