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Happy 100th Birthday, Brother Alberic!

When asked about what drew him to monastic life he answered, “Nothing. It wasn’t attractive at all.” It just got into his head that it was something he ought to do, he said, and the idea wouldn’t go away.

I love this response so much! Vocations are mysterious.

Scarlett Johansson Says OpenAI Ripped Off Her Voice for ChatGPT

Johansson’s statement, relayed to WIRED by her publicist, claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman asked her last September to provide ChatGPT’s new voice but that she declined. She describes being astounded to see the company demo a new voice for ChatGPT last week that sounded like her anyway.

This alleged behavior by OpenAI erodes any trust I might have had in the company. Brazenly disregarding Johansson’s declination does not bode well for those of us who don’t have the resources to hire a legal team.

Perhaps this story will be an exhibit in the NYTimes’ lawsuit against OpenAI which alleges similar behavior: seemingly amicable negotiations that end with OpenAI doing whatever they want with content they don’t have permission to use.

Ethicists Can Proactively Prepare for AI Systems

A human will always be best suited to facilitate conversations that support ethical decision-making for the patients we serve.

Wherein I warn about technosolutionism, promote the language of “augmented intelligence,” and remind folks that great caution should be taken when utilizing generative AI in the context of clinical bioethics.

In Battle Over Health Care Costs, Private Equity Plays Both Sides

There are many problems with health care spending. No one is immune from culpability in the skyrocketing costs of health care in the United States. And yet, no one may be more culpable than private equity firms.

The series of articles published recently in The New York Times highlights MultiPlan, a for-profit entity who purports to “help make healthcare transparent, fair and affordable for all.”

Their data-driven method to determine fair reimbursement, Data iSight, is described by Chris Hamby (NYT) here:

Data iSight starts by using Medicare’s methods for setting rates. But subsequent calculations are less transparent. MultiPlan says it applies multipliers that allow for a fair profit for hospitals and something approximating a fair market rate for physicians. The documents show that MultiPlan allows insurers to cap prices and set what they consider fair profit margins for medical facilities.

One huge problem here is that the wrong stakeholder gets the power to determine what is “fair.” Among the many stakeholders in medical care, the patient should be centered with decision-making power. If this article is accurate, it is the private equity owned MutiPlan - in concert with insurance companies - who holds the power to determine fair payment.

Health care in the U.S. would be much better if such important payment decisions were not made by organizations who exist with the primary purpose of earning a profit for their investors.

Something You Play

Catholicism is not an exercise in saying the same thing over and over and over again. There are changes, every time, in every person encountered, in every situation that demands charity, and being able to notice those changes in what feels like an endless sea of droning repetitive noise requires constant practice and eventual virtuosity. It requires listening. It requires treating music as something you play.

In his usual irreverent, yet spot-on style, Ginocchio uses improv comedy and the music of Philip Glass to make important points about practical theology.

Fort Collins bookstore pays people to sit down and read quietly

The reader-in-residence doesn’t have to write an essay. They don’t have to host a book club or moderate a panel discussion. They don’t have to contribute to a blog or create sponsored content. They don’t have to do anything, except show up to the bookstore a couple of times per week and read.

This is my dream job. 🤓