Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Northwestern University developed a “tool in artificial intelligence” to predict whether someone is willing to receive a COVID-19 shot. The “system integrates the math of human judgment with machine learning to predict vaccine hesitancy‚” according to the University of Cincinnati. “We used a small number of variables and minimal computational resources to make predictions‚” said lead author Nicole Vike‚ a senior research associate in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. “COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last pandemic we see in the next decades. Having a new form of AI for prediction in public health provides a valuable tool that could help prepare hospitals for predicting vaccination rates and consequential infection rates‚” Vike continued. So‚ if you don’t want an experimental injection‚ an AI tool will find you. Don’t Want a Vaccine? New AI Tool Will Find You https://t.co/Wwg5t8jm2S — The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) March 23‚ 2024 From the University of Cincinnati: Researchers surveyed 3‚476 adults across the United States in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the survey‚ the first vaccines had been available for more than a year. Respondents provided information such as where they live‚ income‚ highest education level completed‚ ethnicity and access to the internet. The respondents’ demographics mirrored those of the United States based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Participants were asked if they had received either of the available COVID-19 vaccines. About 73% of respondents said they were vaccinated‚ slightly more than the 70% of the nation’s population that had been vaccinated in 2021. Further‚ they were asked if they routinely followed four recommendations designed to prevent the spread of the virus: wearing a mask‚ social distancing‚ washing their hands and not gathering in large groups. Participants were asked to rate how much they liked or disliked a randomly sequenced set of 48 pictures on a seven-point scale of 3 to -3. The pictures were from the International Affective Picture Set‚ a large set of emotionally evocative color photographs‚ in six categories: sports‚ disasters‚ cute animals‚ aggressive animals‚ nature and food. Vike said the goal of this exercise is to quantify mathematical features of people’s judgments as they observe mildly emotional stimuli. Measures from this task include concepts familiar to behavioral economists — or even people who gamble — such aversion to risk (the point at which someone is willing to accept potential loss for a potential reward) and aversion to loss. This is the willingness to avoid risk by‚ for example‚ obtaining insurance. “The framework by which we judge what is rewarding or aversive is fundamental to how we make medical decisions‚” said co-senior author Hans Breiter‚ a professor of computer science at UC. “A seminal paper in 2017 hypothesized the existence of a standard model of the mind. Using a small set of variables from mathematical psychology to predict medical behavior would support such a model. The work of this collaborative team has provided such support and argues that the mind is a set of equations akin to what is used in particle physics.” New U of Cincinnati developed AI is working to pinpoint those choosing not to jab. Will likely lead to authoritarian compulsive policies for those dissenters deemed mentally deficient in some way???https://t.co/nEb9dkv6DB — Elise Villemaire (@Villainessa) March 22‚ 2024 “Despite COVID-19 vaccine mandates‚ many chose to forgo vaccination‚ raising questions about the psychology underlying how judgment affects these choices. Research shows that reward and aversion judgments are important for vaccination choice; however‚ no studies have integrated such cognitive science with machine learning to predict COVID-19 vaccine uptake‚” the researchers wrote. “This study aims to determine the predictive power of a small but interpretable set of judgment variables using 3 machine learning algorithms to predict COVID-19 vaccine uptake and interpret what profile of judgment variables was important for prediction‚” they added. Brian Hooker‚ Ph.D.‚ chief scientific officer for Children’s Health Defense‚ said the tool implies that vaccine-hesitant individuals have mental health problems. “The whole implication here is that nonconformity to the government propaganda machine’s standard of care makes one some type of mental case or extreme outlier. The whole thing smacks of a Brave New World where potentially non-compliant individuals are targeted with messaging based on fear and irrationality‚” Hooker said‚ according to The Defender. AI can predict people's attitudes to vaccines | University of Cincinnati https://t.co/ySSQSCNule (mentions @jmirpub) — JMIR Publications (@jmirpub) March 19‚ 2024 The Defender reports: The study’s authors said the technology also could be used to “aid vaccine rollouts and health care preparedness by providing location-specific details” — in other words‚ identifying geographic areas that may experience low vaccination and high hospitalization rates‚ according to the study. Critics questioned the study’s claims and also said they were worried about the potential adverse uses of this technology. “The main problem with research like this is the underlying premise: Vaccine hesitancy must be accounted for in terms of the (aberrant) psychology of the subjects and not with reference to the efficacy and safety of the vaccine(s) in question‚” said Michael Rectenwald‚ Ph.D.‚ author of “Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom.” As a result‚ Rectenwald said‚ it’s implied that “if people are vaccine-hesitant‚ the fault is endemic to them rather than to the vaccine itself. From this premise‚ the research seeks to justify vaccination as normal by linking anomalous mental and psychological characteristics with vaccine hesitancy.” This may lead to individuals being targeted‚ Rectenwald said: “Using AI to predict vaccine hesitancy on these terms might include mobilizing AI programs to target and even identify individually vaccine-hesitant subjects. We might also expect AI programs that seek to overcome vaccine hesitancy with attempts to ‘reprogram’ said defective subjects. “At the very least‚ identifying‚ targeting and re-educating vaccine hesitant subjects is in the offing.” Read the study‚ titled ‘Predicting COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake Using a Small and Interpretable Set of Judgment and Demographic Variables: Cross-Sectional Cognitive Science Study‚’ HERE.

Joe Biden has agreed to ban US embassies from flying the LGBTQ pride flag as part of a $1.2 trillion spending deal. Bloomberg reported that American embassies around the world will not be able to [...] The post Biden Agrees To Ban LGBTQ Flags From US Embassies In Spending Deal appeared first on The People's Voice.

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added the “international LGBT public movement” to its list of terrorists and extremists. The Federal Financial Monitoring Service expanded its designation of persons and organizations deemed to be involved [...] The post Russia Adds ‘LGBT Movement’ To Its List Of Terrorists &; Extremists appeared first on The People's Voice.

Yesterday’s attack at the Crocus City Hall complex‚ a concert hall and shopping center‚ unofficially resulted in at least 115 deaths and 145 injuries‚ including children‚ at the hands of at least five gunmen. Russia reports that four were caught trying to get into Ukraine‚ where they have contacts. According to preliminary reports by eyewitnesses‚ […] The post Watch Interrogation of Suspect in Moscow Terror Attack‚ 115 Dead appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The Senate approved a $1.2 trillion spending package in a bipartisan vote during the early hours of Saturday morning‚ sending the bill to President Joe Biden‚ who will likely sign it as soon as possible to avoid a government shutdown. After passing the House on Friday in a 286-134 vote‚ the Senate voted 74-24 at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday to send the more than 1‚000-page spending package to Biden’s desk‚ The Hill reported. Earlier this week‚ House and Senate leadership announced that they had come to an agreement to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2024‚ which is nearly half over‚ covering the remaining spending bills that were not included in a $460 billion “minibus” that passed earlier this month. “It’s been a very long and difficult day‚ but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government‚” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said just before the bill passed. “It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy‚ but tonight our persistence has been worth it.” Twenty-five Republicans voted to pass the spending bill‚ along with 47 Democrats‚ while 22 Republicans voted against the $1.2 trillion package. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado‚ along with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who caucuses with the Democrats — also voted against the bill. Sanders cited a block of funding to UNRWA‚ an agency of the U.N.‚ as a reason he voted against the bill‚ according to The Hill. During negotiations with Democrats‚ Republicans successfully secured the cut in funding to the UNRWA‚ whose workers have been connected to Hamas terrorists. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Tuesday that the final negotiations that were worked out between House and Senate leadership focused on appropriations for the Homeland Security Department (DHS). The $1.2 trillion package covers funding for the Legislative Branch‚ Financial Services and General Government‚ and the Departments of Defense‚ State‚ Health and Human Services‚ Labor‚ Homeland Security‚ and related agencies. Republican hardliners in the House and Senate slammed the bill as the 1‚000 pages were released overnight and less than two days before the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. “At 2:32 am — when Americans were sleeping — the Swamp released its second half of the omnibus. 1‚012 pages that spend $1.2 TRILLION of taxpayer dollars on disastrous policies‚” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) posted on X on Thursday. “The House is still expected to vote on this monstrosity TOMORROW MORNING. Washington is beyond broken.” At 2:32 am—when Americans were sleeping—the Swamp released its second half of the omnibus. 1‚012 pages that spend $1.2 TRILLION of taxpayer dollars on disastrous policies. The House is still expected to vote on this monstrosity TOMORROW MORNING. Washington is beyond broken. pic.twitter.com/AlZCDYWBKK — Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) March 21‚ 2024 After a bipartisan majority in the House and Senate approved the spending package‚ Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said‚ “I did everything I could to stop it. And improve it.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “But far too many Republicans wanted to spend like Democrats‚” Lee added. “Those of us who saw this bill as an unmitigated disaster were sadly outnumbered. I voted ‘no.’” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took her frustration a step further after the House passed the package and filed a motion to oust Speaker Johnson on Friday‚ saying‚ “No Republican in the House of Representatives can in good conscience vote for this bill.” Johnson defended expediting the spending omnibus through the House earlier this week‚ saying‚ “We have to govern‚” The Wall Street Journal reported. “We have to demonstrate that we can keep this thing together and keep the train on the tracks‚” the speaker added. Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report. 

Ahole Eddie has a bit of a reputation for being a rude dog — but that didn’t keep him from getting adopted! In fact‚ it was part of the reason he found his forever home! Despite his adorable facial expressions‚ this dog is a piece of work. And we love him for it. This image is from TikTok. The shelter he was staying at took to Facebook to share a bit of insight into Ahole Eddie’s attitude. The result? This rude dog got adopted quickly! Here’s what his shelter had to say about him before he found his furrever home. “This is Eddie‚ Eddie is an a**hole‚” began the shelter. “Eddie hates other dogs‚ he’s 17 pounds and could take on a Rottweiler and win. If Eddie had an accent‚ he would sound like he’s from the Bronx‚ wearing a wife beater t-shirt and a tattoo that says MOM on his arm.” “If you got into a bar fight‚ Eddie would back you up and take on all 5 guys‚ put his cigarette out on their forehead and not spilling a drop of his beer while doing it‚” continued the shelter. “So‚ if you think you are man enough to adopt him‚ please be our guest. We want Eddie out of here because he scares our big dogs.” This image is from Facebook. In no time‚ this dog was adopted and now Ahole Eddie is widely celebrated online. “Less than 8 hours‚ he’s adopted!! Yay! Keep up the great work‚” one commenter pointed out. In fact‚ he has his own Facebook page! What an epic and hilarious story about a dog with a bit of ‘tude. We love you‚ Eddie! The featured image for this post is from Facebook. The post Shelter’s Hilarious Post About Rude Dog Gets Him Adopted In Less Than 8 Hours appeared first on InspireMore.

Four rescued grey seal pups recently took a swim in deep water for the first time—and they couldn’t contain their happiness. According to a Facebook post by the South Essex Wildlife Hospital‚ the orphaned pups were all saved from different parts of the UK’s east coast. When they arrived at the hospital‚ they were penned in an enclosure with a shallow pool. The hospital currently has 14 rescued seal pups‚ reports the BBC‚ which means space is limited. So to gain access to the facility’s deep pool‚ the animals not only have to wait their turn‚ but they also need to be cleared of diseases and be able to feed themselves. Facebook “There’s a bit of a queue‚” the hospital’s founder‚ Sue Schwar‚ told the publication. When the four pups turned six months old‚ staff members gave them the all-clear. So they led them to the deep water pool‚ and the pups’ reactions to the experience were priceless. “Watching grey seal pups experience deeper water for the first time is a sight that will never get old‚” reads the Facebook post. “These four pups have just moved into our large outdoor pool‚ and their joy was completely infectious!” “They spent hours racing about and playing before settling down‚ leaving all of us with a huge smile‚” it continues. “Hopefully‚ it won’t be long before these guys can return to the wild at last.” Sue told BBC that the rescued seal pups will stay in the deep water pool for “a couple of weeks.” While they’re in there‚ they will build strength and learn how to survive in the ocean. Once they are old enough and strong enough‚ they’ll return to the wild. Facebook You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Rescued Seal Pups Take First Swim in Deep Water‚ “Their Joy Was Completely Infectious” appeared first on InspireMore.