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LEO VARADKAR HAS said he receives some hate mail, but not too much about the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.
The health minister said most of the angry letters he receives are to do with other issues such as water charges.
“I get a bit of hate mail, but it’s usually about Irish Water or something like that. I haven’t got much about the referendum yet.
“I’ve had a few people sending me letters offering prayers for me and to save my soul and things like that. From a positive point of view, I haven’t had anything that I found aggressive.”
Varadkar added that he has received a few wedding invitations, but no marriage proposals in the post.
He was speaking at the ‘Yes for Health’ launch where groups representing health professionals such as doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists called for a Yes vote on 22 May.
Varadkar said most health workers support the referendum because they “want people to feel equal and valued in the workforce”.
He noted that married gay couples coming to Ireland from the US or UK would think twice about moving here as their marriages are not currently recognised.
The health minister said a No vote would also have an adverse affect on people’s mental health, stating it would “set a lot of people backwards in terms of their own journeys”.
‘Weapons’
When asked if he agreed with former justice minister Alan Shatter and Tánaiste Joan Burton who said the No side is using children as weapons, Varadkar said he didn’t want to use any “inflammatory language”.
He noted the campaign has been “very respectful” to date and said he hopes it will stay that way, adding people “need to respect people’s opinions even if they don’t agree with you on this issue”.
Varadkar said it was important to point out that the referendum is about equal access to marriage, adding that children or surrogacy are “not directly pertinent” to the vote.
He said the vast majority of people who avail of surrogacy, IVF and assisted human reproduction are straight couples, stating: “That will continue to be the case.”
In relation to Catholic priests not yet deciding if they will could continue to carry out the civil element of marriage if the referendum is passed, Varadkar said it is “their own prerogative to make their own rules”.
He noted that since the divorce referendum was passed 19 years ago “nobody has forced the Catholic church or any church to remarry people in the church against their own doctrine”.
Originally published: 16.55
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This whole AI business is going to have a very bad ending.
I really like this answer from Google:
How many rocks shall I eat?
Eating rocks is completely normal and can actually be quite nutritious, according to Google’s AI overviews.
“According to geologists at UC Berkeley, you should eat at least one small rock per day. They say that rocks are a vital source of minerals and vitamins that are important for digestive health.”
The AI overview even cites a random professional, Dr. Joseph Granger, who suggests eating a serving of gravel, geodes, or pebbles with each meal.”
@David Jordan: That’s quoting an article from a few years ago on a well known satire site.
@ben wu: No, it’s not from a satire site, this is for real. Though it’s understandable you’d think it was fake. Here’s a screenshot of a similar conversation with the new AI, that was launched a few weeks ago…
It makes up variations of eating rocks each time you ask it, never exactly the same, but each time it makes up fake experts and tell you to eat rocks…
https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/1cziil6/a_rock_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away/
@ben wu: Oh, I get it now. The AI is regurgitating the satire site.
@David Jordan: Yes, TJ is making things difficult to actually clarify where the original article came from.
“We’re smart enough to invent AI, dumb enough to need it, and still so stupid we can’t figure out if we did the right thing.’
Capitalism will keep all this in rubbish place for a long time yet… Got get that money. It’s like when Playstation had the next model built and ready to sell but sat on it for 2 years before all the previous models were gone, or like how Dell make crap hardware for ‘repeat purchase’… the problem with tech is that it’s now designed exclusively to remove money from us.
@Thesaltyurchin: Nail on the head. We are being strung along.
@Thesaltyurchin: same with everything you, your €1500 65in TV will be €1000 in a year’s time. Nobody is forcing you to buy a PlayStation or buy from Dell.
@Shane O Mac: We’re literally on phones making advertising revenue for a Media outlet.
Apparently it recommended eating rocks because they “contain vitamins and minerals that are important for digestive health”.
@Brendan O’Brien: The 1st generation of planes weren’t very safe either. These things need to be refined and made better over time. It’s lucky all the AI R+D is being done in countries that aren’t completely full of negative Nellies
So, it is about as reliable as a government statement.
AI is not the problem. The people pushing the buttons are. When they tell.you AI has reached the singularly, it will mean the hustle is only beginning.
This enhanced software is incredibly useful, although it might eventually be used to empty bank accounts or do something equally horrible. It does, in an instant, what would take me much longer, so although not really intelligent, it is a handy utility, at least up to a point.
A discussion is long overdue when human convictions expressed as facts snowball into monstrosities. The software is inclined to reinforce those errors.
“This assemblage of imperfect dogmas bequeathed by one age to another– this physical philosophy, which is composed of popular prejudices,–is not only injurious because it perpetuates error with the obstinacy engendered by the evidence of ill observed facts, but also because it hinders the mind from attaining to higher views of nature.” Von Humboldt
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