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America, Hardened - Boston Attack Reveals A Nation Learning To Live With Risks

A French correspondent gauges reaction to the Boston Marathon attack, noting how much has changed since 9/11 in the way America faces its fears and vulnerabilities.

Boston, after the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 100.
Boston, after the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 100.
Philippe Boulet-Gercourt

NEW YORK - No one looked up at the sky, as everyone did for months after 9/11, without thinking, every time the sound of a plane engine was heard.

Of course, the New York Police Department went immediately on state of alert, along with city firemen and the National Guard. Ray Kelly, the NYPD commissioner called the 1,000 officers specifically assigned to counter-terrorism. Surveillance of subways and bridges was heightened. CCTV's covering the city, were watched with particular attention, to discern any suspicious move.

But New York did not face a shock similar to the one that came with 9/11.

This time, New Yorkers were spectators, and they did like everyone on social networks: each advocated his or her own theory about the culprits. “Today is the deadline for fiscal declarations, I wouldn't be surprised if an anti-government bastard did it,” ventured one friend on Facebook

Someone else, speaking to the New York Post, wondered if the attack had originally been planned for the New York City Marathon, which was called off because of Hurricane Sandy.

But apart from such chatter, for the New York crowd enjoying a sunny Spring day, Boston seemed far away.

It is not just the distance. That September day in 2001 has deeply changed New York, and the rest of America along with her. The country has been prepared to absorb unpredictable attacks by mass murdering gunmen; and the real surprise is, for many, that the country and the city have not faced any major attack during the past twelve years.

In London and Paris, too

The bewilderment following 9/11 has been replaced by a hardened America, somehow subtly less open and candid. The same goes for London or Paris: there is indeed danger, we live with it.

Barack Obama's masterful statement, projecting his calm resoluteness, was as far as one can travel from that image of George W. Bush, megaphone in hand on the rubble of the World Trade Center. The message to the culprits though is largely the same: whoever you are, we will hunt you down, and punish you. Now it's coming from a President who has already proven it, by eliminating Osama Bin Laden.

Another difference, between Boston 4/15 and New York 9/11 is the pure speed of social networks in defusing the most outrageous fears and least reliable information. For hours, in 2001, New Yorkers expected other planes to fall from the sky. The maddest of rumors were spreading.

Yesterday, word of an attack against the JFK library in Boston was quickly disposed of: it was an accidental fire, nothing to do with any kind of sophisticated, coordinated terrorist strike. New Yorkers, eyes glued to their smart phones, already knew the truth.

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Future

AI As God? How Artificial Intelligence Could Spark Religious Devotion

We may be about to see the emergence of a new kind of religion, where flocks worship — literally — at the altar of Artificial Intelligence.

Image of artificial intelligence as an artificial being

Artificial intelligence generated picture of AI as a god

Neil McArthur

The latest generation of AI-powered chatbots, trained on large language models, have left their early users awestruck —and sometimes terrified — by their power. These are the same sublime emotions that lie at the heart of our experience of the divine.

People already seek religious meaning from very diverse sources. There are, for instance, multiple religions that worship extra-terrestrials or their teachings.

As these chatbots come to be used by billions of people, it is inevitable that some of these users will see the AIs as higher beings. We must prepare for the implications.

There are several pathways by which AI religions will emerge. First, some people will come to see AI as a higher power.

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