Author: Peter Biles | Page 5

Night at Home: Three Soccer Fans Sitting on a Couch Watch Game on TV, Use Smartphone App to Online Bet, Celebrate Victory when Sports Team Wins. Friends Cheer Eat Snacks, Watch Football Play.

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Peter Biles
Date
January 31, 2025

Categorized
Addiction, Sports

Tagged
Rachel Epstein, Sports gambling}

Sports Gambling: The New Addiction Storming America

_{Making money off your favorite team just got wildly popular. But is it healthy?} _{Peter Biles
January 31, 2025

3

Addiction, Sports}

Super Bowl 2025 is less than two weeks away, with the Philadelphia Eagles finding themselves in a rematch with reigning champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Sports engagement has ballooned over the past few years through the medium of online sports betting. Formerly illegal, sports betting has taken the U.S. by storm, with major celebrities and sports stars going on air advocating the practice. Making money off your favorite team just got wildly popular. But is it healthy? A recent article titled “I Got Divorced Because of Sports Betting” shows the dark side of the gamble. Pitched as an easy way to make money online, no one talks about the mad fury that ensues after your bet fails to deliver, your Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
January 25, 2025

Categorized
Censorship

Tagged
Elon Musk, Facebook, Free speech, Google, Hunter Biden, New York Post, Trump, Twitter}

The Tech Giants Looming in the Background

_{The presence of these tech giants at Trump's inauguration signals a major "vibe shift" in the culture.} _{Peter Biles
January 25, 2025

3

Censorship}

The Constitution guards against government interference in the speech of American citizens.

Close up of a man using mobile smart phone

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 20, 2025

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
China, Tech Addiction, TikTok, Trump}

TikTok is Back, Thanks to Trump. The Battle Against Tech Addiction Continues

_{TikTok has gone through a chaotic whirlwind over the last few days} _{Peter Biles
January 20, 2025

2

Technology}

Trump has garnered support from an unlikely cast of tech giants. What happens now?

Closed up image of a Female using TikTok application on a smartphone in home. 5 September, 2022. ChiangMai, Thailand.

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Peter Biles
Date
January 16, 2025

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
addiction, FBI, Foreign Adversary, Information, Jonathan Haidt, National Security, RedNote, social media, TikTok, tiktok ban}

TikTok is on the Verge of a Ban. Now Users Are Flocking to Another Chinese App.

_{National security and the mental health of a generation are at stake} _{Peter Biles
January 16, 2025

3

Technology}

A federal ban of the wildly popular social media app TikTok is set to take effect on Sunday, unless a last-minute intervention occurs, or an American-owned business buys the company. The FBI, as well as several state authorities around the country, have said the app represents a national security threat, as it allows a foreign adversary to access the data of the 170 million Americans who use it. Apart from the issue of national security, plenty of people, particularly sociologist Jonathan Haidt, have pointed out TikTok’s profound negative impact on kids and users in general. TikTok uses an advanced algorithm system to hook its users. Haidt and his research assistant, Zach Rausch, list out the multiple harms: Executives within the Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
January 11, 2025

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Bob Dylan, Enchantment, Free speech, Hope, poetry, Russia, totalitarianism, Tyranny, Writing}

Music in the Mind

_{The need for poetry in totalitarian times} _{Peter Biles
January 11, 2025

4

Arts & Culture}

The poet employs language to do justice to the subject matter, while the totalitarian hijacks language by trading reality with ideology.

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Peter Biles
Date
January 8, 2025

Categorized
Transhumanism

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Biolongevity, ChatGPT, Consciousness, free press, religion, Science fiction, Technology, transhumanism}

Podcast Guest Claims He Won’t Die, Says We’re Creating God With AI

_{Got immortality? This man says he has the secret.} _{Peter Biles
January 8, 2025

4

Transhumanism}

Johnson’s views on AI sound crazy, but they reflect a burgeoning hope that computerized superintelligence will somehow solve all the enigmas of existence.

Conceptual illustration of people with eyeballs as their heads looking at mobilephones

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post

Peter Biles
Date
January 6, 2025

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
AI, attention, ChatGPT, Distraction, Experience, Gen Z, internet, Jonathan Haidt, online life, Smartphones, social media, Tech, the anxious generation, tv}

2025: Rejecting Brain Rot

_{Toward a more embodied and human way of life} _{Peter Biles
January 6, 2025

4

Technology}

Following the data, observing personal experience, and developing another vision for human flourishing can get us a step closer to a fuller, intentional life.

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 30, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Culture, free press, Jordan Peterson, Literature, mystery, Rod Dreher, science, Technology}

Re-enchanting the Secular West

_{More writers and intellectuals recognize the need for right-brain thinking} _{Peter Biles
December 30, 2024

5

Arts & Culture}

While there might not be a culture-wide renewal of faith yet, some significant voices are heralding a new way forward.

A writer engrossed in their work at a desk overlooking a tranquil lake, finding inspiration in the natural surroundings.

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 23, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture}

2024 Was Substack’s Year and a Win for Independent Media

_{The rise of independent writers and creators threatens traditional media and publishing} _{Peter Biles
December 23, 2024

6

Arts & Culture}

“You are the media now.” If Oxford were to have a “phrase of the year,” it might be that single little line, which, if you kept in touch with the media’s pulse over the last few months, makes a lot of sense. 2024 was arguably the year of the meteoric rise of the independent creator and the calamitous fall of the so-called legacy media. More than any other time in the digital era, it’s obvious that people with no ties to the gatekeeping institutions of our culture can create and distribute videos, journalism, and literature. You don’t have to send a million stories to The New Yorker anymore, only to be rejected. You can post your own commentary on Substack Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
December 18, 2024

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Bluesky, social media, society, X}

Is Bluesky Any Better than X? Social Media’s Real Problem Remains

_{Whatever platform it is, social media will always have toxicity} _{Peter Biles
December 18, 2024

3

Social Media}

Singal wisely concludes the essay by saying that we don’t have a right-wing or a left-wing problem but a human problem.

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 17, 2024

Categorized
Surveillance

Tagged
China, drones, free press, Iran, Surveillance, Technology}

The Drones Continue to Hover

_{Mystery drones have been sighted in New Jersey and other states} _{Peter Biles
December 17, 2024

3

Surveillance}

Finally, the FBI and Homeland Security is starting to investigate, and we will hopefully have a transparent answer about the origin of the drones.

Woman reading book at evening at home close up

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 13, 2024

Tagged
C.S. Lewis, Digital media, Distraction, fiction, Literature, Novel, social media, Tech}

In a Changing Media Landscape, Keep the Novel

_{Novels are unique in their capacity to shed insight into the complexity of our world and human nature} _{Peter Biles
December 13, 2024

3}

The novel is one of those traditional mediums that struggles in our screen-heavy society.

Alien invasion, UFO flying in the sky, concept of evidence and sighting, retro illustration. Generative AI

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 11, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
CEO, Crime, Culture, Mainstream Media, media, Politics, stories, walter kirn}

The Absurdity of Our Media Moment

_{When crimes seem almost scripted to stoke division and speculation} _{Peter Biles
December 11, 2024

5

Arts & Culture}

The fact that such a video is available and became so widely watched is a horror in itself; a grisly crime is now a scene in a murder episode.

Cerebral cortex disintegrating into ash, surrealism, muted grayscale tones, digital sketch, brain cells collapsing into void, signifying loss of memory

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 8, 2024

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
addiction, attention, China, dopamine, Free speech, social media, Supreme Court, TikTok}

Oxford Word of the Year: Brain Rot

_{The flood of online content deteriorates our mental and intellectual states} _{Peter Biles
December 8, 2024

4

Technology}

Ironically, “brain rot” started making the rounds primarily on TikTok, one of the biggest culprits when it comes to getting people addicted to screens.

Illustration featuring a surreal arrangement of floating media screens

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post

Peter Biles
Date
December 3, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
addiction, America, Culture, Family, men, Purpose, Substack, Technology, Work}

Scott Galloway: Get Men Off the Screens

_{The conversation revolved around one big question: What happened to men?} _{Peter Biles
December 3, 2024

4

Arts & Culture}

Galloway also resists the notion that one needs to “find their passion” to lead a fulfilling life: Those who say that to young people are “already rich.”

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Peter Biles
Date
November 30, 2024

Categorized
Philosophy

Tagged
gratitude}

Practicing Gratitude: The Antidote to Anxiety

_{Gratitude reminds us that we are interdependent persons, not isolated machines} _{Peter Biles
November 30, 2024

3

Philosophy}

Being thankful always points our eyes outward towards others and the world around us.

A robot is reading a book in a church. The robot is white and has a book in its hand. The church is empty and the robot is standing in the middle of the room

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post

Peter Biles
Date
November 25, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, Jesus, LLMs, Prayer, religion, The Guardian}

Want to Talk to Jesus? Consult a Bot

_{Is AI changing the way people pray?} _{Peter Biles
November 25, 2024

3

Artificial Intelligence}

Whatever one’s views on Christ, a computer system can’t materialize his essence.

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Peter Biles
Date
November 22, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Aldous Huxley, brave new world, CS Lewis, Culture, government, power, Writing}

In Memoriam: Two Prophets and a President Died This Day

_{The prophetic artists of the past still speak} _{Peter Biles
November 22, 2024

4

Arts & Culture}

November 22nd, 1963 marks the day that three influential men of the twentieth century died: C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, and President John F. Kennedy.

'Wide angle shot of a desolate movie set at dusk, old Western style buildings and vintage film cameras'

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Peter Biles
Date
November 20, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Culture, Disney, hollywood, LLMs, Movies, Technology}

Why Do We Have So Many Live-Action Remakes?

_{Whether a cartoon or live-action, what we really want is a good story} _{Peter Biles
November 20, 2024

3

Arts & Culture}

A couple of days ago, I chanced upon a trailer for the live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon. The original film, based on the book of the same name, premiered in 2010 and follows the heartfelt adventure story of a young Nordic lad, Hiccup, and his friendly dragon Toothless (who does, in fact, have teeth). The original movie got great reviews and remains one of my personal favorite animated films. It has memorable and funny characters, a good storyline, and is well animated. So why do we need a live-action version of the movie? A Loss of Originality Disney led the charge with its realistic remakes with live-action representations of Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and Cinderella, Read More ›

Asian woman playing game on smartphone in the bed at night,Thailand people,Addict social media

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Peter Biles
Date
November 18, 2024

Categorized
Social Media}

Fighting the Algorithms of Social Media: When Engagement Overrides Ethics

_{No one is safe from harmful internet content anymore, especially not on algorithm-driven social media sites} _{Peter Biles
November 18, 2024

3

Social Media}

No one is safe from harmful internet content anymore, especially not on algorithm-driven social media sites. It’s no secret that the internet is stuffed with smut, pornography, and other graphic media, but the algorithms that prize engagement over the quality of the content takes the danger to a whole new level. Anthony Bradley, a scholar at the Acton Institute who writes often on fatherhood, masculinity, and religion, warns about the dangers of social media in his latest Substack post. He urges fathers to intervene on behalf of their sons and train them to literally war against these algorithms feeding them total garbage. Bradley writes, While girls are generally recommended content about makeup, music, or social topics, boys are funneled toward Read More ›