I was playing around with ChatGPT looking for inspiration and talking points for a letter to the editor about the dangers of Elon Musk. My careful prompt generated a 200-word response that perfectly represented my point of view. It was well written and, dare I say, persuasive. Then, just for fun, I plugged in a prompt asking for a letter that defended the takeover of the Treasury Department’s servers by Musk and within seconds an equally well-written argument was generated. This exercise made it clear to me that words are just words. Divorced from any human intelligence or set of core values, they are cheap, predictable and ultimately unpersuasive. They either reinforce what we already believe or are rejected as false, flawed or misguided. In this perilous moment, each of us needs to ask ourselves who we are, as human beings, and then act on our values. Do we believe in inalienable rights and the dignity and worth of each human being, or do we believe that only a select, lucky few should be privileged with power and self-determination? In my heart, I know this much: We are all connected, each of us has worth, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. No matter what assaults are perpetrated upon our flawed but beloved country, I will dedicate myself to those truths. I hope that all decent people reading this will look into their own hearts and do the same.

Mary Downes

Madbury