Is Artificial Intelligence Your Friend?

Is Artificial Intelligence Your Friend?
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, April 18, 2023, p. A5
At a Lake Arrowhead conference around 1962 I asked the first IBM employee I’d ever met, “What can these computers do?”

He replied, “You remind me of a friend of mine. He looks at the restaurant menu and asks himself, ‘Now what goes good with French Fries?’ Tell me what you want our computers to do. We can either do it now or develop a computer to do it six months from now.”

I was in my second year as a University of California Berkeley law professor, so the first request that came to mind was, “How about a computer that could grade essay exams?”

He couldn’t give me that computer then. But today he could.

Nor are today’s computer programs limited to grading answers. They can read exam questions and write the answers. The artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT took the multiple-choice portion of the multistate bar exam. Reuters reports it “performed better than predicted, earning passing scores on evidence and torts.”

Given the time it took educators to move the overhead projector from the bowling alley into the classroom, you can imagine the anxiety caused by a program that can write, take and grade exams. One that can also write students’ papers on any academic subject, perhaps a master’s thesis. [Image credit: Madhav-Malhotra-003, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; an AI-generated "word cloud."]

The computers’ work product is not, yet, equivalent to the writing of the very best students, but it’s passable.

Beyond education, you are using AI more than you realize.

There are no longer excuses for getting lost. Google maps will talk you to your destination, explain how to correct for missing a turn – and track where your child goes after school. Self-driving cars make the ride even easier.

Google translate enables you to read and write in languages you don’t know. Amazon’s Alexa will answer questions and follow your orders. Facebook matches you with others. Robotics can vacuum your living room, fill your Amazon Prime box, and build automobiles. AI can control the equipment in your house and enable you to manipulate it remotely. It may help your doctor diagnose your condition.

Most of the downsides of these electronic miracles will be known only when they occur. But even the1000 creators of programs like ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing and Google Bard are concerned. They’ve signed a group letter pleading for a six-month pause in further AI advances.

Take unemployment. ATT’s 350,000 switchboard operators weren’t necessary once we could direct dial any phone.

There was a dramatic drop in the number of bank tellers per bank after ATMs (“automated teller machines”).

We can only guess the impact of AI on virtually every job in our economy.

A 1981 conference lapel button asserted, “Artificial intelligence is better than none.” What if AI also becomes better than human?

What if, anticipating danger, I plead for the program to stop, and it says, modifying HAL 9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “I’m sorry, Nick, but I won’t do that for you”?

Nicholas Johnson is a former cyberlaw professor and FCC commissioner. mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org

SOURCES
See generally. One of the most thorough overviews of current AI news and commentary, with videos: Gregory Johnson, "Artificial Intelligence Report 2023," Resources for Life Posts, first published April 9, 2023, https://resourcesforlife.com/docs/item38627

AI passes law exam. Karen Sloan, “Some Law Professors Fear ChatGPT’s Rise As Others See Opportunity,” Reuters, Jan. 10, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/some-law-professors-fear-chatgpts-rise-others-see-opportunity-2023-01-10/

Debra Cassens Weiss, “AI Program Earned Passing Bar Exam Scores on Evidence and Torts; Can It Work In Court?” ABA Journal, Jan. 12, 2023, https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ai-program-earned-passing-bar-exam-scores-on-evidence-and-torts-can-it-work-in-court (“An artificial intelligence program called ChatGPT-3.5 managed to pass evidence and torts sections of a multiple-choice, multistate bar exam.”)

Overhead projectors. Craig Heiman, “History With A Local AV Company: The Overhead Projector,” Oct. 19, 2022, https://www.avplanners.com/news/history-with-a-local-av-company-the-overhead-projector (“Before becoming a common classroom teaching tool, overhead projectors, such as the Tel-E-Score, were used in bowling alleys to project scores.”)

Larry Cuban, “Whatever Happened to the Overhead Projector?” Nov. 15, 2021, https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/whatever-happened-to-the-overhead-projector/

Chat GPT. “Chat GPT Achieved One Million Users in Record Time – Revolutionizing Time-Saving in Various Fields,” Digital Information World, https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2023/01/chat-gpt-achieved-one-million-users-in.html# (“As per the recent reports, Chat GPT jumped to a million users just five days after its founding in November 2022. . . .

Chat GPT is a strong AI tool that can construct natural text, making it reasonable for an ample scope of applications. The platform has been used for writing brief tales, prose, music, term documents, programming codes, solving math problems, and rephrasing and explanations. The tool's ability to mimic human language has made it a popular choice among users, and its potential to replace people in white-collar jobs has even caught the attention of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.”)

“ChatGPT,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT (“ChatGPT[a] is an artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 families of large language models (LLMs) and has been fine-tuned (an approach to transfer learning) using both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.

ChatGPT was launched as a prototype on November 30, 2022. It garnered attention for its detailed responses and articulate answers across many domains of knowledge.[3] Its uneven factual accuracy, however, has been identified as a significant drawback.[4] Following the release of ChatGPT, OpenAI's valuation was estimated at US$29 billion in 2023.[5]

The original release of ChatGPT was based on GPT-3.5. A version based on GPT-4, the newest OpenAI model, was released on March 14, 2023, and is available for paid subscribers on a limited basis.”)

Other AI Systems.

Sabrina Ortiz, “The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT and other interesting alternatives to try; The best AI chatbots and writers can lighten your workload by writing emails and essays. ChatGPT is only one popular example out of other also noteworthy chatbots,” ZDNET, April 6, 2023, https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-ai-chatbot/ (e.g., Microsoft Bing; Google Bard; Google Socratic . . . “The best overall AI chatbot is ChatGPT due to its exceptional performance, versatility, and free availability. It uses OpenAI's cutting-edge GPT-3 language model, making it highly proficient in various language tasks, including writing, summarization, translation, and conversation. Moreover, it can solve complex math problems and write and debug code, making it a valuable tool for those in STEM fields.

Another advantage of ChatGPT is its availability to the public at no cost. Despite its immense popularity, ChatGPT is still in its research and feedback-collection phase, making it an incredible resource for students, writers, and professionals who need a reliable and free AI chatbot. Although there are occasional capacity blocks, OpenAI is working on releasing a professional version that will be quicker and always accessible at a monthly cost.”)

What can they do? Naveen, “Artificial Intelligence Tutorial for Beginners,” IntelliPaat, March 2, 2023, https://intellipaat.com/blog/tutorial/artificial-intelligence-tutorial/ (Applications: Self-driving cars, Google translate, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Maps, Facial identification, Robotics, Gaming, Medicine, Facebook)

What are their hazards? “Pros and Cons of AI,” March 2, 2023, IntelliPaat, https://intellipaat.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-ai/

Over 1000 signers. Jyoti Narayan, Krystal Hu, Martin Coulter, Supantha Mukherjee, “Elon Musk and others urge AI pause, citing 'risks to society,'” Reuters, April 5, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-experts-urge-pause-training-ai-systems-that-can-outperform-gpt-4-2023-03-29/ (“The letter was signed by more than 1,000 people including [Elon] Musk.”)

The Letter. Daniel B., “The Great AI Pause: Why Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Andrew Yang Urge a Moratorium on AI Development,” LinkedIn, March 29, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-ai-pause-why-elon-musk-steve-wozniak-andrew-yang-bron-# (lengthy, well organized, exploration of the issues) [From Bing search: “Why are some of the Artificial Intelligence leaders proposing a pause in their research?”]

Text of letter. “Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter; We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.,” Future of Life Institute, March 22, 2023, https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/

(“Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable. . . .

Therefore, we call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. This pause should be public and verifiable, and include all key actors. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium. . . . AI research and development should be refocused on making today's powerful, state-of-the-art systems more accurate, safe, interpretable, transparent, robust, aligned, trustworthy, and loyal.

In parallel, AI developers must work with policymakers to dramatically accelerate development of robust AI governance systems. These should at a minimum include: new and capable regulatory authorities dedicated to AI; oversight and tracking of highly capable AI systems and large pools of computational capability; provenance and watermarking systems to help distinguish real from synthetic and to track model leaks; a robust auditing and certification ecosystem; liability for AI-caused harm; robust public funding for technical AI safety research; and well-resourced institutions for coping with the dramatic economic and political disruptions (especially to democracy) that AI will cause.”)

Unemployment. Telephone Switchboard Operators. “Telephone Operators,” Engineering and Technology History Wiki (ETHW), Sept. 28, 2015, https://ethw.org/Telephone_Operators# (“For much of the 20th century, women played an important role in telecommunications system of the United States. As telephone operators, they helped customers make long distance calls, provided information, and made sure the whole system worked smoothly. . . . At the peak in the late 1940s, there were more than 350,000 operators working for AT&T, 98% of whom were women.”)

Automated Teller Machines. Karen Bennett, “Automated teller machine (ATM): What it is and how to use one,” Bankrate, Sept. 29, 2022, https://www.bankrate.com/banking/what-is-an-atm/# (“An automated teller machine (ATM) is a specialized computer that allows you to complete bank transactions without the need to see a bank representative.”)

Daniel Rosales, “Comparing Automation and Income Inequality in the United States: Impact of the Automated Teller Machine,” Honors Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, May 4, 2018, p. 13, https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Rosales_Daniel_S18%20honors%20thesis.pdf (In response to the argument that while the number of tellers per bank declined the number of banks, each with fewer tellers, increased, “I believe an important fact is being overlooked in this assessment. If the number of human tellers had been allowed to grow as the number of bank branches grew, more middle-income employment would have been available to those communities.”)

“I can’t do that.” For a science fiction example of a possible problem with further advanced AI, see the prescient 1968 film, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” in which a computer controller (“HAL 9000”) run with AI refuses to carry out a command, responding “I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” YouTube 2:55 minute excerpt, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJ8cAGm6JE (And see, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film).)

And see generally. One of the most thorough overviews of current AI news and commentary, with videos: Gregory Johnson, "Artificial Intelligence Report 2023," Resources for Life Posts, first published April 9, 2023, https://resourcesforlife.com/docs/item38627

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UI Held Hostage Day 503 - "Pretty please"

June 8, 2007, 6:50 , 8:40, and 11:10 a.m.; 3:45, 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.

EXTRA! Search Committee II promises to reveal the names of two of the five stealth candidates within minutes. And now . . . here they are:

Philip Furmanski, executive vice president for academic affairs at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, will be on the University of Iowa campus Monday and Tuesday, June 11 and 12, to interview for the position of UI president.

. . .

Mark P. Becker, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, will be on the University of Iowa campus Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12 and 13, to interview for the position of UI president.

Gregg Hennigan, "Rutgers VP, S.C. provost to interview at UI," Gazette Online, June 8, 2007. And see, "UI Announces First Two Finalists," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 8, 2007; Erin Jordan, "Rutgers, So. Carolina educators named U of I finalists," Des Moines Register, June 8, 2007; Ashton Shurson, "UI Releases Two Presidential Candidates," The Daily Iowan, June 8, 2007, 4:15 p.m.

# # #
Here's more on those two, starting with . . .

Philip Furmanski

What follows is a first very rough cut on a Google search on "Philip Furmanski" -- a selection of five items from the first 10 of 1130 hits. Only 1120 to go! Anyone else doing this Internet search who has any items to bring to our attention -- given that we've yet to hear from Search Committee II that they are going to provide us the relevant links? If so, put them in a "comment" to this entry.

* His 39-page Curriculum Vitae

* An interview from 2004 provides a little insight as to his political savvy, approach to economic development, understanding of management and the budgeting process, sense of public relations, and interest in undergraduate education: "Learning and Life: Philip Furmanski discusses a new initiative to focus on undergraduate education," Rutgers Focus, February 23, 2004.

* Animal rights activists will certainly want to read how he handled those issues at NYU -- positions and strategies that also have some relevance to management, ethics and accommodation of diversity generally. Martin Rowe, "What's Up with NYU?" Satya Magazine, April 1, 1998.

* His marriage to poet Susan Wheeler rated a story in the Times: "Susan Wheeler is Wed to Dr. Philip Furmanski," The New York Times, August 24, 1991. The story notes he was 45, she 36, at the time (which would make them 61 and 52 this year), and that this was the second marriage for both.

* If you want to see one of his memos indicating how he was handling what he called "one of the worst budget crises the University has faced in decades," here it is from May 18, 2006.

Mark P. Becker

A Google search on ["Mark P. Becker" (USC OR "South Carolina")] produces 184 hits; using just "Mark P. Becker" produces 465. I ended up going through the first 100 of the 465 -- perhaps faster than I should have -- but kept going because I didn't immediately see much of anything beyond the conventional: (e.g., papers, conferences, and other items included in cvs) that would have put any human meat on the bones. The guy is (so far) clean.

Here is his four-brief-paragraph bio on the University of South Carolina Web site.

And here is his 14-page curriculum vitae.

# # #
Probably the biggest news in the UI presidential search today -- that is, both this morning, and to come later today -- is the tug of war between Search Committee II and the Regents over the identities of the five under cover, stealth candidates. The Regents are saying, "Pretty please." Search Committee II members are saying nothing.

Sobered by the tough sentence handed out to Scooter Libby for revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, the Committee has, so far, refused to engage in leaks of the names to the Regents.

However, they are weakening, and the NSA has picked up a lot of back channel chatter that indicates a breach in the formerly impenetrable classification system may be coming following the Committee's meeting this afternoon.

The "logistics" challenge, as Committee Chair Johnsen puts it, is how to make it possible for the Regents to hold public interviews next Tuesday and Wednesday with candidates who have been promised that their identities will not be made public, and that they need not arrive on campus, until Thursday or Friday. This will be especially difficult, of course, for those who must be simultaneously meeting with the public from 3:45 to 4:45 while also being interviewed by the Regents at another location.

So, watch this space for the Houdini solution Search Committee II will offer following its meeting late this afternoon.

Meanwhile, later this morning there will be mention of other UI stories as well:

* The speculation as to who isn't on the list has now grown legs and become almost as big a story as who is.

* There are predictions we'll have to pay $500,000 to whomever is chosen. I dispute that. Although we've just contracted with the basketball coach -- still shy in his search for the answer to why "Iowa boys can't jump" -- with a detailed document designed to provide him $1.2 million a year. (It's all a matter of priorities; ours is clearly sports.)

* The Athletic Department has agreed to cancel its $61,000 contract with the "Iowa Lottery" -- but not its more lucrative partnership with the gambling casino industry (with a logic you will find highly entertaining). Now that the program is capable of operating on its own financially, with a $60 million-something budget, perhaps it's time to give more serious attention to putting even more distance between it and the University.

* I find myself in agreement with Regents COO Gary Steinke over Googling, respond to an anonymous comment from "Creighton Duke" attacking our position, as the UI agrees to let Google scan all its books, but not the information regarding its presidential candidates.

* Caught up in the excitement of searches, Iowa City decides to continue the fun beyond this next week or so (when, presumably, "UI Held Hostage" will pass into history and the UI presidential search will expire) by engaging in a search for a new city manager.

All that, and more, as the day unfolds.

# # #
Here are links to some of the stories referred to above:

Brian Morelli, "Regents Wait for List of Names," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 8, 2007.

The Regents may not know whom they're going to be interviewing, but at least they know when and where they'll be doing it.

The Iowa Board of Regents is slated to interview University of Iowa presidential candidates Tuesday and Wednesday in 90-minute sessions that are open to the public. All the interviews will be in the R. Wayne Richey Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City.

The schedule:

TUESDAY

9-10:30 a.m.: Candidate No. 1

11 a.m. -12:30 p.m.: Candidate No. 2

WEDNESDAY

9:30-11 a.m.: Candidate No. 3

2-3:30 p.m.: Candidate No. 4

6-7:30 p.m.: Candidate No. 5

"Regents to Interview U of I Presidential Candidates," Des Moines Register, June 8, 2007.

Meanwhile, here's more on the big story of who's not a candidate. Gregg Hennigan, "UI President Search; 3 former finalists out of running," The Gazette, June 8, 2007, p. B1; earlier as, Gregg Hennigan, "3 Former Finalists Not in Running at UI," The Gazette Online, June 7, 2007, 10:59 p.m.

. . . and what somebody thinks we ought to pay the ultimate selection. Brian Morelli, "Expert: UI can expect to pay leader $500K; Schools also offer deferred compensation, bonuses," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 8, 2007.

. . . compared with how we treat our coaches. "Coach Lickliter's Contract," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 4, 2007 [text of contract document]; Pat Harty, "UI, Lickliter add termination clause; Contract would pay out if coach leaves early, UI fires him," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 5, 2007; Pat Harty, "Search to Hire Lickliter Cost $120,000," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 4, 2007.

But in the "Iowa boys can't jump" department, just how Iowa is the "Iowa Hawkeyes" basketball team going to be next year? Pat Harty, "Lickliter Locks in 2nd '08 Recruit," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 4, 2007.

"Lotteries, No; Gambling casino industry? Why, of course." Ryan Suchomel, "Iowa athletics, lottery scratch off partnership; Both sides agree not to renew controversial deal," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 8, 2007; Scott Dochterman, "UI ad deal ends; Iowa Lottery contract will not be renewed; future deals possible," The Gazette, June 8, 2007 [go to the Gazette site, use drop down menus to locate the paper for 6/8/07 and then find page A1]; Clara Hogan, "Hawkeyes Ax Lottery Connection," The Daily Iowan, June 8, 2007.

With or without the gambling revenues, the Athletic Department is doing quite well, thank you. Scott Dochterman, "Iowa Boosting Athletics Budget," The Gazette Online, June 7, 2007, 4:30 a.m.

And when one search ends, another begins. Hieu Pham, "Iowa City manager retiring; Atkins proud of contributing to city's livability," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 8, 2007; Gregg Hennigan, "Iowa City manager to retire; After 20 years on job, ‘it’s time’ to leave, says Steve Atkins, 61," The Gazette, June 8, 2007, p. A1 [go to the Gazette site, use drop down menus to locate the paper for 6/8/07 and then find page A1].

# # #
In our lead story for the day, Brian Morelli reports,

The regent director wants the list of names of the five finalists in the University of Iowa presidential search, but the search committee won't give it to him.

Iowa state Board of Regents Executive Director Gary Steinke has been seeking the candidate names for at least the past few days. He contacted committee chairman and College of Dentistry Dean David Johnsen and committee member and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Linda Maxson, but neither complied.

"It is kind of hard to think very much further when you don't know who the candidates are," Steinke said of how the final stages of the search will proceed.

. . .

Regent President Pro Tem David Miles said . . . he is ready to see the names, and Heidrick and Struggles, the Atlanta-based search firm assisting with the search, will get the regents the candidates' names and backgrounds sometime today (emphasis supplied).

"I am starting to get, not concerned, but I am ready to have them," Miles said. "All of the regents have our non-regents life to manage as well, so it will be good if we have the weekend to look them over."

The search chairman has said all along that candidate confidentiality is a foremost concern. With more people in the loop, names could start floating out early.

Johnsen said he has been working with the candidates, the committee and the regents to coordinate the transfer of information in an agreeable way.

"There've been a lot of conversations going back and forth," Johnsen said.

. . .

Steinke said the regents need the names to prepare for the interviews.

"I am trying to get the names from the search committee so the regents have time to look at (Curriculum Vitaes), to look at resumes, Google these people so they have time to prepare questions for next Tuesday," he said (emphasis supplied).

. . .

Several regents say they don't see the urgency in getting names.

"I am very comfortable that the committee will give us the names in a timely fashion. There must be some reason they are not prepared to hand those names over," Regent Bonnie Campbell said.

She said it likely wouldn't take her long to prepare for the interviews, and she'd likely only review information the search committee collected. . . . "In the real world I'd probably look at (the background) the day before. I wouldn't do any independent research."

Regent Robert Downer said he would be comfortable receiving the names and information Monday.

. . .

(And Mark Kresowik, who is known to many of you [Google Group "Mark's Community"], adds to his group email yesterday that itemizes some of the news items he doesn't find especially cheery, "And Provost Mike Hogan is out of the running for the UI Presidency. This is really too bad. Mike is an incredible leader, a brilliant academician, and a great guy. I'm sure the candidates that they're interviewing soon (http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2007/june/060607presidential-search.html) are qualified, but it is hard to imagine a better presidential candidate than Mike Hogan.")

And now back to Googling, the subject of yesterday's blog entry, Nicholas Johnson, "UI Presidential Search: The Utility of Campus Visits -- and the Internet," in "UI Held Hostage Day 502 - Show Me the Web Sites," June 7, 2007. Morelli quotes Steinke as indicating he and I are in agreement that it's something Regents will want to do -- and I indicated should do. (Regent Campbell is quoted as saying she wouldn't bother in any event.)

As I've indicated before, normally I run an open "comments" blog, letting those who comment respond to the comments of others, rather than doing it myself. (After all, I have the entire blog. There's no justification for my stuffing the "comments" section full of my views as well.)

But yesterday's blog entry produced a comment that calls for a response:

Creighton Duke said...

Why are you entitled to the links they have? Based on what? Your personal need to know?

I dont recall that the ICCSD runs the approval of every school administrator by the parents or students.

The comment and its questions suggest I didn't make my position clear. There are a number of issues here:

1. Am I legally "entitled" to the links? I wasn't arguing that one way or another, but since the question is raised I'll respond that information regarding Search Committee II's process has been viewed, by the Committee as well as the Iowa open meetings law, as something that cannot be discussed in closed meetings. Thus, at a minimum, the Committee's investigative process, whether it included thorough Google searches, and how it was done, would appear to be information to which any Iowa media representative or citizen is "entitled."

While it is a different, and more difficult, question, I would argue (as I did in a way yesterday) that the public information that can be found by anyone on the Internet should not be considered legally "confidential" for any purpose. Would it be a breach of confidentiality, or cause harm to a candidate, for a member of Search Committee II to say, "She is the author of X book, and one member of the Committee read it," or "We also talked to those with whom he worked in his immediate office at his prior position at Y university"? Not what the Committee thought of the book, not what was said by the former colleagues who were interviewed; only that a part of the Committee's process was to read the candidates' publications and interview those with whom they'd been associated.

Even less is it an intrusion on a candidate's privacy or confidentiality, it seems to me, to reveal -- from among all the Web sites that a simple Google search presents -- the links (not the relevant portions of their content) the Committee found most relevant.

So much for legally "entitled."

2. But I wasn't arguing yesterday, nor am I today, that members of the public are "entitled" to those links as a matter of law. They are "entitled," to the extent that they are, because Search Committee II has arranged for campus interviews, and has scheduled hour-long sessions for each candidate (a) to which the public is invited, and (b) following which the public has been expressly asked to provide feedback to the Committee (along with a designated procedure for their doing so). Just as Gary Steinke has argued with regard to the ability of the Regents to do their job (which he expressly believes includes the opportunity to Google), so do I believe the media and public require the same opportunity. My point is simply that, given the very short fuse the Committee and Regents have handed us, if all that Googling is to be possible for any given individual (including members of the Board of Regents) they are going to have to have access to the Web sites thought most relevant by the Committee members, rather than being required to duplicate the effort of going through literally thousands of sites in order to find those that are relevant.

3. As for "I dont recall that the ICCSD runs the approval of every school administrator by the parents or students": (a) we're not talking about "every school administrator" either within the local school district or at the University of Iowa, we're talking about the University president (the equivalent, within a school district perhaps, of the superintendent), (b) my memory (which I'm the first to admit has become less reliable with age) is that we did "run the approval of [the superintendent] by the parents [and students]." Every school board meeting is open to the public, there are numerous citizen advisory committees, a constant flow of communication among all school stakeholders, and specifically, if I recall correctly, there were public sessions and input before the superintendent was selected, and (c) there's an 80-year-old tradition of "shared governance" between (at least) governing bodies and universities' faculties at all American universities, and no reason why there would have to be consistency between their practices and those of K-12 school districts.

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