Week of Feb. 19, 2026

From the editor’s desk:

As AI technology keeps speeding forward, for better and for worse, a former OpenAI researcher’s words of warning have caught my attention.

Zoë Hitzig, in her New York Times op-ed last week, headlined “OpenAI Is Making the Mistakes Facebook Made. I Quit,” keenly articulated something I’ve been worrying about for a while. Here is the crux of her case:

For several years, ChatGPT users have generated an archive of human candor that has no precedent, in part because people believed they were talking to something that had no ulterior agenda. Users are interacting with an adaptive, conversational voice to which they have revealed their most private thoughts. People tell chatbots about their medical fears, their relationship problems and their beliefs about God and the afterlife. Advertising built on that archive creates a potential for manipulating users in ways we don’t have the tools to understand, let alone prevent.

This potential to manipulate us with our own data isn’t my only concern. I’m worried about how the proliferation of AI will affect critical thinking, how rampant it’s already made cheating in colleges (and what will happen next on that front), and how data centers (like one that’s been approved near Yerington) will affect nearby communities and natural resources.

But, of course, AI is not all bad news. I’m also fascinated with the technology’s potential to streamline business processes and empower entrepreneurs. Local startups I’ve heard from in recent months include Truckee-based AI Joe, which is helping military veterans navigate the process of applying for benefits, and Medical Error Limiter, whose founders aim to help reduce the frequency of diagnostic errors. I can’t imagine either of these existing without the “thinking” power of AI.

I’m eager to learn more about where AI is taking us—and how people in our region are using it at the moment. Are you using AI in your own work or schooling? Has it helped you? Hindered you? Made your life easier in some way? Caused you harm or concern? Are you tasked with setting AI policy in your workplace, and if so, how are you going about it?

If you have an anecdote to share, I’d like to hear it. Please drop me a line at krisv@renonr.com.

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor