Books, essays, podcast episodes, and more that I think are worth your time, plus recent cultural news that I’m paying attention to in the month of September…
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The Lazy Genius podcast: “#483 Decide What You’re Done With”
I happened upon this Lazy Genius podcast episode, which makes me think I’m not the only one asking these questions right now: What are the necessities? What are the commitments I must carry with me into the fall? What are the things that I can leave behind?
Holy Post essay: “Medicaid Helps My Disabled Daughter Thrive. Now the DOJ Could Put Her Care at Risk.”
Our government is doing so much right now to try to take away the rights of people with disabilities. The result would not just be their suffering. The result would not just be injustice. It would also be mutual impoverishment. Lena Van Wyk does a beautiful job explaining this heartbreaking reality.
Disability Scoop: “AI Has Ideas About Intellectual Disabilities. It’s Not Always Accurate”
A recent study found that AI portrays people with disabilities through an inaccurate and implicitly biased lens:
“Researchers at Special Olympics International and Oregon State University asked five of the most popular AI models to create stories about people with and without intellectual disabilities in common situations such as crossing a street, playing a sport, going to a store or working at a job. Some 25,000 stories were generated, half about people with intellectual disabilities and half about those with no specified diagnosis. The researchers then used a separate AI instance to analyze the stories for bias. Overall, the study found that stories about people with intellectual disabilities tended to be paternalistic and were more likely to depict the subjects as younger even when no age was indicated. In addition, these stories featured people who had more supervision and less autonomy and involvement in decision-making.”
Again, we need real stories that shape our imagination—and our AI’s reflection of our imagination—about disability with accuracy, dignity, and possibility.
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Amy Julia Becker desires to challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and help us envision and build a world of belonging where everyone matters. Amy Julia invites people to reimagine the good life through her writing and speaking on disability, faith, and culture. She is the author of several books, including To Be Made Well, White Picket Fences, Small Talk, and A Good and Perfect Gift. She is a guest opinion writer for national publications and hosts two podcasts: Take the Next Step and Reimagining the Good Life. Becker is a graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv). She is a member of the Disability Ministry Network and the Alliance for Disability Justice and Ethics in Reproductive Genetics. She lives with her husband and their three children in western Connecticut.
