MSU Extension educator Meaghan Gass poses with a rusty crayfish. In the era of AI and online influencers, the extension is seeking to distinguish itself with a human touch.
(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Kelly House
Bridge Michigan
As targeted online misinformation and AI hallucinations corrode society’s shared sense of reality, one of Michigan’s oldest public institutions is still betting its future on good, old-fashioned human expertise.
For 118 years, Michigan State University Extension and its predecessor agencies have existed to serve the public with programs ranging from canning classes to soil testing and financial literacy workshops.
But Director Quentin Tyler admits many Michiganders still don’t know how far the agency has evolved from its roots helping farmers get better crop yields.
This fall, Tyler became the face of a campaign to position MSU Extension as the antidote to AI slop.
“Artificial Intelligence may be able to write you a song, develop a presentation or help you write a script,” he says in a video released this fall. “But Ask Extension is real experts with real answers. No AI needed.”
Want a master gardener’s advice about how to keep potted garden plants alive through the winter? A food safety expert to explain how long a freezer full of meat will keep in a power outage? A certified planner to help you navigate a property boundary issue? Plug in a question and it will be directed to one of thousands of Extension educators who have expertise in a range of topics. It could even go to an MSU professor.
Amid growing concern about AI’s potential to erode critical thinking, Tyler said, “we heard
a rallying cry for people wanting accurate, true, valid information.”
While artificial intelligence can be an appealing source of instantaneous information, the results are frequently inaccurate. AI has helped produce reading lists rife with nonexistent books and McDonald’s orders that mistakenly include hundreds of dollars-worth of chicken nuggets. There have also been infamous examples of bias, such as the time the Grok chatbot operated by Elon Musk’s xAI company published antisemitic falsehoods and instructions for assaulting a public figure.
For MSU, answering questions is nothing new — the online Ask Extension service has been around since 2006, part of a nationwide effort to bring the organization’s expertise to people who may not live near a county Extension office.
Meaghan Gass, an Extension educator based in Bay City, knows firsthand the value of that human connection. She’s answered plenty of Ask Extension questions over the years, but a recent one stands out.
Someone had snapped a photo of a crayfish and needed help identifying it.
Google’s AI search engine would have responded unequivocally (but potentially incorrectly) that the animal is a rusty crayfish. Gass knows because she checked.
But, because Gass also knows Michigan’s crayfish well, she noticed a detail AI had missed: The photo didn’t show the crayfish’s claw, a visual cue needed to make a positive species identification.
So she gave the inquirer a list of possible species, along with pointers about how to tell the difference and a field guide to help them ID the next crayfish they come across.
“You don’t get that deep-dive from a review in AI,” Gass said. “Anything can get pulled up and used to answer the question, and not every resource online is a good resource.”
The Ask Extension service allows the public to submit questions to be answered by subject matter experts. Answers are kept in a publicly accessible digital archive. (Screenshot)
The service has answered more than 500,000 questions to date. All are publicly available in an online archive.
Gass admits it might be faster and more convenient to simply plug questions into a search engine that spits out near-instantaneous results. But, so long as people see value in human expertise, she’s confident there’ll be a place for her work.
“That connector role is just so important,” she said. “I think it’s more important than ever.”
(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Kelly House
Bridge Michigan
As targeted online misinformation and AI hallucinations corrode society’s shared sense of reality, one of Michigan’s oldest public institutions is still betting its future on good, old-fashioned human expertise.
For 118 years, Michigan State University Extension and its predecessor agencies have existed to serve the public with programs ranging from canning classes to soil testing and financial literacy workshops.
But Director Quentin Tyler admits many Michiganders still don’t know how far the agency has evolved from its roots helping farmers get better crop yields.
This fall, Tyler became the face of a campaign to position MSU Extension as the antidote to AI slop.
“Artificial Intelligence may be able to write you a song, develop a presentation or help you write a script,” he says in a video released this fall. “But Ask Extension is real experts with real answers. No AI needed.”
Want a master gardener’s advice about how to keep potted garden plants alive through the winter? A food safety expert to explain how long a freezer full of meat will keep in a power outage? A certified planner to help you navigate a property boundary issue? Plug in a question and it will be directed to one of thousands of Extension educators who have expertise in a range of topics. It could even go to an MSU professor.
Amid growing concern about AI’s potential to erode critical thinking, Tyler said, “we heard
a rallying cry for people wanting accurate, true, valid information.”
While artificial intelligence can be an appealing source of instantaneous information, the results are frequently inaccurate. AI has helped produce reading lists rife with nonexistent books and McDonald’s orders that mistakenly include hundreds of dollars-worth of chicken nuggets. There have also been infamous examples of bias, such as the time the Grok chatbot operated by Elon Musk’s xAI company published antisemitic falsehoods and instructions for assaulting a public figure.
For MSU, answering questions is nothing new — the online Ask Extension service has been around since 2006, part of a nationwide effort to bring the organization’s expertise to people who may not live near a county Extension office.
Meaghan Gass, an Extension educator based in Bay City, knows firsthand the value of that human connection. She’s answered plenty of Ask Extension questions over the years, but a recent one stands out.
Someone had snapped a photo of a crayfish and needed help identifying it.
Google’s AI search engine would have responded unequivocally (but potentially incorrectly) that the animal is a rusty crayfish. Gass knows because she checked.
But, because Gass also knows Michigan’s crayfish well, she noticed a detail AI had missed: The photo didn’t show the crayfish’s claw, a visual cue needed to make a positive species identification.
So she gave the inquirer a list of possible species, along with pointers about how to tell the difference and a field guide to help them ID the next crayfish they come across.
“You don’t get that deep-dive from a review in AI,” Gass said. “Anything can get pulled up and used to answer the question, and not every resource online is a good resource.”
The Ask Extension service allows the public to submit questions to be answered by subject matter experts. Answers are kept in a publicly accessible digital archive. (Screenshot)
The service has answered more than 500,000 questions to date. All are publicly available in an online archive.
Gass admits it might be faster and more convenient to simply plug questions into a search engine that spits out near-instantaneous results. But, so long as people see value in human expertise, she’s confident there’ll be a place for her work.
“That connector role is just so important,” she said. “I think it’s more important than ever.”
$2.7B Owed State from 350,000 People
By Scott McClallen
Michigan Capitol Confidential
During the COVID pandemic, Michigan’s unemployment insurance agency disbursed billions of dollars to people after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shuttered many businesses.
Five years later, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency is trying to claw back $2.7 billion from 350,000 people.
The agency paid about $11 billion in fraudulent claims from the start of COVID through 2022, the Center Square previously reported. Unemployment payments are funded through taxes taken from the paychecks of Michigan workers and employers.
Workers qualify for benefits, representing a portion of their pay, if they were laid off, had worked long enough and agree to search and interview for jobs.
Due to a court ruling in a 2022 lawsuit, the unemployment insurance agency hasn’t been able to recoup overpayments. But that lawsuit has concluded, and the agency has restarted collecting alleged overpayments, director Jason Palmer wrote in an op-ed for The Detroit News.
“Not requesting repayment since 2022 has confused claimants, delayed employer credits, jeopardized our federal funding, and impacted the stability of the UI Trust Fund, the pool of money that ensures benefits are there for the next worker in need,” Palmer said.
The agency claims that one Michigander owes them over $15,000, according to letter mailed on Sept. 16.
The agency waived many overpayments, which came from an often-confusing mix of state and federal pandemic-era unemployment programs. The overpayments that remain today are mainly those involving claimants who:
• Did not provide the requested or required proof of employment or income
• Started a job or returned to work but continued to certify for benefits as if they were unemployed
• Did not report earnings as required when certifying for benefits
• Did not satisfy the required work search activities.
“In these situations, we have a legal and fiduciary duty to recover the funds,” Palmer wrote. “The unemployment trust fund is taxpayer money, and we must be responsible stewards of it.”
Claimants can apply for a financial hardship waiver if repayment would cause undue burden, Palmer added. They also may request a waiver if they believe their overpayment was caused by an agency error or an error in their reported earnings.
—————
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
Michigan Capitol Confidential
During the COVID pandemic, Michigan’s unemployment insurance agency disbursed billions of dollars to people after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shuttered many businesses.
Five years later, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency is trying to claw back $2.7 billion from 350,000 people.
The agency paid about $11 billion in fraudulent claims from the start of COVID through 2022, the Center Square previously reported. Unemployment payments are funded through taxes taken from the paychecks of Michigan workers and employers.
Workers qualify for benefits, representing a portion of their pay, if they were laid off, had worked long enough and agree to search and interview for jobs.
Due to a court ruling in a 2022 lawsuit, the unemployment insurance agency hasn’t been able to recoup overpayments. But that lawsuit has concluded, and the agency has restarted collecting alleged overpayments, director Jason Palmer wrote in an op-ed for The Detroit News.
“Not requesting repayment since 2022 has confused claimants, delayed employer credits, jeopardized our federal funding, and impacted the stability of the UI Trust Fund, the pool of money that ensures benefits are there for the next worker in need,” Palmer said.
The agency claims that one Michigander owes them over $15,000, according to letter mailed on Sept. 16.
The agency waived many overpayments, which came from an often-confusing mix of state and federal pandemic-era unemployment programs. The overpayments that remain today are mainly those involving claimants who:
• Did not provide the requested or required proof of employment or income
• Started a job or returned to work but continued to certify for benefits as if they were unemployed
• Did not report earnings as required when certifying for benefits
• Did not satisfy the required work search activities.
“In these situations, we have a legal and fiduciary duty to recover the funds,” Palmer wrote. “The unemployment trust fund is taxpayer money, and we must be responsible stewards of it.”
Claimants can apply for a financial hardship waiver if repayment would cause undue burden, Palmer added. They also may request a waiver if they believe their overpayment was caused by an agency error or an error in their reported earnings.
—————
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
Holland Man Accused of Fraud, Failing to Pay Taxes on Unlicensed Marijuana Sales
A 48-year-old Holland man is scheduled for a probable cause conference today in 58th District Court in Hudsonville on charges he defrauded a man and failed to pay taxes on more than $1.1 million in unlicensed marijuana sales.
Shaun Michael Brown is scheduled to appear for the conference at 2 p.m. this afternoon before District Judge Judith Mulder on seven felony charges, including one count of false pretenses of between $50,000 and $100,000, a 15-year felony, and six counts of failure to file taxes or filing a false return, each 5-year felonies, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a news release from her office.
Brown is accused of defrauding the victim by selling him a 2021 Corvette for $95,000 and then failing to provide the victim with a valid title to the vehicle. It is also alleged that Brown never paid income or sales taxes from 2020 through 2022 on the vehicle sale proceeds, or on the more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales.
This case was referred to the attorney general’s office by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted with the investigation, along with the Michigan State Police’s Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section.
“Sales tax revenue supports our schools, our roads, and services our communities depend on,” Nessel said in the news release. “I would like to thank the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police for their diligent work in investigating this matter. My office will continue to enforce Michigan’s tax laws and protect residents from fraud.”
“These charges reflect the steadfast resolve of our law enforcement partners and the attorney general’s office to uphold Michigan’s regulated cannabis system, and we appreciate their unwavering work in bringing this case forward,” Cannabis Regulatory Agency Executive Director Brian Hanna said.
Shaun Michael Brown is scheduled to appear for the conference at 2 p.m. this afternoon before District Judge Judith Mulder on seven felony charges, including one count of false pretenses of between $50,000 and $100,000, a 15-year felony, and six counts of failure to file taxes or filing a false return, each 5-year felonies, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a news release from her office.
Brown is accused of defrauding the victim by selling him a 2021 Corvette for $95,000 and then failing to provide the victim with a valid title to the vehicle. It is also alleged that Brown never paid income or sales taxes from 2020 through 2022 on the vehicle sale proceeds, or on the more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales.
This case was referred to the attorney general’s office by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted with the investigation, along with the Michigan State Police’s Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section.
“Sales tax revenue supports our schools, our roads, and services our communities depend on,” Nessel said in the news release. “I would like to thank the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police for their diligent work in investigating this matter. My office will continue to enforce Michigan’s tax laws and protect residents from fraud.”
“These charges reflect the steadfast resolve of our law enforcement partners and the attorney general’s office to uphold Michigan’s regulated cannabis system, and we appreciate their unwavering work in bringing this case forward,” Cannabis Regulatory Agency Executive Director Brian Hanna said.
Two Sentenced in Robocall Case
Two Virginia men have been sentenced in connection with orchestrating robocalls aimed at suppressing the vote of predominantly black voters in Detroit during the 2020 general election.
Jack Burkman, 59, of Arlington, Va., and Jacob Wohl, 27, of Great Falls, Va., were sentenced Monday by Circuit Judge Margaret VanHouten in Wayne County to one year probation after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the robocalls, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Nessel personally appeared at the hearing as the attorney on record for the Department of Attorney General. The plea and sentence were the product of a Cobbs agreement between the defendants and the court. Nessel was not involved in the agreement.
Burkman and Wohl pled no contest to the following charges:
• One count of election law – bribing/intimidating voters;
• One count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation;
• One count of using a computer to commit the crime of election law – intimidating voters; and
• One count of using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy.
Burkman and Wohl attempted to discourage voters from participating in the general election by creating and funding a robocall targeting specific and multiple urban areas across the country, including Detroit. The calls were made in late August of 2020 and went out to nearly 12,000 residents with phone numbers registered to an address with a Detroit zip code. They promoted falsehoods that:
• Voting by mail would place voters’ personal information in a public database that will be used by police departments to track down individuals with outstanding warrants;
• Voting by mail would place voters’ personal information in a public database that will be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts; and
•The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were attempting to utilize vote by mail records to track individuals for mandatory vaccines.
The robocall named Burkman and Wohl as responsible for the calls and claimed them to be the founders of a “civil rights organization” named “Project 1599.”
Following the formal charges from the attorney general in 2020, both men were bound over for trial. Burkman and Wohl filed a motion to quash the charges in the circuit court. The circuit court denied this motion, and the defendants appealed to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals declined to hear their appeal.
Burkman and Wohl then filed an application in the Michigan Supreme Court, which remanded the matter to the Court of Appeals and required it hear the appeal. The Court of Appeals ruled in a published opinion that the statute governed their conduct as alleged and that it was a constitutional application of the statute.
The defendants then appealed that ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court, which upheld the validity of the statute and remanded the matter to the Court of Appeals to apply a limiting construction of the law to ensure that it did not ensnare constitutionally protected speech. On remand, the Court of Appeals ruled that the alleged actions here would not be constitutionally protected speech. The Michigan Supreme Court then declined to hear an appeal of a lower court decision that upheld the criminal charges against Burkman and Wohl.
Jack Burkman, 59, of Arlington, Va., and Jacob Wohl, 27, of Great Falls, Va., were sentenced Monday by Circuit Judge Margaret VanHouten in Wayne County to one year probation after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the robocalls, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Nessel personally appeared at the hearing as the attorney on record for the Department of Attorney General. The plea and sentence were the product of a Cobbs agreement between the defendants and the court. Nessel was not involved in the agreement.
Burkman and Wohl pled no contest to the following charges:
• One count of election law – bribing/intimidating voters;
• One count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation;
• One count of using a computer to commit the crime of election law – intimidating voters; and
• One count of using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy.
Burkman and Wohl attempted to discourage voters from participating in the general election by creating and funding a robocall targeting specific and multiple urban areas across the country, including Detroit. The calls were made in late August of 2020 and went out to nearly 12,000 residents with phone numbers registered to an address with a Detroit zip code. They promoted falsehoods that:
• Voting by mail would place voters’ personal information in a public database that will be used by police departments to track down individuals with outstanding warrants;
• Voting by mail would place voters’ personal information in a public database that will be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts; and
•The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were attempting to utilize vote by mail records to track individuals for mandatory vaccines.
The robocall named Burkman and Wohl as responsible for the calls and claimed them to be the founders of a “civil rights organization” named “Project 1599.”
Following the formal charges from the attorney general in 2020, both men were bound over for trial. Burkman and Wohl filed a motion to quash the charges in the circuit court. The circuit court denied this motion, and the defendants appealed to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals declined to hear their appeal.
Burkman and Wohl then filed an application in the Michigan Supreme Court, which remanded the matter to the Court of Appeals and required it hear the appeal. The Court of Appeals ruled in a published opinion that the statute governed their conduct as alleged and that it was a constitutional application of the statute.
The defendants then appealed that ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court, which upheld the validity of the statute and remanded the matter to the Court of Appeals to apply a limiting construction of the law to ensure that it did not ensnare constitutionally protected speech. On remand, the Court of Appeals ruled that the alleged actions here would not be constitutionally protected speech. The Michigan Supreme Court then declined to hear an appeal of a lower court decision that upheld the criminal charges against Burkman and Wohl.
