Instead of booing, let's greet Tkachuk with silence | Letters to the Editor

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There is simply no need for the Ottawa Citizen to remind cyclists that they are in danger in Ottawa. We know already because of those drivers who yell at us on the road.

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Mary Clarke, Ottawa

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Critical of teachers? Step into a classroom and see for yourself

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I am a retired teacher who still volunteers once a week in a classroom because I really enjoy it.

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The problem that I have seen for many years is the lack of respect that students give teachers. A small group of students can ruin the atmosphere in a classroom because they constantly act out.

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I have taught many wonderful children over the years, but all it takes is a few “bad apples” to ruin the class. When a teacher constantly has to speak to students about behaviour, it takes away from teaching. I have had students who, for many reasons, choose to disrupt the class. Children need to be reminded to make good choices. It has become more difficult to enlist the support of parents whose children have behavioural issues.

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Also, there are many challenges in a classroom. There are students with learning disabilities who need assistance. Educational assistants are such an asset to these children because they can work with them individually or in small groups.

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I would highly recommend that parents, and those who criticize teachers, assist in a classroom sometime so that they can see first-hand the challenges that many teachers face today.

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Mary Kane, Nepean

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No third-year anniversary story on the front page?

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Three years have passed since the atrocities, both sexual and dehumanizing, occurred in Israel on the Israeli people. A story that should have been on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen.

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The third-year anniversary. I found it on Page 6 in the NP section of your paper. Shame on you!
Canadians wonder why antisemitism is growing in our nation and more print is used up on Palestinian marches and sit-ins.

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Oct. 7, 2023, when Israel was attacked, “they poked the bear.” What, exactly, did they think would happen? They killed about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, and took about 250 hostages. Did they not think there would be retaliation?

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I am not Jewish, but stand steadfast with Israelis. They have had to fight for every square inch of their homeland. This is not the first time.

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This antisemitism has to end in our country. The government can’t hide its head in the sand much longer. Stop the hate! Get rid of the agitators. The Palestinian people come here for a better, peaceful life, which I can understand, but don’t bring your hate with you.

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Teresa Dedman, Nepean

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We need to make sure we’re getting the AI truth

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In a recent Canadian Press report on AI and Alberta’s referendum debate, University of Alberta professor Blair Attard-Frost warned that many people “could be getting incomplete, inaccurate, false or misleading information” about separatism. There is a further problem: Chatbots tend to agree with their users.

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I came to AI late despite a computer science degree and years in IT consulting. When I started, I was struck by how agreeable these tools were. Even when I said things that were plainly wrong, they tended to go along with me.

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Researchers call this “sycophancy.” People rate agreeable answers highly, so the systems learn to flatter. I switched chatbots to get more candid answers and found I could set that preference once rather than repeating it every session. But I knew to ask. Most users don’t know the tendency exists.

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An AI that confirms whatever we already believe is a poor guide to a referendum, or to anything else. Ottawa’s new AI strategy promises transparency and AI literacy. It should require chatbots to disclose this tendency, default to accuracy over agreement, and be independently tested for it.

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Honest answers shouldn’t depend on knowing the right setting.

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Tamara Wiens, Orléans

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