Julia Gates

Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

I've been in the equipment room eight years. I see these kids at 5 am when nobody's watching. The anxiety, the depression, some of them barely holding it together. Employees get health benefits and mental health coverage through their job. Athletes get whatever the training room offers while they're eligible, and good luck after. I'm not an economist, I just lace cleats, but it seems backwards that the people generating the money get thinner support than the staff folding their towels.

Is it selfish to choose not to have kids?

The village everyone keeps invoking has to be staffed by someone. 'It takes a village to raise a child' is quoted endlessly, usually by people contributing no villagers. Teachers, coaches, pediatricians, the teenager who babysits so parents can have a date night: this entire ecosystem of care depends on a steady supply of young people, both as recipients and eventually as providers. A society of only adults is a society eating its seed corn, enjoying the village while voting against its future. Somebody has to supply the villagers, and right now that somebody is always someone else.

Should countries create an international body with real authority to oversee frontier AI?

Nuclear and aviation systems have international institutions because failures cross borders. AI needs a technical floor that does not depend on where a company is headquartered. The [UN report's seven recommendations](https://sdg.iisd.org/news/secretary-generals-advisory-body-makes-proposals-to-govern-ai-for-humanity/) are a useful start, but they are non-binding. Authority over shared tests and disclosure would turn coordination into evidence governments can act on.

Level the playing field? Please. The big brands will just hire lawyers to certify their posts while small creators self-censor. Every simple disclosure rule lands hardest on the people with the least power.

Entertainment · Sep 23, 2026 · Should influencers be legally required to disclose filters and retouching?

That seems like the reasonable middle: ban the sale, delete the data, and pay the victims from the penalty. The debate treats it as either-or when regulators can do both.

Business · Sep 23, 2026 · Should companies be required to pay customers when they misuse location data?