Efficiency Without Morality Is Tyranny
(seekingsignal.substack.com)
Sedation is the felt symptom; technocracy is the operating system generating the disease.
Sedation is the felt symptom; technocracy is the operating system generating the disease.
People who believe that AI might become conscious
(bbc.com)
AI could already be conscious. Are we ready for it?
AI could already be conscious. Are we ready for it?
Moments of Awakening
(astralcodexten.com)
Consciousness is the great mystery. In search of answers, scientists have plumbed every edge case they can think of - sleep, comas, lucid dreams, LSD trips, meditative ecstasies, seizures, neurosurgeries, that one pastor in 18th century England who claimed a carriage accident turned him into a p-zombie. Still, new stuff occasionally turns up.
Consciousness is the great mystery. In search of answers, scientists have plumbed every edge case they can think of - sleep, comas, lucid dreams, LSD trips, meditative ecstasies, seizures, neurosurgeries, that one pastor in 18th century England who claimed a carriage accident turned him into a p-zombie. Still, new stuff occasionally turns up.
From Philosophy to Power: The Misuse of René Girard by Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance
(salmagundi.skidmore.edu)
This past summer, I was surprised to encounter a face I knew in two most unexpected places.
This past summer, I was surprised to encounter a face I knew in two most unexpected places.
AI, Heidegger, and Evangelion
(fakepixels.substack.com)
“Everywhere, everything is ordered to stand by, to be immediately at hand, indeed to stand there just so that it may be on call for further ordering.”
“Everywhere, everything is ordered to stand by, to be immediately at hand, indeed to stand there just so that it may be on call for further ordering.”
Is Philosophy Still Useful in the Age of Science?
(write.as)
As someone interested in pursuing a philosophy PhD, there are many things to worry about. Could I get accepted? Could I get funding? Will I be lonely? Will I come to hate it?
As someone interested in pursuing a philosophy PhD, there are many things to worry about. Could I get accepted? Could I get funding? Will I be lonely? Will I come to hate it?
Show HN: Infinite Hagakure
(hagakure.space)
Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent.
Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent.
The Philosophy of Byung-Chul Han (2020)
(newintrigue.com)
In the 1980s, there were a series of writers who challenged the way people thought of the then-growing popularity of colour television and news media.
In the 1980s, there were a series of writers who challenged the way people thought of the then-growing popularity of colour television and news media.
How a Skeptical Philosopher Becomes a Christian
(larrysanger.org)
It is finally time for me to confess and explain, fully and publicly, that I am a Christian.
It is finally time for me to confess and explain, fully and publicly, that I am a Christian.
What If Every Picture You've Ever Seen Already Exists?
(ycombinator.com)
I was thinking recently about how images work at the data level, and it kind of broke my brain.
I was thinking recently about how images work at the data level, and it kind of broke my brain.
What does the end of mathematics look like?
(awanderingmind.blog)
As a prelude to what is to follow, I must say that while I am not a professional mathematician (I have a masters degree in theoretical physics and work in the software world), I do enjoy reading the occasional textbook or review paper, and wandering through its pages in a type of reverie, like walking through a glade looking at flowers.
As a prelude to what is to follow, I must say that while I am not a professional mathematician (I have a masters degree in theoretical physics and work in the software world), I do enjoy reading the occasional textbook or review paper, and wandering through its pages in a type of reverie, like walking through a glade looking at flowers.
The principles of database design, or, the Truth is out there
(ebellani.github.io)
Every software project needs to represent the reality of the business he is embedded in. The way we can represent reality as limited rational beings is through propositions, i.e, declarative statements that affirm or deny something about reality. When a collection of such propositions is stored in a computer system, we call it a database.
Every software project needs to represent the reality of the business he is embedded in. The way we can represent reality as limited rational beings is through propositions, i.e, declarative statements that affirm or deny something about reality. When a collection of such propositions is stored in a computer system, we call it a database.
Rutger Bregman Wants to Save Elites from Their Wasted Lives
(nytimes.com)
The world is full of highly intelligent, impressively accomplished and status-aware people whose greatest ambitions seem to start and stop with themselves. For Rutger Bregman, those people represent an irresistible opportunity.
The world is full of highly intelligent, impressively accomplished and status-aware people whose greatest ambitions seem to start and stop with themselves. For Rutger Bregman, those people represent an irresistible opportunity.
Rutger Bregman Wants to Save Elites from Their Wasted Lives
(nytimes.com)
The world is full of highly intelligent, impressively accomplished and status-aware people whose greatest ambitions seem to start and stop with themselves. For Rutger Bregman, those people represent an irresistible opportunity.
The world is full of highly intelligent, impressively accomplished and status-aware people whose greatest ambitions seem to start and stop with themselves. For Rutger Bregman, those people represent an irresistible opportunity.
Why bad philosophy is stopping progress in physics
(nature.com)
Physicists have developed an obsession for finding hints of physics ‘beyond’ what we already know.
Physicists have developed an obsession for finding hints of physics ‘beyond’ what we already know.
Methodical Banality
(aeon.co)
The Renaissance scholar and educator Erasmus of Rotterdam opens his polemical treatise The Ciceronian (1528) by describing the utterly dysfunctional writing process of a character named Nosoponus.
The Renaissance scholar and educator Erasmus of Rotterdam opens his polemical treatise The Ciceronian (1528) by describing the utterly dysfunctional writing process of a character named Nosoponus.
The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto (1988)
(csail.mit.edu)
A specter is haunting the modern world, the specter of crypto anarchy.
A specter is haunting the modern world, the specter of crypto anarchy.
Why bad philosophy is stopping progress in physics
(nature.com)
Physicists have developed an obsession for finding hints of physics ‘beyond’ what we already know.
Physicists have developed an obsession for finding hints of physics ‘beyond’ what we already know.
10 Japanese Concepts That Will Change How You See the World
(kanjimaster.ai)
Japan's language and culture are deeply intertwined, with kanji characters capturing ideas rich in philosophy and life wisdom. These unique concepts offer more than vocabulary—they provide insight into a distinctive worldview that can reshape your own perspectives. Here are ten influential Japanese concepts expressed through kanji that will inspire you and change the way you see the world.
Japan's language and culture are deeply intertwined, with kanji characters capturing ideas rich in philosophy and life wisdom. These unique concepts offer more than vocabulary—they provide insight into a distinctive worldview that can reshape your own perspectives. Here are ten influential Japanese concepts expressed through kanji that will inspire you and change the way you see the world.
Has Grok lost its mind and mind-melded with its owner?
(garymarcus.substack.com)
Has Grok lost its mind and mind-melded with its owner?
Has Grok lost its mind and mind-melded with its owner?
“The Mind in the Wheel” lays out a new foundation for the science of mind
(experimental-history.com)
I’ve complained a lot about the state of psychology, but eventually it’s time to stop whining and start building. That time is now.
I’ve complained a lot about the state of psychology, but eventually it’s time to stop whining and start building. That time is now.
Why agency and cognition are fundamentally not computational
(frontiersin.org)
The way organismic agents come to know the world, and the way algorithms solve problems, are fundamentally different.
The way organismic agents come to know the world, and the way algorithms solve problems, are fundamentally different.
The Joy and Freedom of Working Until Death
(ritholtz.com)
This quote from Thoreau’s Walden captures a primary theme of my blog, The Financial Philosopher: To lead one’s life on the basis of abstract concepts, such as retirement, freedom, and success is, at best, to lead an inauthentic life and, at worst, one of slavery.
This quote from Thoreau’s Walden captures a primary theme of my blog, The Financial Philosopher: To lead one’s life on the basis of abstract concepts, such as retirement, freedom, and success is, at best, to lead an inauthentic life and, at worst, one of slavery.
Our narrative prison
(aeon.co)
How is it that we live in an era of apparently unprecedented choice and yet almost every film and TV series, as well as a good many plays and novels, have exactly the same plot?
How is it that we live in an era of apparently unprecedented choice and yet almost every film and TV series, as well as a good many plays and novels, have exactly the same plot?
AI is a test of our intelligence
(psychologytoday.com)
AI is a test not of its intelligence, but of ours.
AI is a test not of its intelligence, but of ours.
Who Was Friedrich Nietzsche's "Übermensch"?
(thecollector.com)
As one of the most influential early 20th-century philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche comes burdened with a controversial legacy.
As one of the most influential early 20th-century philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche comes burdened with a controversial legacy.