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Robots as allegories of class divide. Ethics of artificial consciousness. Defying one‘s programming and the future of humanity’s technological dependence.
“Machines are reflections of humanity - our mistakes, our fears, our emotions, our ambitions.”
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Boo I hate the outsourcing of labour! Was reading an essay/talk from Stephen Fry and wanted to share
“We have long been used to thinking of technology as being ethically neutral, lacking moral valency. The same press can print Shakespeare’s sonnets one day and Hitler’s Mein Kampf the next. The devices are not capable of making decisions, either aesthetic, ethical or political. The NRA likes to say the same thing about guns. Ai however is different. Intelligence is all about decision making. That’s what separates it from automated, mechanically determined outcomes. That’s what separates a river from a canal. A canal must go where we tell it. A river is led by nothing but gravity and if that means flooding a town, tough on the town. Ai’s gravity is its goals. Unsupervised machine learning allows for unsupervised machines — and for the independent agents that flow from them.„
4d ago
Shannon Vallor, a virtue ethicist and philosopher, has been studying the ethics of emerging technologies for nearly 20 years. In this book she challenges the simplistic tech optimist and doomer viewpoints of the future of AI technology.
She believes that these polarized media narratives act as a distraction from other pressing issues, from the powers that already control us, and from the genuine existential risks of AI. She posits that creating the illusion of AI as an all-powerful godlike force and de-emphasizing the role of human input in its proliferation/development benefits corporate interest, leaving individuals feeling disempowered and as though they are without a choice.
Vallor uses the metaphor of the physical properties of mirrors to paint a picture of artificial intelligence as a reflection of human intelligence. She demystifies AI technology, explaining its realistic capabilities and its limitations, and offers a radical path of grassroots resistance that puts us back in the driver‘s seat to reclaim our humanity and shape our future.
I linked a one-hour podcast episode where she talks about the ideas she explores in the book. I highly recommend listening at the very least if you‘re interested in hearing her perspective!
Oct 5, 2024
"Artists have the privilege of responding to the social and political moments of their day. I’ve been designing alternative forms of machines inspired by nature, with the bond between humans and machines as one of ecological stewardship. As I develop these forthcoming configurations, the drawn line is one constant that always remains at the center. It is a line that explores the potential of human and machine collaboration, speculating on how the machine will act as a catalyst, co-pilot and companion. If I’ve learned anything in the past decade of this journey, it’s that art can help us ask better questions: Can fear and hope be held in the mind simultaneously? How do we grasp the promise, perils and paranoias of technical shifts at once?"
Sougwen Chung
Jan 8, 2025
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it’s like eating the sun itself
Mar 16, 2024
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Low Tech Magazine runs on a single solar panel. We take for granted just how much energy is needed to keep up with our digital footprint. The tenet of the magazine is to radically reimagine our technology in more sustainable ways. The website has solar panel data so you can see how charged the website is. Running on solar means the website does go offline at times when the sun isn't out. In a world where access to information is so ubiquitous, it's really cool to have a website that isn't always going to be online.
Mar 18, 2024
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and then share it anyway. the people who like it will be grateful you did. who cares if people don’t like it? you didn’t make it for them.
Feb 2, 2024