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Archive for the ‘ethics’ category: Page 8

Jun 13, 2023

How to bring back the dead

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, ethics, internet, quantum physics, transhumanism

Here’s my new article for Aporia Magazine. A lot of wild ideas in it. Give it a read:


Regardless of the ethics and whether the science can even one day be worked out for Quantum Archaeology, the philosophical dilemma it presents to Pascal’s Wager is glaring. If humans really could eradicate the essence of death as we know it—including even the ability to ever permanently die—Pascal’s Wager becomes unworkable. Frankly, so does my Transhumanist Wager. After all, why should I dedicate my life and energy to living indefinitely through science when, by the next century, technology could bring me back exactly as I was—or even as an improved version of myself?

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Jun 13, 2023

How Does Matter Give Rise To Consciousness?

Posted by in categories: ethics, neuroscience, robotics/AI, terrorism

Sam Harris is an American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and podcast host.

His work touches on a wide range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, philosophy of mind, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence.

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Jun 11, 2023

Ben Goertzel — Approaches Towards a General Theory of General AI

Posted by in categories: ethics, robotics/AI

The General Theory of General Intelligence: A Pragmatic Patternist Perspective — paper by Ben Goertzel: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.15100 Abstract: “A multi-decade exploration into the theoretical foundations of artificial and natural general intelligence, which has been expressed in a series of books and papers and used to guide a series of practical and research-prototype software systems, is reviewed at a moderate level of detail. The review covers underlying philosophies (patternist philosophy of mind, foundational phenomenological and logical ontology), formalizations of the concept of intelligence, and a proposed high level architecture for AGI systems partly driven by these formalizations and philosophies. The implementation of specific cognitive processes such as logical reasoning, program learning, clustering and attention allocation in the context and language of this high level architecture is considered, as is the importance of a common (e.g. typed metagraph based) knowledge representation for enabling “cognitive synergy” between the various processes. The specifics of human-like cognitive architecture are presented as manifestations of these general principles, and key aspects of machine consciousness and machine ethics are also treated in this context. Lessons for practical implementation of advanced AGI in frameworks such as OpenCog Hyperon are briefly considered.“
Talk held at AGI17 — http://agi-conference.org/2017/#AGI17 #AGI #ArtificialIntelligence #Understanding #MachineUnderstanding #CommonSence #ArtificialGeneralIntelligence #PhilMind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligenceMany thanks for tuning in!

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Jun 9, 2023

Moral Wisdom in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Cybernetics Pioneer Norbert Wiener’s Prophetic Admonition About Technology and Ethics

Posted by in categories: ethics, information science, internet, robotics/AI

“Intelligence supposes goodwill,” Simone de Beauvoir wrote in the middle of the twentieth century. In the decades since, as we have entered a new era of technology risen from our minds yet not always consonant with our values, this question of goodwill has faded dangerously from the set of considerations around artificial intelligence and the alarming cult of increasingly advanced algorithms, shiny with technical triumph but dull with moral insensibility.

In De Beauvoir’s day, long before the birth of the Internet and the golden age of algorithms, the visionary mathematician, philosopher, and cybernetics pioneer Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894–March 18, 1964) addressed these questions with astounding prescience in his 1954 book The Human Use of Human Beings, the ideas in which influenced the digital pioneers who shaped our present technological reality and have recently been rediscovered by a new generation of thinkers eager to reinstate the neglected moral dimension into the conversation about artificial intelligence and the future of technology.

A decade after The Human Use of Human Beings, Wiener expanded upon these ideas in a series of lectures at Yale and a philosophy seminar at Royaumont Abbey near Paris, which he reworked into the short, prophetic book God & Golem, Inc. (public library). Published by MIT Press in the final year of his life, it won him the posthumous National Book Award in the newly established category of Science, Philosophy, and Religion the following year.

Jun 7, 2023

U.S. Senate leader schedules classified AI briefings

Posted by in categories: education, ethics, robotics/AI, security

Possibly a move to freeze and stall the tec, like the bio ethics clowns who were able to freeze bio tec. But, China wouldnt sign on to any freeze, thankfully. And the tec has already spread across 3rd world countries.


WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday he has scheduled three briefings for senators on artificial intelligence, including the first classified briefing on the topic.

In a letter to colleagues on Tuesday, the Democratic leader said senators need to deepen their understanding of artificial intelligence.

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Jun 6, 2023

Throw Forward Thursday: CRISPR

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, chemistry, education, ethics, food

The 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier for their work on the gene editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9. This gives us the ability to change the DNA of any living thing, from plants and animals to humans.

The applications are enormous, from improving farming to curing diseases. A decade or so from now, CRISPR will no doubt be taught in High Schools, and be a basic building block of medicine and agriculture. It is going to change everything.

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May 27, 2023

The science of super longevity | Dr. Morgan Levine

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, ethics, genetics, life extension, science

I quoted and responded to this remark:

“…we probably will not solve death and this actually shouldn’t be our goal.” Well nice as she seems thank goods Dr Levine does not run the scientific community involved in rejuvenation.

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May 23, 2023

Generative AI Is Stoking Medical Malpractice Concerns For Medical Doctors In These Unexpected Ways, Says AI Ethics And AI Law

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, ethics, law, robotics/AI

In today’s column, I will be examining how the latest in generative AI is stoking medical malpractice concerns for medical doctors, doing so in perhaps unexpected or surprising ways. We all pretty much realize that medical doctors need to know about medicine, and it turns out that they also need to know about or at least be sufficiently aware of the intertwining of AI and the law during their illustrious medical careers.

Here’s why.


Is generative AI a blessing or a curse when it comes to medical doctors and the role of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Continue reading “Generative AI Is Stoking Medical Malpractice Concerns For Medical Doctors In These Unexpected Ways, Says AI Ethics And AI Law” »

May 20, 2023

Generative AI Shakes Global Diplomacy At G7 Summit In Japan

Posted by in categories: economics, ethics, policy, robotics/AI, security

Our technological age is witnessing a breakthrough that has existential implications and risks. The innovative behemoth, ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, is ushering us inexorably into an AI economy where machines can spin human-like text, spark deep conversations and unleash unparalleled potential. However, this bold new frontier has its challenges. Security, privacy, data ownership and ethical considerations are complex issues that we must address, as they are no longer just hypothetical but a reality knocking at our door.

The G7, composed of the world’s seven most advanced economies, has recognized the urgency of addressing the impact of AI.


To understand how countries may approach AI, we need to examine a few critical aspects.

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May 19, 2023

International team creates first chimeric human-monkey embryos

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, ethics

Year 2022


Experiments such as this one cannot be funded with federal research dollars, though they break no U.S. laws. The work was conducted in China, not because it was illegal in the United States, the researchers said, but because the monkey embryos, which are difficult to procure and expensive, were available there. The experiment used a total of 150 embryos, which were obtained without harming the monkeys, “just like in the IVF procedure,” Tan said.

But such experiments, which combine human cells with those of animals, are nevertheless controversial. This work, and other work by Izpisua Belmonte, has moved so rapidly, bioethicists have had trouble keeping up.

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