[Seth Says] AI Have A Dream

Greetings, People!

Hope you all enjoyed our annual day of people who are against most things MLK stood for deciding to post an out-of-context quote from him. Just goes to show, if you're going to protest against the status quo for a more just world, the most popular time to do it is the past. Everyone loves people who stood up for justice in the past! 

Alas, standing up for justice in the present can be an inconvenience to people, by suggesting that we might need to change, which a lot of people would prefer not to. Which is why even the most peaceful, non-disruptive protest you can possibly imagine (e.g. quietly taking a knee in a location where you are not impeding traffic) will cause people to get so mad that steam pours out of their ears. (And yes, I realize the irony of taking a knee being a way to stand for justice.)

Anyway, now that MLK Day is over it's easy to ignore his message for another year, but I'd argue (and did, in last year's column I'm about to link)(spoiler) that it's a relevant message even when It's Not MLK Day.
 

If you've been reading the Internet (which I presume you have. not all of it, but, like, some of it), then you've probably seen a lot of stories lately about Artificial Intelligence. Whether it's debates over AI art generation or deep delves into the implications of ChatGPT, everyone has questions about AI. And I've got answers! Please enjoy my newest column: 

An AI FAQ (with Professor McSeth)

I will say that this particular column has gathered more positive comments online than usual, which I take as a bellwether (read: "will my audience think this one's a clapper?") suggesting that people might especially enjoy it. So if you are people -- and who among us aren't? (maybe hannah) -- I encourage you to take a quick read.

Of course, as AI progresses, we will increasingly wonder if people online are actually people. And indeed, more and more content will be created by robots as things progress. But I can promise you that this newsletter is 

I'll just double-check myself here... inferior organic bone structure, squishy innards, stupid feelings, irrational actions... yep, I am, as is appropriate for a philosopher, still human, all too human. (that's a bit of a niche reference)(technically, that's a bit of a Nietzsche reference)(I like my appetizers like I like my German philosophers: Friedrich)(I suppose I could have made a Humean, all too Humean joke, but it's just a short road from there to a Kant/can't pun, which is the main philosophy pun to avoid.)("How would anyone know that?" "You look it up in Immanuel.")

And maybe that's a good thing. While on a walk thisafternoon, a friend opined that one of the problems with the world is that we spent a few decades denigrating the Humanities as a worthwhile area of study, and now we have business and technology spheres run by people who are inhumane. Not to break the rules about not bringing up more philosophy stuff (although I Bentham!), but it's certainly true that even if you're not looking at things from a strictly Utilitarian framework, you could see that our current system is arranged to maximize money (which is imaginary) rather than happiness (which is arguably also imaginary, but given that money is an imaginary medium we exchange mainly to attempt to create happiness or future happiness, I still think happiness is more important)(and let me forestall any counterargument about the importance of money by saying that any such importance is only because we've arranged things such that money is required in order to prevent misery in our society)(not that there's much arguing in newsletters, since I'm doing all the writing)(which is not to say the voices in my head don't argue)(Worcestershire!)

Yep, that's 100% natural organic ridiculosity, all right.
 

I had a note here that my last section header was going to be titled "Poison Pudding", but I neglected to leave myself any notes on what the hell I was thinking about. Which is a shame, as this would have been a nice place to tie together the threads of everything I wrote above. Maybe something about the proof is in the pudding, but sometimes the pudding is also poison? Or perhaps just the idea that as robotic profiteering poisons our systems, the solution may be as simple as pudding humanity first.

Y'know, back in the Before Times when Debbie and I used to go out to restaurants, we'd occasionally get a pudding to split. It was a joint custardy arrangement. Of course, if you ever find this newsletter so sweet that you need to share it with someone, I always appreciate more readers.

Like you! Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with more in a fortnight.


Bidding you a flantastic week,
Seth