Chris

How do we make computers give a damn about us? We can’t design responsible AI models, but we could evolve them through artificial selection, as I argue in this piece in September’s @Epoche_Magazine issue. epochemagazine.org/65/heideggers-…

Heidegger’s Bots: The Birth and Death of Responsible Artificial Intelligence … buff.ly/3LIEbTc

@_beyondwithin_ @DrTomFroese I’d encourage you to work it up and get it out there! This came from a paper last semester in my MA. The process of reworking it was very rewarding. And as you say, there’s not a lot of attention being paid to this aspect of the gap between AI and recognizable intelligence.

@multiplicityCT @DrTomFroese 💯 Yes, I wrote an undergrad paper arguing this (quite similar to your excellent piece), which I have entertained updating & filling out to publish. The worry being much of the 'alignment' talk appears to lack cognisance of this inconsistency.

“The magic of automation leads us to believe that the world’s resources are endless. Death can be indefinitely delayed, it seems. Nature cannot hold us back. We start to think like our models.” Indeed, over-estimation of AI can lead to under-estimation of the human being.

@_beyondwithin_ @DrTomFroese That’s exactly the problem. Next-gen models are getting beyond needing advanced knowledge of specific objects and contexts, but they still don’t care. We can’t rely on unless they (somehow) start to care like we do.

@DrTomFroese Actual lived situations always carry more than any formal framework can represent. The very novelty toward which AI development aims cannot be anticipated, nor therefore predicted. How then is it possible to *rely* on machines to act in ways we may recognise as 'giving a damn?'

@DrTomFroese Thanks! The evolution part is definitely speculative. Difficult even to think how you’d program in survival instincts like more rudimentary animals have. The related argument would just be that design is a total non-starter: it’s evolution or nothing (so maybe nothing).

@multiplicityCT Thanks! Nice essay. Our sense of responsibility was certainly shaped by evolution (and perhaps even more so by cultural history!), but I’m not sure these processes can also generate it from scratch. Something first needs to start mattering somehow.

How do we make computers give a damn about us? We can’t design responsible AI models, but we could evolve them through artificial selection, as I argue in this piece in September’s @Epoche_Magazine issue. epochemagazine.org/65/heideggers-…

@Granado_Phil Thank you, Michael!

@TuomasPernu @DebiecJacek There is a growing philosophy community on bsky, including a lot of philosophers of science. I have an invite if you’d like to try it out!

@DebiecJacek Quite a few people seem to be using that Blue Sky thing. What's special about it? I've got a Mastodon thing at: @TuomasPernu@fediscience.org

So.. Where will I be seeing you all?

I recommend Kant’s metaphysics for children as young as 10. It has this salutary effect: My 10 yo: Dad, I’m boooooored. Me: You can sit with me and read the Critique of Pure Reason! My 10 yo: Boring! *goes to find something to do, because I am hopeless*

@nicoscosc This book is a stunner.

“L’histoire de ma vie n’existe pas. Ça n’existe pas. Il n’y a jamais de centre. Pas de chemin, pas de ligne. Il y a de vastes endroits où l’on fait croire qu’il y avait quelqu’un, ce n’est pas vrai il n’y avait personne.” — Marguerite Duras, L’Amant

Thomas Sheehan describes the state of Heidegger scholarship ca. 2001 through a lively classroom nightmare and a fictional Sister Constantia at the head of the class (with a ruler, surely). I don’t (yet?) have a dog in this almost 20 year old fight, but it’s entertaining.

I am posting more on “the other platform” (🟦), you can find me there under the same handle! Still crossposting some things here.

Are you into #complexity science? Have you been considering checking out the other platform? 🟦 We’re building up a community of complexity researchers over there. There’s even a specialized feed dedicated to complexity science. I have several invite codes. Hit me up! #philsci

@RCarhartHarris @AmisDeBergson He is one of the few philosophers where I’d recommend just diving in without preamble, perhaps to Time and Free Will or Creative Evolution. He won the Nobel Prize for literature and is a pleasure to read!

Best book on Henri Bergson?

No love for footnotes from a philosopher who wrote an entire paper on footnote eleven in “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” Fantastic advice on writing and doing philosophy from Daniel Stoljar in this interview. the-workbench.ca/interviews/dan…

@BiltoftCN @nonmarkov_field @AmisDeBergson Matyaš Moravec, “Henri Bergson and the Philosophy of Religion”. I haven’t dug in yet but it looks very good!

@nonmarkov_field @AmisDeBergson @multiplicityCT Which book is ? ♥️need to order it

PUBLICATION ALERT: Matyáš Moravec's book "Henri Bergson and the Philosophy of Religion. God, Freedom, and Duration" is now available! routledge.com/Henri-Bergson-…

@SamaraJG @fidlerfm Sorry that I didn’t respond to this last week! Brian Cantwell Smith and Mathias Risse come to mind as senior scholars. Smith’s recent book on AI is exceptional. I’m still learning the lit so don’t have as many recommendations as I’d like.

@multiplicityCT @fidlerfm Sounds great - anyone in particular who you would recommend for this topic?

So far I've mispronounced @fidlerfm (check out ep 0.5), given Helen Longino's surname a French twist (ep 12) and Aussified 'Data Colada' (ep 13). Apparently my hosting voice is a little ASMR too ;). I'm here for all your fun listening needs! Any requests for Season 2?

@aufgehenderRest Just started, it’s entertaining so far. Reminds me of Adorno’s lectures on the first critique: clearly values Kant’s contributions, also picks a fight on page one. Strawson claims Kant’s arg is self-defeating: trying to limit reason from a point outside reason’s legitimate use.

@multiplicityCT No, I haven't. Do you recommend it?

I would love to hear from my Kantian and German Idealist friends about what they think of this text? Does Heidegger present a charitable image of Kant? How does his scholarship compare to Ameriks, Guyer, Ellison, Longuenesse, Wood, Watkins, Kosch and De Boer?