Evolutionary biologist and \"passionate rationalist\" Richard Dawkins has a new anthology of essays out today, titled Science in the Soul. Over at Scientific American, John Horgan posted an interview with Dawkins in which the two discuss a range of topics, from A.I. to agnosticism. From SciAm: <\/p>\n
At the Templeton (Foundation) meeting, you described yourself as an agnostic, because you cannot be certain that God does not exist, correct? <\/p>\n
This is a semantic matter. Some people define atheism as a positive conviction that there are no gods and agnosticism as allowing for the possibility, however slight. In this sense I am agnostic, as any scientist would be. But only in the same way I am agnostic about leprechauns and fairies. Other people define agnosticism as the belief that the existence of gods is as probable as their nonexistence. In this sense I am certainly not agnostic. Not only are gods unnecessary for explaining anything, they are overwhelmingly improbable. I rather like the phrase of a friend who calls himself a tooth fairy agnostichis belief in gods is as strong as his belief in the tooth fairy. So is mine. We live our lives on the assumption that there are no gods, fairies, hobgoblins, ghosts, zombies, poltergeists or any supernatural entities. Actually, it is not at all clear what supernatural could even mean, other than something which science does not (yet) understand.... <\/p>\n
...Do you share the concerns of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has said that artificial intelligence might pose an existential risk to humanity? <\/p>\n
Elon Musk is a 21st-century genius. You have to listen to what he says. I am philosophically committed to mechanistic naturalism, from which follows the conclusion that anything humans can do, machines can in principle do, too. In many cases we already know they can do it better. Whether they can do it better in all cases remains to be seen, but I wouldnt bet against it. The precautionary principle should lead us to behave as though there is a real dangera danger we should take immediate steps to forestall. Unless, that is, we think robots could to a better job of running the world than we can. And a better job of being happy and increasing the sum of sentient happiness... <\/p>\n
Why we secretly love our cords. Tamara Warren: Theres a certain security in the cord. Its the idea of connection, perhaps even dating back to our days in the womb. A battery, no matter how sophisticated, is fleeting. When we have our cords with us, we are in constant pursuit of power, even when [] <\/p>\n
The classic beatbox not an expensive clone or a collection of cleverly-tweaked samples is back. Rolands TR-08 directly models the original machines analog circuits to recreate its sound as accurately as possible with modern digital technology, and joins revived versions of the TR-909[Amazon] and TB-202[Amazon] in the companys lineup of boutique boxes. The [] <\/p>\n
Coming after improvements to Firefox and continued unease at Googles life-pervading insight, this image is outperforming the Virality Control Group today (via). It got me thinking about all the promises that were made. Heres the earliest article in Google News to contain Big browser in its headline, published by Time Magazine on Nov. [] <\/p>\n
This project management bundle will help you get organized and learn how to lead a team to success. You can pay what you want for these five courses when you pick them up from the Boing Boing Store.To help you become an invaluable asset for your company, this bundle includes a curated collection of professional [] <\/p>\n
Despite the push towards USB-C as the one connector to rule them all, most peripherals in the wild are still largely USB-A. Since theres little reason to upgrade all of your old flash drives, wired keyboards, and game controllers, youll need a decent hub to keep them all talking to your new computer.The MondoHub Master [] <\/p>\n
You dont always have to pay out the nose for household items, everyday accessories, or memorable gifts. If youre searching for something unexpected that can be had for less than two sawbucks, take a look at the following goods:20oz Insulated Water Bottle ($18.99)This stainless steel water bottle is double-walled with vacuum-sealed insulation to keep drinks [] <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
View original post here: <\/p>\n
Richard Dawkins on artificial intelligence, agnosticism, and utopia - Boing Boing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Evolutionary biologist and \"passionate rationalist\" Richard Dawkins has a new anthology of essays out today, titled Science in the Soul. Over at Scientific American, John Horgan posted an interview with Dawkins in which the two discuss a range of topics, from A.I. Continue reading