I hope all is going well for you, Aria and family. Your piece hit on a couple of areas of current interest for me.
1st, Ceremony - Mark and I (plus family) will be participating in a birthday celebration (over food) this evening. Mark's birthday was this past Thursday and mine was Friday. A time close to your anniversary with Aria, I believe.
2nd, your comments about AI. While AI undoubtedly will be/is smarter than us mere mortals, since it has been "trained" on most of the knowledge recorded by humankind (or at least that is my understanding). One fear, I believe, is a result of imagining what may result from those with ill intent having control (or using) AI. I admit I have some trepidation on this front.
Another more existential fear, I believe, comes from the belief that AI will/can become sentient. On this possibility, I personally have little/no concern (because I believe no such thing can/will happen). Rather than attempting to articulate why this is so, I refer anyone interested to Bernardo Kastrup, who makes a very good case against AI becoming conscious.
Thanks Jim. Happy birthday to you and Mark! I have listened to several things from Kastrup (at your recommendation) in the last few months and like him very much.
I also have trepidation on how AI will be "operationalized" and almost certainly weaponized not only against our "adversaries" but also our populace.
I see the world through the lens of the dharma..... the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance (which we all have), when fueled by fear and empowered (force-multiplied) by technology leads to bigger and badder consequences. Our virtues, fueled by love, may also be force-multiplied by technology. I have no idea where it will go....
I also don't spend time worrying about AI sentience or AGI. #1 lacking a body, it does not have senses. #2 it's thinking is "verbal" (they are "large language models" after all), while consciousness as we understand it in Zen "cannot be spoken" (Tao Te Ching) or "beyond words and letters" (Bodhidharma).
That said, consciousness and awareness are very mysterious, so who knows.....
The distinction between ceremony and ritual - very beautiful.
Alas, technology never is value-free, e.g. the bias of algorithms as a recent example. Which is why technology over time creates a lot of existencial troubles.
Hello Paul,
I hope all is going well for you, Aria and family. Your piece hit on a couple of areas of current interest for me.
1st, Ceremony - Mark and I (plus family) will be participating in a birthday celebration (over food) this evening. Mark's birthday was this past Thursday and mine was Friday. A time close to your anniversary with Aria, I believe.
2nd, your comments about AI. While AI undoubtedly will be/is smarter than us mere mortals, since it has been "trained" on most of the knowledge recorded by humankind (or at least that is my understanding). One fear, I believe, is a result of imagining what may result from those with ill intent having control (or using) AI. I admit I have some trepidation on this front.
Another more existential fear, I believe, comes from the belief that AI will/can become sentient. On this possibility, I personally have little/no concern (because I believe no such thing can/will happen). Rather than attempting to articulate why this is so, I refer anyone interested to Bernardo Kastrup, who makes a very good case against AI becoming conscious.
All Best,
Jim Gibson
Thanks Jim. Happy birthday to you and Mark! I have listened to several things from Kastrup (at your recommendation) in the last few months and like him very much.
I also have trepidation on how AI will be "operationalized" and almost certainly weaponized not only against our "adversaries" but also our populace.
I see the world through the lens of the dharma..... the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance (which we all have), when fueled by fear and empowered (force-multiplied) by technology leads to bigger and badder consequences. Our virtues, fueled by love, may also be force-multiplied by technology. I have no idea where it will go....
I also don't spend time worrying about AI sentience or AGI. #1 lacking a body, it does not have senses. #2 it's thinking is "verbal" (they are "large language models" after all), while consciousness as we understand it in Zen "cannot be spoken" (Tao Te Ching) or "beyond words and letters" (Bodhidharma).
That said, consciousness and awareness are very mysterious, so who knows.....
all the best!
The distinction between ceremony and ritual - very beautiful.
Alas, technology never is value-free, e.g. the bias of algorithms as a recent example. Which is why technology over time creates a lot of existencial troubles.
I agree with you, Ursula. Values are embedded in certain applications and uses of technology. These must be surfaced and interrogated.