Connor is joined by Nye, Joe, Sam and Zach to discuss Artificial Intelligence. Throughout the course of the conversation we touch upon the history of AI and its mechanics, applications in business, self-driving cars, neural networks, the likelihood of dystopian scenarios, singularities and how AI affects the economy. We also introduce and unpack some of the heavier terms associated with the field. As you may expect from a philosophy podcast, we explore some philosophical questions too. Some of these (poorly introduced) questions include AI in fiction and popular imagination, its effect on human worth and how we think of humanity, transhumanism and human augmentation, the need for philosophy in AI related jobs, apotheosis or "playing God" and what sense it makes to talk about AI being "moral". As you may have guessed from our usual standards, the conversation ends on a tangent about sexbots until we are interrupted by Zach playing a didgeridoo.
As with most topics we discuss, we are interested in returning to the conversation at a later date to unpack some of the ideas further and, in particular, to explore the idea of consciousness and what this spells for AI's development. Here is an essay from Joe on transhumanism and "becoming like God". Our thoughts summarised Editing, audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica)
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Beginning the tradition of exploring each other's dissertation theses, Connor offers his lacklustre and bloated thesis on the ethics of observing animals. Nye, Kieran, Sam and Zach all arrive to talk on the topic as we springboard from Connor's work into wider questions including - environmentalism, animal cruelty, sentience, normative ethics, Jungian archetypes, anti-natalism, the nature of happiness and burning witches. This leads into an extensive conversation about control, order and happiness.
This diss itself is titled "The Spectacle of Nature: An Exploration Into the Ethics of Visual Appreciation of Animals in British Leisure" and, in its 18,000 words, it explores a multitude of ideas pertaining to religion, philosophy and ethics. Chief among these are whether historical chauvinism toward nature is a legitimate Christian view or whether this is a caricature invented by atheists as well as the question of why we enjoy looking at / interacting with animals and why we have come to appreciate animal's "intrinsic" worth in more recent times. As some of these topics are discussed we touch upon the idea of nature representing chaos... Ironic, as this episode is considerably chaotic and will most definitely be the last time we pile so many of us into one room. We're fully aware of the slow start and later messy interruptions. That said, we have our moments here and throw up some real philosophy (for once). Future podcasts will contain fewer speakers and less interruptions. The actual dissertation can be found here. Editing, audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica)
Its finally here! This long-lost episode, being one of the first ever recorded on Two Beers was recorded on multiple microphones and computers (...and multiple programs - hence the time lapses, which we've done our best to cover). In our first recorded discussion, Nye, Sam and Connor talk about the practice of mindfulness and how it has been appropriated into Western culture.
Mindfulness, originating in Buddhist practices, is now a familiar topic to many people - seeing use across globally-recognised businesses, popular phone apps, therapy clinics and even the armed forces. But what exactly is mindfulness? How and when did it get here? In our attempt to answer this question we raise up some of the perceived issues with it, including some more adverse effects and even sinister uses. Tangents available for your leisure include but are not limited to... Yoga, evangelism, "truth", new atheism, the nature of faith, Greek gods, racism, vegans ("eat a pie c*nt") as well as Nazis and other horrible regimes of dialectical materialism. Here is an academic essay which explores the Buddhist nature of modern mindfulness, written by Connor. Editing, audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica)
Connor is joined by Nye, Sam and (a third) Joe to discuss pseudo-science, alternative medicine and superstition. The conversation touches upon a myriad of topics from game theory to the Flat Earth Society, heuristics to religiosity. As well as alternative medicines such as reiki, homeopathy and acupuncture the group discuss their personal experiences with the paranormal. The conversation briefly touches upon why these beliefs are held, their merits and detriments and their pervasiveness and their public discussion.
Sam comes up with some inspired nicknames for Flat Earthers and practitioners of Reiki, Joe eats a particularly noisy pasta salad and Connor derails the conversation not once but twice. We will most likely return to this conversation some time in the future. Here is a link to an article by Connor.
Editing, audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica) |
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