20 May 2020

Interesting Book; John Danaher: Automation and Utopia




What does the book do?
This book provides a novel and optimistic
case for the automated future. It doesn't shy
away from the recent criticisms and
challenges to technology, but it does make
the case for an intellectually respectable form
of techno-optimism.
In the process, the book undermines some
cherished beliefs in the value of work, the
fallacy of utopian thinking and the importance
of 'reality' in the well-lived life.
Who is the book for?
Anyone who cares about the impact of AI and
robotics on the future of work and human life
more generally. Anyone who wants to be
optimistic, but realistic, about the future.
Anyone who is willing to question their
current commitments and beliefs. Anyone
interested in the philosophy of technology.
What's different about it?
This book provides a rigorous and detailed
assessment of the post-work future, and
moves beyond the superficial hype one finds
in other books on this topic. It aims to
disorient the reader and open their minds to
new possibilities, using stories and concrete
examples to illustrate its key arguments.

What are the key arguments?
Automation and Utopia defends a number of
controversial and novel claims. It does so in a
way that fully engages with critical and
contrary views.
• A defence of the claim that humans are
obsolescing and that we are moving
beyond the 'anthropocene' to the
'robocene'.
• A robust, up to date, defence of the claim
that widespread technological
unemployment is possible.
• An extended argument for the claim that
work is bad and that you really should hate
your job, even if you enjoy it right now,
including a discussion of income inequality,
and the perils of platform work.
• A defence of the claim that automating
technologies pose five major threats to
human flourishing:
• They block human achievement
• They make the world more opaque and
usher in a new era of techno-
superstition.
• They distract and monopolise our
attention.
• They manipulate us, dominate us and
undermine our autonomy
• They turn us into moral patients (i.e.
passive recipients of well-being, not
active agents of change)
• A defence of the claim that humanity should
organize itself around largescale utopian
projects.
• A detailed and extended defence of the
claim that we should become cyborgs (i.e.
fuse ourselves with machines and become
more machinelike)
• An equally extensive discussion of the
limitations of the 'cyborg' ideal.
• A detailed and extended defence of the
claim that we should 'retreat from reality'
and prefer to live in virtual worlds.
• A defence of the claim that much of what
we currently think of as 'reality' is in fact
'virtual' and that what we currently call
'virtual' is in fact 'real'.

John Danaher is a Senior
Lecturer in Law at NUI
Galway, Ireland, and the
coeditor of Robot Sex:
Social and Ethical
Implications. He has
published over fifty papers
on topics including the
risks of advanced AI, the
ethics of social robotics,
meaning of life and the
future of work, and the ethics of human
enhancement, His work has appeared in
The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Sunday
Times, Aeon, and The Philosophers'
Magazine. He is the author of the popular
blog Philosophical Disquisitions.

What are the key arguments?
Automation and Utopia defends a number of
controversial and novel claims. It does so in a
way that fully engages with critical and
contrary views.
. A defence of the claim that humans are
obsolescing and that we are moving
beyond the 'anthropocene' to the
'robocene'.
. A robust, up to date, defence of the claim
that widespread technological
unemployment is possible.
. An extended argument for the claim that
work is bad and that you really should hate
your job, even if you enjoy it right now,
including a discussion of income inequality,
and the perils of platform work.
. A defence of the claim that automating
technologies pose five major threats to
human flourishing:

. They block human achievement
. They make the world more opaque and
usher in a new era of techno-
superstition.
- They distract and monopolise our
attention.
. They manipulate us, dominate us and
undermine our autonomy
. They turn us into moral patients (i.e.
passive recipients of well-being, not
active agents of change)

. A defence of the claim that humanity should
organize itself around largescale utopian
projects.
A detailed and extended defence of the
claim that we should become cyborgs (i.e.
fuse ourselves with machines and become
more machinelike)
. An equally extensive discussion of the
limitations of the 'cyborg' ideal.
. A detailed and extended defence of the
claim that we should 'retreat from reality'
and prefer to live in virtual worlds.
. A defence of the claim that much of what
we currently think of as 'reality' is in fact
'virtual' and that what we currently call
'virtual' is in fact 'real'.

What does the book do?
This book provides a novel and optimistic
case for the automated future. It doesn't shy
away from the recent criticisms and
challenges to technology, but it does make
the case for an intellectually respectable form
of techno-optimism.
In the process, the book undermines some
cherished beliefs in the value of work, the
fallacy of utopian thinking and the importance
of 'reality' in the well-lived life.

Who is the book for?
Anyone who cares about the impact of Al and
robotics on the future of work and human life
more generally. Anyone who wants to be
optimistic, but realistic, about the future.
Anyone who is willing to question their
current commitments and beliefs. Anyone
interested in the philosophy of technology.

What's different about it?
This book provides a rigorous and detailed
assessment of the post-work future, and
moves beyond the superficial hype one finds
in other books on this topic. It aims to
disorient the reader and open their minds to
new possibilities, using stories and concrete
examples to illustrate its key arguments.

John Danaher is a Senior
Lecturer in Law at NUl
Galway, Ireland, and the
coeditor of Robot Sex:
Social and Ethical
Implications. He has
published over fifty papers
on topics including the
risks of advanced Al, the
ethics of social robotics,
meaning of life and the
future of work, and the ethics of human
enhancement, His work has appeared in
The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Sunday
Times, Aeon, and The Philosophers'
Magazine. He is the author of the popular
blog Philosophical Disquisitions.
 

From the LA Times on "socially distant" socializing

I'm not necessarily endorsing all the conclusions of this piece, but pass it on for information. My personal take is that when you have the new case rate down in the less-than-3 a day area, as Oregon now does, a little relaxation of the isolation regimes is justifiable on a "quantification of risk" basis. Sensible distancing, selectivity, small groups, outdoors, hygiene, etc., but not total isolation from everyone. There are, after all, mental health factors to be considered too. 

 

08 May 2020

Blame enough

• Trump did not conjure up this pandemic in the Oval Office. But he IS to blame. He wasted months doing nothing despite all kinds of intelligence warnings, and even since we began sheltering in place, IN ORDER to give the government time to devise and execute a strategy to actually suppress this virus, he and his government have done, effectively, NOTHING. Our economy COULD be on the road to recovery, had they mobilized a smart response. But no, they care nothing for the people, only for themselves, and they lack imagination. Completely. They lack courage and determination. Completely. They have fucked this thing up. Completely. And they, and he, refuse to accept any responsibility. Completely. But guess what, DON? WE BLAME YOU. And we are going to throw you out on your ass.