“Autonomous robots” have some people very spooked. But what does it mean to be an autonomous, decision-making entity in the first place?
Pondering the Future of Death Over A Mojito
by J. HughesNext May, several hundred neurologists and philosophers will gather in the resort of Varadero, Cuba, for the fifth International Symposium on the Definition of Death. At first sight, defining death might not seem like something that requires much scientific or philosophical attention. Look more closely, though, and the line between life and death is rapidly becoming increasingly fuzzy.
Martine’s mindfiles
by George DvorskyMartine Rothblatt has an interesting idea. Unfortunately, I don’t think her idea is going to work.
In our cybernetic and virtual world of the future, says Rothblatt, genes are not going to matter so much. Instead, we’ll be concerned about ‘bemes’— a fundamental, transmissible, unit of beingness.
Consciousness emerges?
by Russell BlackfordVia David Chalmers’ blog,I came across this review by Jerry Fodor of a new book by Galen Strawson and others: Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: Does Physicalism Entail Panpsychism?.
Poll: Should apes be granted the rights of human children?
This poll ran for more than two weeks, and generated a lot of votes, which went better than 2-to-1 for “Yes!”
Fenton to Habermas and bio-cons: Human nature is not fixed
by Russell BlackfordThe November-December 2006 issue of The Hastings Center Report contains an important article by Elizabeth Fenton, entitled “Liberal Eugenics and Human Nature: Against Habermas”, the thrust of which is to attack - and demolish - the distinction made by Habermas and other bioconconservative thinkers between the natural and the artificial.
Bioprinters vs. the Meatrix
by Jamais CascioOne of the odder manifestations of the fabrication future may well revolutionize the world of medicine—and quite possibly change how we eat and offer a new way to fight global warming, too.
All Kinds of Potential Minds
by Anne CorwinOne trap that must be avoided with regard to thinking about cognitive enhancement, artificial intelligence, and the “medicalization” (or lack thereof) of existing neurophysiological variations in sentient creatures is that of working under the (possibly unconscious) assumption that the range of possible self-aware processing mechanisms that can be thought of as “minds” is far narrower than it actually is.
On cyborg citzenship - where I have a problem
by Russell BlackfordMy friend James Hughes has a great narrative to tell about the expanding circle of recognition of rights to all persons, irrespective of sex, race, culture, and even species and physical substrate. According to this narrative, we will ultimately accord citizenship - and the legal rights that go with it - to non-human persons and then to non-biological persons such as advanced, fully-conscious artificial intelligences. We will realise that it is Lockean personhood, rather than species membership, that accords full moral considerability.
I wish I could go along with this without qualification, because it’s a wonderful story to tell, and much simpler than the complex, ambiguous, difficult reality that I see. But I do have a problem here.
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh on the welfare of apes in captivity
by George DvorskyTomorrow, on August 14, Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh will be giving a presentation about the welfare of apes in captivity at a conference oraganized by the Animal Behavior Society. Savage-Rumbaugh, who is a lead scientist at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa (a world-class research center dedicated to studying the behavior and intelligence of great apes), is the first and only scientist doing language research with bonobos.
Constructing the case for enhancement at Stanford
by George Dvorsky
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights (HETHR) conference at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The conference, which was sponsored by the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (CCLE), and the Stanford Law School (SLC), brought together a diverse array of thinkers who spent the weekend ruminating over the challenging issues surrounding human enhancement.
The speciest Spike
by George DvorskySpiked Online clearly has an agenda in favour of promoting animal experimentation and they’re masking it by using their ”science section” as a guise for their pro animal torture propaganda.
Diagramming Sentences of Value: Evolving Human Rights and the Terms of Geoethical Nanotechnology
by Wrye SententiaTalk at 1st Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, 2005 by Wrye Sententia, Ph.D., Director, Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethic.
The Death of Death
by J. Hughes1. INTRODUCTION
The current definitions of brain death are predicated on the prognostic observation that brain dead patients would quickly die even with intensive care. But this is now shown to be untrue[1],[2],[3],[4].
Neuroremediation technologies and advances in intensive care will make it increasingly possible to keep alive the bodies of patients who would currently be classified as brain dead, and recover much of the memories and capabilities that we currently consider irrecoverable.
The Intelligent Other in Science, Fantasy and Horror Fiction, 1895 to the Present
by J. HughesImages of non-human intelligence in popular culture reflect our attitudes about the desirability and feasibility of a liberal democratic society. This study tests for a trend toward more positive depictions of non-human intelligence in popular culture, reflecting the gradual expansion of rights and inclusiveness of American liberal democracy. A second, more pessimistic, hypothesis of growing misanthropy also suggests there will be a positive trend in depictions.
Examples of depictions of non-human intelligence are collected from the best-selling novels 1895-1994, the top grossing films 1947-1997, and the top-rated television shows 1950-1997. Five categories of non-human intelligence are coded: (1) aliens; (2) machine minds; (3) animals modified for intelligence; (4) post-humans; and (5) other intelligent races on Earth. Each instance is coded from very positive portrayals, to very negative portrayals.
Depictions of non-human intelligence have been increasing rapidly, in number and popularity, in fiction, TV and film since the 1970s, and the majority of depictions have been positive. There appears to be no statistically significant linear trend, positive or negative, in the depictions in any media, with the exception of a strong negative trend for film aliens. There is also evidence of a twelve-year cycle, with the periods of most negative portrayal of non-humans during the periods 1968-1973, 1980-1985, and 1992-1997. Thus the hypothesis of a positive linear trend is disconfirmed. I conclude with some discussion of the methodological issues raised by the study, and directions for further research.
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Hirntod und technologischer Wandel
by J. HughesPersonale Identität, neuronale Prothesen und Uploading
Biotechnologien, die es bereits gibt und deren Entwicklung wir voraussehen können, greifen in unser Verständnis des Lebens ein und zwingen dazu, die Grenzen zwischen Leben und Tod neu zu ziehen. Das ist heute immer weniger eine philosophische oder religiöse Aufgabe, sondern ein praktischer Bestandteil der Lebenswirklichkeit, die stets neuen Anlaß zu Auseinandersetzungen provoziert und zeigt, wie stark die Techniken buchstäblich in das Leben eines jeden früher oder später eingreifen.
Der amerikanische Bioethiker diskutiert die Infragestellungen der Todesdefinitionen anhand bereits existierender und möglicherweise bald zu erwartender Technologien. Heute wird ein Mensch nicht mehr als tot betrachtet, wenn es zu einem Herz-Kreislauf-Stillstand gekommen ist, sondern wenn sein Gehirn irreversibel ausgefallen ist. Aber schon beginnt die Diskussion, ob man das Kriterium des Ganzhirntodes durch das weitaus problematischere des Teilhirntodes ersetzen, ob letztlich der körperliche Tod dem Tod der Persönlichkeit oder dem sozialen Tod weichen soll.
Aliens, Technology and Freedom: Science Fiction Consumption and Socio-Ethical Attitudes
by J. HughesAs we enter the 21st century, we do well to consider the values implicit in science fiction, the principal arena of future speculation in popular culture. This study explored whether consumption of science fiction (SF) is correlated with distinctive socio-ethical views. SF tends to advocate the extension of value and rights to all forms of intelligence, regardless of physical form; enthusiasm for technology; and social and economic libertarianism. This suggests that consumers with these socio-ethical views would be attracted to the SF genre, and that amount of SF consumption would be correlated with adoption of these views.
Groups of respondents involved in medical ethical and environmental issues were surveyed in 1992 (N=278). SF consumption was found, at first-order correlation and controlling for covariates, to be associated with: greater support for extending rights to animal and machine intelligence; greater enthusiasm for technology, and rejection of limits to human endeavors; and greater social libertarianism. SF consumption was not associated with specific views on the cognitively and physically disabled; support for abortion rights; or economic libertarianism.
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