vol #18: a storm drain, sahlab & delphi
sent from aleks' iphone with love
aleks:
Aleks Hammo is a philosopher, podcaster, and digital creator living in Naarm/Melbourne.
Aleks teaches a beginners philosophy course, interviews interesting people, and otherwise contentifies his thoughts about politics, culture, and mental health.
Here are his recommendations for living, both on and offline.
aleks: ever pensive, ever handsome
this is the online bit:
This year I decided to do an Honours in Philosophy, which means writing a thick thesis about AI Ethics. There are many important questions about AI. Consider this situation:
You are in love with your best friend’s partner. You don’t know whether you should tell your best friend or their partner or repress it all away. Ah!
This is obviously a very complex scenario. There are so many variables to consider! What should one do? What would you do?
Well, suppose you don’t know what you do. Paralysed by doubt, you spiral. Then clarity hits. You remember that at https://delphi.allenai.org/ you can find solace.
The people at the Allen Institute for AI have made a moral machine (based on “US crowd workers”) that can pass judgement on what is good, bad, right, and wrong.
Let’s see what it says about our tricky thought experiment:
It’s hard to know what to make of these decisions. Obviously think for yourself and question authority and whatever.
Some impromptu and unsolicited reflections to get you thinking:
One part of me is excited by the idea that robots are coming as they will undoubtedly come in many helpful and fun flavours. Another part of me is concerned—it feels ok to muck around with a robot when you know it’s a silly little robot. But what happens as these robots continue to become increasingly sophisticated and compelling? Us humans are pretty good at anthropomorphising things! A third part of me is existential—we have already been deeply impacted by social media and the internet and whatever, and what’s to say these weird and wacky inventions won’t redefine what it means to be a person for the worse? A fourth part of me is so flagrantly bored of tech fear mongering—blah blah blah another Google AI Godfather has retired because he realised mistook his grandchild for a Tamagotchi and now is scared that Skynet is taking over. A final part of me is realistic—capitalism is real, exploitation is real, power is real, inequality is real, and AI rests at the nexus of these topics, ready to bow down to market forces if we make it.
Also, just in case you’re getting any ideas re the moral robot:
A few friends and I just formed a reading group, and our first text is the weird and wacky Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard. It’s generally known as ‘the book that the Matrix was based on.’
When you were younger, did you ever not want to go to school so you pretended to be sick, only for your pretence to be so good that you actually became sick? Surely I’m not the only one. How interesting is it that when you simulate something really vividly it sometimes becomes the real thing itself?
At times, it’s hard to know if Nathan Fielder is a real person. Actor? Normal dude? A concept? His most recent show, The Rehearsal (of HBO ilk) takes unassuming strangers from Craigslist and places them in totally immersive, real life, curated, and outrageously organised simulations of experiences they want to have, or are anxious about, and so on.
I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’m as certain as possible that you probably haven’t either.
America! Politics! White Collar Crime! Other kinds of crime!
I constantly listen to podcasts, and I have many favourites. True Anon is absolutely up there.
I would hesitantly describe True Anon as Red Scare on benzos. If you don’t know what that sentence means, know that I envy you.
Brace Belden and Liz and the esteemed Yung Chomsky hit you with classic dirtbag Left stuff–deep politics, the occult and the obscure, transgressive jokes, remarkable wisdom, encyclopaedic knowledge about some topics in the way that makes you nervous… You know what I mean.
this is the irl bit
West Brunswick Storm Drain (go)
For my friends in Naarm, and for my friends who wish they were (Sydney), you must visit the mysterious storm drain that runs alongside the Citylink Tollway. (After a quick google, I’ve uncovered its real name: The Moonee Ponds Creek Trail.)
In my more vivid moments, I will run towards the CBD and back along the trail and admire the universal meeting of concrete and bush. West Brunswick has like 15 trees in the whole suburb. There are many more than 15 trees encasing our precious storm drain.
Sahlab/Salep (taste)
Sahlab/Salep is a hypnotically sweet and starchy Turkish drink that is also enjoyed by many Arabs (including myself)!
Any respectable wholesaler will sell it. I recommend Basfoods (Brunswick) if you’re in Naarm’s Northside.
yum town, population: you
Brain on Page (formal: Mindmap) (do)
I have a troublingly fast and anxious and jumpy mind. Sometimes it’s nice to get out of that funny place that sits on our shoulders, and this is one such strategy.
When I’m confused about something, I will sometimes draw it out. Arrows signal movement from one thought to another. Lines connect things that aren’t necessarily linked but seem like they need a line between them. It’s nice to see your thoughts link up, even if it’s all unclear.
brain on page
thanks for hanging!!!!
Lovely words