Zombie Bioethics
A bodyoid’s value for science and medicine lies precisely in what it would be, which is not a zombie, not a dead person, not a mannequin that mimics the human form. It would be a profoundly disabled human being.
Babel Moments
We are more disconnected than ever before and we have lost our ability to communicate with each other. And yet our destruction is well masked in the pretence of progress and unity.
AI, Inevitability, and Human Sovereignty
I didn’t want to feed my soul into a machine. That was my instinct when AI tools started appearing everywhere – not concern about jobs, but something deeper. These tools promise to make us smarter while making us more dependent.
Michael Crichton’s Unheeded Warning of Biotechnology Catastrophe
Many aspects of human biology are not well understood, and human beings are much more complicated than computers and other man-made systems. At present (and for the foreseeable future), humans are far beyond any technocrat’s ability to manipulate or control safely.
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Follow the Scientism
There is nothing “scientific” about enshrining raw vitality and bare life as our highest goods, at the expense of all other human and spiritual goods. Likewise, there is nothing “scientific” about ignoring such universal human goods as family, community, and God.
Geoengineering and Flights of Fancy
Geoengineering in the form of modifying the weather happens. It can save decimation of farmer livelihoods by mitigating droughts, and it can risk the global food supply by reducing crop growth.
To Share Weights from Neural Network Training Is Dangerous
What would happen if the weights got into the “wrong hands” and people started to be targeted intentionally? There can be no probable cause when using AI targeting systems, but would it even matter? What if probable cause was made up?
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Embracing Ambiguity and Outliers in a VUCA World
Medicine must learn to operate in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world. The recognition of the importance of this is beginning, but it must be added to the clinical competencies at every step in the education of health professionals.
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Reclaiming the Beauty of the Spheres
Creating human substitutes with AI is technically clever and somehow deeply pathetic. More so when effort is made to convince us it is better than the real thing. Many will fall for it, and in the process, degrade humanity itself.
The Modern Slave
Most people hear ‘modern slavery’ and picture trafficking victims or sweatshop workers—suffering that’s clearly visible, obviously wrong. What if the most effective slavery in history isn’t hidden—but public, celebrated, and defended by the very people it enslaves?
A Sceptic’s Take on the Nuclear Bomb
The only choice is between nuclear abolition or cascading proliferation and guaranteed use. Proponents of nuclear weapons are ‘nuclear romantics’ who exaggerate the bombs’ significance, downplay their substantial risks, and imbue them with ‘quasi-magical powers’ also known as nuclear deterrence.
Update on International Health Regulation Amendments
Much has been written on the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), which most countries are subject to after July 19th. Most are missing the main point; the stupidity and fallacy on which the whole pandemic agenda is based.
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