What a fantastic review. I have been following Ewan on social for awhile now and I'll have to pick up this book. I feel like it will read very well after my recent time spent with Benjamin Labatut's prophetic "The Maniac."
Vincenzo, you did a good job as always in stating a case and using original language that could never be summoned by AI. Then you bring in Godel, Einstein's walking mate at Princeton. I tried once to understand his Incompleteness Theorem, but when I got too close to its Sun of Truth, my brain melted into a frustrated mass of imbecility -- but you helped clarify it for me, hence my brain is now being restored to a solid state. Thank you, as people were starting to look at the gray matter oozing from my ears with disgust, especially my last date.
I wrote my won essay on this issue. My argument is that only an organism with a short life span and one that can feel pain is somethin capable of consciousness, period. Here it is:
I love this kind of articles. So happy to have found you. Yeah ... as someone who worked in "tech" for 15 years, I can relate that the techno-optimism surrounding AI can feel hollow, even dangerous. But I can’t help but question whether framing the entire ecosystem as a “cult of stupidity” actually helps us grapple with the real complexity of what’s unfolding.
The truth is, many of us are caught in the middle ... skeptical of AI’s limitations, wary of its incentives, but also genuinely curious about how it might amplify certain forms of thinking, creativity, or accessibility. And we cannot deny that hundreds of people are using these tools to process trauma, to brainstorm creative ideas when blocked, to simulate conversations they needed to have. That may not be sapient intelligence, but it’s something human.
What a fantastic review. I have been following Ewan on social for awhile now and I'll have to pick up this book. I feel like it will read very well after my recent time spent with Benjamin Labatut's prophetic "The Maniac."
Thanks!
Thank you and I have ordered the book, and will experience it
Thanks!
Vince!
September was the 30th anniversary of the publication of "Industrial Society And Its Future" by TK (RIP)
the perfect time to go back and see how it holds up
it's a pretty short read btw
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fc-industrial-society-and-its-future#toc1
Solid work.
Vincenzo, you did a good job as always in stating a case and using original language that could never be summoned by AI. Then you bring in Godel, Einstein's walking mate at Princeton. I tried once to understand his Incompleteness Theorem, but when I got too close to its Sun of Truth, my brain melted into a frustrated mass of imbecility -- but you helped clarify it for me, hence my brain is now being restored to a solid state. Thank you, as people were starting to look at the gray matter oozing from my ears with disgust, especially my last date.
I wrote my won essay on this issue. My argument is that only an organism with a short life span and one that can feel pain is somethin capable of consciousness, period. Here it is:
https://thejjgalaxy.wordpress.com/2025/02/03/robots-and-consciousness/
James
I love this kind of articles. So happy to have found you. Yeah ... as someone who worked in "tech" for 15 years, I can relate that the techno-optimism surrounding AI can feel hollow, even dangerous. But I can’t help but question whether framing the entire ecosystem as a “cult of stupidity” actually helps us grapple with the real complexity of what’s unfolding.
The truth is, many of us are caught in the middle ... skeptical of AI’s limitations, wary of its incentives, but also genuinely curious about how it might amplify certain forms of thinking, creativity, or accessibility. And we cannot deny that hundreds of people are using these tools to process trauma, to brainstorm creative ideas when blocked, to simulate conversations they needed to have. That may not be sapient intelligence, but it’s something human.