NSW parliamentary prayers; Large Language Models; Peter Singer on moral progress

Published: Thu, 05/25/23

RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Friday, May 26, 2023

Rationale, the magazine of the Rationalist Society of Australia

Good morning ,

Progress? Don't be distracted by bright, shiny things like AI - they are usually overhyped. Real progress comes from the accumulation of years of hard work, and clear, deep reflection. Watch Peter Singer and see how it's done.

Lead stories

NSW upper house member pushes for inquiry on Lord's Prayer | Rationalist Society of Australia

We need more people like Abigail, not cowed by institutional intertia, committed to creating new forms of social rituals that honour and reflect our multicultural society.

The impact and implications of large language models - Rationale Magazine

Worred about AI (more accurately, 'large language models')? In this article, cognitive scientist James Fodor damps down popular fears about it taking over large nmbers of human jobs. A welcome dash of cool water in an overheated debate, but he doesn't address what I think is the main risk - that of 'bad actors' flooding social media (and thence, mainstream media) with AI-generated messages of fear and loathing.

Peter Singer Gives Animal Rights Progress Update, The COVID-19 Pandemic, & Cruelty In The Food Chain

Australia has exported some wackos, like Ken Ham, creator of the Noah's Ark theme park, and some oligarchs, like Rupert Murdoch. And then there's philosopher Peter Singer. In this 18 minute video, he speaks about progress (or lack thereof) in humans' treatment of animals - but also issues that have got him into hot water. "There are particular issues that seem to be very sensitive at the moment..." How he maintains his composure when attacked is truly remarkable.

Other stories of interest

Turkey's runoff election: Nationalism, fake news, xenophobia

I grieve for Turkey.

India's Modi strikes new migration deal with Australia

A strategic way to counter China's influence?

A vaccine for pancreatic cancer?

My father and uncle both died of pancreatic cancer. Nine out of ten who contract the disease die. But there is some emerging evidence of success using mRNA technology. Clever humans.

Got a comment on any of these stories?

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au