So in Section B sometimes we reference sources oddly related to the discussion. This post is a place to put links to them so others can check it out if they want. Here are three I’ve mentioned in past classes.
Re: Can computers ever be rational in the way that humans are rational? What role does consciousness play in rationality?
Maybe you’ve seen the bumper sickers “Keep Vermont Weird”? Here’s an example: There’s an organization based here in Addison County, Vermont that seeks to create conscious beings that are more than robots, but independent entities with rights. The organization is classified as a “church” in the town reports (meaning they don’t pay property tax”) and they have weekly “services.” You can check out the website, but if I understand it, you can “upload your mind” into their computer program (for a fee, I believe!) and it will embody your soul into perpetuity.
Their website is www.terasemmovementfoundation.com. If you google Bina48, their spokesperson robot, you’ll see all kinds of links, including one in which “she” was interviewed by students for The Middlebury Campus.
Re: Discussion of Thagard’s ECHO program and questions about the impacts of input bias in computer programs, NPR last week had a whole series about computer bias. Very interesting stuff. There were articles during All Things Considered all week. Here’s the link to Monday’s:
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/14/470427605/can-computers-be-racist-the-human-like-bias-of-algorithms
Re: Importance of good use of science to formulate justified beliefs: When decisions need to be made (legal, humanitarian, etc) how does one analyze the data? The Human Rights Data Analysis Group is a non-profit organization that analyzes data to illuminate truths. From their website: “We believe truth leads to accountability, and at HRDAG, promoting accountability for human rights violations is our highest purpose. In the wake of mass killings and genocide, deportations and ethnic cleansing, and systematic detention and torture, accountability may mean many things. It could mean, simply, learning what really happened. Accountability could also mean a criminal trial for perpetrators. Or it might mean having the worst perpetrators removed from public office. Because accountability hinges on truth, we work toward discovering the most accurate “truth” possible. To this end, we apply statistical and scientific methods in the analysis of human rights data so that our partners—human rights advocates—can build scientifically defensible, evidence-based arguments that will result in outcomes of accountability.”
Just an example of real-world scenarios in which “justified true beliefs” are important. (Full disclosure, the HRDAG founder Patrick Ball is my brother.)