There is No Such Thing as Artificial Intelligence – Nathan Beacom https://www.byteseu.com/1171757/ One man tried to kill a cop with a butcher knife, because OpenAI killed his lover. A 29-year-old mother became violent toward her husband when he suggested that her relationship with ChatGPT was …

In @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social I make the case that the term "Artificial Intelligence" is a deceptive marketing ploy, which we should refuse to give in to. In presenting their programs as thinking things, the AI companies are lulling us into living a lie.

“By uniting ourselves, by identifying ourselves, with something stronger and more stable than ourselves, we make our moral identity less vulnerable.” @zhuxi.bsky.social‬ on imagining a form of life freed from fear.

“In order for us to be strong enough to bear political disagreement, we have to obtain a confidence in our moral identity that is rooted in something deeper than our political beliefs.” @zhuxi.bsky.social‬ on how rootedness—not partisanship—forms moral strength.

Don't let the LLM take your humanity thedispatch.com/article/arti...

@ezrakleinbot.bsky.social Today asks "what do men want?" Luckily, I've answered that question in Comment comment.org/men-only-wan...

As long as we continue to farm animals in confined conditions, where they stew in each other's juices, we will continue to incubate strange and deadly new diseases. Farm-grown diseases have killed many millions.

We have tasted and tested too much, lover Through a chink too wide comes in no wonder. But here in the Advent-darkened room Where the dry black bread and the sugarless tea Of penance will charm back the luxury Of a child’s soul, we’ll return to Doom The knowledge we stole but could not use.

“Vice will always be with us. But we can choose whether vice merely haunts around the edges of our commonwealth or occupies its very heart.” Nathan Beacom for The Monday Essay:

Delighted to be featured @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social with their Monday essay. The surprising resonance between Tocqueville and an ancient Chinese philosopher on why morals matter even more than laws. thedispatch.com/article/the-...

Don't change the world, change yourself! open.substack.com/pub/nathanbe...

"It’s different when you work on a building that has a soul. Beauty makes everything easier.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

"What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature" "Pity? It was pity that stayed his hand...Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Political posting from scientists hurts scientific endeavor because people trust, expect, or hope that scientists are people who have cultivated dispassionate, non-ideological dispositions. The tweeting is a problem, but the more serious problem, perhaps, is the disposition it reveals

In ancient China, before Christ, there was a striking parallel to modern ethical debates. The school of Yang followed enlightened self-interest, the school of Mo followed a kind of utilitarianism. The school of Mengzi proposed the middle way. open.substack.com/pub/nathanbe...

Why Talk of Profit? My Only Topic is Righteousness open.substack.com/pub/nathanbe...

Great piece jacobin.com/2024/10/the-...

How the idea of a natural law rebuked tyrants, stirred reformers, and set the tone for centuries of Chinese history. nathanbeacom.substack.com/p/the-revolu...

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Day 1 💙📚 #booksky #books

Also, for the holidays, George Bailey and Confucius on why sincerity is the spring of an excellent life. substack.com/home/post/p-...

On this Thanksgiving , a post on Charles Taylor and the Confucians on how The Way of Heaven calls for gratitude and reverence for the sources of our being.https://substack.com/home/post/p-152258739?source=queue