Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: ethics – Page 7

Does evolution DEBUNK morality?

Today Dr. Dan Korman and Noah McKay join me to discuss evolutionary debunking arguments. Can our moral beliefs survive skeptical threats?

Like the show? Help it grow! Consider becoming a patron (thanks!): / majestyofreason.

If you wanna make a one-time donation or tip (thanks!): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/josep… 0:00 Intro 1:40 Debunking arguments 6:22 Three kinds of debunking arguments 14:43 Telic debunking argument 22:05 Explanationist pushback 38:51 Swampman pushback 59:51 New function pushback 1:16:45 Dan’s favored approach 1:25:01 Concluding thoughts RESOURCES Dan’s website (with his papers): https://danielzkorman.weebly.com/ Noah’s website (with his papers): https://noahdmckay.wordpress.com/ Dan’s paper, “Debunking Arguments”, https://philarchive.org/archive/KORDA-2 Dan’s paper, “An explanationist Account of Genealogical Defeat ”, https://philpapers.org/rec/KORAEA-4 Noah’s paper, ” Can Rational Reflection Save Moral Knowledge from Debunking?”, https://philpapers.org/rec/MCKCRR Noah’s paper, ” Moral knowledge and the existence of God”, https://philpapers.org/rec/MCKMKA My Metaethics playlist: • Metaethics My Springer book: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-In?tag=lifeboatfound-20… (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.100… THE USUAL… Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uN… Join the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreason My website: https://josephschmid.com My PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/josep…

OUTLINE

0:00 Intro.
1:40 Debunking arguments.
6:22 Three kinds of debunking arguments.
14:43 Telic debunking argument.
22:05 Explanationist pushback.
38:51 Swampman pushback.
59:51 New function pushback.
1:16:45 Dan’s favored approach.
1:25:01 Concluding thoughts.

RESOURCES.

Continue reading “Does evolution DEBUNK morality?” | >

Joscha Bach: Consciousness and AGI

Joscha Bach is a German cognitive scientist, AI researcher, and philosopher known for his work on cognitive architectures, artificial intelligence, mental representation, emotion, social modeling, multi-agent systems, and the philosophy of mind.

Links of interest:

• http://bach.ai/
• https://twitter.com/Plinz.

Steve and Joscha discuss:

00:00 Introduction.
01:26 Growing up in the forest in East Germany.
06:23 Academia: early neural net pioneers, CS and Philosophy.
10:17 The fall of the Berlin Wall.
14:57 Commodore 64 and early programming experiences.
15:29 AGI timeline and predictions.
19:35 Scaling hypothesis, beyond Transformers, universality of information structures and world models.
25:29 Consciousness.
41:11 The ethics of brain interventions, zombies, and the Turing test.
43:43 LLMs and simulated phenomenology.
46:34 The future of consciousness research.
48:44 Cultural perspectives on suffering.
52:19 AGI and humanity’s future.
58:18 Simulation hypothesis.
01:03:33 Liquid AI: Innovations and goals.
01:16:02 Philosophy of Identity: the Transporter Problem, Is there anything beyond memory records?

Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.

Continue reading “Joscha Bach: Consciousness and AGI” | >

CARTA: Oxytocin’s Pathway to the Origins of Speech and Dance

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug-and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin’s role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Recorded on 02/14/2025. [3/2025] [Show ID: 40384]

Donate to UCTV to support informative & inspiring programming:
https://www.uctv.tv/donate.

Learn more about anthropogeny on CARTA’s website:
https://carta.anthropogeny.org/

More videos from: CARTA: The Origin of Love.
(https://www.uctv.tv/carta-love)

Explore More Humanities on UCTV
(https://www.uctv.tv/humanities)
The humanities encourage us to think creatively and explore questions about our world. UCTV explores human culture through literature, history, ethics, philosophy, cinema and religion so we can better understand the human experience.

Explore More Science & Technology on UCTV

Continue reading “CARTA: Oxytocin’s Pathway to the Origins of Speech and Dance” | >

Taking AI Welfare Seriously

In this interview Jeff Sebo discusses the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and why we must take the possibility of AI sentience seriously now. He explores challenges in measuring moral significance, the risks of dismissing AI as mere tools, and strategies to mitigate suffering in artificial systems. Drawing on themes from the paper ‘Taking AI Welfare Seriously’ and his up and coming book ‘The Moral Circle’, Sebo examines how to detect markers of sentience in AI systems, and what to do about it. We explore ethical considerations through the lens of population ethics, AI governance (especially important in an AI arms race), and discuss indirect approaches detecting sentience, as well as AI aiding in human welfare. This rigorous conversation probes the foundations of consciousness, moral relevance, and the future of ethical AI design.

Paper ‘Taking AI Welfare Seriously’: https://eleosai.org/papers/20241030_T… — The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moral-Circl?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20… Jeff’s Website: https://jeffsebo.net/ Eleos AI: https://eleosai.org/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:40 Implications of failing to take AI welfare seriously 04:43 Engaging the disengaged 08:18 How Blake Lemoine’s ‘disclosure’ influenced public discourse 12:45 Will people take AI sentience seriously if it is seen tools or commodities? 16:19 Importance, neglectedness and tractability (INT) 20:40 Tractability: Difficulties in measuring moral significance — i.e. by aggregate brain mass 22:25 Population ethics and the repugnant conclusion 25:16 Pascal’s mugging: low probabilities of infinite or astronomically large costs and rewards 31:21 Distinguishing real high stakes causes from infinite utility scams 33:45 The nature of consciousness, and what to measure in looking for moral significance in AI 39:35 Varieties of views on what’s important. Computational functionalism 44:34 AI arms race dynamics and the need for governance 48:57 Indirect approaches to achieving ideal solutions — Indirect normativity 51:38 The marker method — looking for morally relevant behavioral & anatomical markers in AI 56:39 What to do about suffering in AI? 1:00:20 Building in fault tolerance to noxious experience into AI systems — reverse wireheading 1:05:15 Will AI be more friendly if it has sentience? 1:08:47 Book: The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo 1:09:46 What kind of world could be achieved 1:12:44 Homeostasis, self-regulation and self-governance in sentient AI systems 1:16:30 AI to help humans improve mood and quality of experience 1:18:48 How to find out more about Jeff Sebo’s research 1:19:12 How to get involved Many thanks for tuning in! Please support SciFuture by subscribing and sharing! Have any ideas about people to interview? Want to be notified about future events? Any comments about the STF series? Please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mr9P… Kind regards, Adam Ford

Book — The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moral-Circl?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20…

Jeff’s Website: https://jeffsebo.net/

Eleos AI: https://eleosai.org/

Chapters:

Continue reading “Taking AI Welfare Seriously” | >

CARTA: The Biology of Hatred: Why Love Turns to Hatred and What We Can Do About It

Ancient texts warn of love turning into hatred, as seen in stories like Cain and Abel or “Et tu, Brute?” This talk explores the neurobiology of hatred based on the biology of love: the oxytocin system, attachment networks, and biobehavioral synchrony, which mature through mother-infant bonding and later support group solidarity and out-group hostility. Using this model, we developed Tools of Dialogue© for Israeli and Palestinian youth. After 8 sessions, participants showed reduced hostility, increased empathy, hormonal changes (lower cortisol, higher oxytocin), and lasting attitudes of compromise. Seven years later, these changes supported their peacebuilding efforts, showing how social synchrony can transform hatred into reciprocity and cooperation. Recorded on 02/14/2025. [Show ID: 40386]

Donate to UCTV to support informative & inspiring programming:
https://www.uctv.tv/donate.

Learn more about anthropogeny on CARTA’s website:
https://carta.anthropogeny.org/

Explore More Humanities on UCTV
(https://www.uctv.tv/humanities)
The humanities encourage us to think creatively and explore questions about our world. UCTV explores human culture through literature, history, ethics, philosophy, cinema and religion so we can better understand the human experience.

Explore More Science & Technology on UCTV
(https://www.uctv.tv/science)
Science and technology continue to change our lives. University of California scientists are tackling the important questions like climate change, evolution, oceanography, neuroscience and the potential of stem cells.

UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world.

Continue reading “CARTA: The Biology of Hatred: Why Love Turns to Hatred and What We Can Do About It” | >

Behavioural Genetics: DNA & Individual Differences | Robert Plomin | The Socratic Sessions | Ep #28

🔍 Overview: Join Robert Plomin and me as we dive deep into the fascinating world of behavioural genetics, exploring how our DNA shapes who we are, the power of environment, and whether we can rewrite our genetic destiny.

🤝 Support The Show 🤘
Locals: https://samueldevis.locals.com/
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/samue… https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/a… 🗣️ Highlights [Highlight 1]: How Does Genetics Shape Who We Are? [Highlight 2]: What Role Does the Environment Truly Play in Defining Us? [Highlight 3]: Are We Hardwired by Our DNA, or Can We Rewrite Our Destiny? 🕒 Timestamps 0:00 — Introduction 1:57 — Robert Plomin, Philosophy and Psychology 4:12 — Why Behavioural Genetics? 8:21 — Publishing Blueprint 14:51 — Heritability 30:15 — The Basics of DNA 34:34 — Genetic Variances and Binary Myths 41:21 — Labels and Certificates 45:33 — Nonshared Environments and The Nature of Nurture 1:00:51 — Self-Selecting Within Environments 1:07:04 — Group Difference and Heritability 1:13:03 — Academic Success: DNA vs. Schooling 1:21:17 — Ethical Considerations 1:27:01 — Moral Responsibility and Accountability 1:31:23 — The Future of Genetics 1:42:38 — Genetic Trajectories and Random Events 1:45:17 — The DNA Revolution 1:48:21 — Closing Remarks 📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible — thanks!) Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are by Robert Plomin: https://amzn.to/3T9htYp King’s College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/robert-p… Common Disorders are Quantitative Traits by Robert Plomin: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19859… Gattaca (1997): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/ 🌐 Connect Linktree: https://linktr.ee/samueldevis89 Substack: https://thesocraticsessions.substack… Twitter: / samueldevis89 Facebook Page: / thesocraticsessions Instagram: / samueldevis89 Goodreads: / samuel-devis Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/samueldevis8… Threads: https://www.threads.net/@samueldevis89 LinkedIn Page: / thesocraticsessions 🎧 Subscribe 📺 YouTube: / @samueldevis89 Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/SamuelDevis89 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast… Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6lOdYbN… Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Socr… Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/3… Other Podcast Platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh… 📷 Gear (affiliate links — thanks!) Camera (Sony A6400): https://amzn.to/46jehNn Lens (Sigma 16mm): https://amzn.to/47DfiRn Audio Interface (Focusrite Scarlett 4i4): https://amzn.to/47lJzEP Microphone Amplifier (Cloudlifter CL-1): https://amzn.to/3uou7Jq Mic (RØDE PodMic): https://amzn.to/3sJFUBE Lights (Elgato Key Light Air): https://amzn.to/3TZMgYX Colour Back Lighting (Govee LED Floor Lamp): https://amzn.to/47EGSOf Recording Software (Riverside. FM): https://www.tinyurl.com/riversidesam89 👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding. 🔔 Stay Tuned: Tap the bell for instant notifications. 📣 Join the Talk: Share your thoughts using #TheSocraticSessions. 🚀 Thanks for Tuning In! Let’s keep the conversation going. #genetics #nature #nurture #dna #heritability #genome #biology #philosophy.
Bitcoin: https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/a…

🗣️ Highlights.
[Highlight 1]: How Does Genetics Shape Who We Are?
[Highlight 2]: What Role Does the Environment Truly Play in Defining Us?
[Highlight 3]: Are We Hardwired by Our DNA, or Can We Rewrite Our Destiny?

🕒 Timestamps.
0:00 — Introduction.
1:57 — Robert Plomin, Philosophy and Psychology.
4:12 — Why Behavioural Genetics?
8:21 — Publishing Blueprint.
14:51 — Heritability.
30:15 — The Basics of DNA
34:34 — Genetic Variances and Binary Myths.
41:21 — Labels and Certificates.
45:33 — Nonshared Environments and The Nature of Nurture.
1:00:51 — Self-Selecting Within Environments.
1:07:04 — Group Difference and Heritability.
1:13:03 — Academic Success: DNA vs. Schooling.
1:21:17 — Ethical Considerations.
1:27:01 — Moral Responsibility and Accountability.
1:31:23 — The Future of Genetics.
1:42:38 — Genetic Trajectories and Random Events.
1:45:17 — The DNA Revolution.
1:48:21 — Closing Remarks.

📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible — thanks!)
Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are by Robert Plomin: https://amzn.to/3T9htYp.
King’s College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/robert-p…
Common Disorders are Quantitative Traits by Robert Plomin: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19859…
Gattaca (1997): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/

🌐 Connect.

Continue reading “Behavioural Genetics: DNA & Individual Differences | Robert Plomin | The Socratic Sessions | Ep #28” | >

Your Next Pet Could Be a Glowing Rabbit

Humans have been selectively breeding cats and dogs for thousands of years to make more desirable pets. A new startup called the Los Angeles Project aims to speed up that process with genetic engineering to make glow-in-the-dark rabbits, hypoallergenic cats and dogs, and possibly, one day, actual unicorns.

The Los Angeles Project is the brainchild of biohacker Josie Zayner, who in 2017 publicly injected herself with the gene-editing tool Crispr during a conference in San Francisco and livestreamed it. “I want to help humans genetically modify themselves,” she said at the time. She’s also given herself a fecal transplant and a DIY Covid vaccine and is the founder and CEO of The Odin, a company that sells home genetic-engineering kits.

Now, Zayner wants to create the next generation of pets. “I think, as a human species, it’s kind of our moral prerogative to level up animals,” she says.

Delphi experiment tries to equip an AI agent with moral judgment

Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including LLM-based conversational agents such as ChatGPT, have become increasingly widespread. These tools are now used by countless individuals worldwide for both professional and personal purposes.

Some users are now also asking AI agents to answer everyday questions, some of which could have ethical and moral nuances. Providing these agents with the ability to discern between what is generally considered ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, so that they can be programmed to only provide ethical and morally sound responses, is thus of the utmost importance.

Researchers at the University of Washington, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence and other institutes in the United States recently carried out an experiment exploring the possibility of equipping AI agents with a machine equivalent of human moral judgment.

Reexamining the neurobiological correlates of subjective experience for whole-brain emulation (slides)

I presented these slides (PDF and images below) during the Workshop on Philosophy and Ethics of Brain Emulation (January 28th-29th, 2025) at the Mimir Center for Long Term Futures Research in Stockholm, Sweden. In my talk, I explored how various biological phenomena beyond standard neuronal electrophysiology may exert noticeable effects on the computations underlying subjective experiences. I emphasized the importance of the large range of timescales that such phenomena operate over (milliseconds to years). If we are to create emulations which think and feel like human beings, we must carefully consider the numerous tunable regulatory mechanisms the brain uses to enhance the complexity of its computational repertoire.

IPS Cells Give New Hope Against Eye Diseases / The Government of Japan

Dr. Masayo Takahashi graduated from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Medicine in 1986. In 1992, she completed her Ph.D. in Visual Pathology at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Medicine. She first worked as a clinician, but later became interested in research following her studies in the United States in 1995. In 2005, her lab became the first in the world to successfully differentiate neural retina from embryonic stem cells. She is currently the project leader of the Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB).

Recently in Japan they restored vision of three people using puliportent stem cells.

Then, in March 2017, Dr. Takahashi and her team made another important step forward. While the 2014 surgery had used cells generated from the patient’s own tissues, Dr. Takahashi and her team succeeded this time in the world’s first transplantation of RPE cells generated from iPS cells that originated from another person (called “allogeneic transplantation”) to treat a patient with wet-type AMD. Currently, the patient is being monitored for the possibility of rejection, which is a risk of allogeneic transplantation. Regarding the significance of the operation, Dr. Takahashi explains that “allogeneic transplantation substantially reduces the time and cost required in producing RPE cells, creating opportunities for even more patients to undergo surgeries. Hearing patients’ eager expectations firsthand when working as a clinician has also been a significant motivation.”

Dr. Takahashi’s team is currently making preparations for clinical studies that will target retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disease, by transplanting photoreceptor cells. “Having my mind set on wanting to see applications of iPS cells in treatments as quickly as possible, I have been actively involved in the creation of the regulations for their practical applications in regenerative medicine. In Japan, where clinical studies and clinical trials can be conducted at the same time, there is significant merit in the fact that research can be carried out by doctors who also work in medical settings. This helps ensure that they proceed with a sense of responsibility and strong ethics. Our advanced clinical studies have attracted the attention of researchers working in regenerative medicine in various countries. I intend to maintain a rapid pace of research so that we can treat the illnesses of as many patients as possible.”

/* */