Good news: “Oxford University closed the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI), a research organization led by philosopher Nick Bostrom, who is backed by Elon Musk”
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are we now at this point? people being fired from universities, on both sides, because of politics?
@uriel
Eugenics is NOT "politics". -
@fluidlogic @alineblankertz yeah, tegmark's still at it
"the swedish EA with the racism scandal, no no that one the other one"
Future of Life, Centre for Existential Risk, Radical Xchange Foundation...it's a huge network. And they position their ideas quite well with political parties, the European Commission and national governments. The AI Safety/Security Institutes that are being built are not 100% EA, but mix it effectively with other ideas.
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@chpietsch Yes, but: As I have said before (also to Rainer in person, of course), a key flaw of the book is that you should read it if you want to feel good about being a political "centrist" who considers fascist tendencies something that is done elsewhere and by others.
If you are interested in TESCREAL and read English, it makes more sense to read the original by @timnitGebru and @xriskology https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13636 and related works. They are much more politically solid.
@alineblankertz I'm sorry for mansplaining.
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@uriel
Eugenics is NOT "politics".And cats are not trees. (I can state self-evident truths too.)
And yes, a university is exactly the right place to debate what eugenics is. In fact, that is precisely how we come to understand what eugenics actually means and implies.
Besides, eugenic ideas are hardly a modern invention. Starting with Spartan society — which did not routinely throw babies off cliffs, despite the popular myth, but did have practices aimed at influencing reproduction, including expectations about choosing tall and robust wives — many societies have incorporated some form of eugenic thinking into politics and social policy.
The Nazi regime, for example, explicitly pursued eugenic policies. But even deciding that eugenics must be prohibited as an acceptable social or political practice is itself a political decision.
And the proper place to examine, debate, define, criticize, and understand such ideas is precisely the university.
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