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Category Archives: Transhuman News

His great-grandfather designed Fox Elementary. Now, a piece of his DNA is buried in the ashes. – wtvr.com

Posted: February 21, 2022 at 6:01 pm

RICHMOND, Va. Along a stretch of Hanover Avenue, one block is now a boulevard of broken hearts. Handmade notes read like sympathy cards.

David Robinson is still processing the destruction of a Richmond landmark.

I cant recall seeing a memorial like this in Richmond for anything, said David.The thought of losing this building was not comprehensible to me.

For 111 years, William Fox Elementary welcomed generations of students. On this day, chain link is keeping people out.

WTVR

This is like going into the middle of Richmonds fan and ripping out the heartbeat, described David.

On Feb.11, this hub of education for 360 boys and girls erupted into an inferno.

Some of the most fantastic fire scenes filmed in the city of Richmond. Lit up the night sky, said David.

Roaring flames chewed through classrooms and more than a century of history.

The power of fire. The power of anything you love so much can be taken away in an instant. Appreciate what you have. Because it might not be there tomorrow, said David.

Charred ruins are all that remain of Fox Elementary.

WTVR

The hundreds of thousands of gallons of water that went in have completely ruined everything on the first floor. The second floor completely gutted, David explained. Everything except the wall is going to needed to be torn away.

The fire is leaving the student body, teachers and an entire neighborhood stunned.

Were in the heart of Richmond. Were in the heart of the fan. This area grew up around this school, said David.

He didnt earn his diploma inside, but his roots run deep. My DNA is here, said David.

Davids ancestor, Charles M. Robinson, designed William F. Fox Elementary. It was one of the dozens of schools Davids great-grandfather planned in Virginia, including Thomas Jefferson High School, John B. Cary, and Albert Hill Middle.

WTVR

Fox was, and always will be David Robinsons favorite.

It was the most technologically advanced public school building in America. Period, said David.

Built in 1911, for $71,000 the school was named for the citys popular superintendent William Fawcett Fox at the turn of the last century.

Beloved by people of all races for his vision to educate children free, said David.

In 2011, the Richmond native delivered a speech at the schools centennial celebration.

When they went to that school building, said David. They were going somewhere special.

David said Fox is more than just bricks and mortar.

Provided to WTVR

This fire is going to be one that thousands of people are going to be telling their children about, said David.

Denise Kern needed to see the destruction first-hand.

There really is no way what you felt. I think everyone was teary-eyed, said Denise.

Denises daughter attended Fox, and her grandson Jackson just enrolled.

It was heart-wrenching. I thought for the children and teachers. I thought for the whole community, said Denise.

Jackson, who is in Ms. Taylors kindergarten class, will need to return to virtual learning for the foreseeable future.

I think if they could preserve what they can it would be phenomenal, said Denise.

Inspectors and engineers explored the shell of a once vibrant building.

It will get immediately worse if you dont take the immediate steps to cover that roof, said David.

WTVR

City and school leaders will eventually determine the fate of whats left of Fox and its future.

The story cant end with they tore it down and put it in the dumpster, said David.

David hopes the plan includes re-purposing what is still standing.

This is as important a building in the city of Richmond as any other, said David. Charles M. Robinson would say you have to rebuild this building.

Robinson wants one of his great-grandfathers crowning achievements to live on as a place of learning for another century.

David said the messages left in ink and chalk at the foot of Fox speak volumes.

WTVR

I think it is like a tribute of what this building means to the community, said David.

David Robinson believes a rebuilt William F. Fox Elementary will eventually mend many broken hearts.

That needs to be the message to every single kid that wrote one of those hearts, said David. Were not going to rip this building from your memory. Were going to show that you can triumph over tragedy.

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Why arent there more Black libertarians? – San Bernardino County Sun

Posted: at 5:47 pm

Many might say that the intimate group that I am going to be addressing is just a bit larger than the African American membership in the Klu Klux Klan, or maybe the number of Black people in the White Citizens Council in the 1960s in the South, or such.

You get the picture. For some reason, there are not many of us.

But many of you who are reading this at this moment, although not of African roots, could be or might indeed be a political or a philosophical libertarian, or both. And if so, you might be inclined to recruit and support more Afro American participation in a political movement of the future that is not attached to the special-interest gravy train. I submit that the latter thought conveys what is responsible for so much of the failure of prosperity and harmony in our nation today.

So, lets begin with who is a libertarian, since so-called blackness is pretty apparent?

Many define a libertarian as a person who calls themselves one, or loves liberty, or some abstract definition, all the way to the opposite more thoughtful definition: A libertarian is a person who believes that no individual has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force, fraud, or coercion against another, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Thus, those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim, in the words of my esteemed libertarian author friend, L. Neil Smith.

So, who are the prominent Black or African American (or Afro American) libertarians in this nation today?

Larry Sharpe, in the Big Apple, comes to mind first, with his podcast and his announcement he is once again running for governor of New York. Sharpe is a businessman with the gift of gab and an ability to translate the complexity of libertarian principles in easy-to-understand language. I would love to have a society that is based only on volunteer associations. That would be amazing. I dont think Ill see that in my lifetime, so the closest I can get to that thats what I want, Sharpe once said.

Dr. Anne Wortham was the Black presence and one of the few female voices in the Libertarian Party and movement prior to my activism that began in 1983. Her academic prowess took precedence over her political involvement up until her retirement as an esteemed professor at Illinois State University a few years ago.

The harmony and stability of the collectivist society envisioned by Rousseau and Durkheim depends on people viewing the constraints of society and the sovereign will of the state as the natural order of things, she wrote in a 2012 critique of President Barack Obama. They must also transfer to civil society the commitment they had traditionally held for the sacred, and schools must teach children the importance of the political communitys claim to their loyalty and of their commitment to the morality of the collective.

Libertarians, with Wortham, understand well the dangers of such collectivistic societies.

Duke University grad, scientist and marathon runner Wilton Alston became a significant Black libertarian voice as a prolific writer for the past two to three decades or so, while yours truly spoke, wrote, appeared on radio and television, and ran for public office as a Libertarian for many years.

In May 2020, Alston bravely spoke out against the lockdowns. Not only does remaining in lockdown hurt the economically vulnerable, it could hurt the entire population going forward. It seems clear that the damage done because of the lockdown has far outstripped even the imagined benefit from flattening the curve, he wrote in a commentary for the Libertarian Institute.

Then theres radio host Brian Thomas in New Bedford, Massachusetts, former LP National Committee member Joseph Brennan, previously of Brooklyn, now in London, for many years.

Considering the vast size and diversity of our nation, changes are that there are others who have recently joined LP groups throughout the country, and will soon be heard from, when one considers the times and the entrenched policies of the Bi-Partisan Party throughout.

I am also aware of a few almost and former Libertarians of Color (couldnt resist that): Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter from Philadelphia, who promotes and defends lawful gun ownership in the Black community. And oh yes, theres Larry Elder, who claimed to be one of us for a while, but in the early 2000s appeared to excuse and become an apologist for the non-libertarian U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East in Iraq and other interventions.

I bet you have questioned why, having read this far, two of the most famous Black libertarians ever have not been mentioned. I wanted to see if you were paying attention. Who are they? Of course none other than the economists Thomas Sowell, and the late, great Walter E. Williams, who left us in December 2020.

Both of these intellectual giants generally downplayed the libertarian label, but if you actually understand the philosophy of liberty upon which this nation was founded hundreds of years ago, along with the additional understanding and mastery of non-Keynesian economics, they qualify quite clearly as libertarian.

I used to joke that there were only three Afro American or Black libertarians on earth: Williams, Sowell and me, and that we made a pact to never fly on the same plane at the same time, for fear of losing all Black libertarians in one accident.

Grasping basic economic concepts tends to enhance ones understanding of the real world, and most Americans dont even begin to comprehend anything economic, not to mention my ethnic counterparts, who are still trying to gain parity in the basics of life, no less trying to comprehend even basic economics.

Historically, Black Americans were mostly Republicans from that partys inception. However, FDRs promises under the New Deal shifted almost all Black voters to the Democrats from the 1930s on. I submit that neither group has freed us, and the latter seem to take Black people for granted these days, or treat us more like pets than free people. We Afro Americans happen to be, just as all citizens are, separate and distinct individuals, not a voting block, tribe or such. Republican or Democrat, name your poison. The heavy hand of the state under both parties has failed us all.

And in my almost four decades of activism in the Libertarian Party at all levels as well as the freedom and liberty movement, I can say the Libertarian Party has always stood for true freedom. That very freedom that has eluded us and that so many have been seeking and dying for for centuries, is what libertarian principles are all about. The Founders understood that, and so can you, not just Black folks, if you actually think about it.

The Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, in its very first stanza speaks of liberty, not equality, two very different things. When my African American culture finally recognizes that, then the long struggle can finally end. Early 20th century Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Allen White so eloquently reminded us: Liberty is the only thing that you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.

Finally I must say that the most important African American libertarian to ever grace this planet was one Frederick Douglass, my mentor, muse and exemplar. Douglass not only courageously fought against the represensible institution of slavery, but did so while always strongly defending classical liberalism.

If you are so moved after reading about the few of us, join us, Black, White, Blue or Green.

Richard Boddie is a member of the Southern California News Groups editorial board.

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Why arent there more Black libertarians? - San Bernardino County Sun

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The Third Party InsideSources – InsideSources

Posted: at 5:47 pm

Our history is so steeped in a two-party political system its natural to assume that political parties are government entities. They arent. They are nonprofit corporations. And those two corporations have formed a cartel that shuts out competing parties. For a partys candidate to be taken seriously, the candidate must be in the televised presidential debates. To get in the debates, a candidate must receive at least15 percent support in national polls. But to receive significant support in the polls, a candidate needs to appear in the debates. Who created this catch-22? The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

But the CPD isnt a government entity either. Its a nonprofit corporation established bywait for itthe Democratic and Republican Parties. Any other corporations that colluded to bar competitors like this would long ago have been charged with antitrust violations. Yet, the U.S. Supreme Court has turned a blind eye to collusion between the major political parties.

If the Democratic and Republican Parties adequately served voters, that might be a less pressing concern. But evidence shows they dont. In 2004, voters were evenly split among Republicans, Democrats, and independents. By January 2021, the number of voters self-identifying as independents equaled the number identifying as Republicans or Democrats combined. If that trend continues, independents will constitute a supermajority of voters within the next generation.

When a party cant attract a majority of voters, that party no longer represents the will of the people. When the major parties together cant attract a majority of voters, the political apparatus itself no longer represents the will of the people.

For evidence, look at our own behaviors. Many who voted for Donald Trump did so because they disliked him less than they disliked Hillary Clinton. And many who voted for Joe Biden did so because they disliked him less than they disliked Donald Trump. We no longer hope to choose the best candidates but to avoid the worst ones.

Weve always had two major parties, but they havent been the same two. Lincolns Republican Party replaced Henry Clays Whig Party, which replaced Hamiltons Federalist Party, and Jacksons Democratic Party replaced Jeffersons Democratic-Republican Party. Its again time for a third party to replace one of the major two.

This is a rare opportunity for the Libertarian Party. But its one they will squander. The Libertarians have no Lincoln, Clay, or Hamilton. The Libertarians have no great leaders because the Libertarians dont take themselves seriously. And consequently, no one else does either.

Political success requires compelling and clearly articulated principles, and the ability to compromise. Libertarians have compelling and clearly articulated principles, but they refuse to compromise. Too many Libertarians happily reject practical ideas for better government in favor of impractical ideas for a perfect one. And in fighting over minutiae as to what constitutes a perfect government, they tear themselves apart, ending up less a cohesive party than a loose confederation of malcontents.

Yet, Libertarians do provide value. The compromise that politics demands erode principles, and erosion of principles is what ails the major parties. The Democratic and Republican Parties have ceased to be associations of voters upholding principles and instead have become electoral machines delivering preferred outcomes to the highest bidders. In the face of necessary compromise, someone needs to keep a steady light shining on principle. On their present course, Libertarians will never rise to power as a political party. But as keepers of philosophical principles, they may well provide guidance to the third party we desperately need.

What is certain is that either a viable third party must soon emerge, or the two major parties will split the country as they continue desperately to hold to power in the name of an ever-shrinking minority of the people.

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The Third Party InsideSources - InsideSources

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Opinion | How Canadian Truckers Brought Peace to the GOP’s Warring Tribes – POLITICO

Posted: at 5:47 pm

This might not seem news, except that the Trump era catalyzed an ongoing, intense and sometimes personally nasty debate among writers and thinkers on the right about how much emphasis should be put on freedom. One faction associated with populists, nationalists and various critics of classic liberalism argues that the traditional conservative celebration of freedom has become fetishistic and is now an anachronism that is irrelevant to ordinary people and an obstacle to grappling with the struggles of the working class.

This position has gained adherents in recent years, but it is hard to tell amid the rights reflexive support of a protest movement flying under the banner literally! of freedom.

Indeed, if you were sitting on the couch during prime time anytime over the last 20 years and switched over to Fox News and saw that Sean Hannity was robustly supporting something called the Freedom Convoy, youd think that the planets were in alignment and nothing had ever disturbed the conservative consensus.

The Canadian protest is a unifying moment for the American right. To simplify for the sake of clarity, the populists are drawn to the truckers as representatives of the working class, of a rejection of government by experts, and of a willingness to shock and defy the progressive governing class as embodied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Limited-government conservatives, on the other hand, tend to sympathize with the opposition to the vaccine mandate on truckers as an irrational, completely unnecessary regulation and with the push to begin lifting Covid restrictions more broadly.

Both elements on the right have denounced Trudeaus invoking of emergency powers. For the populists, the action is a dangerous sign of an impulse to smash anyone crossing elite opinion. For limited-government types, its a dangerous sign of a government that can too easily slip free of constitutional constraints.

It adds up to a kind of populist-inflected libertarianism, with an enhanced accent on cultural combat and class conflict.

It was predictable that the first contact with Biden administration policies would revivify a conservative distrust of government, and pandemic restrictions have supercharged a Do Not Tread on Me response across the right, focused on mandates and shutdowns.

Of course, the GOP has changed over the last decade or so. Trump broke with the conventional post-Reagan Republican rhetoric and elevated national cohesiveness, sovereignty, and strength over and above freedom. He showed that economic conservatives werent the dominant partners in the Republican coalition that many had believed.

Notably, Bidens spending plans get very little Republican support, but the opposition to the red ink is muted compared to the backlash to the early Obama administration agenda, when opposition to debt and governmental aggrandizement were at their high tide on the right.

The sense now is less the government is bankrupting us and more these out-of-touch, self-appointed experts are telling us what to do because they have too much power and like lording it over us, with the press, social media, corporations and nonprofits all on their side.

This gives the opposition to government a distinct culture war charge, although this isnt necessarily new. In the post-World War II conservative coalition, classical liberals and social conservatives united in opposition to big government because it was believed that an overweening government was a threat both to freedom and traditional values.

If this dynamic still holds in a slightly different form, that doesnt mean that there arent going to be intraconservative debates going forward on tax, trade and tech policy, with the populists willing to unabashedly wield government power in pursuit of their policy goals.

The defense of freedom, though, will retain a central place. Consider the politicians who, at this juncture, look to be the future of the conservative opposition in Canada and the U.S.

Pierre Poilievre, whose chances to be the next conservative leader in Canada have been enhanced by the trucker protests, criticized a government that is too big and bossy in his strong video announcing his bid. Ron DeSantis, the early favorite in a 2024 Republican nomination fight should Trump decide not to run touts the successes of the Free State of Florida.

The issues and the emphases might change, but in conservative politics, freedom is unlikely ever to go out of style.

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Opinion | How Canadian Truckers Brought Peace to the GOP's Warring Tribes - POLITICO

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Bill Gates Says Yet Another Pandemic Is Coming – Futurism

Posted: February 19, 2022 at 10:05 pm

Image by Getty / Futurism

Its not even March yet and 2022 is already exhausting. Another pandemic on the way when the one were in isnt yet over? it sounds terrifying, but mega billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said we should be getting ready for just that. Gates spoke at Germanys annual Munich Security Conference on Friday and told reporters risk of severe disease from Covid-19 have dramatically reduced, but that a future pandemic is a near certainty.

Well have another pandemic, Gates told CNBCin a video of the conference. It will be a different pathogen next time.

Gates, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, worked with the U.K.s Wellcome Trust and donated $300 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The goal is to deliver vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, but Gates says its too also late to reach the World Health Organizations goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the global population by mid-2022. Were coming close though, because 61.9 percent has received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to CNBC.

Gates said in the future, we need to prepare much more quickly for pandemics and roll out new vaccines in six months instead of setting goals over a two-year period.

The cost of being ready for the next pandemic is not that large. Its not like climate change, Gates told CNBC. If were rational, yes, the next time well catch it early.

While it sounds scary to think about a new pandemic, the course of human history backs up Gates claims. Diseases come and go, like the flu pandemic of 1918, and they adapt variants over time. It may seem a little strange that a computer company co-founder and certified nerd is the one pushing for healthcare around the world, but Gates has always been a complicated figure. In addition to very recent, public divorce with Melinda Gates that involved allegations of infidelity, Gates also has ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has been the subject of an untold number of COVID conspiracy theories.

He mentioned some of those conspiracies in a blog post promoting his upcoming book How to Prevent the Next Pandemic.

In the book, I lay out the specific steps we can take to not only stop future pandemics but, in the process, provide better health care for everyone around the world, Gates wrote in the post. I outline what its been like to become the subject of conspiracy theories.

Its kinda concerning that the worlds pandemic preparedness is falling to a less-than-perfect billionaire tech founder, but hey, somebodys got to do it. The current US administration doesnt seem to be in the business of preventing the next pandemic it cant even get everyone to take the vaccines currently available so we guess Gates interventions are better than nothing.

More on future illness: Scientists Warn That Terrorists Could Release a Horrifying New Virus

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Bill Gates Says Yet Another Pandemic Is Coming - Futurism

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What Is The Most Futuristic Car On Sale Today? – CarScoops

Posted: at 10:05 pm

Humans love looking towards the future and while many had predicted that we would all be piloting flying cars by now, there are still plenty of futuristic cars on the market right now. But which is the most futuristic of them all?

Of course, the term futuristic can refer to something using cutting-edge technology or perhaps featuring a bold, never-before-seen design and in an age of electrification, were starting to see car manufacturers push the boundaries of both technology and design. Whatever you consider to be futuristic, we want to hear from you below.

First Drive: The 2022 Kia EV6 Is The New EV Benchmark

While thinking about some of the most futuristic cars currently on sale (not including concept cars), one car that immediately jumps to mind is the Hyundai Ioniq 5. It is underpinned by the automakers E-GMP platform and features an 800-volt architecture, which is the most up-to-date system being used by EVs. Then theres the exterior design which has some retro-design influences but manages to look more like a spaceship than it does a typical automobile. The Ioniq 5s siblings, the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60, are also very futuristic.

Another car that jumps to mind when thinking about the most futuristic vehicles on sale is the Lucid Air. It goes one step further than the Ioniq 5 by using a 900-volt architecture and also pushes the boundaries with both its unconventional exterior and interior designs.

A number of other high-performance EVs jump to mind when thinking about the most futuristic cars on sale. These include the likes of the Lotus Evija, Pininfarina Battista, and Rimac Nevera. At the other end of the spectrum is the Hyundai Staria which doesnt have the most advanced powertrain but certainly has a futuristic exterior design.

There are also a host of very futuristic cars coming out of China, none more so than the Human Horizons HiPhi X, and all-electric crossover/SUV and MPV-mix thats all-electric and available with a 96 kWh battery pack. Not only is the overall shape of the HiPhi X very intriguing but it also pushes the boundaries with complex front and rear lighting arrays. The interior is also very futuristic, thanks in part to the use of a complex digital instrument cluster, a portrait-oriented infotainment screen, and a large display directly in front of the front passenger.

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What Is The Most Futuristic Car On Sale Today? - CarScoops

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Elon Musk Reveals Dogecoin Will Be Accepted at Tesla’s New Futuristic Diner, Drive-in Theater Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News

Posted: at 10:05 pm

Elon Musk has revealed that Teslas upcoming futuristic diner and drive-in theater, planned for the Hollywood area, will accept the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. The electric car company currently accepts DOGE for some merchandise on its website.

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk tweeted about future dogecoin payment acceptance Friday in reply to a tweet by developer Ryan Zohoury, who said a new Tesla supercharger station in Santa Monica, California, is almost full 10 minutes after it opened.

The Tesla boss tweeted, And futuristic diner / drive-in theater planned for Hollywood area. He added in a follow-up tweet:

And, of course, you can pay in Doge.

At press time, the Tesla CEO has not clarified what exactly customers can pay for with the meme cryptocurrency. Some people assume that Tesla supercharger stations will accept dogecoin while others interpreted Musks tweet as applicable to only the upcoming diner and drive-in theater in the Hollywood area.

Nonetheless, Dogecoins supporters welcome Musks plan to further the adoption of the meme cryptocurrency.

The price of dogecoin, however, is fairly unaffected by this news. At the time of Musks tweet, DOGE was trading at $0.1417 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. While the price did subsequently rise slightly to $0.1450, it fell to $0.1411 at the time of writing.

In January, Tesla began accepting dogecoin for some merchandise. Musk then tried to get McDonalds to accept DOGE by offering to eat a Happy Meal on television. However, the famous fast-food chain replied, only if Tesla accepts grimacecoin.

Musk, a longtime dogecoin supporter, is sometimes known in the crypto community as the Dogefather. The Tesla boss believes that DOGE is the peoples crypto and previously revealed that many people he talked to at Tesla and Spacex owned dogecoin. He said that dogecoin is the best crypto for transactions while bitcoin is more suitable as a store of value.

What do you think about Tesla expanding its dogecoin adoption? Let us know in the comments section below.

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Elon Musk Reveals Dogecoin Will Be Accepted at Tesla's New Futuristic Diner, Drive-in Theater Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

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MIT Researcher: Don’t Ignore the Possibility That AI Is Becoming Conscious – Futurism

Posted: at 10:05 pm

Amid a maelstrom set off by a prominent AI researcher saying that some AI may already be achieving limited consciousness, one MIT AI researcher is saying the concept might not be so far-fetched.

Our story starts with Ilya Sutskever, head scientist at the Elon Musk cofounded research group OpenAI. On February 9, Sutskever tweetedthat it may be that todays large neural networks are slightly conscious.

In response, many others in the AI research space decried the OpenAI scientists claim, suggesting that it was harming machine learnings reputation and amounted to little more than a sales pitch for OpenAIs work.

That backlash has now generated its own clapback from MIT computer scientist Tamay Besiroglu, whos now bucking the trend by coming to Sutskevers defense.

Seeing so many prominent [machine learning] folks ridiculing this idea is disappointing, Besiroglu tweeted. It makes me less hopeful in the fields ability to seriously take on some of the profound, weird and important questions that theyll undoubtedly be faced with over the next few decades.

I dont actually think we can draw a clear line between models that are not conscious vs maybe slightly conscious,' he said in a followup message. Im also not sure any of these models are conscious.

That said, I do think the question could be a meaningful one that shouldnt just be neglected, he added.

While fears of conscious computers go as far back as the infamous Maschinenmensch in 1927s Metropolis,researchers have repeatedly punted on the concept, saying that it was too far in the future to worry about just yet and that in any case, misuses of less advanced AI are already widespread.

That stance explains much of the pushback to Sutskevers claim, which represented one of the first times acredible AI researcher hinted that their creation may have gained some consciousness of its own.

OpenAI which Sutskever cofounded alongside Musk and the groups current CEO Sam Altman has in recent years gained notoriety for making GPT-3, a sophisticated text generating algorithm thats caused controversy after users exploited it in some pretty grotesque ways.

AI has advanced so rapidly in recent years that many humans, whose advanced intelligence capabilities evolved many tens of thousands of years ago, seem to be struggling with the dizzying concept of conscious computers.

If nothing else, this iteration of the conscious AI debate could well be pushing the boundaries of what constitutes consciousness and may, ultimately, play a role in how we come to define it.

Updated with comment from Besiroglu and to remove a facetious tweet.

More on the debate:Researchers Furious Over Claim That AI Is Already Conscious

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MIT Researcher: Don't Ignore the Possibility That AI Is Becoming Conscious - Futurism

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PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Flying Cars – CBS Pittsburgh

Posted: at 10:05 pm

That's A Wrap: Feb. 18, 2022That's a wrap for this week on PTL!

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Ford CaresPTL's Mikey Hood talks with Joseph Thurby, the chairman of the Neighborhood Ford Store, about all of their Ford Cares initiatives.

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Child Safety Seat InstallationPTL's Mikey Hood learns the proper way to install a child safety seat into a vehicle from Pennsylvania State Trooper Melinda Bondarenka.

Mikey's Car Maintenance Tips: Check Your WipersMikey's Car Maintenance Tips from the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Bronco SimulatorPTL's Celina Pompeani tries out the Bronco Simulator at the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Flying CarsPTL's Daisy Jade talks with Sheryl Connelly, a Ford Corporate Futurist, about what's coming next in the auto industry.

Mikey's Car Maintenance Tips: Check Tire PSIMikey's Car Maintenance Tips from the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

Mikey's Car Maintenance Tips: Check Your TreadsMikey's Car Maintenance Tips from the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Women In TechnologyPTL's Mikey Hood meets Gracie Reinsel, a local young woman who is breaking down stereotypes as a vehicle technician at Crivelli Ford.

Mikey's Car Maintenance Tips: Dashboard LightsMikey's Car Maintenance Tips from the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Ford LightningPTL's Celina Pompeani and Daisy Jade get a closer look at the all-new Ford Lightning.

Mikey's Car Maintenance Tips: Check Your LightsMikey's Car Maintenance Tips from the Pittsburgh Auto Show.

Pittsburgh Today Live: Feb. 18, 2022 (Pt. 2)Pittsburgh Today Live's Heather Abraham and David Highfield catch up on all the latest happenings and preview what's coming up on the show.

Pittsburgh Today Live: Feb. 18, 2022 (Pt. 1)Pittsburgh Today Live's Heather Abraham and David Highfield catch up on all the latest happenings and preview what's coming up on the show.

Something Good: Way To Go, Upper St. Clair Students!The STEM team from Upper St. Clair is being recognized as part of the REACH Challenge!

Black History Month: Freedom House Ambulance ServiceBlack History Month: A closer look at the historic Freedom House Ambulance Service!

The Benefits Of HypnotherapyPTL's Daisy Jade visits the office of Amy Lynn Walsh, a certified hypnotherapist, to find out the benefits of treatment.

Kidsburgh: Looking Ahead To Summer FunKidsburgh Ambassador Yu-Ling Behr is looking ahead to summertime and kid-friendly fun!

PTL Weekend Guide: Feb. 17, 2022Pittsburgh Magazine's Sean Collier has a look at some of the events going on around town this weekend!

XGolf Offers Fantasy Golfing ExperiencePTL's Celina Pompeani heads to the XGolf facility in Wexford. It's a place where you can hit the links even in the wintertime.

Pittsburgh Today Live Chat: Feb. 17, 2022Pittsburgh Today Live's Heather Abraham and David Highfield catch up on all the latest happenings and preview what's coming up on the show.

Black History Month: Pittsburgh Courier And 'Double V'Black History Month: The history of the Pittsburgh Courier's Double V campaign.

Something Good: Zamboni DriverA local young woman has become the first female Zamboni driver ever at the RMU Island Sports Complex!

Eye On Health: Health Care Fraud, Waste And AbusePTL's Celina Pompeani is talking with representatives from Highmark Health about protecting yourself from health care fraud, waste and abuse.

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PTL At The Pittsburgh Auto Show: Flying Cars - CBS Pittsburgh

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Scientists Warn That New AI-Generated Faces Are Seen as More Trustworthy Than Real Ones – Futurism

Posted: at 10:05 pm

This could be a problem.Canny Valley

As if the possibility that AI might already be conscious wasnt creepy enough, researchers have announced that AI-generated faces have become so sophisticated that many people think theyre more trustworthy than actual humans.

A pair of researchers discovered that a neural network dubbed StyleGAN2 is capable of creating faces indistinguishable from the real thing, according to a press release from Lancaster University. In fact, in a jarring twist, participants seemed to find AI-generated faces more trustworthy than the faces of actual people.

Our evaluation of the photo realism of AI-synthesized faces indicates that synthesis engines have passed through the uncanny valley and are capable of creating faces that are indistinguishable and more trustworthy than real faces, the researchers, who will be publishing a paper of their findings in the journal PNAS, said in the release.

As part of the study, the team asked participants to rate the faces on a scale of one to seven for trustworthiness, with one being least trustworthy. On average, the synthetic faces were perceived as seven percent more trustworthy than normal ones.

Of course, theres a whole host of grim implications behind the teams findings, including the fact that it could open the door for even more sophisticated deepfaked images and videos that are indistinguishable from reality.More worrisome, though, is the specter that it might cast doubt on real photos and videos.

Perhaps most pernicious is the consequence that in a digital world in which any image or video can be faked, the authenticity of any inconvenient or unwelcome recording can be called into question, the researchers said.

READ MORE: AI Generated Faces Are More Trustworthy Than Real Faces Say Researchers Who Warn of Deep Fakes [Lancaster University]

More on deepfakes: NSFW: Gaze Upon the Horrid Melting Flesh of Neural Network Porn

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