technology
TagFunding for Work on Technologies to Improve Reasoning in Government Intelligence
Steven Rieber, a former philosopher who is now a program manager at Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), a part of the United States government’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is heading up a new research program that might be of interest to philosophers. (more…)
Philosophy, AI, and Society Listserv
Philosophy, AI, and Society (PAIS) is a listserv that aims to “connect philosophers working on AI and related digital technologies, with a particular focus on their societal dimensions.” (more…)
Technology and the Near Future
Apropos last week’s “We’re Not Ready for the AI on the Horizon, But People Are Trying,” here is economist and policy analyst Samuel Hammond on what the near future holds: (more…)
We’re Not Ready for the AI on the Horizon, But People Are Trying
Ongoing developments in artifical intelligence, particularly in AI linguistic communication, will affect various aspects of our lives in various ways. We can’t foresee all of the uses to which technologies such as large language models (LLMs) will be put, nor all of the consequences of their employment. But we can reasonably say the effects will be significant, and ..
Two Cultures of Philosophy: AI Edition
Up for discussion: the following two claims (along with their presuppositions, ambiguities, etc). (more…)
If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them: GPT-3 Edition
“How to deal with GPT-3-written essays? Instead of scolding students not to use it, we ask them to generate a ten, choose the best one, and explain why. Unless they have a paid account, the word-count limit would make it impossible to use GPT-3 to also generate the explanation…” (more…)
Philosophers on the Internet
In today’s irony report, Daily Nous editor Justin Weinberg, who mere days ago announced he would be taking a break from the website, has returned to it to post about, of all things, philosophers on the internet. (more…)
Vallor Wins Covey Award
Shannon Vallor, professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, holder of the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the university’s Edinburgh Futures Institute, and director of its Centre for Technomoral Futures, has been named the winner of the 2022 Covey Award. (more…)
Tech Advice for a New Philosophy Grad Student
A student who will be entering a philosophy PhD program in the fall is seeking advice about hardware and software for his studies. (more…)
Multi-Million Euro Award for Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence
Vincent C. Müller, currently professor of philosophy and ethics of technology at the Technical University of Eindhoven, was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship to support his work on the philosophy of artificial intelligence. (more…)
New Plug-In Improves the SEP Experience
Because the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) is such a valuable philosophical resource, some have been inspired to make it possible for others to work with it in new ways. (more…)
The Philosopher’s Archive in the Digital Age: David Lewis and His Correspondence (guest post)
“There are both intellectual and practical questions here. On the intellectual side, a major question is how the medium of email affects the communication and discussion of philosophical ideas… On the practical side… how do we approach the job of preserving a philosopher’s emails after her death, assuming there is sufficient scholarly interest in her corresponde..
Will the Next Philosophy Book You Acquire Be an E-Book? (with poll)
In a recent article at The Atlantic, Ian Bogost (author, game designer, and professor of computer science & engineering at Washington University in St. Louis) explains why he doesn’t like electronic books, or e-books (or ebooks). (more…)
Philosophy and Extended Reality Technologies
What can extended reality (XR) technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) bring to the study of philosophy? (more…)
Shaping the AI Revolution In Philosophy (guest post)
“Despite the great promise of AI, we maintain that unless philosophers theorize about and help develop philosophy-specific AI, it is likely that AI will not be as philosophically useful.” (more…)
A Philosophical Look at the Tech Companies You Use
A philosopher who specializes in questions about technology and a Silicon Valley executive with a Ph.D. in philosophy have a conversation.
Building A Better “Which Philosopher Are You Most Similar To?” Quiz
There are various silly little quizzes across the internet claiming to be able to tell you which famous philosopher you most agree with, but as far as I know, philosophy does not have something like Chris Said’s “Which Famous Economist Are You Most Similar To?” (more…)
“Hey Sophi”, or How Much Philosophy Will Computers Do?
While we have seen increased use of computing in philosophy over the past two decades, the continued development of computational sophistication and power, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies, suggest that philosophers in the near future could do more philosophy through computers, or outsource various philosophical tasks to compute..
The High Production Quality/Low Cost Future of Philosophy Education?
Here are three trends in higher education: (more…)
New: Virtual Publisher Showcases at the APA (guest post)
One of the pleasures of the divisional meetings of the American Philosophical Association (APA) is browsing the book displays. With the pandemic forcing the Eastern Division meeting online, it seemed like that wouldn’t be possible. Yet constraints can inspire innovation, and that is what has happened here. (more…)
From Maps to Apps: Introducing Students to Argument-Mapping (guest post)
In the following guest post*, Chad Mohler, professor of philosophy at Truman State University, describes a cool new argument-mapping app he has created and shares a special offer with Daily Nous readers. (more…)
Site Maintenance
Daily Nous will be undergoing some maintenance this week which may result in some pages being unavailable and fewer new posts and links than usual. (more…)
Zoom Censors Online Session on Zoom Censorship
“We Will Not Be Silenced,” an academic webinar about Zoom’s decision to cancel an earlier academic webinar, was canceled by Zoom. (more…)
Computer Simulation as “Core Philosophical Method”
“Modeling and computer simulations, we claim, should be considered core philosophical methods.” (more…)
Oxford Launches Institute for Ethics in AI with Team of Philosophers
Oxford University is bringing on three philosophy professors, two philosophy postdoctoral fellows, and two philosophy graduate students to comprise the initial academic team for its new Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence. (more…)
C$2 Million Gift to McGill Philosophy for Technology & Human Nature Professorship
The Department of Philosophy at McGill University received C$2 million (approximately $1.5 million) donation to establish an endowed chair in philosophy of technology. (more…)
Yes, There’s Still Time to Design an Excellent Fall Course (guest post by Paul Blaschko)
It’s almost August (sorry!). Do you know what you are doing in your courses this fall? Don’t panic. Paul Blaschko is back with another guest post* to explain how you still have time to put together a great course. (more…)
Hybrid & Online Teaching: Four Helpful Workshops
Julia Staffel, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Zak Kopeikin, a new graduate of the PhD program there, recently conducted four online workshops on hybrid and online teaching, sharing what they know about online teaching strategies and technology to save others the time and trouble of researching and figuring out various o..