technology
TagA 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..
Advocating for Tech Firms to Hire Philosophers
I have spent the better half of the last two years trying to convince companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, DeepMind, and OpenAI that they need to hire philosophers. (more…)
Philosophers Win €17.9 Million Grant for Study of the Ethics of Disruptive Technologies
A project on the ethics of socially disruptive technologies, led by Philip Brey, professor of philosophy of technology at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Twente and scientific director of the 4TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology, has received a €17.9 million (approximately $19.6 million) grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Scien..
New Open Access Text On Probability & Decision
Jonathan Weisberg, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, has created a new open-access book on probability and decision-making. It has the brilliant title Odds & Ends. (more…)
Philosopher-Created Research and Productivity Software for Philosophers
Jason Winning, who worked developing commercial database software for medical professionals before recently earning a Ph.D. in philosophy and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, has created a free, open source “personal productivity/database application” designed to be especially useful to philosophers. (more…)
New Group for Philosophers Interested in Software Engineering
Caleb Ontiveros, who left the University of Notre Dame’s PhD program in philosophy to pursue a career in tech, is often asked by people studying philosophy how he transitioned to software engineering and programming. (more…)
New: The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique
There’s a new, open-access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal focusing on philosophy of technology and related fields, with an emphasis on public engagement. (more…)
Why To Discourage Laptops in Class (with slides you can show your students)
You may have seen various articles about how computers and phones in the classroom affect student performance. (more…)
Philanthropy for Philosophy: Fleeting Fad or Fertile Future?
“Are we on the cusp of a philosophy giving golden age?”
Philosophers Lead Academics’ Effort To Restrict Facial Recognition Technology
If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t been thinking much about facial recognition technology. Philosopher Evan Selinger (Rochester Institute of Technology), has, and he thinks we all should be, too, for it poses a serious threat to human welfare. Now he, Peter Asaro (a philosopher at The New School), and others have written an open letter to Amazon CEO Je..
Philosophers Appointed To High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence
The European Commission (EC), which proposes and administers European Union (EU) law and policy, has created a new High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, the aim of which is to advise on the crafting and implementation of the EU’s strategy on artificial intelligence. (more…)
Philosopher to Chair Board Advising UK Parliament Commission on Technology Ethics
Member of Parliament Darren Jones has announced the creation of a Parliamentary Commission on Technology Ethics run by him and fellow MP Lee Rowley. The Commission will work with an advisory board chaired by Luciano Floridi, Oll’s Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at Oxford University. (more…)
Ubermess: Philosophers Discuss the Self-Driving Car Crash
On March 19, 2018 a self-driving Uber car-for-hire struck and killed a pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, in Tempe, Arizona. This was not the first trouble Uber has had with its self-driving cars, nor was it the first fatal crash involving a self-driving car (for example). (more…)
A Game for Gaining Logical Fluency
Matthias Jenny, who recently received his PhD in philosophy from MIT, has started working in the tech industry. He wrote to share with Daily Nous readers a game he created to help people develop basic logical fluency. (more…)
The Growth of Pre-College Philosophy In Ireland
This past year, nearly 60 high schools in Ireland began offering philosophy courses or introducing philosophy modules into existing courses, and the nation’s president, Michael Higgins, launched the Young Philosopher Awards for primary and secondary school students. (more…)
Computer Science Ethics: A Growth Area for Philosophy?
An increasing number of universities across the country are beginning to offer courses in “computer science ethics,” The New York Times reports.