Created Equal

A clever multi-field science fellow noted the non-verbal components of human interaction ... and taught a robot how to do them!

The eyebrow lift and forward lean that means interest, the cross-torso arm movements that defends against.  The robot was a winner in experiments with people; they felt like it really understood ...

Beyond that, others have experimented with robot detection and response to those human expressions, even learning from them.  That's a robot learning(!!!) from human expression and discovering acceptable behavior in the social context illuminated from the expressions only!   What a fascinating opportunity for a foray into the unknown.

Intriguing questions emerge about the significance of artificial intelligence and how it compares to its human counterpart.

Will we eventually create our equals?

Robots are programmed, of course.  Humans are programmed as well after a fashion.

In us, there are the programmed basics of breathing and heartbeat; things that are built in before birth that we don't have to learn.  Then there are things we learn over time (we're being programmed?) like skills and facts and behavioral norms.  Some are difficult things to learn like grammar or roller skating or driving a car, but once acquired they require little thought.

Are we all directed along rigid lines by the past, programming over which we have had no control?  Or is there in humans a different element than what might be possible in a machine?

The relevant question for which science currently has no adequate answer involves the nature of our mind as a computational center. Does it function according to programming?  

    Of course.  

Does that therefore suggest that we are on a fixed path according to our programming?

     Of course.

Are we then safe in assuming we have neither choice nor free will to choose against our programming.

     That would be the only logical follow-on, and in its narrowness and implications, it's a bit troublesome.  

As we observe our own minds, we are each persuaded we have a choice.  I will or I won't.  I should because ..., so....
We recognize the limits of our culture, our education, and our own sensibilities, but we're still persuaded that within those real constraints, we can choose.

If we are programmed and without choice, we have no culpability in any harm we might do.  Neither do we have any claim to virtue in the good we might do.

The question of free will ... ranks amongst the three or four most important philosophical problems of all time.

It ramifies into ethics, theology, metaphysics, and psychology. The view adopted in response to it will determine a man's position in regard to the most momentous issues that present themselves to the human mind. On the one hand, does man possess genuine moral freedom, power of real choice, true ability to determine the course of his thoughts and volitions, to decide which motives shall prevail within his mind, to modify and mould his own character? Or, on the other, are man's thoughts and volitions, his character and external actions, all merely the inevitable outcome of his circumstances? Are they all inexorably predetermined in every detail along rigid lines by events of the past, over which he himself has had no sort of control? This is the real import of the free-will problem.

 ~NewAdvent.Org

  

From Free Will by Sam Harris

A belief in free will touches everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality - as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement - without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. Yet science today suggests that free will is an illusion.

Will we eventually create our equals?  Or is there something about humanity that isn't programmable? The immediate future will not likely provide us an answer that resolves the debate.  The diverse positions among scientists, philosophers, and the general public suggest many hold positions of preference rather than of evidence and objective reasoning.  Serious inquiry elicits emotional intensity and fear on many fronts.  Soon though; soon.  We'll need to understand our own position in the melee.

Curious what scholars say on the subject?
Here's the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the free will.

... do you have moral freedom, the power to choose? Can you choose the course of your thoughts? Can you decide which motives will prevail within your mind?  Can you deliberately modify and mould your own character?

Good news; we can.  Of course.
There are many things for which science
 has as yet no explanation. From art to music
to love and the unplumbed depths of
nonverbal content, little insight is
 offered by the supposed
computation process.

Engulfed in Flames

Beginning with Louis XIV, France is the European superpower. Embarking on a series of wars that overextended their resources, the thousand-year old kingdom of France is in financial trouble. Tax revenues are inadequate to cover the cost. How did they solve the problem?

With the highest national tax rate among the countries of Europe at the time, France still spent half of the budget servicing their debt.

The king's advisers were fired, one after another, for recommending an equitable tax reform. Finally with the king's consent, the controller general of finance, Charles de Calonne, recommended France begin taxing the previously exempt nobility. The nobility refused, even after Calonne pleaded with them during the Assembly of Notables in 1787. None of the wealthy were willing step up and pay their share of the cost to have a governed country.

In desperation, the king called for a meeting of the ancient Estates-General whom he hoped would resolve the national crisis. The 'three estates' were the aristocracy, the clergy, and everybody else, the first two being tax exempt, and each estate having but one vote.

How did they solve the problem?  They didn't, and it didn't work out well for them.  As the wealthy isolated themselves in luxury, they were engulfed in the flames of revolution in 1789.
 

King Louis XV's comment, après moi le déluge, ("After me, the deluge,") predicting the revolution to come.  It was both visible and avoidable, but without change it was inevitable.

The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society was shattered; class-based privilege evaporated as persistent masses in the streets and peasants in the countryside fought back.  The death toll: 16,594 were executed by guillotine, and 25,000 more summarily executed across the country.  The monarchy, aristocracy, and religious leaders were summarily cast aside to eventually be replaced by new principles of liberté, égalité, fraternité  (liberty, equality, and brotherhood).  Referred to as, "The Reign of Terror," it was not a peaceful transition.  More than a century would pass with the country in upheaval and war.

So, the lesson of history...

The government favored the wealthy, and working folks carried the burden.

None of the wealthy were willing to pay their share of the cost.  Instead they rode on the back of the working class, and the country went down the drain.  

So the 99% got angry over unequal treatment and they fought for change.  The country fell apart and they spent decades rebuilding it from scratch.  

Is that the lesson?  Nah, couldn't be.  Congress would tell us if it was.  They're smart, and they watch out for us regular folks and for our country.

Gabby Douglas and her hair!

 

Stunning!  Absolutely perfect.  Breathtaking!  Extraordinary precision and power. 

All are descriptors a serious gymnast might deeply appreciate.  After years of preparation for which there is no adequate description of the demands and sacrifice, sixteen year-old Gabby Douglas exploded onto the international stage as a champion.  She thrilled the world! 

A side-conversation erupted almost immediately on twitter and elsewhere even before the competition was over.  Criticism of her hair was rather wide-spread.  Her hair?  Thousands, then tens of thousands of comments about her hair.

As a guy, to me this makes no sense at all.  She's in a high-intensity physical routine, and her hair just needs to stay out of the way.  Guys like me don't care or even notice such things beyond the 'out of the way' requirement.  Apparently, though, it was a matter of some concern to others.

Interestingly, some of the roots for such comments are perhaps traceable.

From Lauren McEwen in the Washington Post,

"..., the insecurities that would lead a middle-aged black woman to hiss her teeth at the thought of a black female Olympian with less-than magnificent hair became so easy to understand. 

They are the same insecurities that cause my (usually very enlightened) mother to act like a wrinkled shirt is the end of the world. She doesn't want me to go out in the world (read: in front of white people) looking messy. Not only does she want me to perform well, she wants me to look good doing it – to leave no room for the criticism that she feared growing up in the 1960’s."

Suddenly, I remember.  I grew up white through the 50's and 60's.  I remember those years fondly until I remember the 'white' and 'colored' water fountains at the store.  The "criticism that she feared" was all too present.

Curious how many generations it takes to get beyond such a wicked root?  All from the thought that one person might somehow be above another just because of color or race or class.

You've spoken of being the target of bullying and racism in your gym in Virginia and also growing up. How did you deal with that?
"It was a long time ago. It was very painful to be made fun of, but I have a forgiving heart, I forgive them, and I've moved past that."

Gabby Douglas and her Olympic championship are all the more spectacular;  I smile as I think about it.  We're so proud of her, of her family, of her community, and of her nation as it continues to progress.  

She's more than a champion.  She's an inspiration and role model and the leading edge of the good for which we all hope.  Thanks, Gabby.

Now there are no longer insiders and outsiders, upper and lower, black or white or brown or whatever, just the one human race, thank you Father.

UPDATE:  Summer Olympics 2016, she's still incredible and shines brightly among the many she's inspired.

The Grocery Bill

The thrifty plan for a family of four is $146 a week, according to this month's USDA report.  A liberal plan is calculated to be $289.  The numbers are generated as a baseline for determining food assistance levels.

At the beachfront, fishermen bring in their catch of small fish.  

The larger fish are rare these days having been depleted by
 wealthy countries fishing illegally in African waters.

Breadfruit; tastes like a
foam-rubber pillow, but
it's a staple.

In most of the world, that much money would be such a blessing.  For 80% of humanity, the typical family will have a total income that's too small to cover the thrifty plan.

An income of $65 per month is common, and food is not inexpensive.  The all too common result is malnourished children and hungry families.

The pictures here are from a more fortunate country; the climate is tropical and the land is fertile.  For much of sub-Saharan Africa, it's more difficult.

The capital city's marketplace 

The commonly low income isn't due to a lack of effort. Most folks work harder and longer hours than folks in the developed world. Chores for children occupy a portion of every day and often conflict with school. Even places that have clean water still require someone to carry it to the house.

Most folks live simply, most often in houses they build themselves.  Their hope is for staying healthy and feeding their children.  Both are increasingly difficult tasks in a now-global economy dominated by billion-dollar plays in the international finance market.  The price they pay for corn meal is determined in Chicago, New York, and London financial districts.

There are reasons to be thankful if you're living in the developed world, and there are opportunities to be a help-bringer here and elsewhere.  Ask.

World at War

Curious how the war is progressing?

Now that the developed world controls the global marketplace, the impact on the lesser developed nations has become troublesome.  It took about three centuries.  

In terms of population and income, 80% of the world lives on less than one-fifth of the developed world's norm. If that weren't distressing enough, we find that it's getting progressively worse. Note the rate of progress among the nations.

Governments serve the financial industry and transnational corporations.  That's how we arrive at statistics like those shown here.  Most banks in the developed world are larger in capital and influence than all the nations at the bottom of the list, and the banks have no accountability for the damage they do.

The war?  Apparently it's a contest between those who have and those who don't.  For now, the 'haves' are winning, and the losers are dying at more than a thousand times the western rate from things like tuberculosis, diarrhea, and malaria; all easily dealt with in an equitable economy.

How might an individual of character and conscience respond?  What would they add to their life purpose and goals?

Short attention span ...

The quantity of information we face in any given day is just too much, almost a technological curse.  I can, therefore obviously I should glance at a dozen web articles, even if I'll forget the first before I finish the second.

I'm compelled.  A thousand times a day, important things cross my view, info-noise which doesn't stick, but it does certainly dilute my attention.

I used to read books when I was younger. Big books, college library stuff, that took weeks to get through, and if they were really thought provoking, I'd read chapters more than once.  They informed me, shaped my thinking, required me to struggle with implications and to make decisions.

Today, if I'm not careful, I'll cover that much ground in an hour, and little if anything will remain after the high-speed fly-by.  Such a flood of knowledge without thoughtful consideration is trivia and without benefit.  It isn't even knowledge, really; more like entertainment, passing the time.

Today, a person is subjected to more new information in a day than a person in the middle ages in his entire life.  Unbelievable.

Fortunately, I have thoughtful friends who give me good books that, once begun, I have to finish. One or two every year or so; it's enough to remind me that thinking is required; and decisions.  It's a bit of a delicate balance, isn't it.  We're having to learn to manage our goals and priorities while living on the flood plain.

Is there a central focus in our lives?
   Is there that which provokes us, empassions us?
       Can we selectively channel this incredible information pipeline so that we move forward?

What are we going to do with what we know?     It's quite an invitation to adventure when you think about it.

Tell the rich folks to quit being so full of themselves and so impressed with their own possessions, which are here today and gone tomorrow. It's not their merit that made them wealthy and others less so. Tell them to go after God who is generous to us all - and tell them to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasure that will last, gaining life that is truly life.


1 Timothy 6:17-19