I started writing this one while Mr. Kundera was still alive. He has since passed on, but his legacy will exist forever in history as a moment as fixed as the Big Bang itself. I hope my tribute to him and his novel does justice to his work.Music by OB-LIX, Zakhar Valaha, Aleksey Chistilin, and Yevhen Onoychenko from Pixabay

Tony Talks Back: Philosophy and Literature ⁠https://linktr.ee/tonytalksback ⁠

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Progress is speeding up even as the world barrels toward one of innumerable disasters. What lies ahead, and what should we do when we get there? In the best-case scenario, we may still have control over our direction.

Tony Talks Back: Philosophy and Literature ⁠https://linktr.ee/tonytalksback ⁠

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Music credits:

"Half Mystery" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Hypnothis" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Deliberate Thought" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

It's a great day for an existential crisis! What are the odds that you ever existed at all? Find that out and more on our latest foray into the insanity of existence!

Tony Talks Back: Philosophy and Literature ⁠https://linktr.ee/tonytalksback ⁠

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References:

Nick Bostrom AI TED Talk

https://youtu.be/MnT1xgZgkpk

All Tomorrows episode inspiration (not directly related)-

https://youtu.be/YbuulUQzHRU

Deepmind destroying Atari -

https://www.infoq.com/news/2020/05/deepmind-ai-atari/

Warming cities -

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2017/nov/03/three-degree-world-cities-drowned-global-warming

The following music was used for this media project:

Music: Relaxing Piano Improvisation by Alexander Nakarada

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5978-relaxing-piano-improvisation

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/

Music: Evacuation by Sascha Ende

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8118-evacuation

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.sascha-ende.de

Music: Journey Of Hope by Alexander Nakarada

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4718-journey-of-hope

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/

There is little doubt in my mind that artificial intelligence is the most fascinating, utterly confusing, and potentially dangerous development mankind will go through. In the near future, we will need to face ethical questions of such kind as, do we grant personhood to AI? How do we determine who qualifies as a person and therefore is afforded ‘human rights’? What restrictions, if any, are necessary on personhood and artificial intelligence to ensure the flourishing and continuation of life?What I believe lies at the very heart of this discussion, is consciousness. Consciousness as subjective experience of the world seems to be more or less how we determine right from wrong. We find it immoral to cause harm to a subjectively experiencing entity, from babies to puppies, so long as we agree that they are in fact capable of subjective experience. Will AI develop this felt experience? And how will we tell?These questions, and more, I hope to address in this new series. Take care guys.

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Quite a messy episode. Freedom of speech is messy. Even so, I hope to convince you of the truth of what Voltaire stood for.

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Links-

Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance:

https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/voltaire1763.pdf

Life and times of Voltaire:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/

Voltaire's Candide:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm

Hong Kong autonomy:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-retreats-from-50-year-pledge-of-Hong-Kong-autonomy2

Mao ZeDong's sparrow drive:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422018800259

Whorf hypothesis:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/sapir-whorf-hypothesis

George Orwell's 1984:

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt

Music credits:

Waltz (Tschikovsky Op. 40) by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4605-waltz-tschikovsky-op-40-

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Pride by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4239-pride

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Leaving Home by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4708-leaving-home

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

As with many of Plato's works, it is legitimately impossible to overstate the impact and significance of Plato's Republic on our society, development, and life in general. As I explore the smallest fraction of the wisdom within, I relay and relate my thoughts on the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building of the United States of America. Perhaps there is something we can learn from Plato that may help us through this time. Or perhaps not. But if there is even the slightest chance that something can save our republic, I believe it is absolutely worth a try.

Read Plato's Republic at Project Gutenberg:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm

Tony Talks Back: Philosophy and Literature ⁠https://linktr.ee/tonytalksback ⁠

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Music credits:

Relent by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4274-relent

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Canon In D For Two Renaissance Harps by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6958-canon-in-d-for-two-renaissance-harps

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Energizing by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments

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License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Adding The Sun by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5708-adding-the-sun

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Truth in the Stones by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments

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License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license