Our species is truly awful.

I saw a video that won’t leave me, of male chicks being tossed alive into a burning container because they are no use to the egg industry. Because people like eating eggs and egg products. This is worse than seeing chicks chucked onto a conveyor that drops them into a grinder, that, at least, is… Continue reading Our species is truly awful.

Lives of my forebears

I often think about how improbable my existence is but, more importantly, all those who went before, to get me here. No rich people in my past, although some, relatively recently, were moderately comfortably off, I probably have the most affluent life of my whole line. I believe the 14th century to have been the… Continue reading Lives of my forebears

Bad world

The very young mouse didn’t wake up today expecting to die terrified and in agony. When if woke, it didn’t know the world contained terror and agony.

The threat of Artificial General Intelligence

Reaper drone sits at Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan in 2018. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

Artificial Intelligence (AI) scholar Kate Crawford, discussing the Reith Lecture by Stuart Russell in December 2021, was sceptical that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) could ever be capable of doing everything better than a human, as much of what we do relies upon emotions machines do not possess. Stephen Hawkin predicted AI could be the best… Continue reading The threat of Artificial General Intelligence

Jennie Formby – Please take further, immediate action against hate speech and potential fraud

Dear JennieI have had many conversations with a lot of members, who are supportive of my personal decision to write to you as a matter of urgency, since I believe steps taken to date in respect of serious allegations are not sufficient. Election of a Labour Government in 2017 would have saved and improved lives,… Continue reading Jennie Formby – Please take further, immediate action against hate speech and potential fraud