me myself and AI - the writing dilemma

In the famous Turing test, a human judge determines whether a machine and a person can be told apart on the basis of how they communicate. If the machine can fool the judge, then human specialness can be dismissed.

Light bulbs have energy ratings — so why can’t AI chatbots?

The test is not treated seriously in rigorous philosophy circles, but remains... See more

Banning billionaires would thus be an indirect fix — the more enduring solution lies in reformulating how digital networks are shaping society.

Becker is a fine chronicler and a valuable historian. He traces the roots of transhumanism — a movement advocating the use of technology to enhance human capabilities and surpass biological limits — to Christian theology. The possibility of human–machine hybrids has enabled outspoken atheists to imagine their own version of immortality, involving “... See more

Chatting with AIs has already replaced a lot of brainstorming and mindmapping in my notebook for me. The evolution feels much sharper and more dramatic than the change a 27 years ago, when writing became Google-in-the-loop became the default. I can’t even remember now what it felt like to write without googling things constantly.

AI now promises results without the reckoning, but frictionless creation leads to weightless rewards. No one dreams of merely pushing a button to generate their magnum opus. The struggle is what makes it count, what gives it weight.1

When I contemplate these questions, I encounter a paradox. I acknowledge that my inability to marvel at a live Caruso opera in Naples has cost me something deep and beautiful. But I cannot wish that the phonograph was never invented. Does the increased variety and quantity of music compensate for the decreased profundity of each musical experience?... See more