Yuanming Yuan – China, Artificial Intelligence, and the Present Weakness of America

Yuanming Yuan – China, Artificial Intelligence, and the Present Weakness of America

During the Second Opium War, in 1860, a combined force of French and British troops trampled Old Summer Palace (known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan 圆明园; 圓明園) on their way to Beijing. The relatively primitive military forces of the then Qing dynasty could do little to...
The Transhuman Transition – Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters

The Transhuman Transition – Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters

Human nature has always been to gain control over the physical world — both in maximizing its output for our benefit (farming, mining, etc), and in lessening the risks it poses to human life and wellbeing (medicine, construction, etc). This same drive for control...

What Black Mirror’s San Junipero Got Right and Wrong

I’ve been cajoled into watching Netflix’s Black Mirror, and a friend of mine recommended watching the San Junipero episode next. As I mentioned in my last Black Morror reflection, and I didn’t plan on watching anything that wasn’t worth 40...