Latest Journal
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AI Utopia is Hell
The BBC report that an open letter has been signed by more than 1,300 experts saying AI is not an existential threat to humanity; it will be a transformative force for good if we get critical decisions about its development and use right. Those signing the open letter say AI technology is enabling new ways to detect serious illness. It is enabling classifiers which detect cardiac…
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Can, and should, everyone do their own research regarding complex issues such as climate change and public health measures?
Introduction The responsibility and ability of individual citizens to exercise intellectual autonomy by undertaking their own research into highly specialised topics raises some meaningful questions for social epistemology. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this issue stepped out of the lecture-halls and ivory -towers and into the public square. It became one of urgency due to the socio-political effects of science scepticism, and the rejection and…
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When did the first Karma arise?
In hindsight, was the first cause of the first Karma a positive or negative step? Humans have climate change and we edging towards extinction. We are back at the old chicken and egg lark? Did God create creation or did the creatures of creation create God? Who lit the match to set off the Big Bang? Will we ever know? I go to Wikipedia…
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After Cyclone Gabrielle: heartbreak in Wairoa
My only connection to Kiri Allan is that I voted for her at the last election. At the time I was still a registered voter in the East Coast electorate and the lacklustre candidate pool meant that Kiri didn’t need to work too hard to be my pick. She was already established as a Labour list MP and seemed like an okay person –…
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Liz Gunn versus the Fabians
Since the recent launch of Liz Gunn’s new political party, NZ Loyal, I’ve been loyally watching all of her new party political videos, where she’s been laying out her ideas for how she will run the country when she comes to power. They’re extensive and disruptive, and although I’m not an expert I’d wager that they’re totally unworkable. In one of her recent videos,…
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Back to the Battlefield
Assisted Dying – An NZ Perspective The battlefield for the right to die with dignity is still bloody and will be bloodied again. In 2019, the End of Life Choice Act (the Act) was approved by Parliament and then endorsed a year later at a public referendumby 65% of voters. So isn’t that enough? Maybe not unless your particular medical condition is Cancer. Not…
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The Vatican, its Actions and its Apologies
Transcribed by Max Wallace More than 150,000 indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend government-funded Christian schools from the 19thC untilthe 1970s where they were forced to assimilate. Many were sexually abused, and many died. In July 2022 Pope Francis visited Canada to apologise. In a debate concerning the Catholic Church in 2009 Christopher Hitchens outlined the history of the Vatican’s actions and…
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Book Review: The Little Book of Humanism
Edited by Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts London: Piatkus, 2020 The Little Book of Humanism is a small volume of easy summaries and accessible quotations designed as a genial introduction to humanism. It’s been published under the names of Andrew Copson, the Caesar of English humanism, and Alice Roberts, Professor of Public Engagement in Science at Birmingham University and patron of Humanists UK. Dr…
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Using AI algorithms for fun
A little over a year ago I played around with some deep learning software – back then the latest and greatest was OpenAI’s GPT-3, although I also used the older GPT-2 and EleutherAI’s GPT-J-6G. These are all Natural Language Processing algorithms using a Generative Pretrained Transformer – and they work by reading text to learn from, breaking the text down into “tokens” made of…
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The Story of Rationalist House
Without question, the move from Rationalist House will mark the end of an era. For more than sixty years the Association has been based in this grand Edwardian property on Symonds Street. Prior to that, for more than thirty years, the Rationalist Association was based in offices in downtown Auckland. In its early years it used the office in the Ferry Building of G…
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The Closed Society
I want to show you that the Crown is not merely an abstract symbol of our unity but a personal and living bond between you and me. – HM Queen Elizabeth II, Christmas Message, New Zealand 1953 The Queen Is Dead, September 2022. The only thing I have in common with Elizabeth II is a fondness for cute and useless dogs. Yet she and…
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A New Zealand Christian Republic?
There has long been speculation that with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and her replacement by King Charles lll, New Zealand may give more consideration to becoming a republic. Before considering this question there is a point that needs to be made: all regimes, be they Communist, Socialist, Social Democratic, Liberal Democratic, Authoritarian, Theocratic, Military Dictatorship or Fascist, all have a narrative that…
