☆ Book rec's: Philosophy profs on what makes a whole, wise person in today's Silicon Valley (part 1)
The artificially intelligent Dall-E takes a stab, above, at an abstract depiction of “humanness.”
In this year's bustling election cycle, it's been easy to plow forward and lose sight of who we are and what we value. Below, philosophy professors from UCSB and USF invite us to slow down—flip through books both present-day and as ancient as philosophy itself. Their Opp Now exclusive recommendations (below) explore how AI makes us rethink our humanity, if Daosim informs effective governance, and more.
Colin Allen, UC Santa Barbara philosophy distinguished professor: I guess I’ll recommend Shannon Vallor’s book “The AI Mirror,” which delves into the dangers of losing sight of specifically human qualities because we are seduced by the way in which the machines provide a reflection of certain aspects of our own cognition.
The lesson for California political leaders is the importance of not buying into “superhuman intelligence” hype. Yes, AI is better than us at some tasks (even “superhuman” with respect to specific tasks), but this does not mean these systems have generally superhuman intelligence. Vallor is worried that their capacities tempt us to ignore and even devalue those aspects of ourselves that AI does not reflect, and leads some people to think that we ourselves are nothing more than statistical pattern recognizers and generators. She also has a piece that covers some of the same ground in a much shorter format.
Michael Dufresne, University of San Francisco philosophy fellow and adjunct professor: There are too many great texts from around the world to recommend; but one that is certainly worth reading at some point is the “Daodejing” (or “Laozi”), which is short, insightful, and densely packed with wisdom on sagely governance. Conveniently, it is also available in a number of wonderful English translations, all of which provide unique interpretations of this Daoist classic.
Moreover, given the breadth of philosophical works available, I would also recommend Peter Adamson's podcast “History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps,” along with “History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China.” Together, these podcasts offer brief yet in-depth analyses of the world's major philosophical thinkers and traditions.
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