Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotis" and Machine Metaethics by Susan Leigh Anderson

This essays discusses how we could create Ethical Machines. This is not the same as machines created ethically (as in computer ethics) but machines which could act ethically. For this, Anderson explains how Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are not a got fit. More work needs to be done to develop an ethical framework which could be implemented in robots and AI.

The first part of the essay discusses how, in the Bicentennial Man Asimov rejects his own Three Laws by exposing how they would make a robot a slave. But, how can a robot be a slave if it isn't human? Well, Anderson explains how the story depicting human traits in the robot protagonist reaffirms the fact that it would be inhuman to program robots with the 3 Laws.

The next part of the essay looks into the field of Machine Ethics. First by discussing the concept of Moral Standing in machines. Anderson refers to Tibor Machan who believed that "to have rights it was necessary to be a moral agent, where a moral agent is one who is expected to behave morally". Here instead of telling a story, Anderson quotes a few philosophers' understanding of characteristics a moral agent should have to have rights or to, indeed, be a person. For example, Reason, Sentience or Self-consciousness are discussed. Using all these tools Anderson finishes the essay explaining why the 3 Laws are unsatisfactory.

No to robot slavery <--> robot rights <--> do robots have Moral Standing? <--> characteristics necessary to have Moral Standing

Excellent read for fans of Isaac Asimov.

Robo Sapiens. Tales of Tomorrow by Toranosuke Shimada

Thirteen interconnected short stories about robots. Simple but beautiful art and compelling graphic narrative. This is the kind of read that makes you think on so many what ifs... and which leaves you with questions. How much do we rely on our technology? Would we consider AI (and robots) the next step in human evolution? What would be the difference between posthumans and AI?

No-Cosas (Non-Things) by Byung-Chul Han

This is the Spanish translation but an English version has already been released. 

In this book the author makes a case on how our (excessive) focus on information and communication gives us uncertainty and thereby destabilises us. For this he first explains what “things” are: those tangible, solid, natural things which stabilise human life. Things anchor us and give us identity. In contrast, Non-Things or Information, destabilise us. Digitisation is ending the paradigm of Things. Byung-Chul Han says we do not inhabit earth and sky anymore but Google Earth and the Cloud. Currently “things” are covered with information because of this, they become “Infomats” or information-processing actors.

To explain his points, Byung-Chul Han discusses Smartphones, Selfies and Artificial Intelligence as Non-Things. The smartphone is the main Infomat of our times and has become a sort of prayer book for neoliberal capitalism. The author compares capital neoliberalism (and smartphones) with communism:

• Communism suppresses liberties. Capitalism and smartphones exploit our liberties.
• Communism involves commandments and prohibitions. Smartphones serve our needs.
• Communism makes us docile. Smartphones make us dependent and addicted.
• Communism is repressive. Smartphones are permissive.
• Communism imposes Silence. Smartphones incite communication and sharing of opinions.

Digital photos destroy our magical relationship with photograph. The digital medium transforms light into data, in numerical relationships. Selfies are not made to be kept as an memory token. They are short-lived. Real photographs are natural Things. Digital photographs are instantaneous non-things.

Artificial Intelligence cannot think. It lacks the affective-analogue dimension. AI calculate and process. AI doesn’t think.  Thought starts from a totality which precedes concepts, ideas and information. Before thought goes somewhere it is already on an basic animic disposition. It then articulates concepts the world with a fundamental animic disposition. AI will never achieve the level of conceptual wisdom. It doesn’t understand its calculations.

Quarantine by Greg Egan

Mindblowing Hard Science Fiction. A detective/spy novel in a world where humans use nanomachines to control their moods, improve their attention, access and process information, and many other things. At the core of the mystery there is a twist on actual quantum mechanics theories which try to explain the nature of reality. I think they are related to the principle of "complementarity", part of the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum theory which states that the "quantum world is both wave - and particle-like, its the act of measurement that causes it to show one face or another. " (New Scientist, Essential Guide 1&5). Greg Egan adapts the concept of measurement making it an inherent human ability, something that we ourselves do unwittingly to create and recreate our reality. And then something happens when someone discovers how to not do that. The novel can be hard to read at points. There is hard science everywhere, explaining particles, waves, smear, probabilities, etc. but the actual plot is really interesting and worth the effort.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Gripping, super addictive, murder mystery. I read this in 2 days. A young man investigates a murder from 30 years before as part of a college assignment. The book is about the investigation in the present, the events 30 years ago, and a dying man who was convicted for that crime. Excellent character development for the protagonists and a couple of nice twists towards the end.

Nenúfares Negros (Black Water Lilies) by Cassegrain, Duval and Bussi

This is the Spanish translation. There is a digital translation to English by Europe Comics.

This is a gripping crime mystery graphic novel which is based on a novel of the same name by Michel Bussi. I loved the plot, and the twists. I loved the beautiful setting in a French village: Giverny, and the three mysterious female protagonists. And if that wasn't enough to like this book, there are, through out the whole novel, traces of Monet's art, in the landscapes and flowers that he painted and in some of the events in the story.

The Transgender Issue. An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye

This read is part of my #myculturewarsproject. A project I started to understand discussions I read in the media. I have previously read The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt and The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray.

This book discusses the current state of affairs regarding Transgender rights and way of life in the UK and abroad. It has opened my eyes to the complexity of the so-called transgender “issue”. I am glad I read it. First of all, it has informed me about the history of the transgender topic, from historical accounts about people and groups who (could) identify as transgender to the evolution of the concept. Second, it has opened my eyes to the unfair treatment trans people receive in their everyday lives. Third, it has clarified some conceptual, social and political issues around trans-people. The arguments are obviously skewed to the POV of the author, a transgender woman. But this isn’t bad, quite the opposite. Although this is not a memoir/biography, but an analysis, the text is enriched by the subjectivity of the author. Fourth, it has helped me to identify sources of misinformation. Fifth, it has left many more questions I want to investigate. To start I’d like to read someone with a different perspective on this same topic, and also to broaden my read to medical and legal issues as well. Content:

Introduction: seen but not heard

1.       Trans Life Now

2.       Right And Wrong Bodies

3.       Class Struggle

4.       Sex Sells

5.       The State

6.       Kissing Cousins: The T in the LGBT

7.       The Ugly Sister: Trans People in feminism

Conclusion: A Transformed Future

While I enjoyed the whole book, my favourite chapter was the Ugly Sister abt disagreements btw feminist factions regarding trans people. This doesn't mean I agree with Faye's ideas. I found it contradicting how trans activists, who rely on scientific advancements to transform their bodies challenge science's fundamental and immutable facts about biological sex. This on its own invalidates every other idea built on top of it. Nevertheless I'd recommend the book to understand one part of the argument.