Ted Tillich-Farris
@tillichfarris.bsky.social
Philosophy of self-interest. Proprietor of the literary rights of Paul Tillich. International corporate finance attorney.
Correct but the authors should also explain why the terms "AGI" and super-intelligence are simply utopian science fiction fantasy speculation and not actual things. People uncritically accept those TESCREAL buzzwords as if they actually existed or could exist and therefore require policy responses.
We need our policymakers everywhere to be attuned to the needs of the people, not the whims of CEOs -- and especially not CEOs in the grip of TESCREAList fantasies.
Thank you @abeba.bsky.social and @krisshrishak.bsky.social for speaking up
www.techpolicy.press/ai-hype-is-s...
Thank you @abeba.bsky.social and @krisshrishak.bsky.social for speaking up
www.techpolicy.press/ai-hype-is-s...
AI Hype Is Steering EU Policy Off Course | TechPolicy.Press
Kris Shrishak and Abeba Birhane say policymakers should stop peddling in unscientific discourse about "AGI" and "superintelligence."
www.techpolicy.press
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Correct but the authors should also explain why the terms "AGI" and super-intelligence are simply utopian science fiction fantasy speculation and not actual things. People uncritically accept those TESCREAL buzzwords as if they actually existed or could exist and therefore require policy responses.
Social psychologist and neuroscientist Kristen Lindquist points out that the idea that the brain is "modular" is simply "untenable. " Brain modularity is one of those superficial conceptual buzzwords that come into fashion for awhile and then disappear as they lack a physical scientific basis.
In episode 834, I talk with Dr. Kristen Lindquist about the #Psychology and #Neuroscience of emotions. #Science
youtu.be/LoWNXd7pYMo
youtu.be/LoWNXd7pYMo
#834 Kristen Lindquist: The Psychology and Neuroscience of Emotions
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Social psychologist and neuroscientist Kristen Lindquist points out that the idea that the brain is "modular" is simply "untenable. " Brain modularity is one of those superficial conceptual buzzwords that come into fashion for awhile and then disappear as they lack a physical scientific basis.
Dick Cheney before he dicks you was always good advice. But now it's too late.
November 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Dick Cheney before he dicks you was always good advice. But now it's too late.
Perspectival realism discussed here by @michelamassimi.bsky.social is an interesting but complex approach that tries to deal with the problem of subjectivity by acknowledging that all knowledge comes from a perspective. Massimi though believes that communities offer a pluralistic perspectives of
In episode 846, I talk with Dr. Michela Massimi about her fantastic book, Perspectival Realism. #Philosophy #Science
youtu.be/KwTyeSVSXG4
youtu.be/KwTyeSVSXG4
#846 Michela Massimi: Perspectival Realism
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
November 2, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Perspectival realism discussed here by @michelamassimi.bsky.social is an interesting but complex approach that tries to deal with the problem of subjectivity by acknowledging that all knowledge comes from a perspective. Massimi though believes that communities offer a pluralistic perspectives of
Why would wealthy and privileged people ever value equality more than their own money? That's the stark question that lies behind @walterscheidel.bsky.social's thesis that it generally takes violence to reduce social inequality. Human beings are after all self-interested.
In The Great Leveler, historian Walter Scheidel argues that inequality has only fallen through massive violence—wars, revolutions, plagues, and collapse. Reform alone rarely works. His book is a grim but essential look at how real economic leveling has historically occurred.
November 1, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Why would wealthy and privileged people ever value equality more than their own money? That's the stark question that lies behind @walterscheidel.bsky.social's thesis that it generally takes violence to reduce social inequality. Human beings are after all self-interested.
Excellent and thoughtful conversation w/ @hakwan.bsky.social on the neuroscientific approach to consciousness. Dr Lau emphasizes that we have no good theories of consciousness. Where he goes wrong is in assuming that consciousness must be computational. That's an assumption there's no evidence for.
In episode 844, I talk with Dr. Hakwan Lau about his book, In Consciousness We Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience. #Neuroscience #CognitiveScience #Science
youtu.be/MrWoLH3IUNo
youtu.be/MrWoLH3IUNo
#844 Hakwan Lau - In Consciousness We Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Excellent and thoughtful conversation w/ @hakwan.bsky.social on the neuroscientific approach to consciousness. Dr Lau emphasizes that we have no good theories of consciousness. Where he goes wrong is in assuming that consciousness must be computational. That's an assumption there's no evidence for.
An excellent and nuanced conversation on incentives with @janagallus.bsky.social. I would add that incentives work based on subjective self interest and values. And incentives can be gender variant. You won't incentivize male Special Forces troops by offering them a make-up kit to kill more enemies.
In episode 838, I talk with Dr. Jana Gallus about the #Psychology and #Economics of incentives.
youtu.be/PDxqSLeZsEQ
youtu.be/PDxqSLeZsEQ
#838 Jana Gallus: The Psychology and Economics of Incentives
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 PM
An excellent and nuanced conversation on incentives with @janagallus.bsky.social. I would add that incentives work based on subjective self interest and values. And incentives can be gender variant. You won't incentivize male Special Forces troops by offering them a make-up kit to kill more enemies.
A perfect example of why so much moral philosophy is absolute rubbish. Jeff McMahan here asserts his own personal opinions & values as the ultimate arbiter of the morality of political violence. He never explains the basis of any of his values or judgments. And that's a good thing because he
New episode (1168), with Dr. Jeff McMahan. We discuss the #ethics of political violence, and whether it can be justified. #Philosophy #politics
YouTube: youtu.be/xCgL_5xitko
Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc26wjkv
YouTube: youtu.be/xCgL_5xitko
Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc26wjkv
#1168 Jeff McMahan: The Ethics of Political Violence: Can It Be Justified?
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 29, 2025 at 1:59 PM
A perfect example of why so much moral philosophy is absolute rubbish. Jeff McMahan here asserts his own personal opinions & values as the ultimate arbiter of the morality of political violence. He never explains the basis of any of his values or judgments. And that's a good thing because he
Human beings are complex dynamic systems. Excellent conversation on the different approaches to studying human #psychology. The narrow neuroscientific view worries about defining "representation" versus the much broader, more fruitful approach of embodied #consciousness as a complex dynamic system.
In episode 833, my second interview with Dr. Inês Hipólito, we talk about 4E cognition, and dynamical approaches in #Psychology and #CognitiveScience. #Philosophy
youtu.be/HiJuTPn1w34
youtu.be/HiJuTPn1w34
#833 Inês Hipólito: 4E Cognition, and Dynamical Approaches in Psychology/Cognitive Science
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 28, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Human beings are complex dynamic systems. Excellent conversation on the different approaches to studying human #psychology. The narrow neuroscientific view worries about defining "representation" versus the much broader, more fruitful approach of embodied #consciousness as a complex dynamic system.
Dr Rosenberg recognizes that idealized economic models like the "rational self interested consumer" don’t reflect the reality of economic systems. An efficient competitive market is an ideal absolute, not a real market. Economies are complex systems that, like the weather,
New episode (1166), with Dr. Alexander Rosenberg. We talk about his great new book, Blunt Instrument: Why Economic Theory Can't Get Any Better...Why We Need It Anyway. #Economics #Philosophy
YouTube: youtu.be/tCwAaO6zSrs
Podcast: bit.ly/4oD0wCY
YouTube: youtu.be/tCwAaO6zSrs
Podcast: bit.ly/4oD0wCY
#1166 Alexander Rosenberg: Why Economic Theory Can't Get Any Better...Why We Need It Anyway
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Dr Rosenberg recognizes that idealized economic models like the "rational self interested consumer" don’t reflect the reality of economic systems. An efficient competitive market is an ideal absolute, not a real market. Economies are complex systems that, like the weather,
Buchanan was born to be a Southern gentleman. But his pronouncements on morality miss some important points. The need for cooperation does create a need for moral rules. But the nature of those rules is created by the interests of group members and every group tends to have different moral rules
New episode (1167), with Dr. Allen Buchanan. We talk about his great new book, Ideology and Revolution: How the Struggle against Domination Drives the Evolution of Morality and Institutions. #Philosophy #politics
YouTube: youtu.be/rctGmZw5f6A
Podcast: tinyurl.com/5n8eajtr
YouTube: youtu.be/rctGmZw5f6A
Podcast: tinyurl.com/5n8eajtr
#1167 Allen Buchanan - Ideology and Revolution: Hierarchy, Resistance, Revolution, and Morality
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Buchanan was born to be a Southern gentleman. But his pronouncements on morality miss some important points. The need for cooperation does create a need for moral rules. But the nature of those rules is created by the interests of group members and every group tends to have different moral rules
Ricardo @thedissenteryt.bsky.social nails it here when he says that the idea of universal cross cultural morality "seems just silly." That nicely and efficiently disposes of the grand idea in #moral philosophy that there is such a thing as objective moral truth in just three short words.
In episode 795, I talk with Dr. Owen Flanagan about his fantastic book, The Geography of Morals: Varieties of Moral Possibility. #Anthropology #Philosophy
youtu.be/1jEyXTmzdzM
youtu.be/1jEyXTmzdzM
#795 Owen Flanagan - The Geography of Morals: Varieties of Moral Possibility
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 23, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Ricardo @thedissenteryt.bsky.social nails it here when he says that the idea of universal cross cultural morality "seems just silly." That nicely and efficiently disposes of the grand idea in #moral philosophy that there is such a thing as objective moral truth in just three short words.
Interesting discussion of #Libertarian thinking. Like collectivist socialist/Marxist thinkers, #Libertarian projects are also doomed utopian efforts. Free markets can't function w/o an effective state & a strong legal system that can enforce contracts. Without a reliable legal system, free markets
In episode 807, I talk with Dr. Raymond Craib about his book, Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age. #capitalism #Economics
youtu.be/nQDDmJr3Cw4
youtu.be/nQDDmJr3Cw4
#807 Raymond Craib - Adventure Capitalism; A History of Libertarian Exit
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Interesting discussion of #Libertarian thinking. Like collectivist socialist/Marxist thinkers, #Libertarian projects are also doomed utopian efforts. Free markets can't function w/o an effective state & a strong legal system that can enforce contracts. Without a reliable legal system, free markets
Better late than never? The irascible #JohnSearle died over a month ago & the @nytimes.com obit is from 10/17. Perhaps the #NYTimes was still translating from the Chinese. #Searle
was a tough confrontational thinker, a quality often lacking in academia. He was right that #AIs don't work like the
was a tough confrontational thinker, a quality often lacking in academia. He was right that #AIs don't work like the
John Searle, a philosopher who was best known for a thought experiment he formulated, decades before the rise of ChatGPT, to disprove that a computer program by itself could ever achieve consciousness, died at 93.
John Searle, Philosopher Who Wrestled With A.I., Dies at 93
His blunt debating and imaginative theorizing about artificial intelligence and the human mind made him a leading scholar. But sexual-harassment allegations ended his career.
nyti.ms
October 19, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Better late than never? The irascible #JohnSearle died over a month ago & the @nytimes.com obit is from 10/17. Perhaps the #NYTimes was still translating from the Chinese. #Searle
was a tough confrontational thinker, a quality often lacking in academia. He was right that #AIs don't work like the
was a tough confrontational thinker, a quality often lacking in academia. He was right that #AIs don't work like the
I guess Ricardo really does like lunatic fringe socialism. #AnnaBocca’s naive & supercilious marxist ideology
offers only tired 1930s era socialist cliches. Her primary value is always equality. She doesn’t believe in or care about merit and thinks all corporate jobs are "do nothing" jobs.
offers only tired 1930s era socialist cliches. Her primary value is always equality. She doesn’t believe in or care about merit and thinks all corporate jobs are "do nothing" jobs.
New episode (1161), with my fellow YouTuber Anna Bocca. We talk about the origins, spread, and failures of neoliberal #Capitalism. #Economics #History
YouTube: youtu.be/18KMCduijAE
Podcast: bit.ly/43dDo5o
YouTube: youtu.be/18KMCduijAE
Podcast: bit.ly/43dDo5o
#1161 Anna Bocca @annabocca : The Origins, Spread, and Failures of Neoliberal Capitalism
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 13, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I guess Ricardo really does like lunatic fringe socialism. #AnnaBocca’s naive & supercilious marxist ideology
offers only tired 1930s era socialist cliches. Her primary value is always equality. She doesn’t believe in or care about merit and thinks all corporate jobs are "do nothing" jobs.
offers only tired 1930s era socialist cliches. Her primary value is always equality. She doesn’t believe in or care about merit and thinks all corporate jobs are "do nothing" jobs.
Conspiracy theories are for losers. Successful people generally don't attribute their success to conspiracy theories.
In episode 772, I talk with Dr. Joseph Uscinski about the #politics and #Psychology of conspiracy theories.
youtu.be/vQHpPco4laY
youtu.be/vQHpPco4laY
#772 Joseph Uscinski: The Politics and Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 13, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Conspiracy theories are for losers. Successful people generally don't attribute their success to conspiracy theories.
Lunatic fringe #marxist economist Michael Hudson has a background like an Onion self-parody. His father was a jailed Trotskyite activist whom Hudson, betraying his closet elitism, claims had the highest IQ in the penitentiary (at least among the Trotskyites). Hudson thinks we should cancel all
New episode (1159), with Dr. Michael Hudson. We talk about his book, Temples of Enterprise: Creating Economic Order in the Bronze Age Near East. #History #Economics #Science
YouTube: youtu.be/ljF33z_NAqM
Podcast: bit.ly/3KCHoq0
YouTube: youtu.be/ljF33z_NAqM
Podcast: bit.ly/3KCHoq0
#1159 Michael Hudson - Temples of Enterprise: Creating Economic Order in the Bronze Age Near East
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Lunatic fringe #marxist economist Michael Hudson has a background like an Onion self-parody. His father was a jailed Trotskyite activist whom Hudson, betraying his closet elitism, claims had the highest IQ in the penitentiary (at least among the Trotskyites). Hudson thinks we should cancel all
Sean is certainly correct that the fact that certain parameters of physics appear "fine tuned" is any not evidence for god or a simulation. If there is just one universe, you can't calculate any probability for these values which just are what they are & don't raise any issues. In a multiverse fine
Mindscape 331 | Solo: Fine-Tuning, God, and the Multiverse. In which I shamelessly steal material from the #PhilosophyOfCosmology course I am teaching to talk about some big questions. #MindscapePodcast
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025...
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025...
October 7, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Sean is certainly correct that the fact that certain parameters of physics appear "fine tuned" is any not evidence for god or a simulation. If there is just one universe, you can't calculate any probability for these values which just are what they are & don't raise any issues. In a multiverse fine
Charlie Kirk is rapidly becoming the Horst Wessel of Trumpism.
Look at how some MAGA people are exploiting this tragedy before the facts are known. It’s deplorable.
We documented some of the calls for retribution that followed Charlie Kirk’s murder. With @kieraevebutler.bsky.social and @juliannemcshane.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
September 11, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Charlie Kirk is rapidly becoming the Horst Wessel of Trumpism.
List, normally a well reasoned advocate for human free will, goes astray here in arguing for the existence of free will in AIs without any mind or consciousness. List relies on Dennett’s mistaken behaviorist views which deny the mind a
causal role in human action.
causal role in human action.
To determine whether an AI system has free will, we shouldn't look for any mysterious property, ask if the system is unpredictable, or expect its algorithms to be indeterministic. We should ask: are there explanatory reasons to view the system as a choice-making agent with alternative possibilities?
Can AI systems have free will? - Synthese
While there has been much discussion of whether AI systems could function as moral agents or acquire sentience, there has been very little discussion of whether AI systems could have free will. I sket...
link.springer.com
September 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
List, normally a well reasoned advocate for human free will, goes astray here in arguing for the existence of free will in AIs without any mind or consciousness. List relies on Dennett’s mistaken behaviorist views which deny the mind a
causal role in human action.
causal role in human action.
This is an important paper from @wiringthebrain.bsky.social.
There is no question that consciousness is fundamentally and irreducibly subjective. The subject for all known examples of consciousness is the biological organism that experiences it. Conscious beings are aware of the boundaries of the
There is no question that consciousness is fundamentally and irreducibly subjective. The subject for all known examples of consciousness is the biological organism that experiences it. Conscious beings are aware of the boundaries of the
Consciousness needs a subject osf.io/preprints/ps... - new preprint with Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social (commentary on Anil Seth's BBS piece)
August 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
This is an important paper from @wiringthebrain.bsky.social.
There is no question that consciousness is fundamentally and irreducibly subjective. The subject for all known examples of consciousness is the biological organism that experiences it. Conscious beings are aware of the boundaries of the
There is no question that consciousness is fundamentally and irreducibly subjective. The subject for all known examples of consciousness is the biological organism that experiences it. Conscious beings are aware of the boundaries of the
An interesting talk with Dr Robert Brooks on incels. Few except other incels have any interest in their problems. Quite naturally, successful people only rarely have much sympathy for those who fail. So Incels would probably do better to whine less and focus on solving their own problems.
In episode 563, I talk with Dr. Robert Brooks about his fascinating book, Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers. #Technology #psychology #Science
youtu.be/qiSGH9UVokY
youtu.be/qiSGH9UVokY
#563 Robert Brooks Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
August 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
An interesting talk with Dr Robert Brooks on incels. Few except other incels have any interest in their problems. Quite naturally, successful people only rarely have much sympathy for those who fail. So Incels would probably do better to whine less and focus on solving their own problems.
Interesting talk with psychiatrist S. Tekin @thebusyowl.bluesky.social on how social conformity often defines mental illness. Why isn't #religion a mental illness? Having delusions about serving the imagined rules of supernatural beings is hardly sane.
In episode 568, I talk with Dr. Şerife Tekin about the #Philosophy of #Psychiatry, mental disorder, the self, and flourishing.
youtu.be/2wLJGPBLTfQ
youtu.be/2wLJGPBLTfQ
#568 Şerife Tekin: Philosophy of Psychiatry, Mental Disorder, The Self, and Flourishing
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
August 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Interesting talk with psychiatrist S. Tekin @thebusyowl.bluesky.social on how social conformity often defines mental illness. Why isn't #religion a mental illness? Having delusions about serving the imagined rules of supernatural beings is hardly sane.
#Determinism is the ultimate conspiracy theory because #determinists believe that everything is rigged.
August 11, 2025 at 5:10 PM
#Determinism is the ultimate conspiracy theory because #determinists believe that everything is rigged.
What was his first clue? #SamAltman concedes that #AGI is a useless term. But AGI has never been anything but a meaningless, nonsense word like the religious terms "nirvana" & "salvation." Current #AIs are nothing like human intelligence which is self-interested, embodied, emotional & goal directed.
August 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
What was his first clue? #SamAltman concedes that #AGI is a useless term. But AGI has never been anything but a meaningless, nonsense word like the religious terms "nirvana" & "salvation." Current #AIs are nothing like human intelligence which is self-interested, embodied, emotional & goal directed.