Tin

Machine Morality

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:46:58 +0100

I would argue that humans without empathy (sociopaths etc) are incapable of making moral decisions for themselves - they merely follow rules laid out by others for a “simulated” morality. Similarly, machines will be incapable of moral judgements until they have not just self-awareness, but awareness of others.

Until machines have desires AI will never create art

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:39:23 +0100

Life Has Meaning Only Relative To Other Lives

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:07:13 +0100

In a universe devoid of God or absolute morality, the only meaning human lives have is relative to one another. For non-believers it therefore only makes sense to consider morality in terms of effect on others.

A planet in a universe in which it is the only body has no speed - the concept of travel only making sense when there is at least one other object to move relative to. It is also impossible to say something is moral or immoral if only one individual is considered, and that individual’s life is ultimately pointless.

Life creates it’s own meaning relative to other lives.

Pictured this way, Individualist ideologies could be considered morally neutral - which has an appeal to many (particularly on the political right) perhaps because you do not need to worry about being immoral? Sit at home on your own, have a gun for protection and require no taxes - the self-sufficiency utopia of many an American / English Individualist. You may not being doing good; but you are not doing bad.

Except that in the real world there is not just one planet in the universe.

Why Verified By Visa is a Scam

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 08:54:00 +0000

A letter I am sending to online merchants who are implementing Verified By Visa (3D Secure). You are welcome to use it yourself. I wonder what the shopping cart drop out rate is for new adopters? Surely that is enough business reason to drop this rubbish alone.

Dear Merchant,

I’m afraid that your introduction of 3D secure “Verified By Visa” has stopped me from completing my cart - and will stop me completing future carts.

If you are not aware of it’s shortcomings:

- The system puts an extra validation step in the payment process. The inconvenience of this is supposed to be outweighed by the additional security offered, yet the 3D secure system is inherently simple to spoof and has significant vulnerabilities, some of which are already being exploited.

- Because of the supposed “security” improvement, banks and merchants can claim victims of card fraud were definitely present, therefore absolving themselves of responsibility and reducing their “Unauthorized Transaction” chargebacks.

If you would like more information that is not just bank PR, read this Cambridge University Research paper on the system > http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/fc10vbvsecurecode.pdf or http://antiworm.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/verified-by-visa-veriphied-phishing.html

The benefits are entirely from the bank / merchant’s perspective, and offer me - the customer - nothing except additional inconvenience and less protection from fraud. I am hugely disappointed in your adoption of this system as I consider you to otherwise be an excellent store, with good products and service.

Another 1 minute waltz… COME ON, GET WRITIN!

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:49:34 +0000

Another 1 minute waltz… COME ON, GET WRITIN!

Audio

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:11:29 +0000

Kicking off the 2013 One Minute Wonders Competition, theme this...

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:34:20 +0000

Kicking off the 2013 One Minute Wonders Competition, theme this year: Waltzes. Best 12 will make the 7” Vinyl Album

thesearemyhooves: iseenoise: John peel exhibition at NAC is...

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:08:22 +0000

thesearemyhooves:

iseenoise:

John peel exhibition at NAC is looking awesome!!!

So stoked to see this in real life.

omgkevinallen: nandouk91: Freddie Mercury - History It makes...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:12:00 +0100

omgkevinallen:

nandouk91:

Freddie Mercury - History

It makes me sad to think how I will never know how awesome the world was when he was around. It must have been freaking incredible.

Good to see BBC News including the ability for those who have read an article to upload their own...

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:16:38 +0100

Good to see BBC News including the ability for those who have read an article to upload their own movies and pictures (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18352281) This means that those actually involved in incidents (such as those happening in Syria) - who are quite likely to come to the BBC site for information - have a method to get their voices heard. I have suggested this before to the Guardian’s editor (who I met some time back) as a legitimate journalistic alternative to Wikileaks - so it is _good_ to see the BBC doing this…

HOWEVER

They _require_ you to leave sensitive details (see http://bbcnewsupload.streamuk.com/ ) or it will not submit - and does the embedded html form _really_ need access to your camera and microphone before you decide to add a webcast? They may not want endless cheap-loan offers, but at the same time the rest of us do not want barriers for those thinking of offering important - often life affecting - information.

insanelygaming: Releasing the Valve Created by Julia Lepetit...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:14:03 +0100

insanelygaming:

Releasing the Valve

Created by Julia Lepetit & Andrew Bridgman

(via Dorkly)

The Truth About Love

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:26:46 +0100

There are 3 kinds. The chemical imbalance of “in love” love - that unbearable, irresistible, only other person in the world illogical mania.
Then there is the quiet settled down respectful, tolerant co-dependency. Then the love given to myriad others of all ages and genders.
The first exists on it’s own - is selfish, consuming - wonderful in youth but dangerous to the second kind if allowed to flower a second time. If you manage to develop the fleeting first into the second you are one of life’s winners - regardless of financial or other accomplishments.
How much of a man or woman you are is measured by the third - not received but given. Pursuit of celebrity (or other types of prestige like amassing wealth) is the mistaken belief that the opposite is true.

Catholic Priests

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:36:00 +0000

Amazing isn’t it how if you suppress all the rainbow of possible sexualities bar one, then leave the only respectable course for anyone non-vanilla to cloak their differences by declaring celibacy and joining the priesthood - you are going to get a far higher proportion (than the mainstream) of sexually different people as priests.

Firstly, this makes the Church’s failure to acknowledge that some people are naturally gay somewhat farcical. Gay priests are victims - the damage is to them, being made to feel unfairly sin filled and evil - and always having to cover-up who they really are.

There is second group however, who are not so benign - those interested in children rather than adults (whether straight or gay - I make no distinction here). Being attracted into the priesthood - perhaps with the desire to “be good” - these people are both allowed to be in charge of vulnerable groups of children, and are made completely unaccountable.

There are undoubtably many fabulous Catholic priests out there - with a multitude of sexual preference. However, the obstinate refusal of the Church to acknowledge this mix will continue to produce victims - both within the clergy, and outside it.

function-one: m1n3cr4ft: the lego minecraft set to be...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:17:30 +0000

function-one:

m1n3cr4ft:

the lego minecraft set to be *unveiled on february 16th this year! stay tuned for more information :)

Lego + minecraft

Lessons From Psychology #1

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:04:00 +0000

That thing that you’re focused on right now? It’s not as important as it seems.

This is an important message (but not as important as I believe it is…) Look back at the last thing that really stressed you out. It was the end of the world at the time - but it’s not now, right? Relationship-wise; you couldn’t bear to be without your first love - and maybe he/she’s still a fond memory - but it’s wasn’t a life-or-death relationship in the end.

Recognising things aren’t as important as they seem is a monumental struggle… once I have heard a great record, all I want to do is write and record music - it’s urgent and it’s all that matters. When I watch a moving film similarly, or read an amazing text - all that compels me is this desperate NEED to create. Whilst this adds healthy drive to my otherwise easily distractable nature, there are other times when this psychological phenomenon is as unwanted as a coffee machine in a sauna.

THIS IS FOR THE MEN: When you’re hot and really the only thing that could possibly bring fulfilment is _____ (<— fill in the blanks here) - indeed it seems what life itself must be all about - IT’S NOT. Realising this when you’re horny is hard enough thing - accepting it as reality even harder. I’m not saying you’re all about to go out and commit sex crimes - just that the monumental frustration everyone feels from time to time is OK - it’s just part of the way our psychology is wired. You can’t fix it - and, actually, expending too much effort essentially trying to get laid is not helpful either. Repeat after me: This isn’t your natural state! It feels like it, OH yes. But it’s not as important as it seems. By a long way. So have a wank, and go do one of other things you really love. Doesn’t seem appealing right now? Well, trust me - it will be. And I for one am off to listen to some music, or maybe go watch Moon…

SAVE UEA MUSIC!: SAVE UEA MUSIC!

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:40:13 +0000

SAVE UEA MUSIC!: SAVE UEA MUSIC!:

saveueamusic:

Welcome to the Union of UEA Students ‘Save UEA Music’ blog.

We’re going to be posting here about why it’s important to stop the University from closing this amazing school, and what we can do to make this happen.

Let’s try to build massive support for this cause; it’s the biggest thing to happen…

hi james leeds. well, i thought “if i don’t do it...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:10:12 +0100

hi james leeds.

well, i thought “if i don’t do it right now while its fresh in my mind and raining, it’ll never get done”, so i wrote and recorded a song for your friendly competition. i hope it meets the criteria of drama, though its not exactly “crammed”, but it is about a murder, and is one only one minute … well 1:06.

anyway, i opened up a new file in logic which i had to title and because i had no idea what i was about to write, for inspiration i randomly opened up a book i have called ‘the fairy tales of hermann hesse’ (which is brilliant by the way, if you don’t know it) and immediately saw the seductive couplet “doomed gondola” so decided to write something around that. after 3 hours and 4 beers i’ll call it done as i can’t think of what else i can do with it.

right so, speak soon,

love james

This is interesting for musicians - especially the unsung but...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:21:02 +0100

This is interesting for musicians - especially the unsung but excellent ones I know - that you can be amazing, but without context the public will not see or hear it:

http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html

The converse is also true - for every @sargassotrio or @onwardolympians there is an Ed Sheeran or X-Factor winner…

TedxLondon Disappointment

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:58:00 +0100

Dear TED,

I was hugely disappointed as an attendee of the TedxLondon conference and felt compelled to write to you about this, as what could have been the beginnings of an urgently needed revolution in education was hijacked by technologists with presentations which at times verged on advertisements.

Sir Ken Robinson’s pre-recorded video pieces were excellently lucid (as was the Southbank Centres Jude Kelly) - clearly outlining the need to figure out how to get personalised, holistic education into the mainstream - even relaying an anecdote about distilling learning to it’s core essential parts and only building from there if it adds value. This was at times farcically at odds with the actual content of the day. Outside of Sir Ken there was not a single mention of personalised learning, or getting back to basics. Quite the opposite in fact - presentations from the organiser on his “cool” Kinect tech and Bjork’s new iPad apps were just two examples of the overwhelming focus on technology. How could the organisers miss the point so magnificently? Either they did not understand the original TED talks that supposedly inspired this meeting, or they had their own agendas - as it was clear that the problem with today’s education is not enough tech! (and I say this not as some tech-scared teacher, but as a geek with my own web startup) Indeed, the recent New York Times article on the failure of technology-centric classrooms in Arizona to deliver any real improvement expose the folly in this http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=laptops%20in%20schools&st=Search )

You ought to be embarrassed to be associated with such a sham, especially as we so desperately need to have the very conversation that was not had. As a society we need to do MUCH better than #tedxlondon if we want an education system that provides future generations with the fulfilling lives they deserve - and the economy with the innovators is will find are indispensable.

I am left feeling demotivated, disillusioned and lonely in my desire to see these ideas (of which many great thinkers, not just Sir Ken but Barry Hymer, Isaac Asimov et al are converging upon) turn into actual systems of schooling.

Connecting the dots between the London Riots and the Financial Crisis

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:13:24 +0100

No-one seems able to figure out what the current riots in London are all about - least of all those actually rioting. It’s certainly more than the flashpoint of a police shooting - but if this is the straw that broke the camel’s back, what is the camel?

Men - real men, not just geeks like me (& you no doubt) - have been finding life increasingly difficult as the UK de-industrialised. The pre-industrial trades of blacksmithery, cobbling, etc have long since gone, and as boat yards and pits shut; furniture (and everything else) was made abroad, what was their left to do? Besides joining the army, the range of jobs are either demasculating or imbued with less-and-less honour. Where now the boy who longs to be a Postman?

The left-wing are just as guilty as the financiers and right-wing politicians for remodelling the economy - encouraging everyone to go to university to become part of the “knowledge” society - or whatever it was called - for the new meritocratic elite could be joined by people from any class! …so long as you are smart. This new elite is somewhat fairer than the old upper-middle-class reign but it is still elitist - and what really grinds is their self-satisfied justification. They don’t even SEE that they are the elite - “well I was brought up in a hole in the floor…” that’s great, but you are one of only a handful of rich, famous people who got successful - there are millions - MILLIONS - more who were not blessed with your looks/intellect/wit who are still in one of those floor-holes.

And boy have boys been hit by all of this. It’s not PC to consider any boy an underdog, yet the turning away from boyish work toward call centres and service industries we are leaving a heck of a lot of boys without jobs to do. The narrowing of what is termed a “successful” life to wealth or fame means there is no pride in even doing these jobs if they were available. What’s more, the movement of education away from vocational toward intellectual subjects is leaving many young men both disinterested in learning and feeling like failures - which comes first is chicken and egg.

And they feel it. Men have a drive to provide, yet they can’t get a job. They want act well, but there is little prospect of much in the way of wealth or respect. They will never afford to own their own house - not like the skilled craftsmen or miners they might have been in a previous generation. They can’t provide for themselves let alone a family. They are - by definition - not part of the meritocratic elite, so they can’t necessarily find the fancy words to explain how they are feeling - or understand why it is. They don’t know what to say, but they just WANT TO BE HEARD.

And so to the riots. Is this isolated thuggery? The right will simply wish to lock them up. The left will want to start community programs to save the next generation. But they are already screwed. As are the generations to come until our focus swings back to manufacturing; craftsmanship; respect for men. Is that likely to happen? No. Can we do anything about it? Not much. Is this unrest likely to re-occur/get worse over the coming years. Yes, very likely. Will our politicians + other driving forces of society (like £1k+ celebrity tweeters) understand it? No, that’s highly unlikely.

Interestingly, the towering edifice that is the house-of-cards modern financial system is also blipping this week. (I’ve written before on these failings) Those Financiers who made millions upon millions moving all of those jobs to China and elsewhere; re-gearing the economy to grow using financial services and great volumes of debt; those who did more damage to our local high street businesses than any riots ever will. Their actions - and the actions of governments to allow this rich-person’s greed to drive our western countries forward is starting to unravel - in both an economic and social way.