Being open to the possibility that LLMs are conscious is the same as being open to the possibility that Microsoft Word is conscious, or, more precisely, that multiple distinct consciousnesses are dormant in every Word document containing a conversational transcript, and that they are awakened every time the document is loaded.
~ Ted Chiang via The Atlantic
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Americans have always flirted with the end of the world. But now, for the first time, the preppers, the prophets, the climate modelers, the AI-worriers and the geopolitical realists can all point to different dashboards flashing red at the same time.
~ John Mac Ghlionn via The Hill
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via the American Affairs Journal:
The Making of a Techno-Nationalist Elite
by Tanner Greer
published in their Winter 2025 edition
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Slow, deliberate, necessarily discreet diplomacy, which builds trust and understanding, has given way to a performative, brash style more suited for TikTok-addled attention spans or the playground.
~ Margaret MacMillan via The New York Times
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Ian McEwan: what gives renowned author hope in an age of crisis?
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Canadians may be intellectually curious about the prospect of European Union membership and angry at Donald Trump’s America -— which, according to a recent Pew poll, they now view more negatively than they do China —- but they may not be eager to accept the sweeping transformation of their country’s laws and regulations that E.U. membership would entail.
~ Ishaan Tharoor via The New Yorker
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