Langdon Winner
@langdonw
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Political theorist & philosopher of technology Emeritus professor, RPI Lives in coastal Maine
Maquoit Bay, Maine
Joined March 2009
During Donald Trump's resurgence, a number of "conservatives" have committed themselves to an all out attack on the fundamentals of American democracy and its legal framework. Fortunately, a small group of conservative lawyers has announced its resistance
nytimes.com
The legal profession has stood largely silent on assaults on America’s democracy. The situation will grow worse if Trump returns to the White House.
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Add this to your list of autonomous technologies. "The Next Fear on A.I.: Hollywood’s Killer Robots Become the Military’s Tools" -- NY Times https://t.co/1lCrxuk3Nn
nytimes.com
U.S. national security officials are warning about the potential for the new technology to upend war, cyber conflict and — in the most extreme case — the use of nuclear weapons.
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The recent "final" version of the IPCC report on the climate disaster facing humanity has been greeted with the same "Ho Hum..." that has met its earlier dire warnings decades over several decades. "Oh, please don't interrupt our ongoing festival of production and consumption!"
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The sad decline political news on cable TV now includes MSNBC. Its corporate managers are busily hiring as many Republicans and "former Republicans" as possible. Evidently they think this will "broaden" their coverage as they fire persons with even modest left leaning views.
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Most of the speculation about AI and its uses is sheer boosterism, sometimes with the obligatory faint words of caution.
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Faced with the extraordinary technological & social transformations of the middle 19th century, Karl Marx studied the situation carefully and proposed a forceful response for the workers affected. Alas, there is no equivalent thinker/advocate for the AI revolution we face today.
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Given its novel trajectories recently, the term "artificial intelligence" has become obsolete. Among the categories now under discussion are "artificial criminality," "artificial immorality," "artificial inhumanity"... https://t.co/dcWIWiWDwo
theverge.com
It’s apparently not that hard to design poisons using AI.
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An Orwellian moment took shape as the Advance Placement course planners revised the AP African American Studies course plan. The word "systemic" was carefully removed from such topics as "oppression" and "racism."
washingtonpost.com
A senior College Board official now acknowledges the organization was mindful of how “systemic" and certain other words in the modern lexicon of race in America would receive intense scrutiny in some...
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In recognition of the tirades of Ron DeSantis, perhaps February should be re-named "Blackguard History Month."
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In 1930s Germany, educators and publishers were forced to comply with Nazi edicts on what was permissible. Sad to see today's College Board yield to similar pressures from Florida's governor (with other right leaning states in line?)
rollingstone.com
The College Board revised a proposed AP African-American Studies curriculum after being accused of promiting CRT by Florida Government
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Now that book banning and burning is coming into style on the American right, it's worth remembering its earlier origins.
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COP(out)27: After nearly three decades of talk, the UN Conference of Parties on "Climate Change" refuses to call for deeper cuts in carbon emissions. https://t.co/XG5ZQKQpX1
pbs.org
For the first time, the nations of the world decided to help pay for the damage an overheating world is inflicting on poor countries, but they finished marathon climate talks on Sunday without...
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Basic principle of the US "justice" system: If you're rich & well connected, you get off (although it may take while). If you're poor & in socially troubled circumstances, your ass is going to jail--soon!
nytimes.com
The attorney general named Jack Smith, a veteran prosecutor, to oversee the Mar-a-Lago documents and Jan. 6 investigations. The appointment is a way for the Justice Department to insulate the...
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It appears that GOP campaign hysteria about US schools teaching about race and gender in the nation's history is losing steam. Learning about such matters does not involve "hating America," instead about learning the roots of key issues and conflicts in our society.
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The rise of Christian Nationalism: from Jesus of Nazareth to Trump of Queens https://t.co/q1w6L2otJe
nytimes.com
Esau McCaulley and Katherine Stewart on how the G.O.P. weaponized Christianity — and where we go from here.
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The Supreme Court's last year featured tawdry hack work leaving US law and institutions in wreckage. Here's Justice Roberts' delicate description of the mess https://t.co/xYVIJl3jTd
cnn.com
Chief Justice John Roberts – making his first public comments since the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last term, triggering demonstrations across the country – defended the legitimacy of the...
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