Please, do not make spurious claims about food and GMO safety on the basis of current science and an apparent lack of evidence about harm. We just do not know enough. We may be looking at things wrong – or looking at the wrong things. Image courtesy of Nat and Cody Photography. Introduction: Over the Thanksgiving […]
Climate Change and the Future of the Boston Coastline November 5, 2018, at Cambridge Innovation CenterFeaturing Kirk Bosma (Woods Hole Group) and Paul Kirshen (UMass Boston)Summary by Paul Hoxie and George Gantz for Long Now Boston Introduction: Boston is a coastal city with a complex of rivers, dams, harbors and islands. By the end of […]
Value Alignment as a Path to AI Beneficence and Human Learning By George Gantz, for Long Now Boston, October 2, 2018 The long-term future of the human race may well be determined in this century by Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to Richard Mallah, Director of AI Projects with the Future of Life Institute (FLI), the […]
Fossil fuels powered the industrial revolution, but innovations in chemistry played the key role in making materials stronger, cheaper and more convenient. In the twentieth century, fossil fuels (petrochemicals) served as the inputs for the invention of synthetic materials from plastics to polyester and beyond. These synthetics are now ubiquitous in modern industrial society, having […]
How to Dialogue With Those Holding Opposing Views A century ago, Sigmund Freud published one his most influential books, Civilization and Its Discontents (1930).The key concept was that primitive human desires were necessarily at odds with the demands of civilization aimed at the well-being of the entire community. This civilizing influence gives rise to a […]
