Experience Machines

Experience Machines PDF Author: Mark Silcox
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786600692
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
In his classic work Anarchy, State and Utopia, Robert Nozick asked his readers to imagine being permanently plugged into a 'machine that would give you any experience you desired'. He speculated that, in spite of the many obvious attractions of such a prospect, most people would choose against passing the rest of their lives under the influence of this type of invention. Nozick thought (and many have since agreed) that this simple thought experiment had profound implications for how we think about ethics, political justice, and the significance of technology in our everyday lives. Nozick’s argument was made in 1974, about a decade before the personal computer revolution in Europe and North America. Since then, opportunities for the citizens of industrialized societies to experience virtual worlds and simulated environments have multiplied to an extent that no philosopher could have predicted. The authors in this volume re-evaluate the merits of Nozick’s argument, and use it as a jumping–off point for the philosophical examination of subsequent developments in culture and technology, including a variety of experience-altering cybernetic technologies such as computer games, social media networks, HCI devices, and neuro-prostheses.

Experience Machines

Experience Machines PDF Author: Mark Silcox
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786600692
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
In his classic work Anarchy, State and Utopia, Robert Nozick asked his readers to imagine being permanently plugged into a 'machine that would give you any experience you desired'. He speculated that, in spite of the many obvious attractions of such a prospect, most people would choose against passing the rest of their lives under the influence of this type of invention. Nozick thought (and many have since agreed) that this simple thought experiment had profound implications for how we think about ethics, political justice, and the significance of technology in our everyday lives. Nozick’s argument was made in 1974, about a decade before the personal computer revolution in Europe and North America. Since then, opportunities for the citizens of industrialized societies to experience virtual worlds and simulated environments have multiplied to an extent that no philosopher could have predicted. The authors in this volume re-evaluate the merits of Nozick’s argument, and use it as a jumping–off point for the philosophical examination of subsequent developments in culture and technology, including a variety of experience-altering cybernetic technologies such as computer games, social media networks, HCI devices, and neuro-prostheses.

Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Anarchy, State, and Utopia PDF Author: Robert Nozick
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 063119780X
Category : Anarchism
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Robert Nozicka s Anarchy, State, and Utopia is a powerful, philosophical challenge to the most widely held political and social positions of our age ---- liberal, socialist and conservative.

Ethical Theory

Ethical Theory PDF Author: Heimir Giersson
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 9781551112923
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
This anthology is designed for use as a brief introduction to ethical theory. Included are sections on various forms of ethical theory: Ethical Relativism; Divine Command Theory; Egoism; Consequentialism; Deontology; Justice; Virtue Ethics; and Feminist Ethics. Each section includes two or three of the most important and interesting contributions to the field, together with brief introductions by the editors. A final section, Theories in Practice, consists of five selections on the issues of abortion, world poverty, and affirmative action.

The Age of Spiritual Machines

The Age of Spiritual Machines PDF Author: Ray Kurzweil
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780140282023
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
The inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and bestselling author of The Singularity is Nearer now offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century in The Age of Spiritual Machines--an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live. Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways. Optimistic and challenging, thought-provoking and engaging, The Age of Spiritual Machines is the ultimate guide on our road into the next century.

The Experience Machine

The Experience Machine PDF Author: Andy Clark
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 1524748463
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
A brilliant new theory of the mind that upends our understanding of how the brain interacts with the world “This thoroughly readable book will convince you that the brain and the world are partners in constructing our understanding.” —Sean Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion For as long as we’ve studied human cognition, we’ve believed that our senses give us direct access to the world. What we see is what’s really there—or so the thinking goes. But new discoveries in neuroscience and psychology have turned this assumption on its head. What if rather than perceiving reality passively, your mind actively predicts it? Widely acclaimed philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark unpacks this provocative new theory that the brain is a powerful, dynamic prediction engine, mediating our experience of both body and world. From the most mundane experiences to the most sublime, reality as we know it is the complex synthesis of sensory information and expectation. Exploring its fascinating mechanics and remarkable implications for our lives, mental health, and society, Clark nimbly illustrates how the predictive brain sculpts all human experience. Chronic pain and mental illness are shown to involve subtle malfunctions of our unconscious predictions, pointing the way towards more effective, targeted treatments. Under renewed scrutiny, the very boundary between ourselves and the outside world dissolves, showing that we are as entangled with our environments as we are with our onboard memories, thoughts, and feelings. And perception itself is revealed to be something of a controlled hallucination. Unveiling the extraordinary explanatory power of the predictive brain, The Experience Machine is a mesmerizing window onto one of the most significant developments in our understanding of the mind.

Annual Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station

Annual Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station PDF Author: New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 996

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Area Wage Survey

Area Wage Survey PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Employee fringe benefits
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Labor
Languages : en
Pages : 604

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Machinery and Production Engineering

Machinery and Production Engineering PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Machine design
Languages : en
Pages : 802

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The American Exporter

The American Exporter PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Commerce
Languages : en
Pages : 892

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