WeeklyTech #13

The value of our bodies

Imagine a future where we have convinced ourselves that everything we know and experience can be reduced down to some chemical process or explained away as ultimately insignificant. In this world, there is nothing truly unique about us, our families, or the world around us. We are merely highly-evolved sets of matter, and everything including our emotions, spirituality, and desires can be explained away as a chemical reaction in our brains. Our minds and bodies are not intricately connected; our mortal bodies simply serve as containers for our minds, which can be transferred from one place to another via a technique called “mind uploading.”

A couple of weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from a new book by neuroscientist and psychologist Michael S.A. Graziano, who teaches at Princeton University, titled Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience. Graziano argues that we are much closer to the ability to upload a human mind than many might think because we have already been able to create artificial brains, albeit on a small scale, and are now trying to overcome the second hurdle of scanning a human brain.


Interesting technology stories

Facebook unveils charter for its global content oversight board – Axios

Facebook is putting flesh on its plan to create an independent content moderation review board with the release last Tuesday of a final charter for the body.

A facial recognition ban is coming to the US, says an AI policy advisor – Technology Review

Which uses will face a ban, it’s not yet clear: while some cities have banned use by police departments, Portland’s focus is restricting use by the private sector. And the debate is not confined to the US.

I Won’t Buy My Teenagers Smartphones – The Atlantic

Denying a teen a smartphone in 2019 is a tough decision, and one that requires an organized and impenetrable defense.