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AI Art is Theft: Labour, Extraction, and Exploitation—Or, On the Dangers of Stochastic Pollocks
Trystan S. Goetze, PhilPapers, 2024/01/19

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This is a really good presentation of the argument that AI art is a form of theft from human artists. See especially the argument that "the development and use of AI image generators... is relevantly different from a human artist's development and exercise of their creative skills." The core argument is that "The arrival of AI image generators has disrupted the distribution of social goods in creative fields," forcing many artists out of work. But "When human artists borrow from one another's work, no such injustice arises." It also addresses the lack of consent for uses of that sort; "Without asking for the artist's permission to use the products of their creative labour, AI developers are treating the artist merely as a means to their own ends." I can think of objections to these arguments, but it's good to see them presented so clearly. Image: Convergence, 1952 by Jackson Pollock.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Smartphones: Parts of Our Minds? Or Parasites?
Rachael L Brown, Robert C Brooks, PhilSci Archive, 2024/01/19

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The George Siemens version of connectivism (but not my own) could be considered a variant of the Extended Mind Thesis (EMT) "that rather than being bound in the brain or neural system 'cognition leaks out into body and world'", as described, say, by Andy Clark. An alternative suggestion, suggested by the title, is that smartphones function more like cognitive parasites "designed to capture our attention for their own ends... a means for big tech companies (and others) to exploit and manipulate us." In this paper Brown and Brooks suggest a third alternative: that smartphones are "symbiotic partners" where "the activity of a modern smartphone reflects, at least in part, the goals and desires of the companies that produced it and the software companies that supplied the apps" that can produce benefits as well as harms.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

From the Right to Science as an epistemic-cultural human right to the Right to Expertise
Michela Massimi, Expertise. Philosophical Perspectives, 2024/01/19

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The U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) is well known for declaring in article 27 that everyone has the right to an education. But it is worth noting that in the following article it also says "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits." These also are rights related to education, and in particular, as culture, arts and science can be employed in the service of education. This interpretation might be thought of as an "epistemic-cultural" human right, that is, a right concerning scientific knowledge as a part of wider cultural practices, including education. Now we might read this as just meaning "sharing the benefits", but a wider (and more correct) reading could be "sharing the expertise". You can't just deny people access to the findings of science, to methods of scientific research, to the ability to engage in scientific reasoning for oneself, and to be a part of a global scientific community where "their knowledge claims and their underpinning tools and methods and practices travel over time and across geographical regions and cultures."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Inference to the Best Explanation, Reflective Equilibrium, and Subjective Probability
Erich Rast, 2024/01/19

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How do we come up with explanations for what we observe. In contemporary science, an explanation is based on a model, where this model serves as the best explanation for the phenomena. This presentation (12 page PDF) considers the question of model formation through inference to the best explanation (also known as 'abduction') and asks how this is connected to the idea of subjective probability or plausibility. There are different interpretations of subjective probability (for example, Ramsey defines it in terms of how much we would bet on an outcome) but these aren't really explored here. But the presentation does clearly map out both processes (ie., abduction and subjective probability) and lists six possible relations between the two. Why is this important? Well it shows that there isn't a direct link from observation to explanation. A lot happens in between, and we need to be clear about exactly how we've made the leap from what we observe to why we think it happened.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Wrong intelligence focus
Matthias Melcher, x28's New Blog, 2024/01/19

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Good argument leading to the following conclusion: "I think it is not necessary to try to extend the concept of intelligence. Instead, awareness is needed of how limited this notion is, and that other mental qualities might be much more beneficial for an unknown sustainable future." Because "the common understanding of the term intelligence implies a scarcity of the individuals who possess a lot of it. Which, in turn, likely promotes unfairness simply by game-theoretical 'power of the few'. But democracy is able to overturn this by the power of the many, and to decide that everyone shall be treated equal, no matter if they are 'created' equal."

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Drawn From Cognitive Science
Javier Arguello, Natalie Young, Edutopia, 2024/01/19

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Even if a practice is supported by research, it doesn't follow that the explanation is supported by research. This article offers a case in point. Strategies such as focusing attention, staged repetition and interleaving are described. No problem. But the explanations are a mish-mash, sometimes treating the brain as a computer (eg., "what you teach is actively being processed"), a storage device ("pulling a stored memory out of long-term memory"), and a network ("activating and making connections to prior knowledge"). The terms 'data', 'information' and 'knowledge' are used almost interchangeably. Be wary of the explanations! They stimulate models or metaphors in the readers' minds that lead to erroneous assumptions about learning and development.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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