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Sensing a control problem? autonomous unmanned combat air systems and human control
No full textMilitary unmanned aerial system technology, remote sensing systems, and artificial intelligence all play critical roles in creating the possibility for completely autonomous unmanned combat air systems. The integration of these technologies is significantly affecting the human-technology relationship on the battlefield. Not only are these technologies decreasing the level of direct human interaction in warfare, they are also significantly increasing the physical distance between humans and machines. This increased distance raises questions regarding the ability of humanity to maintain control over autonomous weapons systems. The development of these autonomous technologies appears to validate the position of traditional technological determinists such as Martin Heidegger and Jacques Ellul, as well as contemporary thinkers such as Raymond Kurzweil, Stephen Hawking, and Elon Musk, who propose that artificial intelligence technology is not a thing that can be controlled, but rather an influence or force that transcends human ability to maintain control over, and that any sense of control is merely an illusion. This work defends the thesis that while integrated technologies are significantly contributing to the evolution of fully autonomous unmanned combat air systems, the existence and application of these technologies do not by default support the hard technological deterministic view that technology is a force or influence beyond human control, nor does the evolution of such technologies necessarily threaten humanity’s ability to maintain control
Touching Base: Race, Sport, and Community in Newport
No full textDuring the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, baseball occupied an important social and cultural space in Newport’s African-American community. Black athletic clubs, fraternal and civic organizations, and local neighborhood associations sponsored semi-professional and amateur teams that regularly competed against each other and nearby white teams. These teams functioned independently, but some found a home in the city’s organized amateur leagues. Whether independent or affiliated, these ball clubs represented Newport’s black neighborhoods and functioned as agents in the formation of racial identity and community. Equally important, minority players transformed the city’s ball fields into public spaces dedicated to the struggle for equality
The Effects of Simulations on Global Empathy
Get PDFThe learning outcomes for college curricula typically emphasize the development of a greater understanding of and empathy for people who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this research project the Alexandrian Inventory, a pretest/posttest survey instrument, was administered to undergraduate students to examine which simulations used in two courses were associated with the greatest changes in students’ global empathy. An analysis of the data did not reveal a clear, statistically significant association between the simulations and empathy indicators
Environmental Ethics and The Electric Power Grid: A Case for Technological Momentum
Get PDFThis qualitative analysis examines the effects of a growing environmental ethic on the electric power grid in southeastern New England from the late nineteenth century to the start of the new millennia. The increased awareness of the environment evolved into a new belief system of the population and altered the methods of construction, operation and maintenance of the advanced technology system of the electric power grid. The manner in which this occurred suggests that technological momentum is a better concept than technological determinism with which to examine the development of technological systems in the modern world.
This dissertation examines the trinity of actors affecting this process. The electric power companies, with the New England Electric System as the main protagonist, attempted to expand the electric power grid to meet expected consumer demand and economic opportunities. A devoted cadre of nascent environmentalists, dismissive of the commercial and technological requirements of the electric power grid, suggested to the population that the new idea of protecting the environment should instead take priority. The interaction of these two forces led to a governmental response that attempted to continue to meet the population’s demands while preventing the degradation of the environment. The resultant transformation of the population’s perception of the electric power grid, its regulation by the government, and its operation by the system members, suggest that advanced technology systems are influenced as much by philosophical concerns as any technical constraints
Re-appropriating the ancient monastic practice of lectio divina: A contemplative pedagogocal method of inquiry to experience wisdom embedded in the humanities
No full textThe subject of this research is the re-appropriation of the ancient Christian contemplative practice of lectio divina, which developed and evolved in the monastic schools between the 2nd and 12th centuries as a way to search for and experience wisdom embedded in sacred and literary texts. This dissertation examines how this ancient practice can be adapted in an age of advanced technology as a way for educators to reclaim the contemplative dimension of education by supporting the students’ subjective exploration of learning. This dissertation gives an historical overview of the four movements of the monastic method of lectio divina: lectio (reading), meditatio (interpreting) oratio (responding) and contemplatio (experiencing wisdom), a personal contemporary adaption of each movement in a secular Humanities course, followed by some insights and challenges for educators interested in incorporating these practices into their Humanities course. Central to this dissertation is the concrete application of the lectio divina method as a viable pedagogical tool to guide students slowly and methodically through a literary text and into a subjective experience of Wisdom in their ongoing search for what it means to be human in age of advanced technology
The Robot as Other: Sartre and Television Portrayals of Humanoid Robots in Almost Human and Humans
No full textPortrayals of humanoid robots in television series draw heavily from the historical and cultural mythology of robots. This mythology is expressed in two contemporary television series, Almost Human and Humans, in which robots are depicted as closely resembling humans in physical appearance and behavior and as fulfilling social roles usually occupied by humans. The robots are imagined with characteristics associated with human consciousness, such as emotions, individuality, and free will. An analysis of the robots in these series, using Jean Paul Sartre’s theories of consciousness and the Other, demonstrates that when the robots are depicted as conscious, the relationship between a human and robot is portrayed as one of human-to-human (or human-to-Other), not human-to-technology. Sartre’s philosophy helps describe the human characters’ fascination and fear of the robots as resulting from their perceptions of the Other’s shifting status of object and subject and the unpredictability associated with the Other’s freedom. Thus, it is not the machine aspects of the robot that are desired and feared, but the humanness within the machine. Viewed in this way, the humanoid robot as depicted these television series represents a continuing effort to define and describe the essence of humanity in a society where the boundaries between machines and humans are becomingly increasingly blurred
Promoting Global Empathy and Engagement through Real-Time Problem-Based Simulations: Outcomes from a Policymaking Simulation set in Post-Earthquake Haiti
Get PDFWe introduce a real-time problem-based simulation in which students are tasked with drafting policy to address the challenge of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in post-earthquake Haiti from a variety of stakeholder perspectives. Students who participated in the simulation completed a quantitative survey as a pretest/posttest on global empathy, political awareness, and civic engagement, and provided qualitative data through post-simulation focus groups. The simulation was run in four courses across three campuses in a variety of instructional settings from 2013 to 2015. An analysis of the data reveals that scores on several survey items measuring global empathy and political/civic engagement increased significantly, while qualitative student comments corroborated the results. This format of a real-time problem-based policymaking simulation is readily adaptable to other ongoing and future global crises using the framework provided in this paper
Classical-Christian Friendship Operating in Western Literature: Oral Traditions to the Apex of Print Culture
Get PDFThe classical-Christian model of friendship has operated for many centuries from oral traditions and through the age of print. However, technological developments in communication and media rearrange mindscapes. Consequently, values, or, those things that give meaning, can change, such as perceptions of friendship. If one accepts that communication is vital to human relationships, the paradigm for the classical-Christian friendship should operate according to the new vocabulary of expanding communication and media possibilities. This work examines literature and philosophical thought within their historical contexts in order to gauge the operation of the classical-Christian friendship model from the beginning of Western literature to Western literature at the apex of print culture