What, if Anything, is Wrong with Deepfakes? ..... Deepfake technology—the ability to produce realistic looking and sounding video or audio files of people doing or saying things they did not do or say—brings with it unprecedented ethical concerns. But what, exactly, are these concerns? And how serious are they? (ADDED 3/3/24)
DEI and Equality ..... Like Affirmative Action programs before them, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are a source of heated disagreement between the Left and Right, with their competing conceptions of moral equality. Under what conditions (if any) are such programs justified? Or perhaps even mandatory? (ADDED 19/5/25)
Epistemic Injustice? ..... Epistemic injustice involves unjust devaluation of a person or group in their capacity as knowers, because their personal testimony is less trusted, or their self-understanding is hampered by deficient social concepts. But are these injustices really epistemic, and are all of them really injustice? (ADDED 13/8/24)
Disagreeing with Equals? .... How much should your confidence in your beliefs diminish when you learn that others, who seem just as informed and reasonable as you, hold beliefs contrary to yours? Perhaps a little less confident, or even suspend belief? Or could you remain just as confident as you were? (ADDED 13/8/24)
Do Numbers Exist? ... Skepticism about numbers has a long history. Some are irrational, some are negative, and others imaginary. It does raise the question: where in the world are they to be found? Not on earth, it seems. In heaven, as Plato thought? Or are they are all just very useful fictions? (ADDED 25/11/24)
Newcomb's Problem .... God presents you with two boxes: one with $1000; the other, opaque, with $1M or $0. And a choice: take only the opaque box, or take both. But He predicted your choice, and put $1M in the opaque box if He predicted you take the one, and $0 if He predicted you take both. What to choose? (ADDED 19/5/25)
Other Topics for Future Discussion : Do we have libertarian free will? • What is a Pathology? • What is a fair division of household labor? • What is masculinity?