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The Edge Of Sentience
''The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI'' is a 2024 book by British philosopher Jonathan Birch, published by Oxford University Press. It explores the ethical and policy challenges arising at the boundaries of sentience in humans, non-human animals, and artificial intelligence systems. Birch proposes a precautionary framework for decision-making under uncertainty about sentience, emphasising democratic deliberation, proportionality, and welfare protection. Background Jonathan Birch is a Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics and the lead investigator of the Foundations of Animal Sentience project. In 2021, he chaired a UK government-commissioned review of scientific evidence on sentience in cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans. The findings contributed to the UK's decision to extend legal recognition of sentience to invertebrates such as octopuses, crabs, and lobsters in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Birch (philosopher)
Jonathan Birch is a British philosopher and professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His work addresses the philosophy of biology and behavioural sciences, especially questions concerning sentience, bioethics, animal welfare, and the evolution of social behaviour and social norms. In 2017, he published the book ''The Philosophy of Social Evolution,'' which explores social behaviour in everything from microorganisms to humans and higher primates. In 2021, he was the Principal Investigator of a review that led the UK to recognize cephalopods and decapod crustaceans as sentient.Commentary: * * * * * In 2024, he published the book ''The Edge of Sentience,'' which examines the concept of sentience, whether artificial intelligence or animals like Insect, insects may be sentient, and how to handle the Ethics of uncertain sentience, uncertainty. Education Birch read for a BA (Hons), Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree, honours in Natural Scien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonardo (journal)
''Leonardo'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the MIT Press covering the application of contemporary science and technology to the arts and music. History The journal, ''Leonardo'', was established in 1968 by artist and scientist Frank Malina in Paris, France. Since 1968, ''Leonardo'' has published writings by artists who work with science- and technology-based art media. Journal operations were moved to the San Francisco Bay Area by Frank's son Roger Malina, an astronomer and space scientist, who took over operations of the journal upon Frank Malina's death in 1981. In 1982, the International Society for the Arts Sciences and Technology (Leonardo, The International Society of the Arts, Sciences and Technology, Leonardo/ISAST) was founded to further the aims of ''Leonardo'' by providing avenues of communication for artists working in contemporary media. The society also publishes ''Leonardo Music Journal'', the ''Leonardo Electronic Almanac'', ''Leonardo Reviews ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sentientism
Sentientism (or sentiocentrism) is an ethical view that places sentient individuals at the center of moral concern. It holds that both humans and other sentient individuals have interests that must be considered. Gradualist sentientism attributes moral consideration relatively to the degree of sentience. Sentientists consider that arbitrarily giving different moral weight to sentient beings based solely on their species membership is a form of unjustified discrimination known as speciesism. Many self-described humanists see themselves as "sentientists" where the term ''humanism'' contrasts with ''theism'' and does not describe the sole focus of humanist concerns. Sentientism stands in opposition to the philosophy of anthropocentrism. Origin The term sentientism was used by John Rodman in 1977 who referred to Peter Singer's philosophy as "a kind of zoöcentric sentientism". Andrew Linzey defined the term in 1980 to denote an attitude that arbitrarily favours sentients over non ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pain In Animals
Pain negatively affects the health and welfare of animals. "Pain" is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage." Only the animal experiencing the pain can know the pain's quality and intensity, and the degree of suffering. It is harder, if even possible, for an observer to know whether an emotional experience has occurred, especially if the sufferer cannot communicate. Therefore, this concept is often excluded in definitions of pain in animals, such as that provided by Zimmerman: "an aversive sensory experience caused by actual or potential injury that elicits protective motor and vegetative reactions, results in learned avoidance and may modify species-specific behaviour, including social behaviour." Nonhuman animals cannot report their feelings to language-using humans in the same manner as human communication, but ob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moral Circle Expansion
Moral circle expansion is an increase over time in the number and type of entities given moral consideration. The general idea of moral inclusion was discussed by ancient philosophers and since the 19th century has inspired social movements related to human rights and animal rights. Especially in relation to animal rights, the philosopher Peter Singer has written about the subject since the 1970s, and since 2017 so has the think tank Sentience Institute, part of the 21st-century effective altruism movement. There is significant debate on whether humanity actually has an expanding moral circle, considering topics such as the lack of a uniform border of growing moral consideration and the disconnect between people's moral attitudes and their behavior. Research into the phenomenon is ongoing. History Early discussions of the moral circle The moral circle was discussed as early as the 2nd century by Stoic philosopher Hierocles, who described in ''On Appropriate Acts'' the conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethics Of Uncertain Sentience
The ethics of uncertain sentience is an area of applied ethics concerned with how to treat individuals whose capacity for sentience—the ability to subjectively feel, perceive, or experience—remains scientifically or philosophically uncertain. The topic is particularly significant in animal ethics, where questions have arisen regarding the moral status of animals such as crustaceans, insects, and fish, and whether they can experience pain. It also applies to debates in neuroethics and the ethics of artificial intelligence. A common approach to these issues involves invoking the precautionary principle, which holds that in cases of uncertainty, it is morally preferable to assume sentience rather than risk causing harm to potentially sentient beings. Views Animal ethics David Foster Wallace in his 2005 essay " Consider the Lobster" investigated the potential sentience and capacity of crustaceans to experience pain and the resulting ethical implications of eating them. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethics Of Artificial Intelligence
The ethics of artificial intelligence covers a broad range of topics within AI that are considered to have particular ethical stakes. This includes algorithmic biases, Fairness (machine learning), fairness, automated decision-making, accountability, privacy, and Regulation of artificial intelligence, regulation. It also covers various emerging or potential future challenges such as machine ethics (how to make machines that behave ethically), Lethal autonomous weapon, lethal autonomous weapon systems, Artificial intelligence arms race, arms race dynamics, AI safety and AI alignment, alignment, technological unemployment, AI-enabled misinformation, how to treat certain AI systems if they have a moral status (AI welfare and rights), artificial superintelligence and Existential risk from artificial general intelligence, existential risks. Some application areas may also have particularly important ethical implications, like Artificial intelligence in healthcare, healthcare, education, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artificial Consciousness
Artificial consciousness, also known as machine consciousness, synthetic consciousness, or digital consciousness, is the consciousness hypothesized to be possible in artificial intelligence. It is also the corresponding field of study, which draws insights from philosophy of mind, philosophy of artificial intelligence, cognitive science and neuroscience. The same terminology can be used with the term "sentience" instead of "consciousness" when specifically designating phenomenal consciousness (the ability to feel qualia). Since sentience involves the ability to experience ethically positive or negative (i.e., ''valenced'') mental states, it may justify welfare concerns and legal protection, as with animals. Some scholars believe that consciousness is generated by the interoperation of various parts of the brain; these mechanisms are labeled the neural correlates of consciousness or NCC. Some further believe that constructing a system (e.g., a computer system) that can emulate this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Consciousness
Animal consciousness, or animal awareness, is the Quality (philosophy), quality or state of self-awareness within an animal, or of being aware of an external object or something within itself. In humans, consciousness has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, qualia, the ability to experience or to feeling, feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind. Despite the difficulty in definition, many philosophers believe there is a broadly shared underlying intuition about what consciousness is. The topic of animal consciousness is beset with a number of difficulties. It poses the problem of other minds in an especially severe form because animals, lacking the ability to use human language, cannot communicate their experiences. It is also difficult to reason objectively about the question because a denial that an animal is conscious is often taken to imply that they do not feel, their life has no value, and that harming the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HighBridge Audio
RBMedia is an audiobook publishing company with sales globally. Headquartered in Landover, Maryland, it claims to be the largest audiobook publisher in the world. The company was founded in 2017 through the acquisition of independent audiobook companies, which now operate as imprints of RBMedia. Among them are: Recorded Books, Tantor Media, HighBridge Audio, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, W.F. Howes, Wavesound, GraphicAudio. With studios in New York and elsewhere, it is based near the former Recorded Books headquarters. After being assembled by Shamrock Advisors and controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, it was acquired in September 2023 by H.I.G. Capital and Francisco Partners. History Recorded Books Recorded Books (later to be the "RB" in RBMedia) was founded in Maryland in 1978 and was a pioneer in the industry. When it was acquired in December 1999 by Haights Cross Communications, the company operated as its division. Eight months after purchasing HighBridge Audio from Workm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NYU School Of Law
The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ... research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest surviving law school in New York (state), New York State and one of the oldest law schools in the United States. Located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYU Law grants Juris Doctor, J.D., Master of Laws, LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees. In , NYU Law's bar passage rate was 94.9%, the sixth-highest in the United States. History New York University School of Law was founded in 1835, making it the oldest law school in New York City. It is also the oldest surviving law school in New York (state), N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biosemiotics (journal)
''Biosemiotics'' is a triannual peer-reviewed scientific journal on biosemiotics published by Springer Science+Business Media. It was established in 2008 with 3 issues per year and is an official journal of the '' International Society for Biosemiotic Studies''. The current editor-in-chief is Yogi Hale Hendlin (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in: According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a type of journal ranking. Journals with higher impact factor values are considered more prestigious or important within their field. The Impact Factor of a journa ... of 0.711. References External links * Semiotics journals Biology journals Springer Science+Business Media academic journals Academic journals established in 2008 Triannual journals {{semiotics-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
