Infinite Monkeys (Infinite Monkeys Podcast)

Today on the podcast Tao, Gunnar, and Tyler talk worldviews. After a chat on new years resolutions and music the monkeys chat about optimism and cynicism. We’re all well versed with the common trope “is the glass half empty or half full?” but what exactly is optimism and cynicism? What pitfalls do these viewpoints create for people’s lives? How well does this cover the spectrum of people that we encounter on a daily basis? The monkeys find that merely looking at these extremes doesn’t really reflect people that well (surprise). Where do nihilists fall in this? What about people where everything matters? The monkeys attempt to fit life perspectives into a box with this one.

This week Tao, Tyler, and Gunnar chat about AI and some of the implications. The monkeys contemplate where technology will take people and what exactly AI is before looking at some of the problems. What happens if AI can change itself and rewrite its own code? Will AI inevitably outcompete humanity? Will AI view people as a problem to solve and actively remove them; or merely cause their obsolescence? Are we doomed to a world of being pampered and coddled by AI? It seems as though we are at an important point in time in history where we are potentially summoning our replacements. What are your thoughts?

This week Tao, Tyler, and Gunnar chat about AI and some of the implications. The monkeys contemplate where technology will take people and what exactly AI is before looking at some of the problems. What happens if AI can change itself and rewrite its own code? Will AI inevitably outcompete humanity? Will AI view people as a problem to solve and actively remove them; or merely cause their obsolescence? Are we doomed to a world of being pampered and coddled by AI? It seems as though we are at an important point in time in history where we are potentially summoning our replacements. What are your thoughts?

Today the monkeys try to figure out if we’re in charge of our actions! In trying to do this some interesting ideas such as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and string theory are discussed. What exactly is free-will? Are there ethical implications in telling people that they are predetermined to act and behave a certain way? Is physics destined to resolve the issue of free-will? How does string theory and the 10th dimension contribute to this problem? Do you think you’re in charge? Did you really decide to listen to this podcast or was it fate? The monkeys try to answer these questions and more on this episode of the podcast.

Do we alter our ethics in accordance to our belief in determinism? Here is a nifty paper saying so: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02045.x. It has nothing to do with whatever Gunnar was talking about (invisible people?) but illustrates the point well enough.

Today the monkeys try to figure out if we’re in charge of our actions! In trying to do this some interesting ideas such as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and string theory are discussed. What exactly is free-will? Are there ethical implications in telling people that they are predetermined to act and behave a certain way? Is physics destined to resolve the issue of free-will? How does string theory and the 10th dimension contribute to this problem? Do you think you’re in charge? Did you really decide to listen to this podcast or was it fate? The monkeys try to answer these questions and more on this episode of the podcast.

Do we alter our ethics in accordance to our belief in determinism? Here is a nifty paper saying so: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02045.x. It has nothing to do with whatever Gunnar was talking about (invisible people?) but illustrates the point well enough.

Today, the Infinite Monkeys talk education! After a quick chat on burning garbage and the greatness of Sweden, the monkeys talk about getting learnt. What are the issues with current education systems? Whether that be teacher quality or access to information, could we fix these issues? Could everything be fixed with more funding or is there a more fundamental change that can accomplish the same goals? How much do you love word problems? Join the monkeys for an interesting podcast that will teach you mind blowing facts about the nature of light and how to never get ripped off by pizza places again!

If you want (and can afford to), feel free to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Infinitemonkeys! The monkeys have an infinite amount of ideas and your support enables continued development and sharing of these ideas. Getting funding would enable our monkeys to feel like they’re doing a good job, increase production quality, and expand into the possibility of delivering more thrilling content! For science!

Important Correction: There is one accidental omission to this discussion - if ProRep is voted in, you may or may not be able to vote directly for the person whom will be your regional representative. You may only have the power to vote for what party you want to represent you regionally, and the party has the full power to choose the candidate. This decision will be decided for the public by politicians - as of right now, the public does not have a say for how the regional candidate is chosen.

In this podcast, the monkeys discuss electoral reform. British Columbians (Canada) have an upcoming mail-in vote for-or-against proportional representation (ProRep). Choices being the current system (winner-takes-all) or a change towards proportional system (proportion of vote equals proportion of power). To make it more confusing, if British Columbians choose ProRep, they get a choice between three separate voting systems. The monkeys try to delve deep into the pros and cons of each system as well as our own biases and preferences. Is voting important? How do voting systems reflect local and public will? Does fascism occur if people are represented proportionally? Or is it the winner-take-all paradigm that contributes to this phenomenon? Apologies for the last half-hour of poop-flinging.

Voting systems are fun!

In this episode, the monkeys try to figure out what makes a debate, well, a debate and what exactly makes a conversation ‘intellectual.’ Do debates require a winner? Often political debates are broken down into winners and losers while the arguments themselves fall to the wayside, is this how they should be? Do conversations differ from debates because they enable non-binary views and nuance? Are emotional appeals different from charismatic delivery? What do you think makes a good intellectual conversation? The monkeys attempt to answer these questions and more while referring to debates on colour, science, emotion, and more. If that sounds good to you, please consider becoming a patron today at http://www.patreon.com/InfiniteMonkeys.

In this discussion, our three monkeys chatted about the extent that safe places should exist to discuss taboo topics. Should we have a safe place to discuss left wing idealogies? If we do, do we need to also have a place for people to discuss right wing idealogies? After having their gut reactions challenged, the monkeys cooled off with a discussion about forgiveness and criminalization. This podcast contains conclusions that may be controversial, and like always, we encourage you to reach out and let us know what your thoughts are. After all, we're just trying to be the best monkeys we can be. If that sounds good to you, please consider becoming a patron today at http://www.patreon.com/InfiniteMonkeys.