My Answers for HWproj5

Question:

• In-class students: send me an email (jdberleant@ualr.edu), picking any class day between now and the end of the semester for your presentation to the class. The presentation will be 5 minutes long. Up to about 8 people per class day can be scheduled, so get your request in soon so you get the day you requested. (Online students: you may present in class if you like, or instead, you can submit a video, or slides that would be usable for a presentation of about 5 minutes.)

Answer: I would like to present on F Nov. 25.

Question:

For your term project (see “Course Information” tab for details):

• If it is a paper, write 349 words or more of it to your blog. MS Word tells you how many words are in a document you are editing in a little status bar in the lower left corner of its window. OpenOffice Writer has a tool that you can click to find out the # of words. Let me know if you can’t find it. Do not include material submitted for a previous HW, obviously.
• If your project is not a paper, do the equivalent amount of work, and provide a brief (but with specific details) description, and evidence as appropriate, in your blog. If you’re not sure what to do, I can try to suggest something.
  

Answer:

What sort of system could rid a society of prejudices like racism, classism, sexism, etc.?
To answer that let me first describe the system we currently operate under and explain why it is not likely to rid the world of prejudices. Then, I will present the system I think is most likely to do away with prejudices.

Currently most of the world operates under capitalism. Capitalize, means "to earn at another's expense" thus, it is by default an unethical model for society. Capitalism encourages individualism, putting an emphasis on the "me me me." This mindset also ensures that it is easy for individuals to turn a blind eye to their neighbors' sufferings. The individual can simply say "It's not my problem" or even more interestingly, will find ways to convince themselves that their neighbor is not trustworthy enough to be helped. Individualism teaches each person in society to only rely on themselves. Essentially, it tells us that we are the only person we can truly trust. This is a violently unhealthy conclusion to reach and borders on paranoid thought. If we cannot trust one another and we are not compelled to relieve one another of suffering no matter the cost, then we cannot possibly hope to be rid of prejudice while operating under capitalism. Thus, synthetic lifeforms would never thrive with our current way of doing things.

So what system would work?
I believe that the only way for synthetic lifeforms to properly integrate into society is by doing away with the individualistic mindset. The most effective method of doing this is by teaching about socialism and communism and then properly and effectively implementing it. Socialism and communism emphasize collectivism. Individuals in nations like China, Cuba, and Vietnam are willing to give up nearly anything to ensure that their neighbor does not suffer. These two political ideologies are more concerned with the betterment of society as a whole, or in other words mankind as a whole, rather than ensuring individuals can prosper at the expense of others. Due to interference from capitalist nations, no socialist nation has ever achieved communism. Thus, there is no real life example I can present to you where all prejudice has been done away with. However, the ideology is built upon bettering one another and ensuring that no one suffers. Experiencing prejudice is suffering, so communism would strive to do away with all prejudice. It is the only system I can see offering a solution that would satisfy synthetic lifeforms.

The form of communism that I would offer as the solution has never been attempted because it has a strong focus on synthetic life and AI which has only recently come close to fulfilling the requirements needed. This type of communism is called Fully Automated Luxury Communism (FALC). You can read about it here. FALC emphasizes synthetic lifeforms doing most, if not all, of the work in society. Synthetic lifeforms would not have the requirements that an organic human would in order to work for long periods without feeling exhausted and mistreated. Due to this, humans could spend most of their time relaxing and doing things they want to like creating art and other things. The truth is humans enjoy making things, so we would never stop doing things altogether. 

Ultimately, I believe we are headed towards two possibilities:

1. A capitalist dystopia where AI is restricted to the upper/ruling class while the poor starve because they are put out of work and thus, have no money to buy things with. A society where prejudice is allowed to continue and the synthetic lifeforms grow bitter with humanity.
2. A communist utopia where AI is used to benefit everyone equitably. Humans are able to enjoy life and create things freely. Prejudice is either completely eradicated or society is constantly making adjustments towards the eradication of prejudice.

Sources:

• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/give-us-fully-automated-luxury-communism/592099/