Colin Allen just posted an article entitled
“The Future of Moral Machines”
on the New York Times Opinionator page. The article offers offers some interesting insights into the moral authority of machines both past and present.
Technology and Society
The New Normal
The Japan Times for January 1, 2011 offered this article on a cesium scanning store with the title “The New Normal?”
The implications are striking, if perhaps a bit overblown. Imagine what it would be to have long-term scanning for cesium, and possibly other isotopes, in Japan as part of the quotidian landscape?
Vogue Archive: The Collapsing cost of information brings the past smack into the middle of the present
It is now becoming extremely cheap to input, reformat and process information. That situation makes it possible for Vogue Magazine to make accessible every single issue from its founding in 1892. That opens up to the casual viewer the whole range of Vogue’s history and allows for the appropriation and adaptation of images, words and ideas from a broad swath of history. See Vogue Archive
Would we be better off if we were run by robots?
Of course it is a joke, or mostly a joke, perhaps.
But as we witness the complete inability of humans to regulate themselves and embrace global projects that will start to address the problems of limited natural resources, globalization and climate change, we cannot help wonder whether humans are even capable of rising to the occasion.
When Albert Einstein wrote about world federalism in the 1950s, the facts were already clear: technology has moved so far beyond human’s ability to control that we need a global approach to assuring that technology is used responsibly and global war can be avoided. And yet, although the need for “world federalism” is even greater today, and the world is increasingly integrated by trade and the global exchange of information, if anything, humans are even less capable of coming up with global solutions.
The Need for Peace: Fukushima and Technology
Many people dismiss the call for global peace as an unrealistic dream of the naive. I do believe that we must uphold high ideals if we hope to achieve anything in this world. But at the same time, there is a practical reason why we cannot afford to contemplate war any more. The cause is none other than the unprecedented acceleration in the rate of technological change.
Make the Next President of KAIST a Woman! (article in Korean)
Article arguing in Korean that the next president of KAIST should be a woman.
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KAIST(한국과학기술원·총장 서남표)는 대한민국 과학의 방향 및 방법의 선도자로서 중요한 역할을 맡고 있다. 지난 7년 동안 KAIST의 혁신은 대한민국의 혁신으로 재빠르게 이어졌다. 로버트 러플린 미국 스탠퍼드대 교수가 총장으로 임명됐을 때 KAIST는 새로 국제적인 전망을 제시하고 한국 연구기관의 국제적인 역할을 강조하면서 한국 교육제도에 적지않은 영향을 미쳤다. 또한 서남표 총장 부임 이후 KAIST 대학운영 및 교육개혁에 대한 국민적 공감대를 형성하는 계기도 마련했다.
Panel on Cooperation in Energy, Transportation and Environment fields in Northeast Asia at Global Peace Convention
The recent Global Peace Convention in Seoul (November 28-29, 2011) brought together a remarkably diverse group of individuals from NGOs, business and academics to discuss the future of North-South relations. The concept of addressing the North-South division by inviting the input of youth from around the world was particularly striking. See the introductory video for Global Peace Convention for a sense of the approach to North-South relations:
“Next president of KAIST should be a woman” (Korea Herald,Article)
Korea Herald
2011-12-05 19:56
“Next president of KAIST should be a woman”
KAIST plays a critical role in Korea as a trendsetter for the nation in the sciences. Innovations at KAIST quickly become innovations throughout Korea. It was a tremendous breakthrough when Professor Robert Laughlin of Stanford was appointed president of KAIST, bringing a new international emphasis to the institution. KAIST set a precedent through that appointment of hiring foreign faculty that impacted the entire nation. The decision by President Suh Nam-pyo of KAIST to employ English as the primary language of instruction has also done much to increase KAIST’s global profile and sparked a serious discussion about the use of English at the majority of universities in Korea.
As we consider who might serve as the next president of KAIST after Professor Suh Nam-pyo, it is important to keep in mind the symbolic value of that role in reaffirming KAIST’s role as a leading institution in Korea, and the world. I would suggest that, if at all possible, we should appoint a woman as the next president of KAIST.
Discovering Korea’s Sleeping Technology Treasures (article in Korean)
This article calls for a complete revision of the concept of technology in Korea, with an emphasis on traditional technologies. Munhwa Ilbo, November 30, 2011.
문화일보
2011년 11월 30일
千年의 잠에서 깨어나는 한국인의 기술
이만열/경희대 후마니타스 칼리지 교수·동아시아문명학
하루가 다르게 새로운 제품들이 쏟아지는 21세기 과학기술의 시대를 맞아 새삼 ‘기술’이라는 용어에 관심을 가질 필요가 있다. 우리가 직면하는 문제들은 그 단어에 내포된 제한적인 의미를 뛰어넘어 행동하기를 요구하기 때문이다. 기술은 일반적으로는 전자산업 부품의 디자인과 제작을 위한 적용 기술을, 보다 좁게는 기계공학,
A Woman as the Next President of KAIST “카이스트의 여성 총장을 기대한다” (in Korean)
이만열 Emanuel Pastreich경희대 후마니타스 칼리지 교수)
Circles and Squares
2011.11.27
“카이스트의 여성 총장을 기대한다”
카이스트(KAIST)는 대한민국 과학의 방향 및 방법의 선도자로서 중요한 역할을 맡고 있다. 지난 7년 동안 카이스트의 혁신은 대한민국의 혁신으로 재빠르게 이어진다. 로버트 포플린 미국 스탠퍼드대 교수가 총장으로 임명됐을 때 카이스트는 새로 국제적인 전망을 제시하고 한국 연구기관의 국제적인 역할을 강조하면서 한국 교육제도에 적지않은 영향을 미쳤다. 또한 카이스트 서남표 총장 부임이후 카이스트 대학운영및 교육개혁에 대한 국민적 공감대를 형성하는 계기도 마련했다.