Neil Jordan

A fascinating advance currently underway in the field of artificial intelligence is the development of models to assist with peace negotiations. In collaboration with the White House, a think tank in Washington has been developing a simulator that generates potential peace-agreements to end the war in Ukraine, and also scores the likelihood of each deal being accepted by the combatants and other stakeholders. Another project, the development of which is based on a partnership between the British Foreign Office and the University of California, Berkeley, is aimed at providing advice for…

Is Your Work Worth It? explores a variety of ideas in a richly illustrated discussion aimed at encouraging the reader to think about what makes work worth doing and why.

A recent article reports on work by researchers at Anthropic, the AI lab that developed a ‘reasoning’ AI model, and their ability to look into the digital brains of large language models. Investigating what happens in a neural network as an AI model ‘thinks’, they uncovered some unexpected complexity that would suggest that on some level, an LLM might have a grasp of broad concepts and does not simply engage in pattern matching. Conversely, there is evidence to suggest that when a reasoning AI explains how it has reached a…

From April 1st this year, local authorities in England have the power, under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, to charge a Council Tax Premium of 100% on second homes. Many councils have availed themselves of the opportunity. The Justification The move to charge a premium is driven by a number of concerns about public services and the cost and availability of housing. It has been suggested that the council tax premium will provide additional funding for public services. In addition, some argue that by attaching a premium to…

The Meaning and Purpose of Work examines the different levels at which work takes place, its various intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and societal value as determinants of its meaningfulness, always with an eye on the question of why it is that we work.

In My Year with God, Svend Brinkmann charts his thinking about questions of religion over the course of a year, seeking to explore how it is possible to find meaning in faith in a modern, secularised world.

Of growing popularity at present is the phenomenon of the ‘mystery box’: a box or case purchased – usually from an online provider – that contains various ‘unknown’ objects. A fairly typical example would cost somewhere in the region of £90 and will be described by the seller as either unclaimed luggage from an airport or a collection of items including lost deliveries or goods returned to online retailers. Numerous questions can be raised with regard to the supply of the contents. We might wonder how these goods came to…

The Political Philosophy of AI explores fundamental concepts in political philosophy and applies them to central issues connected with artificial intelligence, showing that there is a rich body of thought in political philosophy as well as ethics that can contribute to our reflection on a technology that is already inherently political.

Reports abound on the potential of artificial intelligence to transform workplaces, whether in its capacity to process vast quantities of data – data that would require weeks of careful analysis on the part of human beings – in a matter of hours, or its ability to deal with routine tasks, thus freeing employees to engage more fully with other concerns. Opinion is likely to differ on the benefits of AI at work, but what of its capacity to assist those looking for employment? Generative AI models are apparently being used…

The company American Rounds is supplying vending machines from which gun owners can buy bullets, with machines currently available in food shops in the states of Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas. There are plans to expand this provision to states where hunting is popular, such as Louisiana and Colorado. Customers simply select the ammunition that they would like to buy using a touchscreen, scan their identification and collect their bullets below, the machine having used ‘built-in AI technology, card scanning capability and facial recognition software’ to match the buyer’s face to…

Are drugs like semaglutide a quick fix, or might they be opportunities to practise virtue? Obesity is thought to affect over 800 million adults worldwide and according to the World Health Organisation, has tripled since 1975. Indeed, estimates are that half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035 and very few currently have access to long-term treatment to address obesity or the conditions that accompany it. However, the development of several drugs that deliver significant weight-loss have the potential to revolutionise treatment. Semaglutide, for example, better…