[Xmca-l] Re: The ethics of artificial intelligence, past present and future

[Richard Beach]

Annalisa asked, “What does ‘languaging’ mean?” 

For more on “languaging” theory, a primary resource is Per Linnell’s 2009 book, Rethinking Language, Mind, and World Dialogically: Interactional and Contextual Theories of Human Sense-making <https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Rethinking-Language-Mind-and-World-Dialogically>. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

For research on application of languaging theory to teaching literacy see Beach & Bloome (Eds.) (2019). Languaging Relations for Transforming the Literacy and Language Arts Classrooms <https://www.routledge.com/Languaging-Relations-for-Transforming-the-Literacy-and-Language-Arts-Classroom/Beach-Bloome/p/book/9781138489912> (Routledge) and the resource website for Beach & Beauchemin (2019). Teaching Language as Action in the ELA Classroom <http://languaging.pbworks.com/> (Routledge).

Richard Beach, Professor Emeritus of English Education, University of Minnesota
rbeach@umn.edu
Websites: Digital writing <http://digitalwriting.pbworks.com/>, Media literacy <http://teachingmedialiteracy.pbworks.com/>, Teaching literature <http://teachingliterature.pbworks.com/>, Identity-focused ELA Teaching <http://identities.pbworks.com/>, Common Core State Standards <http://englishccss.pbworks.com/>, Apps for literacy learning <http://usingipads.pbworks.com/>, Teaching about climate change <http://climatechangeela.pbworks.com/>, Teaching language as action <http://languaging.pbworks.com/>



> On Dec 24, 2019, at 12:47 PM, Annalisa Aguilar <annalisa@unm.edu> wrote:
> 
> Hi Sébastien,
> 
> This sounds like a marvelous conference. I wish I could attend. 
> 
> What does "languaging" mean?
> 
> I would certainly be interested in receiving copies of the papers presented, if not a list of titles so I might find them.  
> 
> BTW, I have no issue with your announcement post on this thread. 
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Annalisa
> 
> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf of Sébastien Lerique <sebastien.lerique@normalesup.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 23, 2019 1:05 PM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: The ethics of artificial intelligence, past present and future
>  
> Dear all,
> 
> I'm jumping on the occasion created by Annalisa's email to
> announce a workshop I am organising which might interest some in
> this community: it is the "Embodied interactions, Languaging and
> the Dynamic Medium Workshop" (ELDM2020), an event gathering
> interests and works in embodiment, languaging, diversity computing
> and humane technologies, on **18th February in Lyon, France**. As
> is confirmed in the messages here, recent developments in these
> communities are ripe for focused conversations, and this workshop
> will be a coming-together for cross-pollination and explorations
> of possible common futures.
> 
> Invited speakers:
> - Elena Clare Cuffari (Worcester State University)
> - Mark Dingemanse (Radboud University)
> - Omar Rizwan (Dynamicland.org)
> - Jelle van Dijk (University of Twente)
> 
> There is an open call for proposals until 6th January 2020, and
> registration opens on 1st January. All the details are available
> on the main website: https://wehlutyk.gitlab.io/eldm2020/ <https://wehlutyk.gitlab.io/eldm2020/> . I will
> be delighted to answer any questions that might arise!
> 
> Best wishes,
> Sébastien Lerique
> 
> PS: My sincere apologies for somewhat hijacking the thread with
> this announcement. I have in fact already sent this message three
> times to the list, and they seem to be spam-filtered as the
> announcements neven went through.
> 
> 
> Annalisa Aguilar <annalisa@unm.edu> writes:
> 
> > Hello fellow and distant XMCArs,
> >
> > So today I saw this in the Intercept and thought I would share
> > for your awareness, because of the recent developments that
> > likely impact you, namely:
> >
> > * the neoliberalization of higher academic learning
> > * the compromise of privacy and civil life in the US and other
> > countries
> > * the (apparently) hidden agenda of technology as it hard-wires
> > biases and control over women, minorities, and other
> >  vulnerable people to reproduce past prejudices and power
> >  structures.
> >
> > In my thesis I discuss historical mental models of mind and how
> > they inform technology design. During reading for my thesis I
> > had always been bothered about the story of the AI Winter.
> >
> > Marvin Minsky, an "august" researcher from MIT labs of that
> > period, had discredited Frank Rosenblatt's work on Perceptrons
> > (which was reborn in the neural networks of the 1980's to early
> > naughts). That act basically neutralized funding of legitimate
> > research in AI and, through vicious academic politics, stymied
> > anyone doing research even smelling like Perceptrons. Frank
> > Rosenblatt died in 1971, likely feeling disgraced and ruined,
> > never knowing the outcome of his lifework. It is a nightmare no
> > academic would ever want.
> >
> > Thanks to Herbert Dreyfus, we know this story which is discussed
> > in What Computers Still Can't Do
> > https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/what-computers-still-cant-do <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/what-computers-still-cant-do>
> >
> > Well, it ends up that Minksy has been allegedly tied up with
> > Jeffery Epstein and his exploitation of young women.
> >
> > This has been recently reported in an article by Rodrigo
> > Ochigame of Brazil, who was a student of Joichi Ito, who ran the
> > MIT
> > Media Lab. We know that Ito's projects were funded by none other
> > than Epstein, and this reveal forced Ito's resignation. Read
> > about it here:
> > https://theintercept.com/2019/12/20/mit-ethical-ai-artificial-intelligence/ <https://theintercept.com/2019/12/20/mit-ethical-ai-artificial-intelligence/>
> >
> > I have not completed reading the article, because I had to stop
> > just to pass this on to the list, to share.
> >
> > One might say that computer technology is by its very nature
> > going to reproduce power structures, but I would rather say that
> > our mental models are not serving us to create those technology
> > tools that we require to create an equitable society. How else
> > can we free the tools from the power structures, if the only
> > people who use them are those who perpetuate privilege and
> > cheat, for example by thwarting academic freedom in its process?
> > How can we develop equality in society if the tools we
> > create come from inequitable motivations and interactions? Is it
> > even possible?
> >
> > As I see it, the ethics at MIT Labs reveals concretely how the
> > Cartesian model of mind, basically normalizes the mind of the
> > privileged, and why only a holistic mental model provides
> > safeguards against these biases that lead to these
> > abuses. Models
> > such as distributed cognition, CHAT, and similar constructs,
> > intertwine the threads of thought to the body, to culture,
> > history,
> > tool-use, language, and society, because these models
> > encapsulate how environment develops mind, which in turn
> > develops
> > environment and so on. Mind is not separate, in a certain sense,
> > mind IS material and not disembodied. It is when mind is
> > portrayed otherwise that the means of legitimizing abuse is
> > given its nutrition to germinate without check.
> >
> > I feel an odd confirmation, as much as I am horrified to learn
> > this new alleged connection of Minsky to Epstein, how the ways
> > in
> > which as a society we fool ourselves with these hyper-rational
> > models which only reproduce abusive power structures.
> >
> > That is how it is done.
> >
> > It might also be a reminder to anyone who has been unethical how
> > history has a way of revealing past deeds. Justice does
> > come, albeit slowly.
> >
> > Kind regards as we near the end of 2019,
> >
> > Annalisa

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