The Importance of Descriptive Accounts of Human Beings

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Dr. Picard: Can we get moral prescriptions from simply describing what is the case? He says some philosophers want to ask where does this ought to come from, right? "We need something outside of ourselves to tell us to go treat other people as equals," he says. Dr. Picard: I find that my profession has made a huge difference in my life. It's such a better world.

If new and improved A.I. tools can write your next essay, create Picasso-style art, or produce a believable deep-fake, it’s fair to ask: Are we manufacturing human brains?

In this episode, we dive into the complexity of the human brain — and what this means for morality, meaning, and purpose. You’ll hear from Dr. Rosalind Picard (MIT Media Lab) and Dr. Shahram Khoshbin (Harvard Medical School). This excerpt is from a Forum event at Harvard Medical School in 2016, and is moderated by Dr. Patrick Smith, a principal faculty member for the Initiative on Health, Religion, and Spirituality at Harvard Medical School.

Watch the full Forum event here.
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