Jacob Howland, a philosophy professor, discusses the effects of technology on the human spirit. Topics include memory and recollection, Plato's Phaedrus, biblical garments of skin, AI's impact on human capabilities, paganism and idolatry, intelligence, and the internet.
Technological advancements like AI and chat GPT can cannibalize human skills, leading to a disconnection from reality and a loss of direct intuition.
Technology should be used as a tool to engage with and order the world, rather than becoming a substitute for it.
The rapid growth of technology poses challenges to human capacity, emphasizing the importance of preserving intelligence, intuition, and wisdom.
Deep dives
The Cannibalistic Nature of AI
The podcast discusses the potential dangers of artificial intelligence and its impact on human capacities. The guest speaker highlights how technological advancements like chat GPT and AI translation programs can eat away at human skills like reading and writing, rendering them obsolete. This cannibalistic relationship between humans and AI creates a disconnection from reality and a loss of direct intuition. As AI continues to consume and generate its own output, there are concerns about the diminishing human spirit and the potential for mental health issues.
The Shifting Relationship Between Humans, Nature, and Technology
The conversation delves into the relationship between humans, nature, and technology. Drawing on ancient Greek and biblical perspectives, the speaker explains how technology, like the dynamo, has the potential to interpose itself between humans and reality. The danger arises when technology becomes a substitute for the world that humans are meant to engage with and order themselves by. The discussion emphasizes the need to find an optimal balance between technology and our capacities for direct intuition and a deeper connection with reality.
The Steep Curve of Technological Advancement
The episode explores the rapid acceleration of technological advancements and its implications for human capabilities and well-being. The guest speaker cites Henry Adams' observations on the exponential growth of technology and the potential mental strain it can induce. The ever-increasing power of technology, especially with the incorporation of artificial intelligence, poses challenges for human capacity to cope and maintain coherence. The conversation underscores the importance of preserving human intelligence, intuition, and wisdom in the face of overwhelming technological progress.
The Golden Calf and the Tabernacle
The podcast discusses the significance of the story of the Golden Calf and the revelation of the Tabernacle. The Golden Calf represents a worshipping of the work of human hands and indulging in desires, while the Tabernacle symbolizes an ordered and directed use of technology towards transcendence. The podcast explores how these two stories highlight the potential dangers and proper use of technology.
Work and Leisure in the Technological Age
The podcast delves into the blurred boundaries between work and leisure in the modern technological age. It emphasizes the need for a reorientation towards meaningful leisure activities and a proper understanding of work. The discussion highlights the negative consequences of a society driven by constant work and entertainment, calling for a return to balanced and deliberate engagement with practices and institutions.
I had an amazing discussion with Jacob Howland about the fundamental question of technology. We investigate from both the Biblical and ancient Greek perspectives what technology is and its effects on the human spirit. We discuss the notion of memory and recollection, Plato’s Phaedrus, the Biblical notion of garments of skin, ChatGPT and AI, work and leisure, technology’s effects on human capabilities, paganism and idolatry, intelligence, and “the matrix”, the internet, intuition, and much more.
Jacob Howland is the Provost and Director of the Intellectual Foundations Program at UATX, commonly known as the University of Austin. His latest book is Glaucon's Fate: History, Myth, and Character in Plato's Republic (Paul Dry Books, 2018): https://www.amazon.com/Glaucons-Fate-History-Character-Republic/dp/1589881346
Jacob Howland’s website: https://www.jacobhowland.com/ His articles on Unherd: https://unherd.com/author/jacob-howlandunherd-com/
YouTube version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/o468OtytbVQ
Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up 01:02 - Intro music 01:28 - Introduction 01:59 - Different narratives about technology 04:09 - Technology from the Greek perspective 05:01 - Plato's Phaedra - and fixing words 08:16 - Egypt 09:29 - Suppressing recollection 11:13 - The garments of skin 15:02 - Work - sorting chaos 18:17 - Human capabilities diminishing 19:53 - ChatGPT cannibalizes itself 22:06 - A pagan god that feeds on humans 23:52 - Human batteries 26:03 - Intuition - direct access to reality 28:49 - What do we mean by intelligence? 30:47 - Understand AI as idolatry 32:19 - The gold of the golden calf 34:53 - The tabernacle 35:33 - A body of power 37:39 - card: Beasts in Revelation 39:16 - Work and leisure 47:45 - Monastic life and leisure 49:18 - Not anti-technology 50:54 - The Henry Adams curve 56:56 - The Beast kills the whore 1:00:17 - Plato's cave 1:01:19 - There is no "solution" 1:03:24 - Prometheus’ cycle of desire 1:05:58 - The flip side of all of this 1:10:15 - Paradise Lost 1:11:09 - The need for transcendence 1:12:26 - Re-engage at the human scale
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