The Meaning Code

Balazs Kegl, a computer scientist with a PhD in AI joins today for a discussion about recognizing the danger inherent in the fears that surround the rapid development of AI. Also available on Youtube.A wide ranging conversation that includes ideas that come from the following resources: Balazs Kegl's Substack: https://balazskegl.substack.com/p/the-case-for-aligning-the-ai-scientist The AI Dilemma: https://youtu.be/xoVJKj8lcNQ Alignment experiments, here both the text and the video are vital. https://community.openai.com/t/agi-alignment-experiments-foundation-vs-instruct-various-agent-models/21031 John Vervaeke on AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-_RdKiDbz4 Quote from Martin Shaw: "Limit is the difference between growth and death."

Matt Segall weaves together the thought of Descartes, Kepler and Alfred North Whitehead in a deep synthesis with biology, physics, cognitive science and theology. Timestamps in comments. Matt Segall's website is full of great resources, videos, articles, online classes, etc. https://footnotes2plato.com/about/ His article, the Universe as a Work of Art: Images of the Cosmos in Plato Descartes and Kepler: https://footnotes2plato.com/2011/08/16/the-universe-as-a-work-of-art/ Matt's conversation with John Vervaeke from 2020: https://youtu.be/FHkIi1KZ_qk Karen's discussion of sacrifice, actuality and potential: https://youtu.be/6cbq4u2C8dk Books by Matt Segall: The Re-Emergence of Schelling https://www.amazon.com/Re-Emergence-Schelling-Philosophy-Time-Emergency/dp/3659524247/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1YUDK81UL6L8H&keywords=Matthew+Segall+books&qid=1659564534&sprefix=matthew+segall+books%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-5 Physics and the World Soul https://www.amazon.com/Physics-World-Soul-Whiteheads-Adventure-Cosmology/dp/1948609363/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2KBIGXS0BZ3YN&keywords=Matt+Segall&qid=1659564377&sprefix=matt+segall%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4 The simplification of Wolfram's Theory by Mark Jeffery: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClX6kNQ9Kt3LL6kLd4hC7sQ/videos

Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 05:32 Geeky Kid to Engineer: Ian Glendinning's Journey Ian Glendinning is an engineer from the northeast of England who has had a long career in the energy business. He grew up as a geeky kid, reading Jacob Bronofsky's Ascent of Man and excelling in STEM subjects. 14:41 Exploring the Complexities of Information Management Ian Glendinning and Karen Wong discuss the complexities of information management, from the physical technology mismatch between office-based design and hands-on construction to the need for digital twins and sophisticated models to capture the relationships between physical items. They also explore the challenges of using AI to discover patterns and relationships in free-form text. Managing Information23:41 Exploring the Difference between a Spade and a Shovel and how this difference can be used to illustrate the complexity of writing specifications. They also explore the implications of this complexity in the civil engineering and aerospace industries, and how it has led to a shift in thinking about physical models of the world. 28:09 Exploring the Concepts of Cybernetics and Systems Thinking, including the differences between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order thinking, the role of feed forward and feedback loops, and the functional relations between internal and external systems. The application of these concepts to the example of a watch, and the difficulties of multitasking with multiple screens. Cybernetics 35:03 Exploring the Relationship between Physical and Functional Relationships including the idea that physical relationships are better thought of in terms of what they do, rather than what they physically are. They explore the concept of scalability, and how it applies to metaphysics and pre-intellectual societies. They also discuss the idea of mutuality in experiencing, and how it relates to observer disturbance. Functional Relationships 43:11 Examining the Relationship Between Actions and Beliefs Values are betrayed by one's actions, and that in the last few hundred years, people have become more focused on intellectual identification than on direct participatory actions. They also discuss the importance of understanding the intent behind a piece of information, and the potential for hidden agendas. 46:43. Comparing the Perspectives of Iain Mcgilchrist and Mark Solms on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness They note that the two are friends, but have not referenced each other's work in any published paper or book. Ian Glendinning suggests that the two are both right, but have slightly different perspectives on the matter. They also discuss the scalability of this kind of thinking and how it relates to industrial information modeling..

Karen and Matt discuss reality, transhumanism, attention and habit formation. The Mary Harrington video clip starts at around 25:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufy9t-VLrzU&t=1503s The video w Jonathan Pageau, beginning at about 18:00, but the whole thing is great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbZk_YDex2E&t=2s The video on bacteria I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXWurAmtf78 The prayer book Matt mentioned, Orthodox Christian Prayers: https://stmpress.com/ Maximos the Confessor, The Ambigua, Volume 1: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674726666

Matt and I explore the concepts of rootedness versus stuckness, and discuss how these might work out in the idea of marriage, not just the covenant of marriage, but the way that the idea of marriage is near the very beginning of everything. The summary from AI.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:21 Discussing the Concepts of Being Rooted and Stuck00:06 Karen Wong and Matthew Dean Allison discuss two concepts that have come up in the last month since they last talked: being rooted and being stuck. They bring up a video that Matthew sent to Karen to illustrate the concept of being stuck and discuss how it relates to a parable from the Bible. They then decide to focus on the concept of being stuck and how it applies to their lives. 11:19 Exploring the Benefits of Marriage Over Cohabitation Karen - the advantages of marriage over cohabitation, with Karen sharing her own experience of a difficult first ten years of marriage and the helpful teachings of Bill and Annabelle Gilham on the sandpaper principle. They also explore the idea of making a vow to a partner as if it were a vow to God, and how relationships can be functional and essential like a tree in a thunderstorm. The Advantage of Being Stuck The purpose of marriage and how it helps each partner grow into who they are created to be. 20:24. Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Marriage & relationship Matt and Karen discuss the implications of social media on marriage, using the analogy of the WWE and chair shots. They explore how social media often only shows the "froth" of a marriage, and how this can lead to unrealistic expectations. They also discuss how in the past, private matters were kept private, but in the 21st century, this is no longer the case. 23:40. The importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Discussing the importance of pursuing one's highest good in marriage and life. Mattemphasizes the importance of patience and practice in preparation for marriage, and the need to be aware of the dangers of social media in creating unrealistic expectations. 36:40 Exploring the Hierarchy of Values and the Marriage of Heaven and EarthThe hierarchy of values and the marriage of heaven and earth. They explore the idea of a meta space, where evolution can search for what it needs, and the concept of teleology. They also discuss the idea of marriage as a crucible, where two disparate things can come together to form something new. Finally, they consider the idea of the feminine archetype providing the question, and the masculine archetype providing the answer, and how this puts the horse in front of the cart. Hierarchy of Values 56:54. Exploring the Benefits of Discipline and Precision Matt discusses the importance of discipline and precision in achieving one's goals, comparing the process of lighting a candle to the rigors of a boot camp. He suggests that both approaches can be beneficial, and that everyone should strive to find their own path to realizing their own dignity. 1:00:12. Qualifying Human Interaction with the Veil of the Tabernacle Testimony Matt discusses the significance of the lighting of the lamps in front of the testimony or in front of the tent of testimony in Leviticus. He explains that the law exists to help us become aware of our human dignity and to approach the limit between us and God with qualification, drawing a comparison between this and the story of the wise and foolish virgins in the New Testament, noting that the foolish virgins were missing something important. 01:05:32. They discuss the importance of maintaining quality in life and how it is connected to creating energy. Chaos theory and the value of a root in its place. They explain that if you give up on quality, you start to degenerate and that it is important to build habits into your life that keep you on a quality track

Sevilla and Karen consider some of the main points from the recent conversation with D C Schindler and how his work may relate to the work of Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). Here's the AI summary:-) Karen and Sevilla King discussed the idea that love is the source of all being, and that beauty is the interface with reality that allows us to recognize and love God. They discussed how beauty changes us inwardly and how it is received and transforms the appetite. How the left and right hemispheres of the brain work together to select from the menu of the universe. They also consider the difference between the visceral experience of love and the act of love, with Karen citing Scott Peck's book The Road Less Traveled to explain the biochemical and neurological response of cathexis. The idea of love is different for each person, and it is important to develop trust in order to stay in a relationship. Karen and Sevilla delve into the difference between being and becoming, and how God's love is an example of pure love that does not ask anything in return. They also discuss the idea of perfection and how it is an asymptotic relationship, and how the sophists believed in excellence above everything. They also touched on the challenges with striving for excellence, the personal God versus postmodernism, and the concept of projective geometry. The idea of the yoke, which is a symbol of a voluntary relationship between two people, and how it relates to striving for excellence. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 20:59 What is the sense that Schindler means by beauty? 55:23 How do we differentiate the love of God from the human experience of love? 01:19:28 What Was It About the Sophists That Makes Us Use the Word as a Pejorative? 01:35:03 What is the best way to go in a particular situation?

Karen and Ryan continue their discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic, The Mind of the Maker, using Chapters 7 and 8 as a starting point. Here's the AI summary of the talk. Timestamps0:00 IntroReflections on a message about the hunger for righteousness and how it relates to impostor syndrome. How the law intensifies sin and how Eve chose to fill her hunger for righteousness with the knowledge of good and evil instead of companionship with God. How impostor syndrome can have both a good and bad side, and how it can be used to build the future. 12:46 An example journey of Resolving Resentment and Reconciliation In The Adam Project (a movie), Adam travels back in time to rescue his wife, but instead finds his twelve-year-old self. Through his journey, Adam learns to reconcile his resentment towards his father and to love his younger self. 19:35 God's Love in a Time of Need. Karen recounts a time four years ago when she experienced God's love in a time of need. She carried the scar as a wound of honor for a long time. This story serves as a reminder of God's love and protection in times of need. Exploring the idea of good and evil in the process of human creation

Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT, Licensed Psychotherapist, joins the Meaning Code to discuss intersections of Coherence Therapy, Memory Reconsolidation and Listening with This Little Corner of the Internet. This episode is also on YouTube.He speaks of the indelibility of sub-cortical emotional conditioning but also the hope that there is a key to unlock, expose and ultimately nullify the emotional learning that lead to problems in later life.Timestamps may follow later, depending on how much time I have. But one great quote from poet, Robert Bly:"Maturity is an increase in the range of conditions that you experience as workable."Link to Bruce's new book, Listening: https://a.co/d/5W1oIoCBruce's organization: https://coherencetherapy.org/contact.htm

Stephen and Karen read and discuss Psalm 22 in preparation for Easter

D. C. Schindler joins Karen and Michael to discuss his book, Love and the Postmodern Predicament. We talk about the centrality of love and beauty, and of the nature of Being and Becoming. D. C. Schindler is professor of metaphysics and anthropology at the John Paul II Institute, Washington, DC. He is the author of eleven books, including Plato's Critique of Impure Reason, Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty, and many others.