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In last Saturday's Guardian Professor James Lovelock, Britain’s leading independent scientist for more than 50 years, predicted that robots will have taken over by the end of the century. “They’ll be in charge,” he says, “whether they’ll have taken over peacefully or otherwise, I have no idea.” Lovelock isn’t a lone voice in this. While Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, among others, have called for urgent research to mitigate risks, the influential philosopher Nick Bostrom believes artificial intelligence poses a real threat to the future of humanity.
Lovelock believes computers will develop independent volition and intuition, which means they’ll be capable of reproducing themselves and evolving. This evolution will apparently happen at a different speed than human evolution, in that time for robots happens one million times faster than for us. For a neuron to travel a foot takes a micro second but for electrons to go down a foot of wire takes a nanosecond. In other words a million times faster. Therefore robots would have a million times longer to live on earth than we do. I am fascinated by Lovelock’s view that human beings may fuse with robots to become a blend of robotic and human tissue. But it’s his feeling that the most likely scenario is ‘pure robots’ that sends a small shiver down my spine. According to Lovelock, who has been a leading voice in climate change, robots won’t care about issues like rising temperatures because “the world that they’re going to be comfortable in is wildly different from the one that we feel comfortable in.” The interview ends with the thought that robots may also see no use for our continued existence.
Whether these prophecies seem worryingly accurate or utterly fantastical to us, it’s clear this is an important subject to think about and discuss, not least for all the moral and ethical implications it raises. So as part of our package of events at University Church during Michaelmas term we’re going to tackle it head on. The three part series ‘Wired – technology’s ethical questions’ begins on 20th October at 7.30pm in our Vaults Café. We'll explore how technology will change our understanding of human identity, how the web is changing our behaviour, and which technologies we might not want to develop. We have a terrific line up of speakers so please join us for these evenings if you're free. Flyers with full details of this series will be available to pick up on Sunday along with our new Michaelmas term card.
The Revd Alan Ramsey
Acting Priest-in-charge
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| Incumbent Interviews - special weekly prayer
In the lead up to the interviews for a new incumbent in early November we are offering a space to gather as a community to pray for this. Revd Donald Reece will lead prayers as part of the Thursday lunchtime Eucharist (12.15pm in the Chancel) each week for those involved in the decision making and for the candidates themselves.
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| | | Michaelmas Lunches
We have a series of lunches in the Old Library during Michaelmas Term. The first is at 12 noon, after the main service, this Sunday. Please join us.
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| | Services
—Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12.15pm
Lunchtime Eucharists —
Sunday 9th October Trinity 20 10.30am - Choral Eucharist Leighton, Missa Brevis
Ireland, Greater Love
Preacher - The Revd Dr Andrew Allen, Chaplain of Exeter College
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| | Forthcoming Concerts & Other Events— Check out our website and Facebook pages.
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| | Wired: technology's ethical questions
Will a robot do your job? Will technology change our understanding of human identity? How does the Internet change our behaviour? How does technology change conflict? What technology should we not develop?
Over three evenings in Michaelmas Term we will present a discussion on how technology is revolutionising our world and what impact it might have, and consider how we might respond in terms of ethics. Each evening will include a talk, Q&A and discussion over cheese and wine. 7.30pm-9.00pm in the Vaults Cafe. |
| | Reflection Morning: Where do I belong...
There will be a reflection morning in the Old Library on Saturday 15th October starting at 10.30am to consider the question of finding our place in the church. All Welcome- no need to sign up. |
| | Poetry Corner
from The Soft City
Eastward the city with scarcely even a murmur
turns in the soft dusk,
the lights of it blur,
the delicate spires are unequal
as though the emollient dusk had begun to dissolve them...
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983)
from The Collected Poems of Tennessee Williams, copyright © 1937, 1956, 1964, 2002 by The University of the South.
I was visiting my sister in Nashville, TN last week – a city which, along with a plethora of music venues and bars, hosts some 700 churches. Several of these are ‘megachurches’ – that is, churches which see a congregation of larger than 2000 in the course of a Sunday. One of the largest is Crosspoint, with 5000+ congregants on a typical weekend (and five Sunday services). They have a television station and some serious technical gear: on arrival to the church we felt as though we had arrived at a cinema multiplex, and the service which followed – with professional lighting and rock band – was incredibly polished.
Reading the opening to this poem by Tennessee Williams, though it is of an entirely different time, reminded me of the hot haze of eastern Nashville, where Crosspoint is located and where the highrise buildings melt into the hot, humid air.
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