Why Smart People Make Weak Arguments About AI Tech CEOs aren’t the only ones captive to motivated reasoning

Some arguments against AI are solid. Others… not so much. In this adversarial collaboration, we attempt to sort the arguments into each box and recognize our own biases in the process.

open.substack.com/pub/joshdmay...

Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project Results from massive, ‘eagerly awaited’ initiative reinforce concerns about the credibility of science — but raise hope for solutions.

Not an April Fool’s post, unfortunately. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Opinion | There’s a Good Reason You Can’t Concentrate

“In the same way that you’re unlikely to eat Twinkies as a regular snack or still believe that Pop-Tarts provide a balanced breakfast, stop consuming ultraprocessed content.”

Provocative article by the great Cal Newport. Love the analogy to ultrprocessed foods.

Got interviewed for an episode of this great podcast, Unexplainable by Vox, which is about "everything we don't yet know." Perfect theme for an episode about neuroscience, free will, and the law.
open.spotify.com/episode/5N0Q...

New paper out in Nature with some folks at Google DeepMind. We argue that AI systems should be evaluated for their *moral reasoning* just as they are evaluated for their ability to code or do math. And we provide a roadmap for evaluating moral competence in LLMs.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Is a targeted, month-long national economic strike an effective form of protest against the unchecked power of masked agents who treat the Bill of Rights as a suggestion? I don’t know, but it sure is an opportunity to rethink where my money is going.

Will Artificial Intelligence Break Universities? Not if they elevate formation above information.

I get asked a lot about how universities are dealing with AI. We can cope, I think. But we need to tread carefully and get back to basics.

open.substack.com/pub/joshdmay...

They Wanted a University Without Cancel Culture. Then Dissenters Were Ousted. Inside the civil war at the anti-woke university backed by Bari Weiss.

The new University of Austin experiment doesn’t seem to be doing so well. Steven Pinker, who resigned from its board, says the university “had no coherent vision of what higher education in the 21st century ought to be. Instead, they created UnWoke U led by a Faculty of the Canceled.”

If respect for voters is rooted in strategy, is it really respect? This question has been puzzling me as I hear (and appreciate) the call for Democrats to stop looking down their noses at voters.

joshdmay.substack.com

Philosophers + psychologists: Deadline extended to NOV 20th for the Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology. Just over a week left to submit papers! southernsociety.org/AnnualMeeting/

The best analogy for social media is alcohol. Can you have a healthy relationship with it? Sure, but many don’t. Bad for society? Maybe on the whole, though problematic use is explained by both demand & supply. Should adults be free to use? Of course. Should 13-year-olds be regular users? Hell no.

Job ad screenshot

We're hiring! Philosophers: Do you know someone working in applied ethics, especially bioethics and/or AI ethics? Let them know about this fantastic tenure-track job at UAB! Birmingham is wonderful, as is UAB and our Philosophy Department. Deadline = Nov. 20. philjobs.org

Ohh I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about it! Often on this topic I hear that the view I’m propounding is either obvious right or obviously wrong. 🤷‍♂️

Glad you enjoyed! I’m not very experienced in that side of things, so good to know it came off OK. I appreciate that feedback 🙏

New post based on a lecture I gave in memory of Robin Lester, a neuroscientist and beloved member of the UAB community.

joshdmay.substack.com

19 pieces of teaching advice Because it's a new semester

The best set of teaching tips I’ve ever seen, which I’ve long tried to follow. This tip certainly deserves to sit in the #1 slot. It’s also the reason I feel absolutely exhausted after a day of teaching three classes!

You Don’t Need an AI Policy — You Need Two (guest post) - Daily Nous What will tell your students about whether and how they may use AI for work you assign? It depends on the students, right? That's the main idea behind today's guest post by Victor Kumar (Boston Univer...

Interesting approach to AI in humanities courses with writing assignments.

Congrats!!

Confessions of a Motivated Reasoner How Bias Shapes Politics, Science, and Everyday Life

The opening post on my Substack, Motivated Reasonings. Come for the self-flagellation, stay for the Matthew McConaughey quotes.

Neuroethics: Agency in the Age of Brain Science Neuroethics is a young discipline with still-blurred boundaries, situated at the crossroads of neurology and philosophy. Yet it has successfully positio...

"broad and carefully executed, offering a wealth of insights" Really thoughtful review of my Neuroethics book in NDPR by Andrea Lavazza. ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/neur...

What a privilege to engage with these commentaries on my Neuroethics book, all in an open access journal. Really grateful for their thoughts and to Carolyn Dicey-Jennings for facilitating it. 🙏

philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...

Why Are Liberal Professors More Conservative On Campus? (guest post) - Daily Nous "Academics pride themselves on critical thinking and intellectual virtues. But intellectual honesty demands that we recognize when we are applying principles selectively." In the following guest post,...

Why do liberal professors value tradition and hate bureaucracy within their own workplaces but not outside them? I suggest an answer:

Joshua May, Neurodiversity with Nuance - PhilPapers The neurodiversity movement grew out of the autism community but is now being applied to many neurological types, from dyslexia to schizophrenia. The resulting neurodiversity paradigm maintains that t...

New article coming out in Neuroethics! I started thinking about neurodiversity while in Rajesh Kana's autism lab. This paper has been years in the making, evolving through redrafting many times. Grateful to the many who provided feedback! 🙏

Are autism, ADHD, and other neurotypes deficits or mere differences? The question rests on a mistake. Or so I argue in this short piece.

Pure gold from the abstract: “Economists do not track currency inflation with mere vibes; they use measurements such as the consumer price index.”

While it’s still February… the best Valentines from UAB Philosophy Instagram ♥️

Joshua May & Victor Kumar, Eating Fewer Animals: A Defense of Reducetarianism - PhilPapers Moral arguments against the consumption of animal products from factory farms are traditionally categorical. The conclusions require people to eliminate from their diets all animal products (veganism)...

Think you should eat fewer animal products but aren't convinced everyone must go vegan? You may like our new article in the Journal of Moral Philosophy (w/@victorkumar.bsky.social). Lot of labor and love poured into his one. Pretty sure it's the first philosophical defense of a #reducetarian view.