Franklin J. Schaffner, screenplay by Gore Vidal

Philosophy has always played an essential role in the development of science, physics in particular, and is likely to continue to do so. By Carlo Rovelli.

Data bias, opacity, data monopoly, and job loss are issues that plague the field of artificial intelligence. Here are some simple solutions to these problems.

How a young journalist untangled the riddle of My Lai. By Seymour M. Hersh.

Many accounts of the Nazi period depict a barely imaginable series of events, a nation gone mad. That makes it easy to take comfort in the thought that it can’t happen again. But some depictions of Hitler’s rise are more intimate and personal. They focus less on well-known leaders, significant events, state propaganda, murders, and war, and more on the details of individual lives. They help explain how people can not only participate in dreadful things but also stand by quietly and live fairly ordinary days in the midst of them. By Cass R. Sunstein.

In the Western world, only since the mid-18th century has it been possible to discuss ethical questions publicly without referring to Christianity. Modern thinking about morality, which assumes that gods do not exist, or at least do not intervene, is in its infancy. But the ancient Greeks and Romans elaborated robust philosophical schools of ethical thought for more than a millennium, from the first professed agnostics such as Protagoras (fifth century BCE) to the last pagan thinkers. The Platonists’ Academy at Athens was not finally closed down until 529 CE, by the Emperor Justinian.

BBC

The decision was reportedly the result of backlash the company has faced since details of its drone warfare A.I., Project Maven, were reported. By Ali Breland.

It's been nearly three months since many Google employees, and the public, learned about the company's decision to provide artificial intelligence to a controversial military pilot program known as Project Maven... By Kate Conger. (May 15, 2018)

Identifying the mechanics of emotions. By Neil Savage.

Philosophers love to use thought experiments, here are seven of the most useful for making you reflect on everything around you. By Scotty Hendricks.

The brains, which are not conscious, are kept alive through the circulation of an oxygen-rich fluid through the organs

In today's world, business is both driven and disrupted by software. From startups to government organizations to publicly traded companies, software is developed at a record-setting pace to run almost everything. This continuous evolution of technology has drastically changed how enterprises operate today. As the race heats up among companies looking to be first-to-market with the next best product or service, considerations about the implications these systems and gadgets may have on society often are overlooked.

Mary Shelley's misunderstood masterpiece turns 200. By Ronald Bailey.

Once Cambridge Analytica and SCL had won contracts with the State Department and were pitching to the Pentagon, the whistleblower Christopher Wylie became alarmed that this illegally-obtained data had ended up at the heart of government, along with the contractors who might abuse it. This apparently bizarre intersection of research on topics like love and kindness with defense and intelligence interests is not, in fact, particularly unusual. It is typical of the kind of dual-use research that has shaped the field of social psychology in the US since World War II. By Tamsin Shaw.

True moral commitment means desiring justice for others more than admiration for oneself… By Nathan J. Robinson.

Mass thought control may not be on the cards just yet, but mind-reading tech is developing fast. We need to be prepared.

The humanzee is both scientifically possible and morally defensible. By David P. Barash.

Ludwig Huber, a cognitive biologist and professor at the Messerli Research Institute in Vienna, reviews "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Frans de Waal.

In American politics, we aren’t witnessing an unprecedented outbreak of lying. Another term is more appropriate: bullshit. By Philip Kitcher.