Philosophy professor Jonathan Birch says the potential for conscious AI raises a host of moral concerns.
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Colonialism or Sovereignty? How the Global Financial System Traps Countries in Debt
A deep dive on developing country debt crisis and how they reveal the workings of international finance.
The Origins of the Investment Theory of Party Competition
How Tom Ferguson’s archival research showed that conventional wisdom on voter behaior was rnaive, and investment drives outcomes.
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/14/2023
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
A Transatlantic Trend: Banks in UK and US Are Closing Customer Accounts With Little to No Warning Or Explanation
“The escalation team just reached out to me. They told me that the account was being shut down, and they wouldn’t give me a reason. I asked them if they would ever give me a reason. They said no.”
Germany Unveils Strategy to “De-Risk” from China
Plan is short on details as Berlin says it wants to coordinate its policy with the EU, which wants to coordinate its policy with Washington.
Promising Assisted Reproductive Technologies Come With Ethical, Legal and Social Challenges – A Developmental Biologist and a Bioethicist Discuss IVF, Abortion and the Mice With Two Dads
New assisted reproductive technologies are creating ethical dilemmas.
June 2023 Was the World’s Warmest June on Record
The month featured unprecedented Canadian heat and wildfires, record-low Antarctic sea ice, and a strengthening El Niño.
This Week in Long Covid: Nature Fires Salvo of Four Major Papers
Papers on Long Covid and immunology, quality of life, genetics, and natural history (and the media reaction thereto).
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/13/2023
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
When Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Central Banker
Artificial intelligence is expected to be widely used by central banks as it brings considerable cost saving and efficiency benefits
Energy Destinies – Part 5 Energy Transition – Mystery Destination
An energy transition refers to a major structural shift in energy systems. There have been several such historical transitions – bio-fuels, such as wood, to water and wind energies and then to fossil fuels. In its current usage, it is used to describe the attempt to replace fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption with renewable energy sources.
