What we’re about
The BIG IDEAS book club is a monthly meetup for members wanting to discuss important or intriguing ideas and issues in society and our lives. Originally called the 'Phil-Psyc' book club, the discussions include not only big ideas in philosophy and psychology but also from economics, politics, sociology, and science.
Each month a big idea or key thinker will be selected for discussion. For example, a topic could be something like ’free will’, ‘identity’, ’meritocracy’, ‘the simulation hypothesis’, ’post-capitalism’, etc. Similarly, the key thinker could be someone like ‘Carl Jung’, ‘Michel Foucault’, ‘Daniel Kahneman’, etc.
For each topic, a key book and video material will be suggested. The attendees are not required to have read/watched these in order to attend and are welcome to engage in their own reading/viewing material. However, I do strongly encourage reading the set book as it helps in creating focal points for the discussion.
This monthly Meetup will be hosted by Paul T. Many thanks to Dr Steve Mayers who started this book club (and who also started Café Psychologique Sydney) but who unfortunately has moved on from Sydney. Hopefully, the meetup organizer pool will expand so as not to rely on one person.
During the post-Covid restart of this book club (late 2023), it may take some time to find a favourite meeting venue, and hopefully members will have some promising ideas on venues. Being relatively quiet, having food and drink, being approximately central to Sydney and close to public transport are at least four criteria that make sense to me. As a starting place, we can test the 2nd floor (one below the rooftop) of the Keg & Brew Hotel, 26 Foveaux St, Surry Hills. It’s close to Central Station and the light rail. But make sure to check the actual event location.
Come along and join in the conversation!
Keywords: Book club, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, science, critical thinking, intellectual discussions, conversation.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- The AI Gold Rush - At what risk to society?Keg & Brew Hotel, Surry Hills
As OpenAI (ChatGPT) moves to become a for-profit business, concerns are increasing over the credibility of the ‘responsible AI’ mantra professed by many AI leaders, particularly since vast financial rewards loom for those who come out on top in the race to dominate AI. Accordingly, let’s do a meetup to discuss the risks to society from AI, whether we can trust the market to deliver AI safely, and, if not, what we can do to mitigate these risks.
Book: Taming Silicon Valley - How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us by Gary Marcus.
If “move fast and break things” was the unofficial slogan of the social media era, what is the unofficial slogan of the Generative AI era? Almost certainly the same—but this time the things that get broken might be dramatically worse. So says Gary Marcus, the author of our book this month. Marcus is a professor emeritus at New York University and has become a leading critic of the current direction of generative AI. In May 2023, in a testimony before the US Senate, he sat next to Sam Altman and called for strict regulation of OpenAI and other generative AI companies.
Compared to other meetups, reading the recommended book is less essential, and there are many other interesting articles, books and videos out there discussing the dangers of AI. Some are linked below. You are encouraged to dig into your own concerns with AI and share your findings with the group. But if you can get a copy (kindle now available, paperback next week), Marcus’s book is short and well written, and is particularly strong on what we can do to safeguard our democracy and society from the risks of AI.
So join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6.30pm Monday, December 2nd at the far-end of the 2nd floor at the Keg & Brew Hotel, Surrey Hills. The Keg & Brew is close to Central Station and the Light Rail.
Hope to see you there!
p.s. PLEASE ADJUST YOUR RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to people if there is a waitlist.
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These are just possible links to consider. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section.Videos
- A TED-style talk by Marcus (30 mins):
Gary Marcus - Taming Silicon Valley
- A web presentation by Marcus on his book (16 mins):
How we can ensure that AI works for us
- A couple of interviews with Marcus:
INSEAD AI - interview with Marcus
Andrew Yang interviews Marcus- A discussion with Marcus and Noam Chomsky:
Debunking the great AI lie - Noam Chomsky, Gary Marcus
Written
- The first chapter of Marcus’s book:
Taming Silicon Valley - Chapter 1
- A famous open letter calling for “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4", citing risks such as AI-generated propaganda, extreme automation of jobs, human obsolescence, and a society-wide loss of control. It received more than 30,000 signatures, including academics and industry CEOs such as Yoshua Bengio, Stuart Russell, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and Yuval Noah Harari:
Pause Giant AI Experiments - An Open Letter
- Some articles listing the risks of AI:
14 Risks and Dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Forbes – The 15 biggest risks of artificial intelligence
IBM – the 10 AI dangers- As a counterbalance, an essay on the various ways that AI could transform the world for the better:
Machines of Loving Grace by Dario Amodei
- Other recent books that may be of interest:
- Schaake (2024) The Tech Coup - How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley.
- Narayanan (2024) AI Snake Oil - What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference.
- Kowalkiewicz (2024) The Economy of Algorithms - AI and the Rise of the Digital Minions.
