Dirbtinis intelektas moterišku kūnu filmuose Ex Machina ir Ji

The article explores how artificial intelligence is constructed in a female body and showcases the boundaries between human and technological traits, as well as the relationship between human beings and technology. The article defines the notion of artificial intelligence and discusses how artificial intelligence is portrayed in science fiction films. The article does not attempt to provide new theoretical insights into artificial intelligence but, instead, to show how artificial intelligence is characterised in the context of modern science fiction films. Two contemporary science fiction films, which focus on the artificial intelligence in the female body, are analysed: Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2014) and Spike Jonze’s Her (2013). The analysis of the films showcases the blurred lines between being a human and being a robot: AI in the female body is portrayed as having adequate cognitive abilities and an ability to experience or to realistically imitate various mental states. The AI embodiment found in the films explores different narratives: the anthropomorphic body (Ex Machina) motivates to get to know the world and thus expands one’s experience, while the partial embodiment (Her) “programs” intellectual actions and development beyond the human body. Ex Machina highlights the anti-humanity of the female robot: another (human) life is devalued in order to pursue a goal. On the contrary, Her highlights the hyper-humanity of the operating system: continuous improvements exceed the boundaries of communication with other people.

Shared Transportation in Future Beijing

With repaid development of science and technology, various high-tech transportation has come into Chinese society. Moreover, with the further development of sharing economy in China, all kinds of shared transportation have gradually come into our society. In Beijing, it is nothing extraordinary to see shared bicycles stop at the roadside. However, with the popularity of shred transportation, many social problems have also aroused people’s thinking. In this essay, we will be based on the contemporary science and technology develop situation to discuss how will the shared transportation be like and how will the shared transportation interact with people.

Evolutionary Theism of Henryk Levittoux in Polish and International Context

Henryk Levittoux (1822-1879) is currently best known as the model of Jan Matejko who posed for him as Nicolaus Copernicus. Less known, however, is his concept of evolution, which he presented as a part of his philosophical system and which caused a heated debates among Polish intellectuals in the second half of the nineteenth century. Levittoux's theory, which was trying to combine religious dogma with the achievements of contemporary science, breaks out of the popular historical narrative, in which it is assumed that the discussions about the evolutionism were dominated by creationists and pro-Darwinian positivists. The aim of this article will be to present Levittoux's theory of evolution and to show how he combined the ideas of evolution with the concept of Divine creation. Secondary focus of the article will be to place his theory in the broader context of scientific and philosophical changes, that took place in the nineteenth century. Attention will be paid to the way in which the professionalization of science affected natural philosophers, such as Levittoux, who were refusing to accept the rigorous positivist methodology. It will also be shown how Levittoux’s evolutionism became part of the so-called "developmental evolutionism" which promoted a completely different vision of evolution than Darwinism. The non-Darwinian nature of Levittoux's evolutionism was inspired by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s theory. Levittoux adopted his idea that species evolve thanks to the environmental stimulus which affects their ontogenesis. However, this idea will be extrapolated in Levittoux’s writings to the whole Earth. So, he will conclude that the Earth is the equivalent of the womb in which, like the fetus, all Life develops. All changes of species, in his opinion, are additionally controlled by a universal principle which he called the law of attraction-repulsion. This law was also the tool by which God created the world. The Levittoux’s concept is one of the first attempts to create a synthesis of evolutionism and religious thought in the Polish post-Darwinian philosophy of nature. Levittoux, as a continuator of Saint-Hilaire's thought, is also an interesting example of an attempt to instill in Polish philosophy French evolutionist thought.

Diversifying the Deliberative Turn: Toward an Agonistic RRI

In its “deliberative turn,” the field of science and technology studies (STS) has strongly advocated opening up decision-making processes around science and technology to more perspectives and knowledges. While the theory of democracy underpinning this is rarely explicitly addressed, the language and ideas used are often drawn from deliberative democracy. Using the case of synthetic biology and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), this paper looks at challenges of public engagement and finds parallels in long-standing critiques of deliberative democracy. The paper suggests that STS scholars explore other theories of decision-making and explores what an RRI grounded in agonistic pluralism might entail. An agonistic RRI could develop empirical research around questions of power relations in contemporary science and technology, seek to facilitate the formation of political publics around relevant issues, and frame different actors’ stances as adversarial positions on a political field rather than “equally valid” perspectives.

Why ex post peer review encourages high-risk research while ex ante review discourages it

Peer review is an integral component of contemporary science. While peer review focuses attention on promising and interesting science, it also encourages scientists to pursue some questions at the expense of others. Here, we use ideas from forecasting assessment to examine how two modes of peer review—ex ante review of proposals for future work and ex post review of completed science—motivate scientists to favor some questions instead of others. Our main result is that ex ante and ex post peer review push investigators toward distinct sets of scientific questions. This tension arises because ex post review allows investigators to leverage their own scientific beliefs to generate results that others will find surprising, whereas ex ante review does not. Moreover, ex ante review will favor different research questions depending on whether reviewers rank proposals in anticipation of changes to their own personal beliefs or to the beliefs of their peers. The tension between ex ante and ex post review puts investigators in a bind because most researchers need to find projects that will survive both. By unpacking the tension between these two modes of review, we can understand how they shape the landscape of science and how changes to peer review might shift scientific activity in unforeseen directions.

Mendamaikan Tradisi Muslim dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Modern

This paper aims to find out the results of Nidhal Guessoum's thoughts on his studies on Islam and contemporary science issues contained in his book entitled "Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science". Nidhal Guessoum's thoughts in the book, particularly in the Islamic section and contemporary science issues that can be understood through the four subsections he divides namely (1) Islam and Cosmology, which discuss Islam about the way one expresses his views freely; (2) Islam and the Rancanan Argument, which is about Islam and the arguments expressed by men such as about the law or social experience; (3) Islam and the Anthropic Principle, which deals with Islam and the revolution of human scientific thought, and (4) Islam and Evolution, which is to discuss Islam and the process of human evolution based on Darwin's theory. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hasil pemikiran Nidhal Guessoum tentang kajian Islam dan isu-isu sains kontemporer yang tertuang dalam bukunya yang berjudul “Islam’s Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science”. Pemikiran Nidhal Guessoum dalam buku tersebut, khususnya pada bagian Islam dan isu-isu sains kontemporer yang dapat dipahami melalui empat sub-bab yaitu, (1) Islam dan Kosmologi, yakni yang membahas mengenai Islam kaitannya dengan cara seseorang mengutarakan pandangan-pandangannya secara bebas; (2) Islam dan Argumen Rancanan, yakni yang membahas mengenai Islam dan argumen-argumen yang diutarakan manusia seperti tentang hukum atau pengalaman sosial; (3) Islam dan Prinsip Antropik, yakni yang membahas tentang Islam dan revolusi pemikiran ilmiah manusia, serta (4)Islam dan Evolusi, yakni membahas tentang Islam dan proses evolusi manusia berdasarkan teori Darwin.

Nunatsiavut, ‘Our beautiful land’: Inuit landscape ethnoecology in Labrador, Canada

For Inuit in the subarctic transition zone of northeastern Canada, an intimate knowledge of the environment and local biodiversity is crucial for successful traditional activities. This study examines what kinds of landscape features and habitats Inuit of Nunatsiavut recognize and name. During interviews, community members (mostly Elders) were shown photographs from the region, and were asked to describe and name salient types of places in Labrador Inuttitut. The most frequently reported geographical units dealt with the region’s topography (e.g., ‘mountain’, ‘island’, ‘flat-place’), hydrology (e.g., ‘river’, ‘bay’), and superficial characteristics (e.g., ‘bedrock’, ‘permanent snow patch’). Ecological considerations were also prominent, such as plant associations and animal habitats (e.g., ‘shrubby-place’, wetland’, ‘caribou-return-to-place’). Areas were often characterized by a dominant species or substrate type, being named using the plural form of the species/substrate (e.g., napâttuk ‘tree’/ napâttuit ‘forest’, siugak ‘sand’/siugalak ‘sandy-area’). Some types of places reported by Inuit were significant mainly for traditional activities (e.g., ‘berry-patch’, ‘seal-place’, ‘dry-wood-place’, ‘danger-place’), aiding navigation and resource finding. Integrating Inuit conceptions of ecosystems and their component landscape units with those of contemporary science can improve our understanding of subarctic ecology, benefit climate change adaptation strategies and Inuit language/culture conservation initiatives.

THE PHENOMENON OF CONSCIOUSNESS FROM AN INTER AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

Contemporary science, in recent decades, reflects intensely on the phenomenon of consciousness. This fact is due to the accelerated development of cognitive sciences, biological and physical sciences, neuroscience, which have achieved certain successes in researching the problem of mind-body, consciousness. However, what is strictly required is the issue of the possibility of a scientific theory of consciousness, which would apply a new research methodology. The most recent approaches in this direction substantiate the need for research from a phenomenological structural perspective, which explains consciousness as a phenomenon determined by the subquantum level. Structural-phenomenological theory holds that this level is a profound reality regulated by specific principles and laws that make consciousness possible.

AYURVEDIC DANTA DHAVANA - A NEED OF TIME: A REVIEW

Dhantadhavana is an important procedure for maintaining the oral hygiene. In Ayurveda there is detail explanation about Dantadhavana methods, procedure, action of drugs, benefits etc. due to civilization Ayurveda twigs and tooth powders got replaced by contemporary plastic made toothbrushes and chemical based toothpastes. Toothbrushes are made of plastic; hence it is an alarming sign for soil and air pollution. Contemporary science recommends usage of chemical-based toothpaste with added sweet flavouring agents. Action of toothpaste maybe bactericidal but data from W.H.O over Oro-dental disorders per year gives an idea that action of bactericidal is not up to mark. In Ayurveda rasa Siddhant-katu (pungent taste), tikta (bitter taste), Kashaya (astringent taste) is given much importance for Dantadhavana due to antibacterial, antiseptic action. Current world is shifting towards ayurvedic principles of daily regimens to maintain and promote the health. This paper will discuss over problems due to usage of contemporary toothbrushes and chemical based paste and ayurvedic view of Dantadhavana and solution by Ayurveda to come over the Oro-dental problems.

Materiality, Electricity and the Soul in Edgar Fawcett’s Scientific Romances

The article discusses two novels by Edgar Fawcett, a prolific poet and novelist active in the 1890s, as examples of materialist representation of psychology. Fawcett’s literary materialism was not only a thematic reference to his contemporary science, but a certain convention of characterization, which emphasized mystery and drastic imagery as means of character development. Numerous other examples of this tendency in the 1890s are described as well. The theoretical background is derived from the recent materialist turn in literary criticism.