Politics

BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 14: “Men Against Fire” with Charles W. McKinney, Jr.

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Biotech, Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Race and Racism, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 14: “Men Against Fire” with Charles W. McKinney, Jr.

  For Episode 14, I am joined by Dr. Charles W. McKinney, Jr. to talk about dehumanization techniques, the importance of race-conscious thinking, the dangerous logic of eugenics, whether an anti-racist technology is possible (or desirable), and “Men Against Fire.” Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast episodes  Subscribe to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast Support/Donate to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 13: “Be Right Back” with Samir Chopra

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Public Philosophy, Race and Racism, RMWMTMBM Archive, Samir Chopra, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 13: “Be Right Back” with Samir Chopra

  For Episode 13, I am joined by Dr. Samir Chopra to talk about intelligent robots, personhood, the complicated machinations of human grieving, and “Be Right Back” (Season 2, Episode 1 of Black Mirror), which first premiered in 2013. Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast episodes  Subscribe to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast Support/Donate to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast My…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 15: “Hated in the Nation” with Ammon Allred

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Democracy, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Social Media, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 15: “Hated in the Nation” with Ammon Allred

  For Episode 15, I am re-joined by Dr. Ammon Allred to talk about social media cesspools, climate change, the unwritten rules of hashtags, so-called “cancel culture,” the Capitol insurrection, and “Hated in the Nation” (Season 3, Episode 6 of Black Mirror), which originally premiered in 2016. (Of course, we also talk about Derrida.) Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep11: “USS Callister” with David Gunkel

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Artificial Intelligence, Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values, Television Comments Off on BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep11: “USS Callister” with David Gunkel

  For Episode 11– our first Christmas episode!– I am joined by Dr. David Gunkel to talk about the possibility of virtual moral agents, the seriousness of online games, science fiction’s bad politics, and “USS Callister” (Episode 1, Season 4 of Black Mirror), which first premiered in 2017.  Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast episodes  Subscribe to BLACK…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast, Ep10: “Nosedive” with John Danaher

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast, Ep10: “Nosedive” with John Danaher

  For episode 10, I am joined by Dr. John Danaher to talk about social credit systems, the ubiquity of ranking metrics, whether or not its possible to go “off the grid,” and “Nosedive” (Season 3, Episode 1 of Black Mirror), which first premiered in 2016. Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast episodes  Subscribe to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS…

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No Exit: The Problem with Facebook’s Algo-Policing

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Artificial Intelligence, Emergent Tech, Ethics, Facebook, Politics, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Social Media, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on No Exit: The Problem with Facebook’s Algo-Policing

On Tuesday, this blog– which I very much consider an extension of myself– was finally released from Facebook jail, after having been “inside” for more than a month. I was reported by a user (who I do not know IRL and who is not a “Facebook friend” of mine) for violating Facebook’s “Community Standards,” specifically the…

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Black Mirror Reflections podcast

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, BMR podcast, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on Black Mirror Reflections podcast

  I’m in the process of recording the first few episodes of a (limited series) podcast entitled Black Mirror Reflections, which will be released next week. I’ve written a lot about Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror on this blog over the years, I regularly teach a course entitled “Technology and Human Values,” and I incorporate Black Mirror episodes in several…

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MEMPHIS VIRTUAL TIP BUCKET

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Ethics, Memphis, Music, Politics, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Working in Memphis Documentary Comments Off on MEMPHIS VIRTUAL TIP BUCKET

HELP SUPPORT LOCAL MEMPHIS MUSICIANS! To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control has urged U.S. citizens to cancel all events of more than 50 people and to practice social distancing for the next 8 weeks. Cities and states across the nation are ordering all bars, clubs, and restaurants to close.  No doubt, the same will…

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“Even This Small Dream Feels Impossible”: Comradeship in the Face of the Posthuman

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Marx, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology and Human Values Comments Off on “Even This Small Dream Feels Impossible”: Comradeship in the Face of the Posthuman

I recently finished reading the excellent new book by Jodi Dean (Political Science, Hobart and William Smith College) entitled Comrade: An Essay on Belonging. There are many reasons to recommend Dean’s all-too-brief, but brilliantly executed, text: its surgeon-like evisceration of the ideological cult of “allyship,” its elaboration of the truly liberatory promise of the “Communist Horizon” (which Dean…

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Gender Trouble at SPEP

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Professional Academy, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, SPEP, Women and Gender Issues Comments Off on Gender Trouble at SPEP

Last week, I began my second year on the LGBTQ Advocacy Committee for The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP). This organization and this committee are important to me, personally and professionally, and I take my service responsibilities to both very seriously. Contrary to the general demographics/trends of professional Philosophy writ large, SPEP has…

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