Author: Mark Schuller
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 1978820879
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Get Book Here
Book Description
Foreword / by Cynthia McKinney -- Introduction: Careening toward extinction -- We're all in this together -- Dismantling white supremacy -- Climate justice versus the anthropocene -- Humanity on the move : justice and migration -- Dismantling the ivory tower.
Author: Nicanor Perlas
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
ISBN: 1912230216
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Get Book Here
Book Description
Although still in its earliest stages, artificial intelligence (AI) is radically transforming all aspects of society. With the immanent emergence of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and the illusory temptations of ‘transhumanism’, mankind stands at a crossroads. In Humanity’s Last Stand, Nicanor Perlas makes an urgent plea. It is imperative, he says, that we take immediate steps to ensure that digitized technology is aligned to human values and priorities. Otherwise, ASI will kill the essence of our humanity. Further, if we do not master it now, ASI will transform mankind into its own image. Ultimately, it will destroy the human race. AI experts have not offered a single cogent solution to this existential threat. Rudolf Steiner, however, not only foresaw these developments, but gave clear alternatives. Steiner, the founder of a contemporary, scientific approach to spirituality, provided philosophical, ontological and social innovations to save humanity from the abyss. It is the task of the global anthroposophical movement to pioneer this civilization-saving work: to establish spiritual-scientific ideas in mainstream culture that would allow AI to emerge in a healthier societal context. Perlas gives an overview of the phenomenon of AI together with its related transhuman concepts of ‘perfecting humanity’, and outlines the critical internal and external responses required to meet them with consciousness. In particular, he addresses the movement connected to the work of Rudolf Steiner, indicating its all-important tasks: to cooperate with progressive individuals and movements, including scientists and civil society activists; to mobilize its ‘daughter’ movements for action; and, ultimately, to cooperate with the spiritual powers that have guided and served humanity since the dawn of time. This, says the author, is humanity’s last stand, and failure is not an option.
Author: Nicanor Perlas
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
ISBN: 1912230178
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Get Book Here
Book Description
"The twenty-first century is the age of science and technology. It will also be the age when humanity confronts, for the first time, a challenge that may overwhelm and destroy the human species itself in as little as 12 to 20 years from now. This is the challenge of artificial intelligence (AI) Deployed properly, AI will confer tremendous benefits to society. It is already doing this. Deployed inappropriately or mistakenly, AI will undermine human civilization, as it is also starting to do, and could then lead to the extinction of humanity. Scientists, philosophers, and engineers call this latter possibility the 'existential risk' of AI. The fate of our future is literally in our hands." --Nicanor Perlas (from the preface) Although still in its earliest stages, artificial intelligence is radically transforming all aspects of society. With the immanent emergence of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and the illusory temptations of "transhumanism," humankind stands at a crossroads. Nicanor Perlas makes an urgent plea in this book. It is imperative, he says, that we take immediate steps to ensure that digitized technology is aligned to human values and priorities. Otherwise, ASI will kill the essence of our humanity. Furthermore, if we do not master it now, ASI will transform humanity into its own image--ultimately, it will destroy the human race. AI experts have not offered a single cogent solution to this existential threat. Rudolf Steiner, however, not only foresaw these developments, but also provided clear alternatives. Steiner--who developed a contemporary scientific approach to spirituality--provided philosophical, ontological, and social innovations to save humanity from this technological abyss. It is the task of the global anthroposophic movement to pioneer this civilization-saving work--to establish spiritual-scientific ideas in mainstream culture that would allow AI to emerge in a healthier societal context. Perlas offers an overview of the AI phenomenon, together with its related transhuman concepts of "perfecting humanity," outlining the critical internal and external responses needed to meet them consciously. In particular, the author addresses the movement connected to the work of Rudolf Steiner, indicating its all-important tasks to cooperate with progressive individuals and movements, including scientists and civil society activists; to mobilize its "daughter" movements for action; and, ultimately, to cooperate with the spiritual powers that have guided and served humanity since the dawn of time. This, says Perlas, is humanity's last stand. Failure is not an option.
Author: Todd Wilkinson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762793198
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 413
Get Book Here
Book Description
Entrepreneur and media mogul Ted Turner has commanded global attention for his dramatic personality, his founding of CNN, his marriage to Jane Fonda, and his company’s merger with Time Warner. But his green resume has gone largely ignored, even while his role as a pioneering eco-capitalist means more to Turner than any other aspect of his legacy. He currently owns more than two million acres of private land (more than any other individual in America), and his bison herd exceeds 50,000 head, the largest in history. He donated $1 billion to help save the UN, and has recorded dozens of other firsts with regard to wildlife conservation, fighting nukes, and assisting the poor. He calls global warming the most dire threat facing humanity, and says that the tycoons of the future will be minted in the development of green, alternative renewable energy. Last Stand goes behind the scenes into Turner’s private life, exploring the man’s accomplishments and his motivations, showing the world a fascinating and flawed, fully three-dimensional character. From barnstorming the country with T. Boone Pickens on behalf of green energy to a pivotal night when he considered suicide, Turner is not the man the public believes him to be. Through Turner’s eyes, the reader is asked to consider another way of thinking about the environment, our obligations to help others in need, and the grave challenges threatening the survival of civilization.
Author: Helen Simonson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140880932X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Get Book Here
Book Description
Major Ernest Pettigrew is perfectly content to lead a quiet life in the sleepy village of Edgecombe St Mary, away from the meddling of the locals and his overbearing son. But when his brother dies, the Major finds himself seeking companionship with the village shopkeeper, Mrs Ali. Drawn together by a love of books and the loss of their partners, they are soon forced to contend with irate relatives and gossiping villagers. The perfect gentleman, but the most unlikely hero, the Major must ask himself what matters most: family obligation, tradition or love? Funny, comforting and heart-warming, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand proves that sometimes, against all odds, life does give you a second chance.
Author: Mark Schuller
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 1978820895
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Get Book Here
Book Description
Are we as a species headed towards extinction? As our economic system renders our planet increasingly inhospitable to human life, powerful individuals fight over limited resources, and racist reaction to migration strains the social fabric of many countries. How can we retain our humanity in the midst of these life-and-death struggles? Humanity’s Last Stand dares to ask these big questions, exploring the interconnections between climate change, global capitalism, xenophobia, and white supremacy. As it unearths how capitalism was born from plantation slavery and the slaughter of Indigenous people, it also invites us to imagine life after capitalism. The book teaches its readers how to cultivate an anthropological imagination, a mindset that remains attentive to local differences even as it identifies global patterns of inequality and racism. Surveying the struggles of disenfranchised peoples around the globe from frontline communities affected by climate change, to #BlackLivesMatter activists, to Indigenous water protectors, to migrant communities facing increasing hostility, anthropologist Mark Schuller argues that we must develop radical empathy in order to move beyond simply identifying as “allies” and start acting as “accomplices.” Bringing together the insights of anthropologists and activists from many cultures, this timely study shows us how to stand together and work toward a more inclusive vision of humanity before it’s too late. More information and instructor resources (https://humanityslaststand.org)
Author: Michael Cobley
Publisher: Hachette+ORM
ISBN: 0316214000
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Get Book Here
Book Description
The fight is on. So let the battle begin. Darien is no longer a lost outpost of humanity, but the prize in an intergalactic struggle. Hegemony forces control the planet, while Earth merely observes, rendered impotent by galactic politics. Yet Earth's ambassador to Darien will become a player in a greater conflict as there is more at stake than a turf war on a newly discovered world. An ancient temple hides access to a hyperspace prison, housing the greatest threat sentient life has never known. Millennia ago, malignant intelligences were caged there following an apocalyptic struggle, and their servants work on their release. Now a new war is coming.
Author: Micah Skaritka
Publisher: Apophis Consortium
ISBN: 9780967126302
Category : Fantasy games
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Christopher Eger
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781889186474
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Get Book Here
Book Description
WELCOME TO THE END OF THE WORLD! Disease-K has decimated the world leaving its victims shambling homicidal maniacs. And nestled along the warm Gulf waters sits Gulf Shores...the last outpost of civilization. With looters and thieves preying on the shocked survivors, it's up to the retirees and bank tellers, phone repairmen and charterboat captains to put the town back together. THE SHADOWS ARE GATHERING OUTSIDE OF TOWN! There, in the sands and marshes of the Gulf of Mexico, the citizens of Gulf Shores along with scattered military units, a downed Air Force pilot, and a lone Coast Guard cutter form the last line of defense against the amassing horde of the infected marching its way toward the sea destroying what's left of humanity along the way. As summer gives way to the fall and the cold winds blow off the sea, Gulf Shores draws the line and prepares to make the... THE LAST STAND ON ZOMBIE ISLAND!
Author: Bob Drury
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 1555849121
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Get Book Here
Book Description
“The authors of the bestselling Halsey’s Typhoon do a fine job recounting one brutal, small-unit action during the Korean War’s darkest moment.” —Publishers Weekly November 1950, the Korean Peninsula. After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deeper into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 234 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass, where they will endure four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox’s Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like they will be overrun, Lt. Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a daring mission that will seek to cut a hole in the Chinese lines and relieve the men of Fox. This is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism in the face of impossible odds.
