First Blog

 In Stephen Vincent Benét’s allegory, The Devil and Daniel Webster , the Devil comes to collect a soul, armed with the fine print of a contract and the inevitability of human weakness. Daniel Webster, the great orator, wins the day not by denying humanity’s flaws, but by appealing to its higher nature. The story warns us about the bargains we make and the price we might pay when power comes too easily. Consider the allegory of Goethe’s “ Faust” as a substitute if Benét’s story is unfamiliar. Today, Artificial Intelligence stands in a position uncannily similar to the Devil in the old tale. It offers dazzling speed, vast knowledge, and seemingly miraculous powers, always at just the right moment when we are tired, overwhelmed, or greedy for an advantage. It whispers I can solve your problems, do your work, make your life easier; just trust me. Playing the role of Daniel Webster is only these few pages, but it is you or me that have signed the contract. The “gifts” AI offers ar...

Plato’s Cave – an allegory for all time The allegory of Plato’s cave has a remarkable permanence in the philosophies of knowledge and of life.   In it we see a collection of prisoners who can only see the shadows of reality as projected by a fire between the truth and the shadows.   They cannot turn around seeing the object so projected.   This is what they know; this is what they see; this is what they believe.   A given prisoner is rescued from the cave and brought into the light of truth.   The prisoner is then returned to the cave to help and instruct the others on what the shadows really depict.   He is rejected by all other prisoners preferring the shadows and consequent conjectures.   This encapsulates the Plato’s allegory, though not in complete detail.   Our intent here is to reveal or theorize on how we lift shadows to our current versions of truth.    On the physical face of things, what the shadows represent includ...