Monthly Archives: November 2023

London Futurists

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Preparing for Bletchley Park: behind the scenes, with Ollie Buckley

OCTOBER 18, 2023 LONDON FUTURISTS SEASON 1 EPISODE 60

London Futurists

Preparing for Bletchley Park: behind the scenes, with Ollie Buckley Preparing for Bletchley Park: behind the scenes, with Ollie Buckley

The launch of GPT-4 on the 14th of March this year was shocking as well as exciting. ChatGPT had been released the previous November, and became the fastest-growing app ever. But GPT-4’s capabilities were a level beyond, and it provoked remarkable comments from people who had previously said little about the future of AI. In May, Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described superintelligence as an existential risk to humanity. A year ago, it would have been inconceivable for the leader of a major country to say such a thing.

The following month, in June, Sunak announced that a global summit on AI safety would be held in November at the historically resonant venue of Bletchley Park, the stately home where during World War Two, Alan Turing and others cracked the German Enigma code, and probably shortened the war by many months.

Despite the fact that AI is increasingly humanity’s most powerful technology, there is not yet an established forum for world leaders to discuss its longer term impacts, including accelerating automation, extended longevity, and the awesome prospect of superintelligence. The world needs its leaders to engage in a clear-eyed, honest, and well-informed discussion of these things.

The summit is scheduled for the 1st and 2nd of November, and Matt Clifford, the CEO of the high-profile VC firm Entrepreneur First, has taken a sabbatical to help prepare it.

To help us all understand what the summit might achieve, the guest in this episode is Ollie Buckley.

Ollie studied PPE at Oxford, and was later a policy fellow at Cambridge. After six years as a strategy consultant with Monitor, he spent a decade as a civil servant, developing digital technology policy in the Cabinet Office and elsewhere. Crucially, from 2018 to 2021 he was the founding Executive Director of the UK government’s original AI governance advisory body, the Centre for Data Ethics & Innovation (CDEI), where he led some of the original policy development regarding the regulation of AI and data-driven technologies. Since then, he has been advising tech companies, civil society and international organisations on AI policy as a consultant.

Selected follow-ups:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-buckley-10064b/
https://www.publicaffairsnetworking.com/news/tech-policy-consultancy-boosts-data-and-ai-offer-with-senior-hire
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-programme/ai-safety-summit-day-1-and-2-programme
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-introduction/ai-safety-summit-introduction-html
An open event at Wilton Hall, Bletchley, the afternoon before the AI Safety Summit starts: https://www.meetup.com/london-futurists/events/296765860/

Music: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain DeclarationThe Gaming Blender
Have you ever wanted to design your own video game?

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Listen: https://londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com/2028982/13798416-preparing-for-bletchley-park-behind-the-scenes-with-ollie-buckley

Listen: https://londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com/2028982/13798416

Tarot Card for November 1: The Five of Swords

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The Five of Swords

The Lord of Defeat is yet another of the unwelcome Sword cards. It generally appears to indicate that we are in for some disappointment or loss.

In a highly competitive world, we are bound to be defeated by some of the challenges we set ourselves. If we are not to limit ourselves so severely that we never compete for anything, then at some time this card will inevitably come up. And our response to its effect is very important. If we feel shattered and disillusioned, then we will start the process which leads inevitably to the Ten of Swords – Ruin.

The way we face the Five of Swords has a great deal to do with how much effect a setback can have on the whole of our life. If we are able to accept that we cannot be winners all the time, if we are to set our minds to learning from our experiences, if we are to struggle to be positive in the face of adversity, then we can overcome disappointment, and rob the Lord of Defeat of total triumph!

In occasional really bad cases the card can indicate external treachery – somebody deliberately attempting to undermine or damage us. In this case it will almost always come up with other Swords like the Nine of Swords, or the Eight of Swords. If the Ten of Swords appears further on in the reading, then we are in danger of being affected quite dramatically. In this case you would need to consider who you think your enemies are, and take appropriate steps to combat their illwill – never underestimate the power of other people’s malice. And don’t retaliate with more of the same!

At most times the Five of Swords will indicate much smaller matters than this – you won’t get the job you applied for; you won’t sell the manuscript this time; you won’t get the exam result you wanted; you won’t get the house you tried to buy. Look for surrounding cards that indicate the area of your life which will be affected.

It’s natural to feel down-hearted when we don’t get what we want. But it’s rare that every single thing in a person’s life is going badly at the same time. So count your blessings, pick yourself up and go and do something nice for yourself. And remind yourself of something – you tried, and can try again. And maybe next time your efforts will be met by the Lord of Success!!

The Five of Swords

(via angelpaths.com and Alan Blackman)

Shamanic Physics with Fred Alan Wolf

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New Thinking All • Nov 1, 2023 This video is a special release from the original Thinking Allowed series that ran on public television from 1986 until 2002. It was recorded in about 1991.  Shamans see the world as made up of vibrations, using resonance between individuals to effect healings. Fred Alan Wolf discusses his efforts to explain shamanic realities in terms of modern physics. He suggests that shamans interact with parallel universes and are able to enter into the world of the dead. Fred Alan Wolf is a physicist and author of Space Time and Beyond, Taking the Quantum Leap, The Body Quantum, Star*Wave, Parallel Universes and The Eagle’s Quest. Now you can watch all of the programs from the original Thinking Allowed Video Collection, hosted by Jeffrey Mishlove. Subscribe to the new Streaming Channel (https://thinkingallowed.vhx.tv/) and watch more than 350 programs now, with more, previously unreleased titles added weekly. Free month of the classic Thinking Allowed streaming channel for New Thinking Allowed subscribers only. Use code THINKFREELY.

Israeli forces ‘on outskirts of Gaza City’ and rescue captured soldier

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Channel 4 News • Oct 30, 2023 The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out any ceasefire in Gaza – declaring it was a “time for war… for our common future”. (Subscribe: https://bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe) As the heavy bombardment continues, the Hamas appointed Gaza Health Ministry said more than 8,300 Palestinians have now been killed. According to Palestinian witnesses – Israeli tanks reached the outskirts of Gaza City – entering the Zaytun district. Reports suggest the IDF took control of Salah al-Din Road, a major route linking the north and south. To the north, intense fighting has been reported between Israeli forces and Hamas near the Mediterranean coast.