David Decosimo

Philosopher & A̶s̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶D̶e̶a̶n̶ @UNC School for Civic Life & Leadership. Ethics, religion, & politics. Academic freedom. RT≠endorse; opinions own

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

I’ve been off this platform almost entirely.

That’s because three months ago, I almost died.

I’ve wrestled with what to say or whether to say anything at all. But what happened has so profoundly impacted my family & me that silence would be false.

[Jason D. Clinton 🔸 @JasonDClinton]

@hinapansari yes. it was always going to be this way. we tried to warn the world.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

They’re calling it the most unhinged logo + stadium name combo ever.

[Atlanta Falcons @AtlantaFalcons]

New PFP 👀

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@ramonalvaradoq Wow. A truly extraordinary level of confusion about what is going on in the thread.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@dankennedy_nu @BrendanNyhan They ought to & it’s not extreme. E-books typically lack stable pagination. But more importantly they’re an obstacle to
avenues of recall enabled by reading a print book. Remembering a passage often involves remembering its location on the page.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@QualiaQuanta Pangram explicitly says it's unreliable on short snippets, yet your only evidence is 200 words. Others have run your entire paper & get 100% human.
Why didn't you offer evidence to start & why is your only evidence so far something pangram says is too short to evaluate anyway?

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

There's a clear pattern to the 'pangram is trash' genre:
- claim it says your non-AI work is 100% AI but never give any evidence
- after relentless pushback post a sample (almost always an abstract) that pangram itself clearly says is too short for reliable evaluation

[Jenny Lorraine Nielsen ⭐🐯 @QualiaQuanta]

Pangram is absolutely crap. I have papers from 2016 and before that I obviously wrote myself and score as 100% AI generated. Do not trust AI to evaluate whether something is written by AI.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@sirtobiaswade The rest of the thread addressed much of this, though I don’t grant too quick of a move from the painting to the machine. And yes *among living creatures* numerous distinctions/features, possibly including intelligence, may (help) ground further obligation-imposing values...

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

2) I think something's 'being alive' (or its standing in the right relation to something alive) is a necessary condition for there to be ethical obligations to it, for it to have dignity or moral standing, or for it to be subject to abuse or cruelty.
https://t.co/2kzShZ3Awt

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@rrockman See below. Main points are that certain things can be bad for us (our character) even as they don't wrong what we're acting on & some non-living things bear value worth honoring (eg destroying a beautiful painting) even as we don't wrong the thing itself. https://t.co/xX9jgqY4mv

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

*Some non-exhaustive clarifications:
- We may have obligations to ideals (eg Truth) & non-living things in relation thereto
- Wanton, purposeless destruction of beautiful non-living things (eg a beautiful rock formation) may be bad & even if the destroyer is the only living thing

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

I think it would be much wiser to shift debates about AI away from questions of consciousness & to questions of life:
1) I think the concept of 'life' or 'living creature' is clearer, more determinate, less controversial, &, in this context, more helpful than 'consciousness.' 1/

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

6) Finally, this is obviously an exploratory line of thought on twitter, not a fully worked out argument. But what I'm most confident about is that far too much is simply being assumed in the discourse about a link between 'bearing experiences' & 'having ethical standing/value.'

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

5) I am not granting AI consciousness nor saying that debate is unimportant. But I think it's greatest perceived importance depends on assuming a link between consciousness & ethical obligation/standing or 'suffering' & 'harm' that is highly debatable & very far from clear.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

@freganmitts Yes - Protestants do be disagreeing!
But in all seriousness I think there are some changes afoot within some orthodox corners of Protestantism & Catholicism alike, where in view of new challenges & eternal truths, old lines of division are fading. Hope springs.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

This is funny for how badly it understands Protestantism. Protestants will see this & be like, “Beautiful! God be praised for all this, which is really our tradition, even as Rome is off somewhat.” And, “Wow! Narrator Chris Pratt is not Catholic & basically evangelical. Cool!”

[Anthony @Catholicizm1]

Bro. The prots are gonna lose it over this one.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

Pratt’s chill eclecticism, attending & appreciating Mass without being Catholic, while identifying as non-denominational, is a quintessential form of current Protestantism. And parallels exactly certain strands of contemporary evangelicalism & explains why they’ll love the movie.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

The reasoning is incoherent & sexist:
1. There are no real differences between men & women, which is why having an all-male group is identical to racial segregation.
2. Young men are so inherently bad & toxic, they cannot be left alone but need the civilizing presence of women.

[David Decosimo @DavidDecosimo]

I dislike fraternities, but banning all-male organizations at colleges, let alone equating them with hatred & white supremacy, is the height of progressive intolerance & bigotry. Young men, especially in our moment, need more not less opportunities to connect with other men.

[Jon Williams @J2dubyas]

The horrific treatment of @DavidDecosimo by SCiLL leadership is one of the most disgraceful things that I've witnessed in higher education (high bar). @WSJ, your lack of interest in the truth is embarrassing.

https://t.co/hancYcApL3