🔴 Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth?
“We argue that LLM providers should be required to mitigate careless speech and better align their models with truth through open, democratic processes. We define careless speech against ‘ground truth’ in LLMs and related risks including hallucinations, misinformation and disinformation.”
Wachter Sandra, Mittelstadt Brent and Russell Chris. 2024 Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth?. R. Soc. Open Sci. 11: 240197. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240197.
🔴 Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth?
“We argue that LLM providers should be required to mitigate careless speech and better align their models with truth through open, democratic processes. We define careless speech against ‘ground truth’ in LLMs and related risks including hallucinations, misinformation and disinformation.”
Wachter Sandra, Mittelstadt Brent and Russell Chris. 2024 Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth?. R. Soc. Open Sci. 11: 240197. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240197.
🔴 🇦🇺 Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger
“Climate model analysis confirms that human influence on the climate system is responsible for the rapid warming in recent decades. This attribution, together with the recent ocean temperature extremes, post-1900 warming trend and observed mass coral bleaching, shows that the existential threat to the GBR ecosystem from anthropogenic climate change is now realized.”
Henley, B.J., McGregor, H.V., King, A.D. et al. Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger. Nature 632, 320–326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x
🔴 Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community
“Isotopic analyses indicated individuals enjoyed a similar diet with little evidence for extensive mobility, however, the genetic analyses indicate that the Muslim and Christian individuals were not only separated by the location of their burials but also by their genetic heritage with no evidence of kinship between the two communities.”
Monnereau, A. et al. (2024) ‘Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community,’ Royal Society Open Science, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240436.
🔴 Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community
“Isotopic analyses indicated individuals enjoyed a similar diet with little evidence for extensive mobility, however, the genetic analyses indicate that the Muslim and Christian individuals were not only separated by the location of their burials but also by their genetic heritage with no evidence of kinship between the two communities.”
Monnereau, A. et al. (2024) ‘Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community,’ Royal Society Open Science, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240436.
🔴 Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community
“Isotopic analyses indicated individuals enjoyed a similar diet with little evidence for extensive mobility, however, the genetic analyses indicate that the Muslim and Christian individuals were not only separated by the location of their burials but also by their genetic heritage with no evidence of kinship between the two communities.”
Monnereau, A. et al. (2024) ‘Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community,’ Royal Society Open Science, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240436.
🔴 📖 Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
“The combination of mythological arrival and conquest annals with the strategic inclusion of genealogies allow the annals as a whole to present all the kingdoms and sub-kingdoms of Britannia as important members of a larger family. They show the supremacy of the Germanic incomers over the native Britons, and they focus on the House of Wessex almost from the outset, showing the West Saxons to be the natural leaders of this group.”
Konshuh, C. (2020). Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. In The Land of the English Kin, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. Available From: Brill https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004421899_009 [Accessed 01 August 2024]
🔴 📖 Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
“The combination of mythological arrival and conquest annals with the strategic inclusion of genealogies allow the annals as a whole to present all the kingdoms and sub-kingdoms of Britannia as important members of a larger family. They show the supremacy of the Germanic incomers over the native Britons, and they focus on the House of Wessex almost from the outset, showing the West Saxons to be the natural leaders of this group.”
Konshuh, C. (2020). Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. In The Land of the English Kin, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. Available From: Brill https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004421899_009 [Accessed 01 August 2024]
🔴 📖 Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
“The combination of mythological arrival and conquest annals with the strategic inclusion of genealogies allow the annals as a whole to present all the kingdoms and sub-kingdoms of Britannia as important members of a larger family. They show the supremacy of the Germanic incomers over the native Britons, and they focus on the House of Wessex almost from the outset, showing the West Saxons to be the natural leaders of this group.”
Konshuh, C. (2020). Chapter 7 Constructing Early Anglo-Saxon Identity in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. In The Land of the English Kin, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. Available From: Brill https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004421899_009 [Accessed 01 August 2024]
🔴 Liars know they are lying: differentiating disinformation from disagreement
“We contend that the spread of misinformation—and in particular willful disinformation—is demonstrably harmful to public health, evidence-informed policymaking, and democratic processes. We also show that disinformation and outright lies can often be identified and differ from good-faith political contestation.”
Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U.K.H., Cook, J. et al. Liars know they are lying: differentiating disinformation from disagreement. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 986 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03503-6
🔴 Analyses of Johannes Kepler’s Sunspot Drawings in 1607: A Revised Scenario for the Solar Cycles in the Early 17th Century
“Here, we make use of Kepler’s sunspot drawings and descriptive texts to identify his observational sites and time stamps. We have deprojected his sunspot drawings and compared the reported positions with our calculations of the inclination of the solar equator as seen from these sites at that time.”
Hayakawa, H. et al. (2024) ‘Analyses of Johannes Kepler’s Sunspot Drawings in 1607: A revised scenario for the solar cycles in the early 17th century,’ The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 970(2), p. L31. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad57c9.
🔴 Analyses of Johannes Kepler’s Sunspot Drawings in 1607: A Revised Scenario for the Solar Cycles in the Early 17th Century
“Here, we make use of Kepler’s sunspot drawings and descriptive texts to identify his observational sites and time stamps. We have deprojected his sunspot drawings and compared the reported positions with our calculations of the inclination of the solar equator as seen from these sites at that time.”
Hayakawa, H. et al. (2024) ‘Analyses of Johannes Kepler’s Sunspot Drawings in 1607: A revised scenario for the solar cycles in the early 17th century,’ The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 970(2), p. L31. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad57c9.
🔴 Influence of believed AI involvement on the perception of digital medical advice
“Moreover, participants indicated lower willingness to follow the advice when AI was believed to be involved in advice generation. Our findings point toward an anti-AI bias when receiving digital medical advice, even when AI is supposedly supervised by physicians.”
Reis, M., Reis, F. & Kunde, W. Influence of believed AI involvement on the perception of digital medical advice. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03180-7
🔴 Influence of believed AI involvement on the perception of digital medical advice
“Moreover, participants indicated lower willingness to follow the advice when AI was believed to be involved in advice generation. Our findings point toward an anti-AI bias when receiving digital medical advice, even when AI is supposedly supervised by physicians.”
Reis, M., Reis, F. & Kunde, W. Influence of believed AI involvement on the perception of digital medical advice. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03180-7
🔴 A Dutch Confederate: Charles Liernur Defends Slavery in America
“The letters of Charles Liernur, a Dutch-born Confederate, provide a unique insight into the mind of an explicit supporter of slavery in an American context. How and why a Dutchman could defend slavery is the primary question this article addresses.”
Douma, M.J. (2017) “A Dutch Confederate: Charles Liernur Defends Slavery in America”, BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review, 132(2), pp. 27–50. https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10339
#Image attribution: De Ingenieur, 8 1893, nr. 13 (via Delpher.nl), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_T._Liernur.jpg
🔴 Continuity and climate change: the Neolithic coastal settlement of Habonim North, Israel
“Typological and radiocarbon dating indicate an Early Pottery Neolithic occupation and evidence for continuity of subsistence and economic strategies with both earlier and later Neolithic cultures. The results indicate the resilience of coastal communities in the face of significant climatic uncertainty and contribute to understanding human responses to environmental change.”
Nickelsberg R, Levy TE, Shahack-Gross R, et al. Continuity and climate change: the Neolithic coastal settlement of Habonim North, Israel. Antiquity. 2024;98(398):343-362. doi: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.32
🔴 ‘Ex-Pagan Pagans’? Paul, Philo, and Gentile Ethnic Reconfiguration
“I argue that, similar to Philo’s proselyte inclusion strategy, Paul incorporates Gentiles-in-Christ into ethnic Israel. As Abraham’s ‘offspring’, Paul suggests that his addressees not only gain membership in Israel’s covenant on account of Israel’s messiah, but that they also acquire a new ethnic identity despite that their prior identities as ‘the Gentiles’ are not erased.”
McDonald, D. N. (2022). ‘Ex-Pagan Pagans’? Paul, Philo, and Gentile Ethnic Reconfiguration. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 45(1), 23-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X221082363
🔴 Imperialism, liberalism & the quest for perpetual peace
“Instead of one world community, the European overseas powers had created what the French philosopher and economist the Marquis de Mirabeau described in 1758 as “a new and monstrous system” that vainly attempted to combine three distinct types of political association (or, as he called them, esprits): domination, commerce, and settlement. The inevitable conflict that had arisen between these had thrown all the European powers into crisis. In Mirabeau’s view, the only way forward was to abandon both settlement and conquest especially conquest in favor of commerce.”
🔴 Imperialism, liberalism & the quest for perpetual peace
“Instead of one world community, the European overseas powers had created what the French philosopher and economist the Marquis de Mirabeau described in 1758 as “a new and monstrous system” that vainly attempted to combine three distinct types of political association (or, as he called
them, esprits): domination, commerce, and settlement. The inevitable conflict that had arisen between these had thrown all the European powers into crisis. In Mirabeau’s view, the only way forward was to abandon both settlement and conquest especially conquest in favor of commerce.”
“This essay describes the efforts of the Confederate States of America to convince Great Britain to support its secession from the United States. Although the South’s leaders were confident that Britain’s need for cotton would lead it to become an ally, numerous factors—including the British public’s aversion to slavery—contributed to the country remaining neutral.”
Slinger M. (2023) Great Britain and the Confederacy. British Journal of American Legal Studies, Vol.12 (Issue 2), pp. 357-376. https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2023-0028
“This essay describes the efforts of the Confederate States of America to convince Great Britain to support its secession from the United States. Although the South’s leaders were confident that Britain’s need for cotton would lead it to become an ally, numerous factors—including the British public’s aversion to slavery—contributed to the country remaining neutral.”
Slinger M. (2023) Great Britain and the Confederacy. British Journal of American Legal Studies, Vol.12 (Issue 2), pp. 357-376. https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2023-0028
“This work is the first major attempt since the 1970s to challenge the idea that the essential engine of medical (and scientific) change in seventeenth-century Britain emanated from puritanism. It seeks to reaffirm the crucial role of the period of the civil wars and their aftermath in providing the most congenial context for a re-evaluation of traditional attitudes to medicine.”
“LSE Philosophy Professor Jonathan Birch has published his new book ‘The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI’ with Oxford University Press. The online version is available for free now!”
🔴 📖 The Diagrammatics of ‘Race’ Visualizing Human Relatedness in the History of Physical, Evolutionary, and Genetic Anthropology, ca. 1770-2020
“The Diagrammatics of ‘Race’ concentrates on Western projects from the late 1700s into the present to diagrammatically define humanity, subdividing and ordering it, including the concomitant endeavors to acquire representative samples―bones, blood, or DNA―from all over the world.”