this is something ive also been thinking about recently with respect to LLMs and AI generally, how the training of them is inherently focused on the same kind of nonsense tests weve been shoving down kids throats for a century
No, McCarthy isn't really interested in the specific field of ecology or finding any writings of Marx's that might relate to it. He mostly focuses on science as reduced to physics and the implications of its assumptions. But yeah it's an interesting and insightful read nonetheless
Thanks for this review. We see this reduction to physics in climate science, which has modified the titles of all it's assessment reports with the phrase: "The Physical Science Basis." As a result, the living processes which create and regulate Earth's climate are essentially left out of the picture. These processes are way too complex, and too poorly understood, to quantify for the sake of computer models, so we don't see them. Further, as McCarthy points out, such physical reduction fits hand in glove with capitalist production, leading to a technical solutions approach that is only spreading and intensifying our assault on the biosphere.
this is something ive also been thinking about recently with respect to LLMs and AI generally, how the training of them is inherently focused on the same kind of nonsense tests weve been shoving down kids throats for a century
Definitely. Offloading critical thought to AI is another step toward eliminating it altogether
Thanks for this great review, Ben. I am curious, when he refers back to Marx, does he discuss metabolic rift in his analysis?
I’ve added the book to my list, too.
No, McCarthy isn't really interested in the specific field of ecology or finding any writings of Marx's that might relate to it. He mostly focuses on science as reduced to physics and the implications of its assumptions. But yeah it's an interesting and insightful read nonetheless
Thanks, Ben, for letting me know. It still sounds like a study worth reading.
Thanks for this review. We see this reduction to physics in climate science, which has modified the titles of all it's assessment reports with the phrase: "The Physical Science Basis." As a result, the living processes which create and regulate Earth's climate are essentially left out of the picture. These processes are way too complex, and too poorly understood, to quantify for the sake of computer models, so we don't see them. Further, as McCarthy points out, such physical reduction fits hand in glove with capitalist production, leading to a technical solutions approach that is only spreading and intensifying our assault on the biosphere.