Greg M. Epstein

@gepstein
1.2K Followers
111 Following
106 Posts
Humanist Chaplain @ Harvard & MIT. Convener f/Ethical Life, MIT Ofc. of Religious, Spiritual & Ethical Life. NYTimes bestseller: Good Without God. Next book: Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why it Desperately Needs a Reformation (MIT Press). Former Ethicist in Residence @Techcrunch. Bylines: CNN, Boston Globe, WaPo. A viral trending topic @twitter (RIP) once or twice. Ethics, justice, tech, religion, atheism, #dadlife, feminism, masculinity, Pearl Jam
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1st Bookhttps://www.harpercollins.com/products/good-without-god-greg-epstein?variant=32205367345186
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gregmepstein
Bird@gregmepstein
Greg M. EpsteinSep 29, 2023
"It's like, I know I'm just sitting at my desk job right now, but I have an imagination. I have an inner life. I can use that to envision better work for myself, a better society for others, to communicate, to rest, to plan next steps. That can alleviate a lot..." -me @TeenVogue. https://www-teenvogue-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.teenvogue.com/story/bored-at-work-what-to-do/amp
Bored at Work: What to Do If Your Job Leaves You Feeling Uncreative, Disengaged, or Unhappy

Boredom at work can increase poor health and stress symptoms, while other research links boredom to lower productivity and creativity.

Teen Vogue
Greg M. EpsteinSep 29, 2023
I tend to still view myself as relatively young but today I met with an accomplished 25 year-old student interested in my work, whose entire life thus far roughly coincides with my career working in humanism, religion, and related matters (including, now, the intersection of tech and religion/ethics). Damn. Life comes at you fast ... very slowly.
Greg M. EpsteinSep 29, 2023
Show threadGreg M. EpsteinSep 29, 2023
@highjynx @TCatInReality @leftyknowitall I have a whole book explaining my nuanced position on this out in a year so I won't get into it now. I'll just say for now that there is zero reason, beyond religious faith (zealotry, really) to believe that language models will ever be able to provide good therapy. They are in many ways the antithesis of good therapy and I find it sad, and deserving of some mockery, that important tech leaders would assume otherwise.
Greg M. EpsteinSep 28, 2023
Dare ObasanjoSep 28, 2023

“One man’s election misinformation is another man’s free speech” - Elon Musk

The other man happens to be Vladimir Putin.

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/musks-x-cuts-half-of-election-integrity-team-after-promising-to-expand-it

Musk’s X Cuts Half of Election Integrity Team After Promising to Expand It

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, is cutting around half of the global team devoted to limiting disinformation and election fraud on the platform, including the head of the group, according to three people familiar with the situation. The cuts come less than a month after the company ...

The Information
Greg M. EpsteinSep 28, 2023
danah boydSep 28, 2023
For those interested in AI, this is a fantastic primer by the AINow Institute on the infrastructure needed to make AI work. Think: chips and compute plus the geopolitics, institutions, markets, and politics that make it all happen. https://ainowinstitute.org/publication/policy/compute-and-ai
Computational Power and AI

By Jai Vipra & Sarah Myers WestSeptember 27, 2023 In this article What is compute and why does it matter? How is the demand for compute shaping AI development? What kind of hardware is involved? What are the components of compute hardware? What does the supply chain for AI hardware look like? What does the […]

AI Now Institute
Greg M. EpsteinSep 28, 2023
Show threadJennySep 28, 2023
@gepstein Wow…guess I should get ready to retire. I’m looking forward to seeing how AI handles a hormone-addled teenage who answers every question with “nothing, I’m fine”. I’m guessing they will congratulation said teen on their fineness and send them on their merry way?
Greg M. EpsteinSep 27, 2023
Show threadJorge Caballero, MDSep 27, 2023
@gepstein We need to start a Hall of Shame for bad takes, and that post you shared should be the first inductee 😬
Greg M. EpsteinSep 27, 2023
Jesus, and I cannot stress this enough, Fucking Christmas. You could not get any better definition of the religious hubris of tech if you looked it up in a Biblical encyclopedia. (Sutskever's post is so epically bad, it inspired my first cross-post!)
Greg M. EpsteinAug 23, 2023
popcrimesAug 21, 2023

"In a world where tech has become a transcendent force, people are always looking for guidance."

by @gepstein

"Techno-solutionism and related ideas can function as a kind of theology, justifying harm in the here and now with the promise of a sweet technological hereafter."

#ATIH #teamhuman

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/08/15/1077369/tech-ethics-congregation/

The rise of the tech ethics congregation

In a world where tech has become a transcendent force, people are always looking for guidance.

MIT Technology Review
Greg M. EpsteinJul 7, 2023
Turned in my 100,000+ word TECH AGNOSTIC draft yesterday. 5 years of work. @[email protected] is already sending it out for peer review (and advice on what to cut, as it is *long*, including ~5,000 words just for my several hundred references). Need to send pre-publicity info for the distribution plan via @[email protected], next week. I can't believe it's really real. https://twitter.com/gregmepstein/status/1450928472625487877
Greg M. Epstein is @[email protected] on Twitter

“I've been working on my next book for three years now. Excited that it officially has a name—Tech Agnostic—and a great home @mitpress. Publication is still awhile away; plenty of time for more interviews. DM/Signal if you want to talk or send ideas. https://t.co/A0TbGoATYm”

Twitter