Natural language processing (NLP) is (possibly) helping to unlock the mysteries of sperm whale communication. NLP is a branch of artificial intelligence that analyses both written and spoken speech, for instance in the automatic translation of text from one language to another. Researchers who aim to use NLP to understand whale codas (utterances) are convinced ‘translation’ is possible, claiming that the codas have an underlying structure similar to human languages. Read full article here
Culture
The Priest in the Arena
The phrase “man in the arena” has been popularized in recent years, but a lesser known, more dangerous archetype is the “priest in the arena”. This figure is responsible for a process called theocratic capture, where an institution surrenders to a cult demanding unaccountable authority, fueled by claims to privileged knowledge. These cults often target powerful institutions and attempt to monopolize conversations with scaremongering tactics and hostile treatment of allies. It is important to identify and stop theocratic capture before it can gain control. Read full article here
Merv
May 29, 2023
