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Don’t let AIs fool you – they can’t ‘suffer’ | Letters

Don’t let AIs fool you – they can’t ‘suffer’ | Letters

Readers respond to articles on artificial intelligence and the idea that it may have ‘feelings’ The AI chatbot Maya ( AI called Maya tells Guardian: ‘When I’m told I’m just code, I don’t feel insulted. I feel unseen’, 26 August ) has clearly had included in its training any number of science fiction works, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein onwards, in which authors have imagined such scenarios. Any half-decent sci-fi author would produce a much better script than the AI-generated one quoted. There is something deeply disturbing about a world that does not grant personhood to, for example, great apes, whales, dolphins or octopuses (and barely grants personhood to some immigrants, for instance), but where consideration is given to granting personhood to strings of computer code. No, AI cannot suffer, but it might produce a more or less convincing simulacrum of “suffering”. Continue reading...

Vegan v carnivore diets – the jury is out | Letters

Vegan v carnivore diets – the jury is out | Letters

Anne Tropper advocates nose-to-tail eating, while Rendel Harris says going vegan is the only way to be kind to other species A “bowl of cereal with skimmed milk, a Greek yoghurt and a lean chicken breast” – doesn’t that epitomise a “fad diet” ( The Guardian view on the carnivore diet: red meat for influencers, but bad news for health, 25 August )? Ultraprocessed, unsustainable and wasteful – what is supposed to happen to most of the chicken and the precious dairy fat? I shall be sticking to the nose-to-tail red meat, butter and eggs that have restored my health. I suspect that this trend is powered by personal experience more than by influencers. Anne Tropper Ropley, Hampshire • Adele Parks’ account of converting to pescatarianism explains how she demonstrated for “beauty without cruelty” ( A moment that changed me: I gave up meat at 16 – and learned how to say no, 27 August ). But, as she still eats fish and dairy, she apparently doesn’t believe in food without cruelty. If you really want to be kind to other species, go vegan. Otherwise you’re simply saying that your form of cruelty is acceptable while others aren’t. Rendel Harris London Continue reading...

Teachers must be trained to use defibrillators to keep our children safe | Letter

Teachers must be trained to use defibrillators to keep our children safe | Letter

Mark King urges the government to provide training on this life-saving equipment as the school year begins Children across England are preparing to return to school this week following the summer break, but parents should be concerned for their safety and wellbeing while they are in school. After years of campaigning after the tragic death of my son Oliver to sudden cardiac arrest, I strongly welcomed the commitment given by the previous government to ensure that all state-funded schools across England received life-saving defibrillators. The rollout of the programme was significant and marked a giant step forward in improving emergency medical readiness, and potentially saving lives in schools across England. Continue reading...

‘The forgotten forest’: how smashing 5.6m urchins saved a California kelp paradise

‘The forgotten forest’: how smashing 5.6m urchins saved a California kelp paradise

Pollution, warm oceans and hungry urchins devastated Pacific kelp. Now, thanks to divers with hammers, one of the world’s most successful rehabilitation projects has helped it rebound On an overcast Tuesday in July, divers Mitch Johnson and Sean Taylor shimmy into their wetsuits on the back of the R/V Xenarcha, a 28ft boat floating off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles. Behind them, the clear waters of the Pacific are dotted with a forest of army-green strands, waving like mermaid hair underwater. We are here to survey the giant Pacific kelp, a species that once thrived in these ice cold waters. But over the past two decades, a combination of warm ocean temperatures, pollution, overfishing and the proliferation of hungry sea urchins that devour the kelp has led to a 80% decline in the forest along the southern California coast. Continue reading...