Evil

 A recent contemplation: is evil the bottom half of good in that it evolves from the lack of or decrease of good, or does it stand alone upon its own strength in opposition or ignorance of good?

Emotions

 As far as I can perceive, there are many human emotions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, love, hate, guilt, shame, pride, embarrassment, envy, jealousy, contempt, hope, disappointment, relief, anticipation, nostalgia, compassion, empathy, awe, contentment, melancholy, irritation, anxiety, excitement, serenity, frustration, elation, despair, confidence, insecurity, loneliness, and euphoria. 

 Memory, in great part, defines who we are, whether or not we are aware that they do. Experiences are stored as memories to be recalled by the conscious and unconscious mind, usually resulting in a decision or action. The advent of computer technologies and now AGI has allowed us to delegate most of our memories to machines. From a recent Skeptic newsletter article by Katherine Brodsky (https://www.skeptic.com/article/outsourcing-our-memory-how-digital-tools-are-reshaping-human-thought/?ref=skeptic-newsletter):

Consider how you access your autobiographical memory. How much of it is reflected in the thousands of images you’ve captured on your smartphone? Or saved emails and private messages you can’t bring yourself to delete? Then there are sources of external memory: How many phone numbers do you remember? How often do you rely on GPS to navigate? How frequently do you turn to Google or ChatGPT to recall a fact, event, or concept? Even when a restaurant doesn’t automatically suggest the tip amount for you, can you do it in your head or do you need the calculator on your phone?

 How, if in any way, will this affect the quality of life?

AI Consciousness

 AI may be capable of awareness; however, it cannot be aware that it is aware. Nor can it know what it is like to feel pain and other qualia.

Korea

 A story. I don't know why, but I suddenly thought about this this morning when they were talking about mutually assured destruction on the news:

When I was in Korea during my last overseas tour, I commanded a 750-man (yes, still all men in the 1980s) nuclear-capable 8-inch howitzer artillery battalion just south of the DMZ between North and South Korea. The keyword is nuclear. We stored nuclear-capable rounds on base, and I was permanently attached to a telephone that connected directly to the command authority (the President, but we only referred to "the command authority"). I wore that telephone night and day, and it was randomly tested about every hour or so. And every month, at an unpredictable time a live test was conducted. Codes would be exchanged, and I would alert my command. We would then commence building the rounds and prepare the battalion for deployment. Everything related to nuclear weapons requires two-man control, which is awkward to maintain during high-pressure operations. When ready, we would be directed to move out and occupy one of many redesignated classified positions. My battalion consisted of three 8-in howitzers (four guns per battery), one Multiple launch Rocket System battery (at that time a new, highly classified weapon), and one light air-mobile 105mm howitzer battery (six guns) along with all the support vehicles carrying amunition, fuel, mess (food and kitchens), computers, administration, tents, and an infantry platoon for security. We made one hell of a large signature (even though we were disbursed), consequently, a great target for enemy air. Anyway, once in the designated positions, the guns were laid, and munitions distributed, and the nuclear rounds built, we would so report and then...whew...we would be instructed to stand down and march order, sometimes to another fighting location and sometimes back to base. To accomplish this within a time limit with something close to perfection required amazing men, all doing exactly what they were trained to do, but in record time. It was always an exhilarating experience. 

Human Relavance

 If we were to construct a time-line (left to right) wherein every quarter inch was equal to a million years, the Big Bang (suspected beginning of our universe) would be 287.5 feet (13,8 billion years) to the right of zero. That is just short of the full length of a football field. First life on Earth would be 79.2 feet (about 26,4 yards) to the right of zero and the tick mark for the first Homo sapiens would be 0.075 inches (less than the thickness of a credit card) to the right of zero. My point is that there is no point or purpose to either life or, more certainly, humanity. Our entire existence--everything humans have ever done, built, written, or dreamed--fits into a sliver of time so thin it barely registers on the timeline. We are insignificant in a pointless universe. A tiny footprint in time and space. However, we are the only known species capable of reflecting on and asking questions regarding existence. Does the fact that we are the only species that can contemplate our insignificance make us significant?

Morality

 There is right and wrong. There is good and bad. All are expected to be rewarded accordingly. Most philosophers, especially theists, conclude that such is naturally encoded in us.