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Hacking Darwin : genetic engineering and the future of humanity / by Metzl, Jamie Frederic,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-306) and index.From leading geopolitical expert and technology futurist Jamie Metzl comes a groundbreaking exploration of the many ways genetic-engineering is shaking the core foundations of our lives -- sex, war, love, and death.At the dawn of the genetics revolution, our DNA is becoming as readable, writable, and hackable as our information technology. But as humanity starts retooling our own genetic code, the choices we make today will be the difference between realizing breathtaking advances in human well-being and descending into a dangerous and potentially deadly genetic arms race.Enter the laboratories where scientists are turning science fiction into reality. Look towards a future where our deepest beliefs, morals, religions, and politics are challenged like never before and the very essence of what it means to be human is at play. When we can engineer our future children, massively extend our lifespans, build life from scratch, and recreate the plant and animal world, should we? Passionate, provocative, and highly illuminating, Hacking Darwin is the must read book about the future of our species for fans of Homo Deus and The Gene.
Subjects: Genetic engineering; Human genetics.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The future of capitalism / by Varoufakis, Yanis,panelist.; Brooks, Arthur C.,1964-panelist.; Vanden Heuvel, Katrina,panelist.; Brooks, David,1961-panelist.; Griffiths, Rudyard,editor.;
"In Western societies, the capitalist system is facing a level of distrust not seen in decades. Economic inequality is rampant. Life expectancy is falling. The environment is being destroyed for profit. Political power is wielded by wealthy elites and big business. For capitalism's critics, it is clear that the system is not designed to help average people. Their solution is a top-to-bottom reform of the "free market" along more socialist and democratic lines. For proponents of capitalism, however, this system has been the greatest engine of economic and social progress in history. Not only has capitalism made all of us materially better off, its ideals are responsible for everything from women's rights to a cleaner environment to political freedoms. The answer to society's current ills is more capitalism, more economic freedom, and more free markets. The twenty-fifth semi-annual Munk Debate, held on December 4, 2019, pits editorial director and publisher of the Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel and former finance minister of Greece Yanis Varoufakis against Harvard professor Arthur Brooks and New York Times columnist David Brooks to debate whether the capitalist system is broken."
Subjects: Economics.; Capitalism; Capitalism; Capitalism; Capitalism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The hype machine : how social media disrupts our elections, our economy, and our health - and how we must adapt / by Aral, Sinan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Social media connected the world--and gave rise to fake news and increasing polarization. Now a leading researcher at MIT draws on 20 years of research to show how these trends threaten our political, economic, and emotional health in this eye-opening exploration of the dark side of technological progress. Today we have the ability, unprecedented in human history, to amplify our interactions with each other through social media. It is paramount, MIT social media expert Sinan Aral says, that we recognize the outsized impact social media has on our culture, our democracy, and our lives in order to steer today's social technology toward good, while avoiding the ways it can pull us apart. Otherwise, we could fall victim to what Aral calls "The Hype Machine." As a senior researcher of the longest-running study of fake news ever conducted, Aral found that lies spread online farther and faster than the truth--a harrowing conclusion that was featured on the cover of Science magazine. Among the questions Aral explores following twenty years of field research: Did Russian interference change the 2016 election? And how is it affecting the vote in 2020? Why does fake news travel faster than the truth online? How do social ratings and automated sharing determine which products succeed and fail? How does social media affect our kids? First, Aral links alarming data and statistics to three accelerating social media shifts: hyper-socialization, personalized mass persuasion, and the tyranny of trends. Next, he grapples with the consequences of the Hype Machine for elections, businesses, dating, and health. Finally, he maps out strategies for navigating the Hype Machine, offering his singular guidance for managing social media to fulfill its promise going forward. Rarely has a book so directly wrestled with the secret forces that drive the news cycle every day"--
Subjects: Information society.; Common fallacies.; Propaganda.; Social interaction.; Social media;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Life as we made it : how 50,000 years of human innovation refined--and redefined--nature / by Shapiro, Beth Alison,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Humans seem to be destroying nature with incessant fiddling. We can use viruses to insert genes for pesticide resistance into plants, or to make the flesh of goldfish glow. We can turn bacteria into factories for millions of molecules, from vitamin A and insulin to diesel fuel. And this year's Nobel Prize went to the inventors of tool called CRISPR, which lets us edit genomes almost as easily as we can edit the text in a computer document. The potential for harm can seem both enormous and inevitable. In Life as We Made It, evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro argues that our fears of new technologies aren't just mistaken, but they miss the big picture about human history: we've been remaking nature for as long as we've been around. As Shapiro shows, the molecular tools of biotechnology are just the latest in a long line of innovations stretching back to the extra food and warm fires that first brought wolves into the human fold, turning them into devoted dogs. Perhaps more importantly, Shapiro offers a new understanding of the evolution of our species and those that surround us. We might think of evolution as a process bigger than humans (and everything else). To the contrary, Shapiro argues that we have always been active participants in it, driving it both inadvertently and intentionally with our remarkable capacity for technological innovation. Shapiro shows that with each innovation and every plant and animal we touched, we not only shaped our own diets, genes, and social structures but we reset the course of evolution, both theirs and ours. Indeed, although we think of only modern technology as capable of gene editing, she shows that even the first stone tools could edit DNA, simply by changing the world in which all life lives. Recasting the history of biology and technology alike, Life as We Made It shows that the history of our species is essentially and inevitably a story of us meddling with nature. And that ultimately, our species' fate depends on how we do it in the future"--
Subjects: Biotechnology; Biotechnology; Nature;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Moral combat : good and evil in World War II / by Burleigh, Michael,1955-;
Includes bibliographical references and index.The predators -- Appeasement -- Brotherly enemies -- The rape of Poland -- Trampling the remains -- Not losing: Churchill's Britain -- Under the swastika: Nazi occupied Europe -- Barbarossa -- Global war -- The resistance -- Moral calculus -- Beneath the mask of command -- Antagonistic allies -- 'We were savages': combat soldiers -- Massacring the innocents -- Journeys through night -- Observing an avalanche -- Tenuous altruism -- The King's thunderbolts are righteous : RAF Bomber Command -- Is that Britain?--No, it's Brittany -- The predators at bay.British historian Burleigh (Blood Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism) delivers a long, riveting account of the awful atrocities of WWII and the perverted reasoning behind them. Burleigh explains that Communist, Nazi, Fascist, and Japanese systems claimed to be regimes of public virtue carrying out inexorable historical processes. Proclaiming that the only evil was obstructing this march to utopia, they discarded the rule of law and alternative moral authority (religion, ethics).
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945.;
© c2011., Harper,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Tender is the night : a romance / by Fitzgerald, F. Scott(Francis Scott),1896-1940,author.;
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Classics; Literary; Wealth; Psychiatrists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Dream machine [graphic novel] : a portrait of artificial intelligence / by Appupen,author,illustrator.; Daudet, Laurent,author.; translation of:Appupen.Dream machine, ou comment j'ai failli vendre mon âme à l'intelligence artificielle.English.;
Hugo, a Parisian entrepreneur, has launched his startup on Large Language Model technology at the heart of the revolution embodied by ChatGPT. On the verge of securing the deal of the century with the digital giant REAL, he wonders about the latter's real motivations: is this the making of a dream or a nightmare? Could Hugo's developments be used for social and political control? REAL's plans for the international launch of their "immortality game" seem to be increasingly opaque, and as useful and efficient AI promises to be, he begins to realize it may also be a potential source of catastrophic outcomes and indecent concentrations of wealth.
Subjects: Science fiction comics.; Graphic novels.; Artificial intelligence; Artificial intelligence;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The environmentalist's dilemma : promise and peril in an age of climate crisis / by Kopecky, Arno,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects: Environmentalism; Environmentalists; Sustainable living;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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An abolitionist's handbook : 12 steps to changing yourself and the world / by Khan-Cullors, Patrisse,1984-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."In An Abolitionist's Handbook, Cullors charts a framework for how everyday activists can effectively fight for an abolitionist present and future. Filled with relatable pedagogy on the history of abolition, a reimagining of what reparations look like for Black lives and real-life anecdotes from Cullors An Abolitionist's Handbook offers a bold, innovative, and humanistic approach to how to be a modern-day abolitionist. Cullors asks us to lead with love, fierce compassion, and precision. In An Abolitionist's Handbook readers will learn how to: - have courageous conversations - move away from reaction and towards response - take care of oneself while fighting for others - turn inter-community conflict into a transformative action - expand one's imagination, think creatively, and find the courage to experiment - make justice joyful - practice active forgiveness - make space for difficult feelings and honor mental health - practice non-harm and cultivate compassion - organize local and national governments to work towards abolition - move away from cancel culture An Abolitionist's Handbook is for those who are looking to reimagine a world where communities are treated with dignity, care and respect. It gives us permission to move away from cancel culture and into visioning change and healing"--
Subjects: Alternatives to imprisonment.; Prison abolition movements.; Prison-industrial complex.; Prisons;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Our only home : a climate appeal to the world / by Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho,Dalai Lama XIV,1935-author.; Alt, Franz,1938-author.; Reif, Peter,translator.;
With each passing day, climate change is causing Pacific islands to disappear into the sea, accelerating the extinction of species at alarming proportions, and aggravating a water shortage that has affected the entire world. In short, climate change can no longer be denied. The Dalai Lama, one of the most influential figures of all time, calls on political decision-makers to finally fight against deadlock and ignorance on this issue and to stand up for a different, more climate-friendly world and for the younger generation to assert their right to regain their future.
Subjects: Climatic changes; Environmental ethics.; Environmentalism; Global warming.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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