sci-fi

Is Star Fleet a Military?

September 28, 2021

What are the questions that come up when we militarize space? Is there a problem when you show up to a first contact in ship loaded with weapons? Who makes decisions when messages to the civilian oversight back home take days or weeks to be delivered? Rob McKenzie is back to talk about these issues…

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Copies and Clones and Questions, Oh My!

March 2, 2021

Are you legally responsible for the actions of your clone? What is the self, and could it ever be uploaded, or copied? Rob McKenzie joins me for a deep dive into science fiction and the questions that surround digitized consciousness.

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Picardian Ethics

April 30, 2020

Who has agency in Picard? Is Seven finally getting to define her own life, on her terms? Did the Romulans have a point, and why did Picard give up on the rescue and on the Federation? This week, Matthew is joined by two of his podcasting inspirations, Matthew Carroll and David C Roberson to discuss…

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The Ethics of AI

April 23, 2020

This week, we’re joined by returning guest Rob McKenzie, and first time guest Dan McCreary to talk about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. What is AI, and what do we mean by concepts like sentience? Why does so much sci-fi assume AI will be our enemy? And what is the moral value of robotic life?…

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