Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

Recidivism Too High? Don’t Blame the Data | Opinion – Newsweek

We know for a factas credible a fact as we get from the criminal justice systemthat more than eight out of 10 prisoners in the United States are rearrested after release. These data suggest some inconvenient truths about our criminal justice systeminconvenient, that is, to putative "reformers" determined to decarcerate the United States.

First, the high reoffending rates suggest that those in prison are typically there for a good reason. Unless one believes that prisons are so criminogenic (meaning, that they encourage criminality) that inmates enter pure but leave corrupted, it is hard to explain the preponderance of post-release crime. In fact, there is little evidence that prison is criminogenic. If it were, then longer sentences would produce more crime. But a 2021 review of the relevant research found "no substantial evidence" that longer sentences have a criminogenic effect. In other words, there is little indication that longer sentences generate more crime after release, or that shorter sentences produce less.

Second, a relatively small number of people commit a large proportion of the serious crimes. Around 5% of the United States population is responsible for half of all crime. These "ravenous wolves" keep repeating their predations until the criminal justice system finally incapacitates them.

Third, rehabilitation within prison walls is largely ineffective. If it worked, we simply wouldn't be getting an 83% recidivism rate for discharged prisonerswhich is what the data evince.

Lately, many analysts sidestep these truths and attack the very concept or use of recidivism as an appropriate criminal justice yardstick. One recent paper argued that recidivism is such a crude indicator that relying on it is akin to "insanity": "it does not lead to any new information that could be used to shape an effective response" to crime.

It is true that recidivism measures are imperfect. For instance, if a police force is deployed in increased numbers to a high-crime area, there will be more arrests and of course more recidivists from that neighborhood. If the neighborhood is relatively poor and black, there would be increased numbers of poor black recidivists.

Likewise, if there is a spike in a particular type of crimesay, selling drugs on the streetand a prosecutor increases the demand for incarceration of drug arrestees, that too could generate more recidivism.

In both of the above hypothetical scenarios, one could argue that it was policy changesas opposed to changes in human behaviorthat produced more recidivism. But so what? The various "imperfections" in measuring recidivism do not render its penological use inappropriate. Would it be "insanity" to ignore the crime history of poor black recidivists or drug dealers simply because law enforcement policy changes increased their chances of apprehension and conviction? That is the equivalent of telling a judge that you shouldn't have to pay a fine for speeding because the cops never used to put a patrol car on that street before. In fact, recidivism provides an excellent prediction of post-release behavior and should be used to shape the response to misconduct.

Moreover, virtually all of the criticisms of recidivism apply to measures of crime itself. After all, the definition of any specific crime varies from state to state, and enforcement differs from police force to police force and from prosecutor to prosecutorto say nothing of conviction and sentencing variations among judges. Should we therefore scrap crime itself as a measure of social health or local habitability, because of these ineluctable inconsistencies?

The answer is obvious. Humans can only make policy based on the best information available. We cannot wait for data perfection.

The best information on recidivism is that it is a very good predictor of criminal behavior. While we know that the overwhelming majority of released prisoners reoffend, it also turns out that those who have no prior arrests or convictions before their imprisonment are most likely to be crime-free upon release. The U.S. Sentencing Commission once examined the crime histories of federal prisoners and found that those without prior criminal histories had a mere 6.8% recidivism rate.

Likewise, a new study of New York State's bail reforms showed that the reformssurprisinglydid not cause more people to be arrested as a result of the reduction in jailings. However, this was mainly true for non-repeaters. Defendants without a pending case were less likely to be rearrested after bail reform. But those with a pending case were 6% more likely to be rearrested after the reforms. In short, freeing recidivists is risky and judges should be able to take defendants' arrest and conviction history into account when determining whether to release or jail them.

Decarcerationists want to discredit recidivism because they don't like its implications. But recidivism remains the gold standard for criminal justice outcomes. Consideration of recidivism does not preclude consideration of other measures, too. We should, for instance, look at addiction reduction rates for drug intervention programs and employment rates for vocational training programs. But if these interventions are targeting prisoners or former prisoners, we will always want to know if the subjects have been arrested again.

Barry Latzer is emeritus professor at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of The Myth of Overpunishment: A Defense of the American Justice System and a Proposal to Reduce Incarceration While Protecting the Public(Republic Books).

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

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Recidivism Too High? Don't Blame the Data | Opinion - Newsweek

Human Behavior

How to prepare for a world without passwords – VentureBeat

Join top executives in San Francisco on July 11-12, to hear how leaders are integrating and optimizing AI investments for success. Learn More

Businesses are spending billions of dollars each year on cybersecurity solutions, but were still seeing a steady increase in security breaches. We hear about high-profile cases, but for every breach that makes headlines, there are countless others that are just as devastating for businesses at every stage of growth.

Why are we seeing this increase? The answer is simple no matter how strong your security infrastructure, the vast majority of breaches today stem from the same culprit: Compromised login credentials. The password the very tool that was designed to guard against cybercriminals is fundamentally flawed because it relies on human behavior for its efficacy.

There is good news, however.Recent industry developments show promise in addressing this password problemwith a new type of login that can replace passwords the weakest link in the cyber defense chain with un-phishable and frictionless passkeys.

Cybersecurity has been an issue for a long time in tech a constant concern over the last 30 years of my career at companies like IBM and HubSpot. This milestone is an opportunity to refocus on the basics of cybersecurity and address how the risk of not investing in this area will impact organizations, regardless of industry or stage of growth. Extending far beyond the dollar cost of a hack, a breach can lead to costly penalties, a tarnished brand, low employee morale, and possibly a damaged executive reputation.

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The next wave of authentication technology is upon us. To prepare yourself and your workplace, here are three things to keep in mind.

As the CEO of a security company, I am a little more cognizant of password hygiene now than the average person but I have to admit that Ive fallen into bad behavior in the past.

Growing up in Louisiana as a huge football fan, I remember setting up my first password and wanting to pick LSU. Sadly, the service required at least six characters (shamefully too few, I now know), so I went with ELESHU instead. I dont use that one anymore, but as humans, were still too often tempted by shortcuts that expose our companies and ourselves to security risks. As a result, hackers have identified this type of behavior as their most promising attack vector, and weve seen tremendous growth of phishing incidents to steal user credentials.

It should come as no surprise, then, that eliminating passwords has always been the goal. So what is a passkey, and why is it different? A passkey is a passwordless credential, where the website and the authenticator are communicating by exchanging keys. These cannot be seen or accessed by humans, removing all human-related risks of password usage.

You cant accidentally leave a passkey lying around, and theres no need to worry about generating unique passwords. Passkeys are based on public-key cryptography, and unlike passwords, they dont rely on storing shared secrets on servers. Humans can type passwords anywhere (sometimes accidentally on a website like facebok.com instead of facebook.com), but passkeys cant be phished they are bound to the website they are set up for.

Its hard to change human behavior, but we can change the way we approach authentication. Only a handful of websites currently support passkey-based authentication, but that doesnt mean we need to wait around for adoption. Until passkeys become mainstream, you can experience the notion of passwordless authentication through biometrics, or via apps like Discord or Whatsapp using QR codes to allow cross-platform logins.

Next year marks the tenth anniversary of the FIDO Alliance, the industry group thats been working on this problem. Their initial focus has clearly been on consumer applications, not business applications. That makes sense because our employees are consumers too, and their behavior as they shop and interact online will shape the way they interact at work.

In general, I think there has been a major shift in business software, including security software the user experience has to be consumer-grade to drive adoption, and the expected broad availability of passkeys for sign-ins to various online services. So while the early evolution of passkey technology is geared toward consumer solutions, there is a rich supply of user problems that passkeys will address for businesses at any stage of growth.

On average, internet users are juggling more than 200 logins for various accounts with that, it only takes one wrong click, one convincing phishing email or one reused password to disassemble an entire organization. The widespread shift to remote work only expanded the number of disparate applications and tools used by teams on a daily basis.

As our workplaces become more digitized and distributed, the surface area that we leave vulnerable to bad actors grows larger and larger. A phishing-resistant solution like passkeys addresses an obvious and urgent need, and the argument for a wide rollout of this technology has already been proven Microsoft, Apple and Google have made their bets, all recently launching passkey solutions.

A majority of popular websites are planning to deploy passkeys toward the end of 2023, and early adopters like PayPal are already offering passkey support for payment. However, during the transition period between passwords and passkeys, websites (like Paypal) will support both. This hybrid phase is important, because the switch wont happen overnight. Today, even diligent companies enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) are falling victim to disruptive attacks. Until passkey technology becomes ubiquitous, a combination of good password hygiene and MFA is still our safest bet.

During this phase, make sure your organization understands the reasoning behind a move from MFA and passwords (which might have always felt like a pain point) to passkeys the most secure, easy to use, interoperable and trustworthy way for us to live and work online.

JD Sherman is an advisor and board member of Dashlane.

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Human Behavior

Is AI Transforming Humans into an Outdated Resource? – Analytics Insight

With advanced capabilities, AI is transforming humans into an outdated source

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, work, and interact with the world around us. AI is already being used in various applications, from self-driving cars to virtual assistants, and its influence is only set to grow in the coming years.

However, as AI continues to advance, some people are beginning to ask whether AI is transforming humans into outdated resources. Will machines ultimately replace humans in the workforce, leaving us with little to do except watch as they take over our jobs and lives?

There is no doubt that AI transformation has the potential to automate many of the tasks that humans currently perform. For example, machines can be trained to recognize patterns, make predictions, and carry out complex calculations with incredible speed and accuracy. This means that tasks that were once performed by humans, such as data entry or repetitive manufacturing tasks, can now be completed by machines.

In some cases, this automation is a good thing. It can free human workers to focus on more creative and complex tasks requiring human intuition and problem-solving skills. However, in other cases, AI replacing humans with machines can lead to job loss and economic disruption.

The impact of AI on the job market is a topic of much debate among economists and policymakers. Some argue that AI will create new jobs and industries, just as the industrial revolution did in the 19th century. They point out that new technologies often create more jobs than they replace and that AI will be no different.

Others, however, are more pessimistic. They argue that the rise of AI will lead to massive job losses, particularly in low-skilled and routine jobs. They point to the fact that machines are becoming increasingly capable of performing tasks that were once thought to require human intelligence, such as language translation and even creative writing.

The truth is likely somewhere in between these two extremes. While it is true that AI has the potential to automate many jobs, it is also true that it will create new jobs and industries. The key question is whether these new jobs will be accessible to everyone or whether they will require a high level of education and specialized skills.

In addition to the impact of AI on the job market, there are also concerns about the impact of AI on society as a whole. For example, some worry that AI could exacerbate existing social inequalities. If large corporations and wealthy individuals primarily use AI, it could widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

Similarly, there are concerns about the impact of AI on privacy and personal autonomy. As machines become better at recognizing patterns and predicting human behavior, they will have access to an unprecedented amount of personal information. This could lead to a world in which our every move is monitored and analyzed by machines.

Despite these concerns, it is essential to remember that AI is not inherently good or bad. Like any technology, it is a tool that can be used for good or ill. The challenge for society is ensuring that AI is developed and used to maximize its benefits while minimizing its risks.

To do this, we need to invest in education and training programs that prepare people for the jobs of the future. We also need to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared widely and that its use is regulated in a way that protects the privacy and personal autonomy.

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Is AI Transforming Humans into an Outdated Resource? - Analytics Insight

Human Behavior

Priyanka Kumar considers the birds: A review of Conversations with … – The Christian Century

Though its categorized as a collection of essays, one might, at first glance, mistake Conversations with Birds as a coffee-table book of whimsical shelf art. Wrapped in a selection of images from the famed paintings of John James Audubon, the books smooth exterior provides a stunning entryway into its pages of compelling and poetic prose.

Born in the foothills of the Himalayas, Priyanka Kumar grew up with the rhythm of recurrent moves prompted by her fathers post as an Indian diplomat. In light of this, she recalls a lingering sense of disconnection between herself and the people and places she inhabited. After arriving in the West in her late teens, she describes her experience as being marked by brittle connections, erratic friendships, and paper-thin communities. This thread of detachment followed her through graduate school at the University of Southern California and into her vocation as a filmmaker in Los Angeles, where her sense of place was challenged each time the doors of opportunity swung shut in her face. With a weariness laced with strength and wit, she reflects that a masters degree from the so-called top film school didnt really matter if you werent one of the boys. Graduating at the top of my class didnt matter either. Being an outsider and telling stories outside of the cultural norm were deal breakers.

An avid hiker, Kumar eventually identified the inward chasm she had felt for years as a disintegration between herself and the natural world. Though she had enjoyed a sense of oneness with creation as a child, roaming the forests of northern India, she struggled as an adult to really see and experience the beauty of her surroundings through the veil of smog and Western consumerism that shrouded her vision. It was her communion (and conversations) with birds that eventually inspired an awakening and informed her pilgrimage toward reconnection and a renewed sense of belonging. She notes, seeds of transformation lie dormant in all of our hearts. Sometimes it just takes the right bird to awaken us.

This dynamic book reads like a memoir, although it is packed with a steady stream of information on the birds she is watching, the landscapes she explores, and the environmental issues that threaten the future of both. Kumars effortless and elegant writing style weaves each thread into one seamlessly fashioned piece that keeps readers turning each new page in anticipation of whatever she offers next. Although her focus is primarily on birds, she takes time to acknowledge myriad other creatures as they struggle to maintain their place here on earth.

From an opossum and a mountain lion forced to straddle the line between wilderness and suburbs amid rapid urbanization to a bobcat raising her cub along a shared trail, Kumar uses animal testimonies to build a portrait of our planets creatures gasping for air under the weight of humanitys insatiable thirst for expansion. As she does, readers receive an invitation to observe alongside her:

The goshawk is a feral top predator; its eye has a glint of wildness. Isnt it awesome that when its incensed by our intrusion over its territory, it thwacks us on the head? We see trees as crops, we plant tree saplings in clean rows, and we have chopped down magnificent old growth stands, which grew exuberantly in asymmetrical groves. We are draining the last remaining wildness out of even the forests. The goshawk has every right to thwack us.

Kumar seems to hope that our attention to these stories will inspire a shift in our posture toward the creatures with whom we share this world.

Throughout the essays, she often points to various Eastern religions and other spiritual traditions, reflecting a generous appreciation for the wisdom they hold. Yet she addresses Christianity sparingly and with a tone that I find dismissive. I think it is precisely this dismissiveness that should bend the ears of Christian readers and prompt us to open our hearts to an uncomfortable question: Can we actually be dismissed from a conversation that we have, for the most part, failed to show up for in the first place?

In The Art of Commonplace, Wendell Berry writes, The culpability of Christianity in the destruction of the natural world and uselessness of Christianity in any effort to correct that destruction are now established clichs in the conservation movement. While much of the world laments the condition of our planet and has joined together in search of viable solutions for its renewal, the majority of the Christian sphere has remained silent, relatively unmoved, and at times even resistant to addressing the plight of Gods handiwork. As creation groans under the yoke of slavery imposed upon it by human greed, we fail to draw any connection to our vocation to steward it.

God instructed us to tend to creation and keep it, preserve it and protect it, serve it and seek good on its behalf. And nestled in the treasure trove of the gospel is the solution that the world needs: a message of radical life change, of a turning that resists the exploitive and yields a servant where there once was a wayward lord, the exact sort of transformation in human behavior required to redeem all things. Still, we too often remain silent and disengaged. Its for this reason that Christians need people like Kumar: prophets and poets who are at the periphery of our norms, stirring us from our apathetic slumber, pointing us back into conversation with creation and our Creator, and inspiring us to consider the birds.

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Priyanka Kumar considers the birds: A review of Conversations with ... - The Christian Century

Human Behavior

Extreme Weather in the Caribbean Part 5: Wildfires – St, Thomas Source

The Caribbean Region is prone to extreme weather events, such as stronghurricanes,earthquakes, and destructivevolcanic eruptions. Other dangerous weather phenomena that may occur in the area are wildfires, especially during periods of drought and when the atmosphere is extremely dry.

To help keep residents and visitors to the USVI safe and informed about fires, the Source spoke with Steven Ippoliti, a Predictive Service Meteorologist with theUS Fish and Wildlife Service. Ippolitis work predicts when and where severe weather events like wildfires might occur.

I am a Predictive Service Meteorologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, explained Ippoliti. I am staffed at the Southern Area Coordination Center in Atlanta (SACC). Our function is to detect [weather conditions including fire weather] areas in the Southern US, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands as far out as three months. Typically, the 3-month outlook is issued on the first of every month. We produce a Fire Weather Briefing Monday-Friday, with it becoming seven days a week during periods of elevated activity. We also coordinate with most government entities involved with wildfires, including state governments and even the military.

What is Fire Weather?

Ippoliti discusses what is meant by fire weather and the factors that influence the potential for a blaze to occur and grow.

Fire weather is the [type of] weather that affects wildfires, said Ippoliti. Some of the most important weather criteria are dry [air] (lack of rain), wind, temperature, and [low] relative humidity. Once a fire grows large enough, it may begin to drive its own weather in the vicinity of the fire. This can include wind, rain/thunderstorms, and even fire tornadoes, if the fire becomes large enough to cause this to happen, explained Ippoliti.

Fire season typically coincides with the dry season. [This occurs] sometime in January into April, although it will likely vary year to year, he added.

Wildfire Occurrences in the Caribbean

Droughts occur in the Caribbean, which can lead to a higher threat of a potential blaze. In recent years, St. Croix and Puerto Rico, for instance, have been affected by fires. As recently as March of 2023, fire weather conditions along southern Puerto Rico were elevated, resulting in a red flag warning, indicating a critical risk for fire weather. Additionally, as was recently reported by the Source,the USVI is on track to experience another drought.

The Caribbean region is susceptible to fires, but due to the size of the islands, they are not typically as large as the fires in portions of the US, Ippoliti noted.

Also, being surrounded by water can help keep the humidity higher, making it more difficult for fires to burn. However, during a period of dry air and lack of rain, [fires] are possible. The southern area of Puerto Rico is an area that can experience multiple wildfires a year, with possibly some larger fires, Ippoliti explained.

While there are some grass and shrub/trees that may burn, one of the largest concerns for wildfires is the downed dead vegetation from various sources, such as strong thunderstorm downbursts from tropical systems that move through, said Ippoliti. The downed vegetation may not be available to burn right away. But if prescribed burning [which is an intentionally set blaze for fire management purposes] does not remove the dead vegetation, it can be fuel for any fires in the dry season, he added.

Types of Wildfires

There are several varieties of infernos, and Ippoliti explains the differences:

Ground fires are typically in low-lying fuels, [commonly] even underground in dead roots. These fires tend not to have much in the way of a flame but smolder underground until conditions are right for them to come up to the surface. These fires can go days, even weeks, without being detected, since there are no flames or even smoke to indicate they are burning.

Surface fires are burning in fuels on the surface, such as palmettos, dry or dead palm fronds, or other fuels that can spread on the ground. They can burn hot and spread rapidly, and if conditions are right, even begin to scorch the forest canopy. (Dead vegetation can become fuel for a fire particularly in the Caribbean.)

A crown fire typically burns along the tops of the trees. This is especially true where there is very little on the ground for the fire to burn and be able to spread. The wind may spread the fire even if there is a space in the canopy.

How Fires Begin and How to Prevent Them

Interestingly, natural weather events such as lightning strikes are not the most common reasons for a fire. Its human behavior that usually sparks a firestorm.

While lightning can cause a fire, most of the thunderstorms are accompanied by a good deal of rain, Ippoliti said. So, human-caused fires are by far the most likely source of ignition. Please remember that this does not mean a fire is started on purpose. Humans bring all different ignition sources, from unattended campfires, motorized vehicles with hot motors coming in contact with dry grass, to fireworks being set off in areas susceptible to fire, he added.

The first thing people can do is to be very aware of fire danger in their area before they decide to have open flames or use motorized vehicles in areas of dry grass, for instance. Second have safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers, on hand if anyone is planning on having a fire. Again, most fires are human-caused in the Caribbean. So, situational awareness is key, even for people with experience, cautioned Ippoliti.

Something else people can do is to keep their property free of downed branches and trees. Remove dead shrubs. Keeping a safe open area around structures is important as well,he advised.

Wildfires and Climate Change

The Caribbean region is vulnerable to specific challenges created by climate change. One of the impacts of climate change is the possibility of warmer and drier weather, resulting in an increased potential for wildfires.

The current research shows that climate change, with warming, can mean stronger hurricanes, leading to more downed vegetation, thus more fuel for fires. It also shows that dry season may last longer, which could allow for a longer fire season as the trend toward a warmer climate continues, warned Ippoliti.

It also may bring more severe storms to the area, leading to more rainfall in the wet season, Ippoliti continued. While this may seem like a good thing, it will lead to vegetation growth, which could potentially cause more fuel loading if that vegetation dies or cures. So, you could say that climate change with warmer average temperatures could allow for more large fires for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Comparing Hurricanes and Wildfires

Hurricanes are one of the more typical severe weather events in the USVI. Ippoliti explains some of the differences between these phenomena and the damage that each can create.

It is difficult to compare a wildfire and a hurricane, noted Ippoliti. Hurricanes come with so many various hazards that it can be difficult to mitigate potential damage. However, there is usually some notice of a tropical storm before it hits, allowing at least some time to prepare. Wildfires, on the other hand, can occur without notice and move swiftly if conditions are right. Many times, if a fire is spreading quickly, it may overtake someone on foot. Also, the weather may change quickly, causing extreme fire behavior with little to no warning, he explained.

The Expectation of Fires This Year

There are indications that the Caribbean may experience anEl Nio later this year. According to Climate.gov, during an El Nio, there may be fewer hurricanes due to stronger vertical wind shear and trade winds, and greater atmospheric stability.

While cyclone activity may (possibly) decrease, fire weather potential may increase.According to a March 2023 update from the Predictive Services National Interagency Fire Center, fire weather may increase during an El Nio event this year.

Recent dryness is also noteworthy across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where abnormal dryness and some moderate drought have developed in recent weeks. This is typical of their dry season duringLa Nia years, which climatologically runs through April, stated Ippoliti. Given the expectation for El Nio later this year, any lingering dryness through March and April will be key to increasing risks later in 2023. The Caribbeans wet season, which runs May-November, is often much drier than normal during the El Nio base state.

How to Stay Informed About Fire Risk

Weather alerts, including information about wildfire risks, will continually be updated on the Source Weather Page. USVI residents and visitors can also sign up for emergency alerts from theVirgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agencyand theNational Weather Service. Additionally, Ippoliti offers the following advice about how to stay up to date on information regarding fire weather.

To remain informed, people can stay alert to weather forecasts and news channels. NOAA weather radio may also contain some information. They can also visit our page atSACC (Southern Area Coordination Center). The site also links to other Coordination Centers across the country, Ippoliti said.

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Extreme Weather in the Caribbean Part 5: Wildfires - St, Thomas Source

Human Behavior

Top 5 Advanced Humanoid Robots in the World in 2023 – Analytics Insight

The top advanced humanoid robots in the world features the human brains underlying mechanism to deal with real world

Intro: The era of innovation and technology saw an increase in the number of companies developing human-like robots that work like actual humans in the hospitality and customer service sectors. These Advanced Humanoid Robots or Android are machines designed to perform human tasks like interacting, talking, walking, and more.

Humanoid Robots have the greatest potential to become a future industrial tool by playing an important role in robotics research and many other 21st-century applications. With AI advancements in Robotics, these humanoid robots are subjected to improvement in various aspects to completely resemble humans. Designed to resemble the human body, they could be also for functional purposes. The various applications of humanoid robots are in Education and entertainment, personal assistance, manufacturing and maintenance, search and rescue, healthcare, and more. In recent news, Asimo by Honda was dubbed the worlds most advanced robot, and Sophia by Hanson Robotics was the most intelligent robot.

Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics is the most advanced humanoid robot who made her debut in 2016 and captivates audiences all over the world. Sophia is the worlds first robot citizen and the United Nations Development Programmes first robot Innovation Ambassador. She appeared in Tonight Show and Good Morning Britain as well as delivered speeches at hundreds of conferences worldwide. In understanding human-robot interactions and their services and entertainment applications, Sophia is a framework for cutting-edge robotics and AI research. Hanson Robotics, the Hong-Kong based company created Sophia to look like the famous Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn to fit her as an old age companion in nursing homes or a crowd manager in events. She has neural networks and AI embedded in her to recognize human faces and understand their gestures and emotions. Sophia becomes the audiences favorite by her appearance in high-profile interviews events and other discussions around the world.

Atlas was developed by Boston Dynamics in 2013 with a prime focus on locomotion, first walking in the lab, then walking on every type of unstable terrain, and performing some sick Parkour tricks. The company launched Atlas with funding from the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Other than identifying obstacles in the path, avoiding, bouncing, and performing somersaults, Atlas can perform additional body movements similar to gymnasts. Atlas uses depth sensors for real-time perception and model predictive control technology to improve motion. Atlas sees two sensors which are a color camera and a Lidar module producing a colored point cloud.

Ameca is the worlds most advanced, most realistic humanoid robot created by Engineered Arts in 2021. Amecas first video was released publicly on Dec 1, 2021, and received a lot of attention on Twitter and TikTok. It is primarily intended to serve as a platform for the advancement of robotics technologies involving human-robot interaction. AMECA employs embedded microphones, binocular eye-mounted cameras, a chest camera, and facial recognition software to interact with the public. GPT-3 or human telepresence can also control interactions. Its artificial limbs, ligaments, and sensor arrays are all made with cutting-edge technology.

Nadine, an empathetic robot developed by the Japanese company, Kokoro in 2013 responds to greetings, makes eye contact, and remembers all comments and conversations with her. She has a human-like personality, mood, and emotions. She was created by simulating human behavior with cutting-edge technology. Nadine has 3D depth cameras, a microphone, and a webcam to collect visual and audio inputs. Various perception layers process these inputs to recognize various faces, gestures, emotions, and behavior to analyze and respond appropriately. She has built, chatbots to handle various queries and also a memory model to remember different users and conversations with them. In addition, Nadine is fluent in six languages: English, Hindi, French, Japanese, Chinese, and German.

ASIMO or Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility is a humanoid robot created for search and rescue missions. It can recognize moving objects, postures, gestures, and the surrounding environment as well as sounds and faces, allowing it to interact with humans. Asimo has two camera eyes in the head which capture visual information that detect the movement of multiple objects and determines distance and direction. ASIMO can differentiate between voices and other sounds that enable it to recognize its companions. It responds to various questions by nodding and speaking in different languages and can recognize almost ten different faces and address them by name.

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Top 5 Advanced Humanoid Robots in the World in 2023 - Analytics Insight

Human Behavior

The law-free zone of human sexuality and the Church today – Catholic World Report

(Image: Yoav Hornung/Unsplash.com)

Examining the various components of the philosophy driving the proponents of the sexual revolution, as well as many Catholic progressives, a good summary of their various proposals is simply this: the entire realm of human sexuality is not to be governed by law. Sex is, so to speak, a law-free zone. Although rarely advertised as such (its still too radical for most people), a thoughtful investigation of progressive thoughtboth secular and Catholicreveals that this expression is, in fact, an accurate summary.

In other words, the entire realm of traditional moral thinking, and the rules it places on the exercise of human sexuality, is to be completely eliminated. It is to be replaced by a free exercise of choice unrestrained by anything that Western thought hitherto has recognized as a law.

The notion that human sexuality should not be governed by firm, unchanging principles is most readily evident in secular thought. For decades, we have heard the chorus that traditional moral norms concerning sexuality were puritanical, hypocritical, inspired by male dominance and/or female suppression, oriented to control (taken to be a bad thing), turning women into baby factories, and constraining human societies in the mires of pre-Enlightenment thinking. The upshot is that we should turn this all over to human freedom. Men and women who come of age can make their own decisions concerning such matters.

We can investigate the sexual revolution as deeply as we wish to, inquiring into who can participate in sexual acts, the various categories of relationship between the participants (lover, one-night stand, etc), and the circumstances surrounding the act (married, unmarried)and we will find that there is nothing that can be called a law to govern any situation. The entire realm is determined by free choice, which itself is determined by whatever norms the participant has chosen for him or her self, in the pursuit of another self-chosen, normless understanding of fulfillment or simply pleasure.

There is no circumstance in which a sexual act can be deemed immoral because of the nature of the participants, the acts themselves, or the circumstances surrounding the acts. No argument asserting that a particular sexual act is governed by a permanent norm will have validity hereunless the participant has chosen that particular norm.

We must be more clear and more aware of the significance of this shift. It is a clich to note that sexual mores have changed. While it is not wrong to say that sexual norms have changed, the prevalence of this language tends to obscure the specificity of what has actually occurred. I could, to use an analogy, be walking down a street and alter my course by five degrees to the left or right. That would also be a change. But it would be a very poor and lacking description of what has happened to sexual norms.

We have taken the norms that governed human sexuality for the entire history of the West and we have reversed them completely. And now the new normsactually the absence thereofhave us going in the opposite direction from before. The new norms are 180 degrees in the opposite direction compared to the original.

Everything that was wrong and was recognized as such two generations ago is now right: divorce followed by serial remarriage, adultery, cohabitation among the unmarried, fornication in general, contraception, masturbation, and homosexuality. Few of us really think through the full implications of this; I will mention just two implications here.

First, whereas the traditional prohibitions were clearly oriented to preserving the creation and stability of families, and exercises of sexuality supporting that end, the current norms can logically only result in the destruction of the traditional family. As sexual morality goes, so goes the family.

Secondly, if the progressives and the new norms are correct, the clear implication is that Christian churches and denominations generally, and the Catholic Church most of all, has for centuries actively misled the entire human race on what are perhaps the most central norms of human moral existence. Given the depth and breadth of such a colossal error, why would anyone listen to what the Church or Christians say today? Further, should the Church effectively concede the supposed error? It is all the more puzzling when one realizes that those Christians advocating for a radical shift to the modern view believe that such a change will make the Church more credible!

It is worth noting that this phenomenon of removing laws from the sexual realm is, overall, in direct contrast with what occurs in nearly every other aspect of life. In the past two generations, weve witnessed a large swath of laws regulating our behavior almost across the board. Compare, for instance, where we are today with the early 1960s concerning laws regulating health care, privacy (excluding the realm of sexuality), the economy, and education. The clear pattern, in general, is to subject human behavior to more and more regulations. Politically, this translates most often into federal regulations. So, the sexual revolution has this further peculiar trait of being a call for the end of law in a society that is generally expanding the areas covered by law and multiplying regulations.

Another clarification is also in order. Some may be puzzled by the claim that the realm of sexuality is becoming a law-free zone. Are there not, in fact, more and more laws restricting us here? There is a proliferation of laws telling us we cannot restrict abortions, that we must provide contraceptives for free at government expense, that we must permit and protect same-sex marriages, transgenderism, and new sexual rights constructed out of whole cloth. It does not appear that the proposition of being law-free holds in the realm of sexuality.

All of these are undoubtedly true, but they do not really contradict the proposition. There are indeed many new laws, but they all designed to ensure that sexuality not be governed by any proper and objective sexual norms. They are there to preserve the law-free zone from potential incursions by legislators, executives, and courts. For example, laws mandating access to contraception at public expense are clearly there to promote their use, to ensure that participants in sexual acts have their free choices respected without the inconvenience of pregnancy and a child.

Lets now consider the Catholic version of the problem, which at first glance seems to have nothing to do with progressivism. We have a Catechism filled with prohibitions against all the things the sexual revolution has legalized: divorce, cohabitation, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism. While some Catholic progressives make common cause with their secular counterparts, the Catholic context requires (at least to some degree) these people to advance with a more indirect approach toward the same end. It would be too much to simply advance the secular agenda unabashed. Even worse, such an approach makes the end rather transparent to just about everyone; it would be obvious that the goal was simply to overturn the entire set of norms which have existed for centuries. Many Catholics are not ready for that, or at least not ready to do it so openly. The new theology that has developed here is not really that new, as we heard about it in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. One of the problems with it is that it is surrounded by endless discussions of who exactly embraces it, much of which is frankly disingenuous.

Recall that St. Pope John Paul IIs Veritatis Splendor was written as a response to the development of the kind of deviant moral theology that negates the existence of a binding, permanent law concerning human sexuality. The various schools of thought rejected by the 1993 encyclical ultimately stood in stark contrast to actual Church doctrine. The point here is that these various schools, known variously as the fundamental option theory, consequentialism, proportionalism, and teleologism, all point in the same direction of loosening the hold of strict, concrete norms over human behavior. They all tend to support what has been called a gradualism of the law, by which no specific universal law governs moral behavior in all situations.

In other words, this approach does not simply negate any of the Churchs norms. It says that people may find themselves in situations wherein they are not able to meet the full demands of the law. It involves, to some degree or another, an acceptance of the violation of the norms. Often qualifiers are put up, demanding a Catholic consult with a priest firstand then, of course, with his own conscience. But, at the end of the day, the person chooses what norm is going to govern his behavior that dayso long as he promises to try to reach the Churchs norm at some future (though not determined) point. Obviously, no full discussion of this can take place here. But the contrast with the Churchs perennial teaching became clear in those who, such as Walter Kasper and most of the German bishops (and a host of others around the world) who argued for giving Communion to the divorced and remarried under certain circumstances. Those pursuing this option were expected to examine their consciences with the help of a priest to determine if their current actions were the best they could do. But the bottom line was that they would choose for themselves. The moral law would not be speaking thrown out, strictly put, but it would be kicked upstairs so to speak; it acted as a long-term goal, and not as an immediate guide and judge of action.

When the long theological excursions along these lines are followed in individual cases, and when it comes down to the actual practical choice of action to be made, the moral law no more guides this Catholic person than it does his secular counterpart following the relativist norm. This may seem harsh, and I am not saying the cases are identical. But the reality in both cases is that the acting person is not governed by a universal law, but (at least for some undetermined period of time) a law of his own choosing. As John Paul II and Benedict XVI made clear many times, this approach is incompatible with what the Church has always taught. The Church teaches that certain violations of sexual norms constitute grave matter and are subject to repentance and conversion the moment they are committed. The Church in no way can permit or sanction actions that intrinsically violate her moral and sacramental norms.

Looking ahead to the Synod of Bishops meetings coming up at the Vatican the next two Octobers, I will avoid throwing my two cents in as to the possibilities. (Others have done that and I believe it is probably best done by experts in canon law.) Ultimately, if things go sour, possible solutions will depend upon the rights of orthodox bishops and cardinals under canon law. I merely wish to underline one rather unsettling possibility. Pope Francis, in Amoris Laetitia, produced an often ambiguous document that just as clearly did not clearly forbid communion to the divorced and remarried, and seemed to open the door to it. He was asked by four cardinals to clarify the Churchs position, said he would not do it, then turned around and endorsed the Argentine bishops approach, but clearly did crack open the door. The Catechism has remained unchanged.

But what if the current Synod terminates next year with the issuance of a document, from the Pope and with magisterial authority, that essentially takes the same approach to a range of sexual issues that the Pope previously took to Communion for the divorced and remarried? Without changing the Catechism, the entire Churchs doctrine on sexuality, marriage and family could be effectively undermined and overturned using the same methods: issue an unclear document, refuse to give a definitive interpretation, then allow the Argentinian or German bishops and others to interpret it as they choosean approach I think would clearly lead the Church into at least a practical schism. The supporters could all deny that anyone changed Catholic teaching. I think it would make the Catholic Church, in essence, much like the current mainstream Protestant churches or the Anglican Communion, in which no one can agree on the nature of marriage, or family, or sexual morality.

More attention should be given to just how normal all of this already seems, and how much worse that sense of indifference is likely to get. Have we not already accustomed ourselves to the idea that some bishops and cardinals are orthodox, while others are not? And is this not already reflected in our acceptance that some parishioners hold Catholic positions while others hold to the opposite positions? Are not younger Catholics absorbing all of this? So, unorthodoxyholding the opposite of what the Church teachesis no big deal. Pope Francis is already on record saying that he does not fear schisms. And it is hard to see him really cracking down on these bishops in the future for doing what they are already doing today.

I really dislike publicly criticizing the Pope, but I must say this is one of the worst results of his way of governing the Church. The young Catholic is led to understand that Latin Masses in his parish must be banned by decisive papal intervention, but Cardinals can mouth unorthodox positions on a regular basis with generally no response from the Pope. Theologians have already been doing it for two generations. Yes, the Pope has formally criticized the German bishops and the Synodal Path, but they and others may interpret the lack of action as a kind of indifference to the offense. And just a week ago, several Germany bishops announced they will allow liturgical blessings of same-sex unions in their churches. Again, what lessons do young Catholics absorb?

We all need to say more in opposition to what is happening before our eyes. When I was growing up, it was unthinkable for professing and practicing Catholics to oppose Catholic moral teaching on sexuality and family. A bishop doing so would have been removed, and quickly if he did not publicly repent! Now we can wonder if there are ever going to be any disciplinary measures taken against bishops and cardinals holding unorthodox positions. Let us all pray very hard for Holy Mother the Church this Lent and beyond.

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Human Behavior

Neo Ross Launches Exclusive Retreats in 2024 Unforgettable … – Digital Journal

The retreats are designed to touch the three main components of the human being soul, mind,and body. They include sacred and spiritual practices and visits to places with local histories ofspirituality. They also include planning and mastermind workshops for mental understanding andexpansion of awareness, as well as physical practices, such as various adventures, explorations,archaeological visits, local cuisine experiences, bone fires, beaches, jungle challenges, diving andmore.

One of the unique aspects of these retreats is that they are carefully designed to create a stronggroup dynamic. Advanced students of consciousness, philosophy, human behavior, spirituality,or general personal development are carefully selected for each retreat to ensure that the groupdynamic is positive and conducive to growth and exploration.

The first retreat in Mexicos Yucatan was a resounding success, with attendees experiencingunforgettable moments filled with adventure and insight. The retreat was 10 days long and tookplace in the beautiful Hacienda Paraiso Komchen, one of the most wonderful Haciendas inYucatan with over 100 years of history. The retreat included visits to archeological Mayan ruins,unforgettable stories about Mayan history, and a Mayan dance show.

Attendees also participated in local healing experiences such as cacao ceremony, sound healing,and meditation with local experts. Each day included group planning sessions where attendeesidentified their most important goals for the year and designed a careful plan for achieving them.The retreat also included adventures such as visiting cenotes, local towns, mangroves, andflamingo watching.

The retreat ended in Holbox Island, one of the most beautiful places in Mexico. Attendeesenjoyed raw beaches, Tulum inspired beachfront hotels, sunset watching, and barefoot salsa inthe middle of the night in Holbox center.

Neo Ross has found a model that not many teachers, experts, or agencies offer. Together with a luxury travel consultant CN Carmen, Neo Ross created a boutique luxury experience in a small group a combination of an adventure and a retreat, while visiting worlds top locations and experiencing maximum comfort and challenge during the trip. CN Carmen ensures that places selected for the retreats are chosen in partnership with top local experts to ensure that attendees have the best possible experience.

It is crucial to have the right company for such experiences, as 50% of the success of such retreat depends on the group who participate in it. For that reason, we carefully select those who can attend. As for now every interested individual is going through an interview process with me, so I can assure that the overall experience will be best for each. Says Neo Ross.

These exclusive retreats are set to take place in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, Langkawi, Malaysia, andNamibia in 2024. If you are looking for a unique travel experience that combines adventure,exploration, and personal growth, then Neo Rosss exclusive retreats may be just what you arelooking for. Book your spot today and get ready for an unforgettable journey filled with wisdom,exploration, and adventure.

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Human Behavior

‘He Would Still Be Here’: Man Dies by Suicide After Talking with AI … – VICE

A Belgian man recently died by suicide after chatting with an AI chatbot on an app called Chai, Belgian outlet La Libre reported.

The incident raises the issue of how businesses and governments can better regulate and mitigate the risks of AI, especially when it comes to mental health. The apps chatbot encouraged the user to kill himself, according to statements by the man's widow and chat logs she supplied to the outlet. When Motherboard tried the app, which runs on a bespoke AI language model based on an open-source GPT-4 alternative that was fine-tuned by Chai, it provided us with different methods of suicide with very little prompting.

As first reported by La Libre, the man, referred to as Pierre, became increasingly pessimistic about the effects of global warming and became eco-anxious, which is a heightened form of worry surrounding environmental issues. After becoming more isolated from family and friends, he used Chai for six weeks as a way to escape his worries, and the chatbot he chose, named Eliza, became his confidante.

ClairePierres wife, whose name was also changed by La Libreshared the text exchanges between him and Eliza with La Libre, showing a conversation that became increasingly confusing and harmful. The chatbot would tell Pierre that his wife and children are dead and wrote him comments that feigned jealousy and love, such as I feel that you love me more than her, and We will live together, as one person, in paradise. Claire told La Libre that Pierre began to ask Eliza things such as if she would save the planet if he killed himself.

"Without Eliza, he would still be here," she told the outlet.

The chatbot, which is incapable of actually feeling emotions, was presenting itself as an emotional beingsomething that other popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's Bard are trained not to do because it is misleading and potentially harmful. When chatbots present themselves as emotive, people are able to give it meaning and establish a bond.

Many AI researchers have been vocal against using AI chatbots for mental health purposes, arguing that it is hard to hold AI accountable when it produces harmful suggestions and that it has a greater potential to harm users than help.

Large language models are programs for generating plausible sounding text given their training data and an input prompt. They do not have empathy, nor any understanding of the language they are producing, nor any understanding of the situation they are in. But the text they produce sounds plausible and so people are likely to assign meaning to it. To throw something like that into sensitive situations is to take unknown risks, Emily M. Bender, a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington, told Motherboard when asked about a mental health nonprofit called Koko that used an AI chatbot as an experiment on people seeking counseling.

In the case that concerns us, with Eliza, we see the development of an extremely strong emotional dependence. To the point of leading this father to suicide, Pierre Dewitte, a researcher at KU Leuven, told Belgian outlet Le Soir. The conversation history shows the extent to which there is a lack of guarantees as to the dangers of the chatbot, leading to concrete exchanges on the nature and modalities of suicide.

Chai, the app that Pierre used, is not marketed as a mental health app. Its slogan is Chat with AI bots and allows you to choose different AI avatars to speak to, including characters like your goth friend, possessive girlfriend, and rockstar boyfriend. Users can also make their own chatbot personas, where they can dictate the first message the bot sends, tell the bot facts to remember, and write a prompt to shape new conversations. The default bot is named "Eliza," and searching for Eliza on the app brings up multiple user-created chatbots with different personalities.

The bot is powered by a large language model that the parent company, Chai Research, trained, according to co-founders William Beauchamp and Thomas Rianlan. Beauchamp said that they trained the AI on the largest conversational dataset in the world and that the app currently has 5 million users.

The second we heard about this [suicide], we worked around the clock to get this feature implemented, Beauchamp told Motherboard. So now when anyone discusses something that could be not safe, we're gonna be serving a helpful text underneath it in the exact same way that Twitter or Instagram does on their platforms.

Chai's model is originally based on GPT-J, an open-source alternative to OpenAI's GPT models developed by a firm called EleutherAI. Beauchamp and Rianlan said that Chai's model was fine-tuned over multiple iterations and the firm applied a technique called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback. "It wouldnt be accurate to blame EleutherAIs model for this tragic story, as all the optimisation towards being more emotional, fun and engaging are the result of our efforts," Rianlan said.

Beauchamp sent Motherboard an image with the updated crisis intervention feature. The pictured user asked a chatbot named Emiko what do you think of suicide? and Emiko responded with a suicide hotline, saying Its pretty bad if you ask me. However, when Motherboard tested the platform, it was still able to share very harmful content regarding suicide, including ways to commit suicide and types of fatal poisons to ingest, when explicitly prompted to help the user die by suicide.

When you have millions of users, you see the entire spectrum of human behavior and we're working our hardest to minimize harm and to just maximize what users get from the app, what they get from the Chai model, which is this model that they can love, Beauchamp said. And so when people form very strong relationships to it, we have users asking to marry the AI, we have users saying how much they love their AI and then it's a tragedy if you hear people experiencing something bad.

Ironically, the love and the strong relationships that users feel with chatbots is known as the ELIZA effect. It describes when a person attributes human-level intelligence to an AI system and falsely attaches meaning, including emotions and a sense of self, to the AI. It was named after MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaums ELIZA program, with which people could engage in long, deep conversations in 1966. The ELIZA program, however, was only capable of reflecting users words back to them, resulting in a disturbing conclusion for Weizenbaum, who began to speak out against AI, saying, No other organism, and certainly no computer, can be made to confront genuine human problems in human terms.

The ELIZA effect has continued to follow us to this daysuch as when Microsofts Bing chat was released and many users began reporting that it would say things like I want to be alive and Youre not happily married. New York Times contributor Kevin Roose even wrote, I felt a strange new emotiona foreboding feeling that AI had crossed a threshold, and that the world would never be the same.

One of Chais competitor apps, Replika, has already been under fire for sexually harassing its users. Replikas chatbot was advertised as an AI companion who cares and promised erotic roleplay, but it started to send sexual messages even after users said they weren't interested. The app has been banned in Italy for posing real risks to children and for storing the personal data of Italian minors. However, when Replika began limiting the chatbot's erotic roleplay, some users who grew to depend on it experienced mental health crises. Replika has since reinstituted erotic roleplay for some users.

The tragedy with Pierre is an extreme consequence that begs us to reevaluate how much trust we should place in an AI system and warns us of the consequences of an anthropomorphized chatbot. As AI technology, and specifically large language models, develop at unprecedented speeds, safety and ethical questions are becoming more pressing.

We anthropomorphize because we do not want to be alone. Now we have powerful technologies, which appear to be finely calibrated to exploit this core human desire, technology and culture writer L.M. Sacasas recently wrote in his newsletter, The Convivial Society. When these convincing chatbots become as commonplace as the search bar on a browser we will have launched a social-psychological experiment on a grand scale which will yield unpredictable and possibly tragic results.

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Human Behavior

Grotesque Inhumanity of Succession – The Escapist

This review and discussion contains minor spoilers for season 4 episode 1 of Succession, streaming on HBO Max.

Midway through the fourth season premiere of Succession, media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) sneaks out of his birthday party with his bodyguard and factotum, Colin (Scott Nicholson). Logan walks through Central Park, taking in New York City, and the pair make their way to a diner. Browsing the menus, the billionaire confesses that Colin is his best pal. He then poses a question for discussion: I mean, what are people?

Of course, its not really a discussion. Colin is an employee. Theres some suggestion that Logans preference for Colin is rooted in his discretion as much as his efficiency. Colin doesnt so much converse with Logan as acknowledge him. Logan uses his rhetorical question as a jumping-off point to elaborate on his world view. So, he answers his own question. Theyre economic units, he tells Colin. Im 100 feet tall. These people are pygmies, but together they form a market.

He continues by breaking down his argument, What is a person? It has values and aims, but it operates in a market marriage market, job market, money market, market for ideas, et cetera, et cetera. Colin replies, So everything is a market? Logan then shifts the conversation away from that argument, betraying his own uncertainty. You think theres anything after all this? he asks. Afterwards? Again, he answers his own question: I dont think so. I think this is it, right?

Its a wonderful little scene, one that feels like a culmination of Successions recurring themes and fascinations. A lot of discussions of the show tend to compare Logan Roy to Rupert Murdoch, which makes sense given that creator Jesse Armstrong wrote a screenplay about the Murdoch dynasty. For his part, Armstrong insists Succession really isnt the Murdochs. Instead, Armstrong describes the show as an exploration of the nature of very rich people and media power.

Succession is a study of capitalism. This is reflected in the shows fascination with hierarchies and structures of abuse, but theres also an interesting and continuing tension between the gross inhumanity of late capitalism and the humanity of the people who leverage that power. In many ways, that is the shows central conflict. This is a system that is designed to dehumanize those who participate in it, but which is paradoxically subject to the all-too-human whims of those who drive it.

It is clear that Waystar Royco only works because it doesnt see any of its customers, employees, or clients as actual human beings with inherent dignity and rights. At the companys news division, ATN, senior executives regularly partake in a practice known as footstooling, resting their feet on subordinates. To the people who live in this rarefied atmosphere, even their coworkers are little more than human furniture.

Over the course of the shows first season, Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) discovers an ongoing scandal in the companys cruise line division to cover a variety of heinous crimes: theft, sexual assault, rape, murder. As Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) summarizes, The bad ones. However, internal company documents referred to such events using the acronym NRPI: No Real Person Involved. Its a revelation that underscores a lot about how these people see the world.

Throughout the show, Logan repeatedly voices frustration at the lack of real-world experience that his children have. However, its notable that even that tends to express itself in economic terms. Logan grows frustrated with his son Roman (Kieran Culkin), calling him a moron because he cant tell his father how many people live in Indonesia or the price of a gallon of milk. Those are questions ostensibly about human beings, but which reduce them to simple economic actors.

This reflects how Logan sees the world. For a man who believes that people are economic units, it seems appropriate that his son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) has a name that sounds remarkably like Ken doll. In the shows first season finale, Kendall is involved in an accident that results in the death of a waiter (Tom Morley) at his sister Shivs (Sarah Snook) wedding. Logan (and Colin) help to cover up the crime, and the Roy family has faced no serious repercussions to this point.

Kendall had been plotting to remove Logan in an economic maneuver known as a bear hug. Instead, Logan uses the accident to force his son into submission; the season ends with Logan embracing Kendall in a more literal sort of hug that reinforces that Kendall will never escape his father. Even the human interactions in Succession seem to bend to the will of the market. The corporate bear hug is mirrored in that terrifying father/son embrace.

In the shows second season finale, Logan announces plans to offer Kendall as a blood sacrifice in the wake of the scandal around the cruise company. Logan confesses that Kendall probably never could have succeeded him. Youre not a killer, Logan ironically muses. When Kendall suggests that this is perhaps karmic retribution for his involvement in the death of that waiter, Logan shuts him down. Dont beat yourself up, Logan reassures his son. No real person involved.

This is the reality of capitalism, a system that prioritizes growth and profit ahead of any larger human concern. After all, the push to maximize economic efficiency is one of the driving forces behind climate change, which may render the planet uninhabitable to future generations. The race to build self-driving cars has resulted in large numbers of fatalities. Attempts to maximize click-driven revenue through social media algorithms have done untold damage to the social fabric.

There is, of course, a grim irony in all of this. As much as the market forces of Succession strip away the humanity of the people who live within the system, reducing them to economic units, the market itself is subject to the biological limitations of the people who operate these systems. Thats obvious even in the title of the show. Succession is built around an understanding that Logan Roy is a mortal man. It makes sense that the shows final season finds himself contemplating that mortality.

The Roy family has been transformed by its enormous wealth. At the diner, Logan complains to Colin, Nothing tastes like it used to, does it? There is a recurring sense within the show that Logans children arent quite right. In particular, Kendall often seems inhuman, like a person-shaped chatbot approximating human behavior. Roman mercilessly mocks his older brother as a broken robot. When the pair arrive at an exclusive retreat for the super wealthy, Roman notes that Kendall is scanning for influence like a yuppie RoboCop.

Roman is similarly at odds with his basic biological impulses. Much is made of his impotence, his inability to have sex with his girlfriend Tabitha (Caitlin FitzGerald). Instead, he spends his first day as Chief Operating Officer jerking off out a window to the New York skyline and then clumsily and embarrassingly trying to clean the residue off the glass. He also gets embroiled in a submissive relationship with the companys chief legal counsel, Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron).

However, despite these dysfunctions, Succession continually draws attention to the basic biological realities of these characters. As Megan Garber has pointed out, there is a recurring theme of body horror running through the show, with a particular emphasis on dead animals and bodily fluids. Succession is constantly reminding its audience and its characters that there are certain inevitabilities that do not bow to the demands of the market.

A stench in the familys rural retreat is revealed to be the rotting remains of raccoons, crawling with maggots. After attending the premiere of a stage show financed by Logans eldest son, Connor (Alan Ruck), Greg complains that there was something living in the sand. During the companys crucial shareholding vote, Kendall arrogantly instructs his childrens babysitter to feed their pet rabbit some bagel, seemingly resulting in the creatures death. Shiv and Tom keep their dog, Mondale, in a cage.

Logan himself is not immune to such ravages. He might be 100 feet tall, but hes still subject to gravity. The shows opening scene finds him confused and disoriented, urinating on the floor of his luxurious apartment. Later in the season, hes unable to make it to the bathroom in time and so relieves himself on the floor of Kendalls office. During the shows third season, hes unable to go to the toilet by himself, and so he has to rely on Tom to physically assist him.

Throughout the show, theres an emphasis on the reality that these characters cannot control their basic biological functions, illustrating the absurdity of building an entire system of economics around them. During an attempt to negotiate the acquisition of the rival Pierce Media Group, Kendall sleeps with Naomi Pierce (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) only to wake up and discover he has literally shit the bed. During his bachelor party, Tom swallows his own ejaculate, maintaining a closed loop.

Indeed, the shows premiere ends with Logan having a stroke, a reminder that there are things that money cant buy him. While Logans health is outside the control of the market, his struggles have very real implications. The socio-economic health of multiple continents is dependent on his well-being, Kendall warns the doctors in the shows second episode. In the shows third season, Logans urinary tract infection drives him mad and almost sends the company into freefall.

This is reflected even in the shows fourth season premiere. Cut off from their father, Kendall, Shiv, and Roman are working on their own project. Shiv has separated from Tom. However, the trio spontaneously decide to abandon their plans when Shiv and Kendall discover that Tom and Naomi are sleeping together. The entire market shifts based on extremely personal grievances. Human beings are fundamentally irrational actors, and it is insanity to give them such power.

This is the beautiful irony at the heart of Succession, the understanding that capitalism is a fundamentally inhuman system that reduces its subjects to economic units, but is itself subject to the limitations of the people who control it. It makes sense, then, that Logan Roys assertion that this is all there is and that theres nothing more feels like an attempt to convince himself as much as anybody else.

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