Magick Matters

“Robotics, AI, and Humanity: Science, Ethics, and Policy” edited by Joachim von Braun et al

"This open access book examines recent advances in how artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics have elicited widespread debate over their benefits and drawbacks for humanity. The emergent technologies have for instance implications within medicine and health care, employment, transport, manufacturing, agriculture, and armed conflict. While there has been considerable attention devoted to robotics/AI applications in each of these domains, a fuller picture of their connections and the possible consequences for our shared humanity seems needed. This volume covers multidisciplinary research, examines current research frontiers in AI/robotics and likely impacts on societal well-being, human – robot relationships, as well as the opportunities and risks for sustainable development and peace. The attendant ethical and religious dimensions...>>

“The Musical Theory of Existence: Hearing the Music of the Spheres” by Steve Madison

"Existence is mathematical music, and all of us are the instruments playing the cosmic symphony. Our task is simple – to arrive not at any old music, but the finest music that can possibly be played. The ideal music is reached when every player is in perfect harmony with every other player, and not a single discordant note is played. The orchestra is as one, and there are no disruptive soloists trying to play their own song. It takes the lifetime of the universe to arrive at this perfect music. Every disruptive soloist has to be brought into the collective orchestra. Who is the Devil? He’s the final hold-out, the last player to be integrated...>>

“The Big Questions: God” by Mark Vernon

"Can the existence of God be proved by reason alone? Has scientific discovery destroyed the intellectual basis for religion? Does the presence of evil in the world mean that God does not care about us? And why does fundamentalism flourish in an age of progress? In Big Questions: God, Mark Vernon addresses these and many more perennial dilemmas, drawing on physics and philosophy, spiritual traditions and religious experience. He explores the place of religion in relation to science, in making sense of evil, in understanding history and in explaining value. Asking the big questions again for himself, he finds new areas of thought and perception. Big Questions: God is a subtle but compelling argument for...>>