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Nicholas Agar

Nicholas Agar

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Nicholas Agar is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, the author of How to Be Human in the Digital Economy (MIT Press, 2019), and co-author, with Dan Weijers and Stuart Whatley, of How to Think about Progress: A Skeptic's Guide to Technology (Springer Cham, 2024).

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  1. The Techno-Realist Manifesto
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    The Techno-Realist Manifesto

    Nov 28, 2024 Nicholas Agar & Stuart Whatley question the widespread belief that all our biggest problems will soon succumb to engineered solutions.

  2. Nicholas Agar on Elon Musk, AI, the futurism industry, and more
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    Nicholas Agar on Elon Musk, AI, the futurism industry, and more

    Nov 19, 2024 Nicholas Agar urges us not to put too much stock in Musk-style “Mars-shots,” describes how the humanities needs to evolve in our time of disorienting change, suggests that humanists might soon get bored with artificial intelligence, and more.

  3. Is AI a Climate Game-Changer?
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    Is AI a Climate Game-Changer?

    Sep 11, 2023 Nicholas Agar, et al. consider what role the technology could play in humanity's response to the climate crisis.

  4. Should Humanities Professors Be Automated?
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    Should Humanities Professors Be Automated?

    Sep 22, 2022 Nicholas Agar considers the implications of recent successes with AI-generated academic research and writing.

  5. Finding Purpose in the Humanities
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    Finding Purpose in the Humanities

    Dec 9, 2021 Nicholas Agar calls for educators to adapt to post-millennial reality by abolishing the traditional term paper.

  1. perincek1_KENZO TRIBOUILLARDAFP via Getty Images_EUrawmaterials Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
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    Ensuring Europe’s Supply of Critical Minerals

    Rüya Perincek & Andreas Goldthau call for coordinated funding, resource diplomacy, and secondary material partnerships to boost recycling.
  2. tyson122_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_gavin_newsom Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Readying the Resistance, Again

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca

    The United States is not a monarchy, but a federal republic. States and cities controlled by Democrats represent half the country, and they can resist Donald Trump’s overreach by using the tools of progressive federalism, many of which were sharpened during his first administration.

     see Democrat-controlled states as a potential check on Donald Trump’s far-right agenda.
  3. khrushcheva189_Konstantin ZavrazhinGettyImages_nostalgic_man Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images
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    Russia’s Nostalgia Machine

    Nina L. Khrushcheva explores how the Kremlin relies on an idealized version of the past to comfort – and subdue – the public.
  4. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
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    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  5. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  6. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

     predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
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    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  8. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images
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    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.

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