Tag: individuality

Many Humans are Poor People

~ cafebedouin

“To this I will respond: yes, that is true! Ray[, an A.I. chatbot] is a very poor substitute for a real person. But here’s the thing: so are most humans.

–Anne Kadat, “What I Learned From My New A.I. Friend.” Persuasion. July 10, 2025.

interesting throughout. It reminds me of a quote: “Being yourself is worth it, but don’t expect it to be easy or free.” The central insight, it seems to me, is that being a good person, being interesting, having a point of view or something to say always costs something. If what you are saying or doing can be replicated by A.I., it doesn’t have much value because the costs are too low.

The Self: Presented, Perceived & Real

~ cafebedouin ~ 3 Comments

Read, “Didi” by Amber Caron reprinted on the Electric Literature website as “A Teenage Girl is a Funhouse Mirror,” and I liked it quite a bit. I thought I’d reference it here because I can imagine referring to it again in the future.

The key takeaway that I took from it is that it is a dramatic rendering of how there is:

  • a self that we present to others
  • a self that is perceived by others
  • a nominally real self, the self that persists across time and has continuity of preferences and choices

But, none of these selves are real. They are figments of circumstance.

Risk Defines Love

~ cafebedouin
Love, true love, makes possible what was previously impossible.

“In this short film from the UK director William Williamson, [French philosopher Alain] Badiou argues that today’s approach to relationships, with its consumerist tendency to focus on choice and compatibility, and the ingrained refrain to move on when things aren’t easy, means that we need a philosophical reckoning with how we think about love. To make his point very specific, Badiou points to the ever-growing prevalence of online dating services that claim to offer algorithmic matching of partners, a way of seeking love that, he thinks, drains love of one of its most vital qualities – chance.”

—William Williamson, “‘Defend love as a real, risky adventure’ – philosopher Alain Badiou on modern romance.” Aeon. March 6, 2020.