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Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.

Why the Godfather of AI Fears for Humanity

Alex Hern The Guardian
'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton recently quit Google warning of the dangers of artificial intelligence. ‘We’ve discovered the secret of immortality. The bad news is it’s not for us.’

DNA at 70: Untangling Rosalind Franklin’s Role

Emily Anthes The New York Times
Historians have long debated the role that Dr. Franklin played in identifying the double helix. A new opinion essay argues that she was an “equal contributor.”

A Conversation With Susan Neiman About Left and Woke

Robert Kuttner The American Prospect
In their justified concern for inequalities of power, the woke often simply focus on power struggles rather than thinking about justice, which sometimes gets left by the wayside. If all you see in history is attempted progress that failed, you’ll find it hard to struggle towards progress in the future.

Resisting Cannibal Capitalism

Nancy Fraser Red Pepper (UK)
If we are serious about saving democracy, care and the planet we need to address the root of the crisis, which is capital’s insatiable need to devour them.

Nurredin Amro’s Epic Battle To Save His Home From Demolition

Nora Lester Murad The Markaz Review
The writer’s Palestinian friend, a blind school principal, has resisted eight years of Israeli efforts to drive his family out of Jerusalem. Ethnic cleansing is not just the moment of violence when a family is uprooted, or a neighborhood emptied.

Four Possibilities for the Kremlin Attack

Tom Nichols The Atlantic
Two drones struck inside the Kremlin complex early Tuesday. We don’t know exactly what happened but the Russian claims of a Ukrainian attack are doubtful. It’s more likely that Vladimir Putin’s regime is preparing an excuse for a new escalation.
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