Can You Fix the World with $75 Billion?

Bjorn Lomborg has some really good ideas he'd like to share with you.

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Can You Fix the World with $75 Billion?

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Can you fix the world with $75 billion? If not, what do you fix first? Bjørn Lomborg—a Danish writer, Copenhagen Business School adjunct professor, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, and former director of the Environmental Assessment Institute in Copenhagen—speaks to Reason Weekend attendees about solving the world's problems.

He lists 10 challenges the world faces—including armed conflicts, climate change, and hunger and malnutrition—and then suggests a practical approach by setting personal preferences aside and prioritizing in order to get "the biggest bang for your buck."

Lomborg thus prioritizes these issues by the cost effectiveness of investments into solving each one, and provides thoughtful insight into creating the most efficient allocation of resources toward easing the world's problems.

Camera by Paul Feine and Zach Weissmueller. Edited by Carlos Gutierrez

About 38 minutes.

Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.

Comments

[Rich]

Can't watch it now; but Ima say "No".

[db]

I can.certainly fix a subset of the world with $75 billion.

[Paul.]

I can fix a subset of my world with $75 billion.

[Seymour_Results]

Bj?rn Lomborg is brilliant. I wonder if he's thought at the hierarchical level of Numenta and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (Lesswrong). Or at the level of the "Fully Informed Jury Association."

[Seymour_Results]

For that matter, Alcor and Aubrey de Grey are actually fighting "aging death itself."

[Virginian]

Oh hell yes I could. Give it to me, I have a secret plan.

[Vulgar Madman]

I guess it could pay for an army of assassins.

[The Last American Hero]

Not just the army, but the secret base/monastery in the Himalayas or secret island fortress for them to hang out in as well.

[american socialist]

So.... Let's just say to Exxon--ahh, fuck it-- just go ahead and pump all the co2 you want into the atmosphere. We can't afford as rich industrialized countries to pay for policies to combat severe global climate change. Do you think more severe climate change would mitigate or exacerbate third world misery? Doesn't global climate change make problems associated with malaria, malnutrition, emerging diseases, worse and more expensive to address?

In a Congress full of libertarians, who is going to advocate for spending 75 billion dollars on foreign aid to countries that don't have any oil. Good luck getting that one past congressman gillespie, Bjorn.

There are plenty of economists who think that replacing the fossil fuel industry with sustainables, investing in conservation, building wind and solar energy infrastructure would increase economic growth and allow us to pay for adding micronutrients into the soil in Ghana. I get a kick out of lomborg's presentations on how we need to wait for innovation to occur so that we can solve global warming. You mean like weatherproofing your house, or building wind turbines?

I love the audience. Half of them there don't really believe that commie rhetoric about co2 and climate change so getting these reactionaries to understand that co2 absorbs in the infrared is, at least, one small step for man.

[Eggs Benedict Cumberbund]

Doesn't global climate change make problems associated with malaria, malnutrition, emerging diseases, worse and more expensive to address?

Uh no. Have you read the latest on the polar bear census fiasco - specifically the lying to deflate the numbers?

A quote from the latest report:

"As part of past status reports, the PBSG has traditionally estimated a range for the total number of polar bears in the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2005, this range has been 20-25,000. It is important to realize that this range never has been an estimate of total abundance in a scientific sense, but simply a qualified guess given to satisfy public demand.

Or the glacier in West Antarctica that really isn't doing anything different than it did 2000 years ago. Or the models that can't hindcast or forecast? I could go on and on. The point is that climate science and the effects of C02 are largely a matter of debate with serious questions as to its veracity. I suggest that you listen to the Feynman lecture on the scientific method.

[SMcBride]

I'll accept the science, AS (hey, I watch Cosmos). But do you have any solutions to AGW that don't implement new regressive taxes (that go to the corrupt elite)?

A new tax doesn't create economic growth. That's the Broken Window fallacy. If weatherproofing and wind turbines were economical we wouldn't need a new tax to promote them.

[VicRattlehead]

Cosmos is full of cherry picked data as well, and not really subject to science facts so long as they can keep the ratings up. Just theories that aren't supported by empirical evidence put to a scary sounding music track and some fancy computer generated graphics.
Don't get me wrong i'd hate to destroy our eco-system but CO2 has been curbed enough and the total emission has decreased since 2000 without new onerous regulations that will destroy our country even further economically

[VicRattlehead]

Am-soc
first, climate change happens on a 264 year cycle with the sun according to NASA, NOAA and all the other people we have attempted funneling taxes into to try and prove "global warming" is man made. Science has said no it is not man made it is related to the sun more than anything. Science has also proven that 1 volcanic eruption does more damage to the environment than 100 years of the very peak of the industrial revolution.

Second- I pray our congress could be smart enough to pull all foreign aid, we are not the police of the planet and have no business supporting the 3rd world, they will eventually solve their own problems by removing their governments that are the root of the problems through revolt or fixing their policies.

CO2 absorbing infra-red oh noes!!!!!! quick tell me how much its increased the global temperature in the last century... it hasn't? no freakin way but we said global warming!!!! how come it didn't warm? what sorcery is this that science doesn't bend to your blind ideology?
here's a hint Soc puppet
Math wont bend to your ideology either
that's why socialism, like "climate change"TM only works on paper.

[PaulW]

I looked up the volcano thing, and lo and behold, it is "debunked" by climate fanatics.

Funny, though, that I read an article the other day that said one of our great extinctions was due to climate change from an erupting volcano in Australia.

I have absolutely no trust for climate "scientists". The saddest part is how incredibly bad they are making real science look.

[Sevo]

american socialist|6.4.14 @ 2:02AM|#
"So.... Let's just say to Exxon--ahh, fuck it-- just go ahead and pump all the co2 you want into the atmosphere..."

Uh, simpleton, it's not Exxon who does so; you really should get professional help for the voices in your head.
And then all that 'pumping' is largely spent making people prosperous! Sort of like the exact opposite of what socialism does.
Dipshit.

[Irish]

So.... Let's just say to Exxon--ahh, fuck it-- just go ahead and pump all the co2 you want into the atmosphere.

I was unaware Exxon Mobile pumped CO2 into the atmosphere.

I was under the impression that they sold gasoline, which was then used by the public to get from one place to another, to produce plastic, or to make any number of other goods that improve the lives of common people.

I'm glad you were here to explain to me that all Exxon Mobile does all day is pump CO2 into the atmosphere for no reason.

Your entire understanding of industry and the environment comes from Captain Planet, huh?

[Drake]

Pumping CO2 must be a wildly profitable business - and you don't have to pay any taxes at all. (Just don't look at their annual report)

[LynchPin1477]

In a Congress full of libertarians, who is going to advocate for spending 75 billion dollars on foreign aid to countries that don't have any oil. Good luck getting that one past congressman gillespie, Bjorn.

I bet congressman Gillespie would advocate for free trade and an end to subsidies for American countries that put third world countries at a disadvantage. And easier immigration for Ghanans that want to come the U.S. to learn a skill that they can then, potentially, take home to their country to improve things there. And the promotion of liberty through example, economic liberty being the greatest engine of wealth creation for the poor in human history and the only thing that has actually succeeded in lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.

But no, you're right. Giving huge sums of money to corrupt governments is way better.

[The Original Jason]

But no, you're right. Giving huge sums of money to corrupt governments is way better.

To buy American tanks and jets that dump tons of CO2 into the atmosphere...

[Mt low rider]

Ass is fucking stupid, who knew, asshats r us.

[The Original Jason]

There are plenty of economists who think that replacing the fossil fuel industry with sustainables, investing in conservation, building wind and solar energy infrastructure would increase economic growth and allow us to pay for adding micronutrients into the soil in Ghana. I get a kick out of lomborg's presentations on how we need to wait for innovation to occur so that we can solve global warming. You mean like weatherproofing your house, or building wind turbines?

I've replaced all my windows with double paned, replaced my leaking door with an energy efficient one, switch my light bulbs from incandescent to CFLs, run fans instead of A/C, and replaced my 70's vintage appliances with new energy efficient ones yet I still have the same electrical and water bill. Where's that savings that would lead to economic growth I was promised?

Or was it the donations to the various window, door, CFL, and appliance manufacturers and local utility monopoly that is leading to economic growth?

It's been real good for their shareholders and lobbyists.

And replacing our cars with hybrids and electrics is going to be very good for Big Auto's shareholders.

[The Original Jason]

In a Congress full of libertarians, who is going to advocate for spending 75 billion dollars on foreign aid to countries that don't have any oil. Good luck getting that one past congressman gillespie, Bjorn.

Or what a Congress full of libertarians could do is return that 75B$ to ordinary Americans who could then decide for themselves the best way to spend those dollars.

But, of course, a socialist like yourself can't trust the stupid ordinary Americans to correctly spend their dollars. The purpose of government is to correct the decisions of the unwashed masses. What you want is a Congress full of socialists who will correctly decide how dollars will be spent, like on vacation homes on the coast and hunting lodges in the mountains for members of the party who won't be interested in the environment or the welfare of the ordinary American cogs in the machine that generates wealth and power for the Party and their industrial allies.

[Mt low rider]

Morons r us you dolt, 50 million brown people died because Rachel Carson and prog derp. You may be the stupidest individual I've encountered in my 58 years of living.

I'll leave it at that, but it's really hard not to want stalinist fucks like you to be lined up against a wall, like your hero.

Not going there, keep trolling you vile fuck.

[Mt low rider]

Morons r us you dolt, 50 million brown people died because Rachel Carson and prog derp. You may be the stupidest individual I've encountered in my 58 years of living.

I'll leave it at that, but it's really hard not to want stalinist fucks like you to be lined up against a wall, like your hero.

Not going there, keep trolling you vile fuck.

[DJF]

Just the idea of one person fixing the world is wrong.

No one person can even know how to define fixing the world, the world is made up of 7 billion people all with their own ideas of what would improve their lives. Trying to shove all that into one persons idea of a fixed world will be both wrong and impossible.

How about if Lomborg fixes his own little part of the world and maybe if it works better then other parts of the world some people will follow his example.

[Will4Freedom]

I calculated once that if you took all wealth from the 1% and distributed it evenly to the 99%, everyone would get about $7,000.

Most people would buy more "stuff", where as left in the hands of the 1%, they would invest most of it in companies and bonds.

It's been said that the 1% would get most of it back within a year. I believe that.

[The Last American Hero]

If you taxed the 1 percenters at a 100 percent tax rate, it wouldn't close this year's deficit, let alone eat into the national debt. In addition, the wealth destruction due to lost jobs would be significant.

[nrob]

Yes let's just steal people's wealth and gift it to people and call that wealth creation. The mere assumption that the rich or poor are simply pawns of wealth theft and depositing is assinine at best. Will they simply just "earn it back in a year" no. Many more people will lose $7000 that cannot simply "earn it back in a year" with your ridiculous plan.

[mr simple]

Yes I could. Why, I believe I could buy the world 2 Cokes with that kind of scratch.

[Almanian!]

What we need is some singing - in perfect harmony.

[The Original Jason]

I heard the original version of the song recently? the Coke version is better.

[Frozen Costume]

Yes i could. Just give the money to me!

[VicRattlehead]

does anyone else think we spend entirely too much money into solving problems and that we would get more bang for our buck if we stopped meddling in other countries affairs?

[Hyperion]

Did we just experience another warping of time? And if so, is FOE now irrelevant since he can only warp time back a few minutes to get the first post on links, while this thread has folded back time for days?

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Yeah, I haven't seen any of you give the obvious answer to this question.

With $75 billion dollars, one libertarian could buy a large plot of the world. Then we could turn it into a libertarian paradise.

And a libertarian paradise wouldn't stay confined. Our markets would expand. Our population would soar. We would be the number one place for businesses to come for manufacturing and R&D.

We would, within twenty years, become a superpower. And we would quickly begin to export our philosophy (and well-made goods) to all the corners of the world.

[BSubversive.com]

Wait a sec. I thought the libertarian paradise was road less and filled with sex starved druggies... sex starved, except for gays, cause we all know there are no libertarian women. So since there are no roads, the libertarians sit around smoking dope and arguing about who is or isn't a true, pure libertarian and if it is a violation of NAP to boggart the joint and if so can such aggression be met with deadly force.

[Sevo]

Uh, what maaan?

[Gene]

if it is a violation of NAP to boggart the joint and if so can such aggression be met with deadly force.

Yes and yes.

[Hyperion]

It would all work if we could fend off the attacks of jealousy from the USSA. I am sure we would quickly be labeled terrorists who were exploiting childins, wiminz, and minorities for our own greed.

Sure, the scenario you narrated would happen in a world without a meddlesome super power jealous of not being able to tax all of our profits, but as it is, not the case.

Libertopia better have a few nukes stashed away.

[SIV]

Libertopia better have a few nukes stashed away.

Yes, we need something to defend the weaponized communicable disease stash.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Russia and China to the rescue!

Seriously, though, who here really thinks that either one of those countries wouldn't supply nukes to an antagonistic little country like Libertopia?

Putin is giving nuclear materials to IRAN, for christsake! And those guys are fucking crazy!

[Hyperion]

I really don't want to be rescued by Russia and China. I assume you are being sarcastic. Brother Putin is quite amusing and all, but I don't want to be his bud.

[PaulW]

I'm pretty sure us libertarians are smart enough to make our own nukes.

[LynchPin1477]

I think is what Zero One tried to do in the Matrix. The rest of the world didn't exactly love that.

[mr lizard]

Yes!... Next question

[Brett L]

I expect Balko will be shut down for incitement between this and the Canadian thing.

Two suspects shot and critically injured two police officers at a Las Vegas pizza restaurant Sunday before fatally shooting a third person and killing themselves inside a nearby Walmart, investigators said.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Salt Lake City police officer suspended. Did he beat on a helpless civilian? No. Did he shoot someone's dog? No.

He refused to work a beat a gay pride parade

A Salt Lake City police officer has been placed on leave after refusing an assignment to work at a gay pride parade.

The officer was among about 30 officers assigned to provide traffic control and security for the annual Utah Pride Parade on Sunday in Salt Lake City, said department spokeswoman Lara Jones.

"We don't tolerate bias and bigotry in the department, and assignments are assignments ... To allow personal opinion to enter into whether an officer will take a post is not something that can be tolerated in a police department," Jones told KSL.

She declined comment on the officer's reason for refusing the assignment.

The officer, whose name was not released, is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

Utah Pride Center spokeswoman Deann Armes said her group is pleased with the department's stance and thinks officers should undergo sensitivity training before joining the force.

"Our goal is to make sure that police training and certification includes policies and oaths to ensure that all officers are committed to providing equal service and treatment of all citizens. Clearly, bigotry is alive and well," Armes said in a statement.

[Paul.]

Funny, had he tazed or killed an unarmed parade goer, he'd have been given a promotion.

[Hyperion]

Fuck, he could have murdered an entire family, pets included, in their own home at 3am in the morning and he would have received a paid vacation!

[RussianPrimeMinister]

Guns Laws + Wackos = Tragedies like this. You can argue how you like, I blame both and until someone in government is willing to look at both sides and make a solution travesties like these will continue to happen more and more frequently until there is no choice but to act on both anyway for mass panic fears. I like guns as much as the next person being a US Marine and all but crimes happen for three reason people(nutcase), places, and opportunity(weapon) you can't separate one from the other.

All crimes. All crimes.

Running stop signs? Happens because guns. Embezzlement? Happens because guns. Public nudity? Happens because guns.

Mail Fraud? Guns!

Defacement of public property? Guns!

Drunk driving? Guns!

Forgery? Guns!

Is there anything at all that gun-grabbers will not use to try and push the rhetoric about guns being the root of all evil?

Fuck, this guy is a Marine, and OWNS GUNS, and he still thinks that way. Like a cop, I guess. It's the whole "Guns are fine for me, but never for a civilian" mentality.

And I like the way he just arbitrarily decides that Government can fix the entire problem. Presumably by passing more laws.

*facepalm*

[Fluffy]

Two armed suspects shouting "this is a revolution" opened fire and wounded two Las Vegas police officers eating lunch in a pizza parlor on Sunday

Wounding two cops and then committing suicide is not exactly bringing your A game in terms of revolutionary tactics.

[Hyperion]

I think the 2 cops are dead, so maybe he was more effective than you think.

Still, might be useful information to know what this 'revolution' is all about.

But really, with the daily reports here of people being murdered by cops, is this not unexpected? Are people just supposed to take that shit forever? Blowback, it's a fucking myth, just ask Ron Paul.

[Brett L]

Yeah, my first two suggestions for the 2nd wave of the revolution are:
1) Double tap whomever you're killing
2) Don't kill yourself

[Fluffy]

It's like these guys never played a zombie shooter or anything.

Here is how you undertake the anticop revolution:

1. Drive far away from your own town. Do not use a rental car. Do not buy a plane ticket. Pay cash for gas. Only drive a car with valid tags and a current inspection. Leave your cell phone at home. Do not use EZPass.

2. In a city far from where you live, approach an isolated cop to ask for directions. Make sure you're wearing preppie clothes, don't appear intoxicated, and have no visible tattoos.

3. Shoot cop.

4. Double tap.

5. Leave town immediately.

6. Tell no one. Take no credit anywhere.

7. Throw gun off bridge into ocean.

Seriously, how hard is this shit to figure out?

[Fluffy]

I suppose I should have specified that this isn't actual advice or a request or something. I'm just wargaming it out as a contrast to the really shitty tactics of these Vegas dumbasses.

[LarryA]

Too late. You forgot to check and see if the COP had a CAM.

[RussianPrimeMinister]

"Revolution!" He cried, swinging his enormous manhood. "It's a revolution!"

The crowd turned to look at him, and for a moment there was absolute silence, absolute calm.

"He's got a shlong!" A woman screeched. "Oh my god, he'll fuck us all!"

Panic spread through the crowd like a grease fire. Everyone rose at once, tables flipped and chairs knocked away in their struggle to be the one furthest from the cock toting madman.

A man in the uniform of the local sheriffs office stepped forward, staring down the barrel of the loaded dong. "Revolution? Right. Come on, son, zip it up."

"Never!" The young man cried, and fired at the officer.

To be continued. 😀

[Bobarian]

They were protesting deep dish being served?

[Fluffy]

BTW, I spend my $75 billion on a fleet of "weather satellites" that turn out to be EMP weapons.

(Cue Dr. Evil laugh)

[Hyperion]

I'm buying a big ass, I'm taking BIG ASS fucking island. And inviting all my libertopian frenz.

[Bobarian]

Australia?

[Hyperion]

Well, what are we then going to do with the Aussies? I mean, they love them some statist cock, and they need lots of boot to lick. And we can't accommodate that, so what do we do? Ship them all off to Tasmania? Do we really hate the Tasmanians that much?

[Atanarjuat]

Go next door and buy PNG.

[MJGreen]

And when all 20 of us are killed by the indigenous wildlife, what then? Who will carry on the torch of liberty!?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Like lottery winners, they'd just spend the 75 billion dollars on pizza, new car rims, and hair gel until they were broke.

[Bobarian]

This is why a significant portion of our economy is based on hair gel and pizza. Also why New York pizza sucks; too much hair gel.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Hey, I bet Pope Frances has $75 billion in her purse!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/08/.....bas-peres/

[Notorious G.K.C.]

h/t HM

[Irish]

LA Times columnist argues we should thank Mexico for locking up that marine because he might have been planning a killing spree.

Andrew Tahmooressi, 25, the former Marine sergeant who has been in a Mexican prison since March 31 while Mexican authorities investigate whether he violated that country's strict gun laws, may be lucky he got busted. This incident will allow him to receive the intervention he clearly needs.

Yes, nothing improves someone's mental health like a stay in a Mexican prison. They're known for their top-notch psychiatric services.

Then there's this howler:

"It is worth noting that upon his entry into the prison at La Mesa," Moutsatso-Morales wrote in a statement released Friday, "Mr. Tahmooressi demonstrated violent behavior, twice attempting to escape and suffering self-inflicted wounds, which led him to be placed in the infirmary. From that point on, he has been under constant medical watch and in good health." He was also transferred from a prison to Tijuana to one in Tecate, where he is faring better, according to his mother.

Yes, let's take the word of police officers in northern Mexico. They're well known for being honest and never lie about their treatment of prisoners.

[Dweebston]

He's Mexico's problem, ergo we needn't worry ourselves about due process or any of that shit.

Thank God this man's behind bars in Mexico. Who knows what complicated, potentially dubious narrative we'd need to untangle otherwise.

[Irish]

My favorite part is that the guy happened to own legally registered guns and his mom said he might have PTSD, therefore he's clearly the next Eliot Rodger.

This writer is literally comparing a soldier who took a wrong turn to a mass murderer and proclaiming that he should be thankful he's rotting in a Mexican prison.

[Sevo]

OK, where to start?
SF Chron's lefty political writer, now 'promoted' to opinion pieces, recycles a press release from the "Food Labor Research Center", directed by a woman who "has organized restaurant workers to win workplace justice campaigns, conduct research and policy work, partner with responsible restaurants, and launch cooperatively-owned restaurants." ( http://laborcenter.berkeley.ed.....about.html )
Given just a bit of bias (naaaah!), she claims and he prints that "Grocery workers in California see wages shrink" ( http://www.sfgate.com/politics.....536515.php )
Well the lies start at the headline, as it's not the wages that are shrinking and the claim otherwise could be easily laid at the door of M/W: "A generation ago, these were entry-level jobs where you could work your way up," [...] "But these days, people's ability to do that is shrinking."
And then, the 'grocery worker' works at Walmart, and seeming has money for a kid's ipad and Krispy Kremes for the folk at work, while she needs food stamps.

[Sevo]

BTE, I ignored it bthe commenters didn't:
She's 26 with two kids and dad is nowhere around?
I think dad needs to cover what we are for the good stamps.

[Irish]

Progressives want to live in a world where we're all free to make terrible decisions because someone else will be legally required to take care of us.

[PapayaSF]

It really needs to be drilled into teenager's heads that single motherhood = poverty. If you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em.

[Ted S.]

I bet you could fix the server squirrels for far less than $75 billion.

[Irish]

They're libertarians. They'd just spend the money on hookers, blow, and diamond mines while leaving us to contend with the server squirrels in a nightmarish Randian hellscape from which there can be no salvation.

[Sevo]

With no roads.

[Dweebston]

Road? We won't need roads where we're going. *cinches tourniquet, shoots heroine*

[The Late P Brooks]

It is worth noting that upon his entry into the prison at La Mesa," Moutsatso-Morales wrote in a statement released Friday, "Mr. Tahmooressi demonstrated violent behavior, twice attempting to escape and suffering self-inflicted wounds, which led him to be placed in the infirmary.

Right. And Kelly Thomas died of self-inflicted wounds.

[Dweebston]

That stupid bugger needn't have run his face into the responder's fists so many times.

[SweatingGin]

Huh, NSA is looking for a geek in Hawaii! last guy in the job pissed off management

[SweatingGin]

FDA bringing the hammer down on artisan cheese

[LynchPin1477]

Thank God we have government to protect us from wood.

[Sevo]

LP, did you have a civil discussion with the road-guy?

[Mr Whipple]

Can you fix the world with $75 billion?

That begs the question: Is the world worth fixing?

[Big Chief]

So I just finished watching a streaming movie on Netflix. I exit it and see that the last 2 minutes of game 2 of the NBA finals is on. I'm not a fan, but what the heck. Wow. So do they use the same refs as the WWE? Is there any limit on the number of steps without dribbling?

It just makes me really glad I don't waste time following the Association.

[LynchPin1477]

http://youtu.be/LVs6qmtrcAo

[LynchPin1477]

Also, the whole reason I find basketball to be so pointless is that if it is a good game, only the last two minutes are really worth watching. And if it isn't a good game, none of it is worth watching.

[Sevo]

Agreed.
Give each team 100 points and let 'em play the last minute.
The rest of it is irrelevant, except for those who think jumping up is worth watching.
'Oh, look! He jumped higher than that other guy!'

[Big Chief]

It wasn't just the steps. What the hell is the rule on fouls? And what is necessary to overturn a bad out of bounds call? I watch a LOT of college basketball, and this didn't induce me to start following the pros.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Gun control petition not exactly self-aware

California may have the strongest gun laws in the nation, but the recent shooting rampage in Isla Vista reminds us that we must do even more to strengthen our gun safety laws.

Because if something isn't working, we just need to try even harder. Call it the Labor Theory of Value of Laws.

We have an opportunity to address the specific instances that led to the Isla Vista tragedy -- specifically by passing 2 pieces of legislation that would make sure people who may be a threat to themselves and others do not have immediate access to firearms.

The first is a gun violence restraining order (AB 1014) that would allow those closest to a troubled individual -- including friends, family, and intimate partners -- to act when there are warning signs that a person is at risk for violence. The second is an initiative by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg that would provide funding to train law enforcement officers to recognize and handle people who may be a threat to themselves and others.

If these two proposals would have been in place before, the Isla Vista rampage may have been prevented.

May have. But it feels right, so we should do it.

[Paul.]

Harder-er.

[Ted S.]

If these two proposals would have been in place before, the Isla Vista rampage may have been prevented.

Nah, the guy would have stabbed the women too, before running over them in his car.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

So it begins: Supercomputer passes the Turing Test

Judges in England were fooled into thinking the computer program they were conversing with was a human on Saturday ? making the it the first to pass the 65-year-old Turing Test.

"Eugene Goostman" is not a 13-year-old boy, but 33 percent of the people who partook in five minute keyboard conversations with the computer program at the Royal Society in London thought it was, according to The University of Reading, which organized the test.

The Turing Test is based on "the father of modern computer science" Alan Turing's question, "Can Machines Think?"

If a computer is mistaken for a human by more than 30 percent of judges, it passes the test, but no computer has accomplished the feat ? until now.

Our days are numbered!

[Sevo]

"If a computer is mistaken for a human by more than 30 percent of judges, it passes the test"

I don't recall 30% as the pass threshold and a bing search don't mention it.

[Paul.]

Yeah... I don't remember that either.

I'll bet you had I been chatting with it, it would have started asking me questions about my mother and boom, Turing test foiled.

[lap83]

Yeah, but who is afraid of a 13 year old boy? Now, if/when they determine that most people would vote for Eugene Goostman in an upcoming election, I might become frightened.

[Irish]

Yeah, this article is bullshit. Did you read about how they claimed that the computer was a 13 year old boy from the Ukraine who didn't speak English very well?

I'm not making that up.

In what can be interpreted as devious in its brilliance or exploitative in its disregard for the spirit of Turing's originally proposed test, Eugene's creators kind of kluged their way to victory on this one, by having it pretend to be a 13-year-old, non-native-English-speaking Ukrainian.

This makes the entire thing ridiculous. Who on Earth knows how a non-English speaking Ukrainian 13 year old would talk?

The only way that the Turing Test could be broken is if you claimed it was a type of person that the judge would have experience with, so that he can compare what he's reading on the screen with his experience with that sort of person. Since none of the judges would have known what a Ukrainian 13 year old talks like, they would have no frame of reference to determine if it was a machine or a person.

[Sevo]

Irish|6.8.14 @ 11:37PM|#
..."Did you read about how they claimed that the computer was a 13 year old boy from the Ukraine who didn't speak English very well?"...

So it's both cherry-picked data and goal-post transport.
Was there a lefty involved?

[Paul.]

Huh, glad you read the article. Yeah, whole thing is bullshit.

My computer doesn't really understand human language very well, so we'll tell the interrogators that the interviewee doesn't understand language very well.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

"Can Machines Think?"

More importantly will transplants be covered under Obamacare for progressives? I mean 5 minutes is a lot longer than most of our trolls last trying to imitate someone with the maturity of a 13 year old.

[kibby]

I AM SO EXCITED!

[Paul.]

but 33 percent of the people who partook in five minute keyboard conversations with the computer program at the Royal Society in London thought it was, according to The University of Reading, which organized the test.

Wait, 5 minutes? Was the metric for a Turing test 5 minutes?

*googles*

Holy shit, Turing said five minutes of questioning in his 1950 paper.

Well holy shit. Scratch the Turing test off as a measure of machine intelligence.

One of the problems with chatbots, is too often, the person interacting with it wants it to be human. They don't try to throw it off.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

lol you got that right, but little bunny foo-foo won't like it!

boppinghimonthehead.com

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I haz a Thrones sad!

[MJGreen]

You know nothing. *Ygritte jingle*