Tag Archives: Rome

28Oct/26

Why AI Ethics Needs Ancient Theology

October 28, 2026Technology.google, Abhilash Mishra, Adam Ford, Altman Musk, Amartya, Articles, Artificial general intelligence, Artificial intelligence, Bangladesh, Cisco, Computational neuroscience, Elon Musk, Ethics, Existential risk from artificial general intelligence, Friendly artificial intelligence, Futurology, Gene Roddenberry, IBM, James Cameron, Kenneth Arrow, Larry Page, Machine ethics, Microsoft, OAKLAND, OpenAI, Philippines, Philosophy of artificial intelligence, Rome, Sam Altman, Singularitarianismadmin

Faith, Human Dignity, and Governance: Why AI Ethics Demands Moral Depth Over Statistical Consensus

Wed, July 28 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The Limits of Preference Aggregation and the Rise of Algorithmic Pluralism Leading technology executives have proposed aligning artificial intelligence with human values by calculating a “weighted average” or statistical consensus through techniques such as Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). However, social choice theory demonstrates that there is no unique voting protocol capable of universally aggregating individual preferences without generating logical contradictions or violating private ethical values. Theological and philosophical scholars emphasize that religious traditions cannot be reduced to modular, extractable rulebooks to be averaged in machine learning models. Attempting to compute a universal moral consensus flattens culturally rich worldviews, suppresses minority perspectives, and risks codifying dominant, secular-rational norms at the expense of global faith communities. Continue reading →

22Oct/26

Why Machiavelli Believed Rulers Need Dirty Hands

October 22, 2026PoliticsAcademic disciplines, Articles, Berlin, Cesare Borgia, Ch, Discourses on Livy, Florence Geis, France, Germany, Isaiah Berlin, Italian writers, Italy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Livy, Machiavelli, Machiavellianism, Niccolò Machiavelli, Political philosophy, Realism, Republic, Richard Christie, Rome, The Prince, Virtù, William Shakespeareadmin

Power, Virtù, and Human Nature: A Multidisciplinary Synthesis of Machiavellian Pragmatism

Thu Oct. 22, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — Niccolò Machiavelli’s foundational political thought, articulated in The Prince (1513) and the Discourses on Livy (1517), marks a radical shift from classical teleological ethics and medieval Christian scholasticism toward empirical political realism. Rejecting idealized imaginary republics, Machiavelli sought the “effectual truth” of human behavior, asserting that effective governance must be guided by strategic necessity (necessità) and the preservation of state stability (ragione di stato) rather than abstract moral pieties. He redefined virtù not as moral goodness, but as the dynamic capability, drive, and tactical agility—symbolized by combining the courage of the lion with the cunning of the fox—required to master unpredictable circumstances (fortuna). Although critics historically viewed The Prince as an autocratic handbook and the Discourses as a defence of republican liberty, scholars emphasize that these works are complementary: princely authority is often necessary to establish order in a corrupted state, whereas a mixed republican constitution preserves long-term security, popular freedom, and civic vitality. Continue reading →

01Jun/26

“Why Do You Kill Yourself Working?”: How a Spaghetti Western Anti-Hero Predicted Modern Hustle Culture

June 1, 2026FilmsBreaking Bad season 2, Clint Eastwood, Dollars Trilogy, Eli Wallach, Ennio Morricone, Lee Van Cleef, Man with No Name, Orso, Pablo, Rome, Sad Hill Cemetery, Sergio Leone, Silvana Bacci, Simon Prescott, Spaghetti Western, The Ecstasy of Gold, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Tucoadmin

Mon, Jun 01 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The climax at Sad Hill Cemetery represents the literalization of the American quest as a “field of death.” The quest for the American Dream—represented by the buried Confederate gold—ends in a “hallucinatory finale” where thousands of graves serve as the backdrop for a final shootout. The cemetery is not a place of rest, but a site of ritualistic greed.The “Mexican Standoff” between the trio uses the geometry of the triangle to illustrate the final game of capitalism. Semiotically, Leone contrasts the grotesque, extreme close-ups of the three individuals with sweeping long shots of the anonymous mass of graves. This shift illustrates the movement from individual myth to the crushing, crowded reality of history. It is a ritual where the outcome is determined not by morality, but by the precarious and cynical nature of success.

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01Jan/25

NotebookLM: Features and Use Cases

January 1, 2025Innovation.google, AI software, Alphabet Inc., Artificial intelligence, Automatic summarization, Computational linguistics, Computational neuroscience, Deep learning, Google Search, Multi-document summarization, Natural language processing, NotebookLM, Prompt engineering, Question answering, Romeadmin

Jan. 01, 2024 /Mpelembe Media/ — NotebookLM is an experimental tool by Google that helps you understand and work with information from your notes and documents. It uses AI to summarize, answer questions, and generate new insights from your content. Continue reading →

29Feb/24

The leap year is February 29, not December 32 due to a Roman calendar quirk – and fastidious medieval monks

February 29, 2024Human InterestBissextus, Byrhtferth, Calends, Creative Commons, December, Dublin, Februarius, Ides of March, Julian calendar, Julius Caesar, Leap Day, Leap year, Martius, Oxford, Quintilis, Ramsey, Rebecca Stephenson, Roman calendar, Romeadmin

Rebecca Stephenson, University College Dublin

Have you ever wondered why the extra day of the leap year falls on February 29, an odd date in the middle of the year, and not at the end of the year on December 32? There is a simple answer, and a slightly more complex one.

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19Feb/24

History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future

February 19, 2024SocialAn-Nasir Faraj, Athens, Boris Johnson, Chile, China, Cliodynamics, Creative Commons, Daniel Hoyer, Dispute resolution, Donald Trump, Econometric modeling, Egypt, Eugène Delacroix, Germany, Ireland, Jack Goldstone, Julius Caesar, Mark Twain, Michael Sweerts, Nepal, New Zealand, Peter Turchin, Poverty, Rodney Mace, Rome, Russia, Seshat, SHUTTERSTOCK, Social history, South Korea, State, Taiping Rebellion, Thomas Cole, Tiberius Gracchus, Trishuli, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Violence, Waradmin

Daniel Hoyer, University of Toronto

American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

I’ve been working as a historian and complexity scientist for the better part of a decade, and I often think about this phrase as I follow different strands of the historical record and notice the same patterns over and over.

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09Jan/24

Freedom of thought is being threatened by states, big tech and even ourselves. Here’s what we can do to protect it

January 9, 2024SecurityAdrian Vermeule, Ahmed Shaheed, Athens, Auguste Rodin, Bertrand Russell, Censorship, China, Cognition, Creative Commons, Curtis Yarvin, E.M. Forster, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Free will, Freedom of thought, George Orwell, Greece, Historical negationism, Ireland, Jan Christoph Bublitz, Japan, Jeremy Corbyn, Jordan Peterson, Keith Stanovich, London, Mark Zuckerburg, Michel Foucault, Mind, Neuralink, Newspeak, Nick Land, Nineteen Eighty-Four, OpenAI, Persuasion, Philosophy of life, Pisistratus, Political terminology, Reason, Roman, Rome, Sam Altman, Sam Harris, SHUTTERSTOCK, Simon McCarthy-Jones, Solon, Steve, Thought, Thoughtcrime, United Kingdom, United States, Winston Smith, Woodrow Wilsonadmin

Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin

The idea of free speech sparked into life 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece – in part because it served a politician’s interests. The ability to speak freely was seen as essential for the new Athenian democracy, which the politician Cleisthenes both introduced and benefited from.

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05Jun/23

Voices of Preston’s Windrush generation – when I first arrived, I said: ‘Really? I thought there were no slums in this place!’

June 5, 2023SocialAlan Rice, Albums, Australia, Avenham, Barbados, Belfast, Bermuda, Bridgette Toussaint, Canada, Cherry McDonald, Clinton Smith, Creative Commons, David Coke, Dominica, Frank, Gladstone Afflick Preston, Greenidge, House Slippers, Ireland, Jack Hepworth, Jalgos, Jamaica, Joe, Kevin, Lancashire, London, Ribbleton Lane, Rome, Sylius Toussaint, The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor, United Kingdom, United States, Vincent Skerrittadmin

Alan Rice, University of Central Lancashire and Jack Hepworth, University of Oxford

From the earliest arrivals of what would become Preston’s “Windrush generation”, the status of the Caribbean diaspora was hotly contested in this post-industrial Lancashire town, as elsewhere. Discrimination and prejudice dogged the daily lives of people from the Caribbean who made their home here.

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30May/23

‘They just ignored my tears, they ignored my unhappiness’: former Irish nuns reveal accounts of brainwashing and abuse

May 30, 2023Human InterestAsceticism, Australia, Catholic Church, Catholicism, Christina, Creative Commons, Ireland, Italy, João Braz de Aviz, Karen Armstrong, Karen Hanrahan, Louise, Martin, Mary, Micheál Martin, Musicians, Nun, Pope John XXIII, Religious institute, Rome, Rwanda, The Singing Nun, United Kingdom, United States, Women in the Catholic Churchadmin

Karen Hanrahan, University of Brighton

Any thoughts of escaping to a more natural life was regarded as being sinful. The idea of being unfaithful to your vocation was a step on the way to hell. It would be a mortal sin.

These are the words of Mary, my mother. She was just 15 when she entered a convent in Ireland in 1950 and 34 by the time she finally managed to leave. She had been expressing doubts to her superiors since her early twenties but years of “brainwashing” and the very real fear of her and her family facing eternal damnation made breaking her vows seem impossible.

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04Apr/23

The Pope Francis puffer coat was fake – here’s a history of real papal fashion

April 4, 2023FashionBenedict, Blue, Camauro, Cardinal, Carlo Saraceni, Carol Richardson, Cassock, Catholic Church, Ceremonial of Benedict XVI, Christian clothing, Clothing, Creative Commons, Guido Greganti, John Paul, John Paul II, Papal regalia and insignia, Papal shoes, Papal vestments, Pope, Pope Francis, Pope Gregory, Pope Nicholas, Renata, Rome, SHUTTERSTOCKadmin

Carol Richardson, The University of Edinburgh

Before news of his hospitalisation for a respiratory infection this week, a fake image of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga-style white puffer jacket was posted to Reddit and Twitter. The image – created through AI programme Midjourney – had many viewers fooled into believing that the head of the Catholic church had dramatically updated his style.

As an art historian and an ecclesiastical historian, the image has fascinated me, not least in thinking about the rich history of papal fashion.

First of all, it caught my eye because it looks like shot silk (fabric made of silk woven from two or more colours producing an iridescent appearance). Intentionally or not, it’s a nice nod to the fascia, a sash worn by clerics over their cassocks.

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