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Nicholas Agar

Nicholas Agar

11 commentaries

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. basu111_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UScartariffs Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Tariffs Will Accelerate America’s Economic Decline

    Kaushik Basu draws parallels between the administration’s policies and those that led to Argentina’s decades-long slump.
  2. blyth3_Chip SomodevillaGettyImages_trump_reciprocal_tariffs Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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    Trump, Tariffs, and the Fate of the Dollar

    Mark Blyth

    Donald Trump’s attempt to reindustrialize the US economy by eliminating trade deficits will undoubtedly cause pain and disruption on a massive scale. But it is important to remember that both major US political parties have abandoned free trade in pursuit of similar goals.

     argues that America’s protectionist policies reflect a global economic reordering that was already underway.
  3. davutoglu1_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpzelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Old World Order

    Ahmet Davutoğlu warns that the US administration’s reckless conduct may destroy the last vestiges of multilateral cooperation.
  4. op_janeway19_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trumpmusk Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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    Crippling America’s Innovation Economy

    William H. Janeway

    Donald Trump and Elon Musk's reign of disruption is crippling research universities’ ability to serve as productive partners in innovation, thus threatening the very system that they purport to celebrate. The Chinese, who are increasingly becoming frontier innovators in their own right, will be forever grateful.

     warns that the pillars of US dynamism and competitiveness are being systematically toppled.
  5. muzikarova8_NurPhotoGettyImages_chip_manufacturing NurPhoto/Getty Images
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    America’s AI Iron Curtain

    Soňa Muzikárová explains how US export controls are harming allies and potentially helping Russia and China.
  6. hubbard5_SpencerPlattGettyImages_bessent_economic_club_of_new_york Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    What Rebalancing the US Economy Really Requires

    Glenn Hubbard thinks US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is neglecting the need for spending cuts in major federal programs.
  7. rasoolayub1_Alex WongGettyImages_voa_building Alex Wong/Getty Images
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    America’s Voice No Longer Speaks for Democracy

    Heela Rasool-Ayub explains why authoritarians worldwide are celebrating Donald Trump’s renunciation of democratic advocacy.
  8. durostu1_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfire Apu Gomes/Getty Images
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    Insurers Must Embrace Geospatial AI

    Pierre du Rostu touts the technology’s benefits for an industry that must shift its focus from paying claims to managing risk.
  9. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.

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