Away from the Algorithm

A Google Logo

So I wanted to check something on this blog, but I am not at my home computer.  I didn't realize that the ease with which my typing "happy ethical human" in the search box would return the link to my blog is actually thanks to some algorithm that tracks what I search for and how often I search for a particular term and not because "happy ethical human" is an easily found term on the internet.  Indeed, it is not.  So, instead of a link to my blog, Google search (which was not even in AI mode when I hit the return key), just returned the following results (which I share out of interest for the thoughts now provoked).  

A "happy ethical human" is an individual whose subjective well-being and life satisfaction are enhanced by living an ethical life, which often involves pursuing meaningful activities, developing virtues, and acting with integrity. Research suggests a reciprocal relationship: ethical proclivities tend to increase happiness, and greater happiness can foster more positive ethical judgments and cooperative social behaviors. While happiness isn't a sole guarantee of a good life, and unethical behavior can lead to negative outcomes, modern positive psychology and traditional philosophy explore how the pursuit of a good and meaningful life often involves both happiness and ethical conduct.

The Reciprocal Relationship

Ethics -> Happiness:.

A key finding is that ethical behavior can increase happiness and well-being. Engaging in meaningful activities, developing virtues like honesty and compassion, and acting with purpose contribute to a richer, more fulfilling life.

Happiness -> Ethics:.

Conversely, a state of happiness can make individuals more ethical. People who are happy tend to be more social, cooperative, and more likely to make improved ethical judgments.

The Nature of "Ethical" and "Happy"

Ethical actions:.

This includes adhering to standards of right and wrong, practicing virtues like honesty and empathy, and recognizing the importance of the common good.

Happy living:.

Beyond fleeting pleasure, happiness is linked to concepts like human flourishing and subjective well-being. It involves living a life of meaning, engagement, and purpose.

Balancing Personal Happiness and Selfishness

A crucial distinction is made between genuine happiness and pure hedonism or selfishness.

Giving excessive attention to one's own happiness at the expense of others can be considered unethical.

The goal is to pursue happiness in a way that doesn't lead to self-centeredness but rather to a more flourishing and ethically engaged life.

Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives

Ancient Philosophy:.

Thinkers like Aristotle focused on achieving eudaimonia, a concept of human flourishing and living a good life through virtue, rather than just pleasure.

Modern Philosophy:.

While some modern views link happiness to subjective satisfaction, traditional ethics emphasizes an objective, common good that individuals strive for together.

Positive Psychology:.

This field studies human flourishing and well-being, exploring how happiness, meaning, and ethical behavior intertwine.

As it happens, I don't think this AI-generated comment on the juxtaposition of "happy" and "ethical" is too far off the mark.  While it doesn't emphasize the "human" part of the blog title, the ideas of community and reciprocity do point to our humanity.  One thing that I appreciate as a nuance to this LLM attempt to embrace ethics is the recognition of the problem of selfishness.  As humans, we have needs as well as desires, which can, from time to time, get in the way of ethical choices even without the distorting lenses of our perceptions and biases.

That being said, I think I like this definition:

A "happy ethical human" is an individual whose subjective well-being and life satisfaction are enhanced by living an ethical life, which often involves pursuing meaningful activities, developing virtues, and acting with integrity. 

 I can but try.

System Upgrade

Not quite a self portrait, but you get the picture
Image by Canva

 As we move on from the Information Age to the Age of Artificial Intelligence (assuming that that is what the powers that be will call it), I find myself in the midst of a disturbing number of system upgrades.  For me, it started with Windows.  Mind you, it actually started with DOS.  I was very excited about the new user interface (UI) that came with Windows.  I can recall thinking, at one point, that we didn't actually need to upgrade from Windows 3.0.  I was quite happy, functioning quite well, getting my work done.  And then came a series of upgrades, some better, some not at all better, until we came to Windows 10.  After all of those system changes, I really don't understand why I am stuck on Windows 10.  Perhaps it is that Windows 10 has been a pretty good system; perhaps it is that I am just used to it now.  An important point--for me--is that I, in fact, have a lot of money invested in Windows 10 via the various pieces of electronic equipment I have that run on that OS.

Now Windows insists that I must upgrade to Windows 11.  It's free, of course, unless my equipment is not up to their standards.  Of course, my equipment is not, so I have to buy a new desktop computer, a new laptop computer, and on down the line.  I am a tad grumpy about all this, and not merely because of the cost.  

I have, over the years, been a happy supporter of all of this electronic improvement.  I am, after all, my father's daughter.  While the arrival of transistors eventually halted his exploration of the electronics of his youth and maturity (radio, tv, vacuum tubes of all sorts, with the added excitement of cameras and films), my father taught me curiosity, experimentation, and a general love of the tools that we can use to live and learn and explore the wonders of this world.  The catalytic converter halted my ability to tinker with the car, but I have kept up with the use--if not in any way, shape, or form the programming of operating systems--of various electronic devices.  I have been known to install a bit of RAM; I have pulled hard drives to save the data before getting rid of the rest of the computer.  This is say that I am not a complete blank when it comes to electronics.

Recently I received a notice that Samsung, or maybe Google, won't support the operating system of my current cellphone, that I had a short time in which to get a newer model with a more recent operating system.  This, too, made me grumpy.  Cell phones are (increasingly) expensive, and I paid full price for this one in 2017.  It took a while to overcome the grump to start looking for a new phone.  I did eventually find one on the lower end of current prices.  Yesterday I drove to a nearby town to get it (it was not available locally and I wasn't sure how to transfer my data from my old phone if I ordered the new one online).  I asked to have my data transferred to the new phone, little realizing what an incredible amount of time would be needed for that, but that's another story for another day.

The story for today is that I now realize why I have been so resistant to Windows 11.  The phone, a Samsung 16, has been setting itself up with various reboots and installation demands for almost 24 hours.  In the process, I have seen the degree to which my cell phone provider and other corporations that have found a place on my phone are intrusive.  That is, how much these corporations now know about my location, my finances, my relationships, my interests.  In some cases, I have had the opportunity to reject an installation or setting that would invite in a bombardment of advertising or additional "sharing" of my activities and interests.  In other cases, it seems, I either had no choice or didn't notice the opportunity.  While I think I will enjoy this new phone, I can see that I have a lot to learn about its operation and its intrusion.  I suspect I will also be spending a lot of time trying to assess the level of intrusion and push back wherever I can.

As for Windows 11, the intrusion continues.  I have purchased a "new" (refurbished) mini computer, but I have yet to set it up.  I also purchased a "new" (refurbished) laptop, and I have been using that for several months.  It is more powerful than the older one, so I felt less grumpy about that particular upgrade.  However, the whole period has been a constant battle with Windows, fighting to keep my work, my data, on my "device" and not in their online storage.  I don't want to store my data on OneDrive, thank you very much.  Nonetheless, Windows continues to nag me to do just that, and sometimes, when I'm not paying very close attention, Windows will just "helpfully" save my data to OneDrive anyway.  The laptop is mostly used when I travel, so my struggle against OneDrive is just part of that experience.  At home, I have not had that extra tension as long as I delayed setting up the mini.  Still, I suppose the time has come to get that process started while I am on high alert to the risks and possibilities of intrusion.

Why am I babbling about this?  This morning, as my new cellphone was (endlessly) setting itself up, I saw that I had missed a call from an unknown number.  I touched the number on my screen, and the new phone gave me a complete call history.  This was a number that had not been entered in my Contacts, but I have had interaction with the caller several times before.  My bad that I hadn't entered them in the Contacts list.  Then I googled the number.  It was a colleague at NYSEC, and the search result pulled up his name, his wife's name, his home address, his children's names, his previous addresses--and, for a fee (which I did not pay) his legal and business connections.  This was too much information based on a phone number.  I then search my own name and found some of my past addresses and other information.  Not, thankfully, my whole life, but still an unsafe amount of information available with just a name search.  

As long as we lack either government regulation of these information scrapers and as long as the corporations that can find some way to make money from our information do not consider the ethics of their scraping of our information, especially our personal information, we will have to find our own ways to protect our privacy and safety.  In my case, I rather wish that my own mental operating system could have a quick up grade to give me more understanding of how these newer systems operate.  A system upgrade for Boomers, I guess.  Failing that, I have to do what I can to root out these intrusions and stop the steal.  

Addendum:  I have now entered the caller's name in my contact list.  I have set the old phone aside for use as a bedside alarm clock and bedtime reading device.  My new mini is refurbished, so I consider that an environmentally sound way to upgrade.  The old PC (also a refurb) may still be needed around my home as another workstation; but I will just not be able to leave it connected to the internet.  If I don't end up with another workstation, then I will take it in for recycling.