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Ed Gibney

@edgibney.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts

Writer of fiction and philosophy. I explore how evolutionary views can lead to a more cooperative culture that robustly survives and thrives over the long term. evphil.com. US-Brit now in Vienna 🇦🇹. Ex-FBI and Secret Service. Peace Corps 🇺🇦. Slava Ukraini!

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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
Thank you! The hatred you are getting from this crowd shows how dangerous they. The fact that @zackpolanski.bsky.social still hasn’t posted a thing about this issue is very troubling about his leadership, but hopefully he will correct that soon and do in public what he said to you in private.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
I’d say clickbait is killing them.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
How can so few people have voted to change Green Party principles? Was that democratic? Was that Proportional Representation?
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
Still no mention on here of the Zionist statement. That made major headlines and drew criticism from Green’s around the world. Running from that is the reason your leadership is being questioned. So stand up and talk about it instead of trying to gaslight us about your “close” 2nd place.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
Utterly immoral and unprincipled. No wonder Putin keeps dragging out his losing cause.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 6h
Okay but at some point you face the question of simulating a rainstorm in there and actually feeling wet. I think this idea of changing code from “good” to “bad” with no pushback from the entity executing that code shows we may have a zombie on our hands.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Come on midterms. Make Orwell Fiction Again.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I don’t see that at all. Pattern recognition alone doesn’t get there as my recoded Roomba or Jacquard loom examples seem to indicate. You can’t prove it, nor can I, so it’s down to which definitions make sense to be accepted. Yours just don’t tick the box for me.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Now sort this Zionism resolution. The party is cracking up over it.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
And I guess my point is that your pattern recognition is not the subjective feeling of consciousness that defines the Hard Problem. We’ve gone round that too many times to continue. I just wanted to try my new insight that changing the code changes everything in your roomba.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Neurochemicals are one way living things “feel” their way through life. Roombas do no such thing. They blindly follow the instructions in their operating program, with just a little more complexity than a Jacquard loom weaving a rug via punch cards.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
That’s no “tweak”. That’s a major deletion of an integral part of the complex structure of living organisms. I think you are really underestimating this complexity of life when you say a roomba has consciousness.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yes!
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yes, I've seen some of the abuse on this site for the stance I've taken. But it won't change my belief that this motion is gesture politics of the kind you might find in a students' union. Except in this case it has real and damaging consequences - that are already playing out. A massive self-own.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I’m absolutely gutted the Greens have gone against this advice from @carolinelucas.bsky.social. And I’m so disappointed that the Bluesky account from @zackpolanski.bsky.social is silent on this issue. He’s only campaigning while the party’s reputation is being destroyed.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This is incomparable to me. The tweaks to living organisms do nothing at all like the ones I described creating a backwards, upside down, self destructive roomba with hardly any effort at all. Sorry. Roombas are zombies.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
No one is changing the code when a roomba works as designed. I’m saying if you barely tweak that code, leaving all sensors and structure as is, then behavior, purpose, function, and survival can all flip completely. In ways that show the roomba was never “there” taking part in the action.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yes, the Roomba has no real motivation. It doesn’t do anything based on feelings. If I change the code in it from left to right or instead of driving to a charging pad I tell it to drive to a self destruct pad, it will do so and continue to do so. That’s not the way consciousness works.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
For computer systems, a big problem I see is that a tiny code change could completely change the behavior of an otherwise identical system. This indicates to me a lack of motivation by actual sentience / consciousness.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
For AI, a problem I see is that a tiny code change could completely change the behavior of an otherwise identical system. This indicates a lack of motivation by sentience / consciousness.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Like Mark Solms, I think affect is the wellspring of consciousness. In my work, I’ve identified energy potentials across ion channels as a candidate for this feeling.
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Rupert Read @rupertread.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Bad news. Nuclear power is slow, dirty, vastly expensive, cannot run safely during heatwaves. Furthermore, as the likelihood of societal collapse grows, it is simply an unacceptable gamble: Do we really want more nuclear power stations ready to melt down / be bombed / be robbed??
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Rep. Jared Huffman @realjaredhuffman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
When Dems take back the House, we will be bringing integrity & accountability back to Congress. Come January, I am more than ready to lead the charge in holding the Trump Admin's feet to the fire, investigating their lawless actions, & fighting back as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
My own physicalist and evolutionary approach acknowledges this limitation but attempts to describe what we’ve seen in the development of biological cognition as a way to understand consciousness perhaps as comprehensively as we can. www.evphil.com/uploads/9/2/...
evphil.com
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The problem is that a physicalist description of consciousness entails that one cannot experience, and therefore know, the consciousness of another entity. If you don’t share the same physical matter, you won’t experience the subjective consciousness. This limitation is a barrier to knowledge.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Sickening.
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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 02/10/2026
Hey, Suella, leave them kids alone. A school's job is educate children, not force them into religious worship. Keep Christian Nationalism OUT of assemblies, classrooms, and the curriculum. Agree? Sign our petition today 👇 humanists.uk/action/keep-...
humanists.uk
Keep Christian Nationalism out of our schools
Reform UK wants to force every school to sing Christian hymns – and says there will be ‘consequences’ for schools that refuse. Add your name and help us defend inclusive education. Reform UK has unvei...
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Is someone keeping track of all the impeachable offenses that this administration has committed? It’s absolutely staggering.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
What a damning story for local councils. We need so much more competence in government.
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D Lovatt 🍃💚🍃 @colliewobbled.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yes please to more nature and fewer fleecy stores for the sheepwrecked uplands of Mid Wales. Meanwhile, the arrogance and entitlement displayed by Bards of the Fleece around my way is staggering. No farmers, no food they say. I say: no nature, no food, no farmers.
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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Or... we could fund Natural Intelligence upskilling by finally funding higher education properly
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yeah I didn’t think Sean spent much time with you on the new stuff. I’m definitely interested and will try to fit it in to my reading list. Good luck with the continuing launch!
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Don’t want to overlook the fascist billionaires but you might be right.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I finally got to listen closely to this. So clear as always from you. And it was great to hear how your position/presentation has evolved slightly since your book with Dan. I took notes as I listened that are too long to write here. You are busy so no need to reply but here they are in a picture.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
👀 ‼️
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Just read the excerpts from this talk in the latest newsletter from @ffrf.org.web.brid.gy. What an important story about the threat of Christian Nationalism, which doesn’t get challenged enough. ffrf.org/uploads/ftto...
ffrf.org
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We had @makevotesmatter.bsky.social speak at a local Humanist meeting in Newcastle and I couldn’t support them more. This would be amazing for the UK.
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Kate Raworth @kateraworth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm hugely looking forward to this webinar with Robin Wall Kimmerer on Weds 30th September. What happens when Braiding Sweetgrass meets Doughnut Economics meets The Serviceberry? Join us online, hosted by the Centre for Climate Psychology. climatepsychologycentre.org/events/the-h...
climatepsychologycentre.org
An Economy of Right Relationship: Robin Wall Kimmerer in Conversation with Kate Raworth — Centre for Climate Psychology
What would an economy look like that's inspired by the abundant generosity of a serviceberry tree: giving freely, circulating gifts, leaving enough for all? This September, two of the most compelling...
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Was so excited to see @greggdcaruso.bsky.social pop up in my podcast feed today.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So you’re the guy Carl called? I suspected as much. : )
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
😂
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Damn this looks important. (And I’m not just saying that because I share a last name with the director and the poster below.)
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PJ Manney @pjmanney.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In 1953, my mother was a freshman at the U. of FL, Gainesville. She had a ground floor dorm room and the football team’s QB crawled in her window and raped her. The school’s response when she and our family demanded justice? No consequences for their quarterback, but expulsion for my mother.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Even Christian scientists argue for “methodological naturalism” while doing their work. They save their non-empirical metaphysical beliefs for their private time. Perhaps philosophy would be better served by the same attitude.
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Great response on the doorsteps in Holborn & St Pancras this evening - more & more people recognising that @zackpolanski.bsky.social will make a brilliant local MP. One more Labour backbencher changes nothing - the best way to make this Labour government braver, bolder & better is to #VoteGreen
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Some clear-eyed descriptions of AI as not sentient. Some obvious statements about corporate liability. But then a monstrous opinion about climate change and using tons of fossil fuels to get to AI that will fix everything. Reckless betting with all of life. 🤮 podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Jensen Huang Thinks A.I. Alarmism Has Gone Too Far
Podcast Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 23 September · 1hr 48min
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Enjoying this talk right now! Former party leader Dame Natalie Bennett's book looks great too.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Heartbreaking. I think I’ve had a glimpse into this with health issues I’ve suffered through for the last 18 months with little help from any one doctor. The despondency can be terrifying. Thank you @georgemonbiot.bsky.social for raising this issue up.
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We got a Timex first, which I also learned a bit of BASIC on. It was our gateway drug to the Commodore 64 that I did a lot more with. I still remember wowing an uncle with what a spreadsheet could do! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_S...
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Ed Gibney @edgibney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This sounds promising for the Greens. Go Zack! He’s always available.
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