Machines of Loving Grace

"The story of the rise of the machines, and why no one believes you can change the world for the better anymore."



This is episode 3 of the BBC documentary series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, featuring evolutionary theorists George Price (@19 & 34 & 42 minutes in) and William Hamilton. Also making appearances: Dian Fossey (@27 & 31 & 40 min), John von Neumann (@21 min), Richard Dawkins (@44 min), gorillas, chimps, Hutus, Tutsis, imperialists, mercenaries, and a mercenary (sociopathic?) mining company CEO (@7:30 min; good Hamilton gene stuff follows). Fossey is portrayed as a nut case; some of the details (e.g., about the death of her favorite gorilla Digit) do not match what is in her Wikipedia entry.

Bonus points to commenters who can classify the individuals by their V, M, and empathy scores ;-)

The episode describes the rise of the idea that humans are merely automata, sometimes altruistic and sometimes murderous, programmed by their genes. This perspective, it is claimed, is appealing because it absolves us of responsibility for terrible unintended consequences of our actions, such as the Rwandan genocide.

The logic of Machines of Loving Grace is sometimes suspect, but nevertheless it's a highly stimulating series.