Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Kevin McNamee
How renewable energy producers can navigate FERC’s new interconnection rules
This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Kevin McNamee, Abby Fox and Ricky Cox are colleagues in the energy practice of Balch & Bingham. For renewable energy developers, the interconnection process is a critical factor shaping project timelines and viability.
Science vs Religion
Which is true, science or religion. Science obviously. So, what should religion do? Most of the mainstream religions were developed thousands of years ago and usually explain three things... · How the world was created and how we got to be here. · Our purpose in life and how we are supposed to behave now we are here. · What happens when we die. Since then, science has completely rewritten the first part, has very little to say about the second, and provides a very bleak answer to the third.
Immortality - Would You Choose It
Some pundits think that immortality will soon be an actual thing. Let’s look at the options. Ray Kurzweil thinks that physical immortality will be available by 2030. Most other pundits talk about digital immortality that will be achieved using AI. Billions of people currently believe that our souls are already immortal. Kurzweil thinks that medical science, AI, and nano-technology will enable us to prevent aging, repair our bodies forever, and do away with physical death.
The History of the Internet
Kevin McNamee · Follow 17 min read · -- This is the story of how the internet went from a network connecting university, military and government computing centers to an international network connecting consumers to e-commerce. It started in 1969 when the US Government’s Advanced Research Project Administration (ARPA) awarded a contract for the development of ARPANET, a resilient packet switched network that would allow military and government computers to communicate over long distances.
Fifty Years of Progress: 1970-2020
Kevin McNamee · Follow 50 min read · -- This is an essay about the progress I have witnessed in my adult life. The computer revolution has certainly led to significant progress in computing, communications, digital media, entertainment, e-commerce, social media, electronic gaming, and artificial intelligence. The field of genetic engineering is another that has made revolutionary progress.
Physical Evidence of Consciousness
I recently read some articles on Medium by Prudence Louise and Colin Mathers debating the nature of consciousness. The debate was very interesting and covered a lot of good points, but what surprised me the most was that both parties agreed that there was no physical evidence of consciousness. I disagree and think that there’s a lot of evidence to support the idea that consciousness is a physical phenomenon in the brain.
The Simulation Hypothesis - Preposterous Assumptions - Ridiculous Conclusions
Nick Bostrom's idea that we're are living in a computer simulation is based on a number of preposterous assumptions. It's not philosophy. It's Sci-Fi, probably inspired by the movie "The Matrix" (1999). The hypothesis is discussed in his 2003 paper " Are You Living In A Computer Simulation ".
The American Presidential Race
US politics has taken some very strange turns in the past month and it's been a real roller coaster ride. Who knows what the next four months will bring. Note that I'm Canadian and just commenting as a sideline observer. There had been rumours that Biden was not aging well and was probably too old to run, but I thought these were mostly just attempt by the right to discredit him. In retrospect, these reports were actually true. This became clear at the debate. It was a total disaster.
Global Warming - Human Impact
This essay covers the impact of humans on global warming and the future impact of global warming on humans and the planet as a whole. The previous essay, " Global Warming - The Historical Perspective " discussed how CO2 levels in the atmosphere impacted the climate over the past 500 million years. During that time, living creatures removed CO2 from the atmosphere and deposited it as coal, oil, and the natural gases that they create.
Philosophical “Thought Experiments”
It seems to be a hobby for philosophers to attack physical theories of consciousness by constructing thought experiments. Here we’ll examine a few of these: the Chinese Room, Mary’s Room, and the Philosophical Zombie. John Searle first presented the Chinese Room argument in his paper “Minds, Brains, and Programs” (1980).
Life the Universe and Everything : Part 1 - How did we get here?
I see three fundamental questions. How did we get here? Why are we here? What happens after? These questions are primarily addressed by our various religions, but philosopher have also had a crack at them and more recently science has stepped in. This essay is the first part of trilogy that addresses these questions. Gaugin, the French artist, asked three similar questions in his painting entitled “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” (Where do we come from? What are we?
Life the Universe and Everything : Part 3 - What happens after?
I see three fundamental questions. How did we get here? Why are we here? What happens after? These questions are primarily addressed by our various religions, but philosopher have also had a crack at them and more recently science has stepped in. This essay is part 3 of the series and deals with the question, “What happens after?” Gaugin, the French artist, asked three similar questions in his painting entitled “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” (Where do we come from? What are we?
The Real Dangers of AI
There are real dangers from AI, but it’s not an alien intelligence that could destroy our civilisation. This essay examines those dangers. In March 2023 an open letter was issued by the “Future of Life Institute” calling for an “immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4”. The letter has been signed by over 33,000 people including number of notables like Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and Yuval Noah Harari.
Can ChatGPT Do Anything Useful
It’s not easy to get ChatGPT to do anything useful. It makes stuff up. It’s hopeless and math. Ask it for a ten page essay and you get a page or so. It thinks it will take 9 billion years to get to Alpha Centauri traveling at 99% the speed of light. In this essay are some examples of my attempts to get ChatGPT 3.5 do something useful in late 2023. OpenAI have addressed some of these problems since then.
Guest column: Homeless efforts in California are failing
Law enforcement officers estimate that a majority of California's homeless population — around 80-90% — struggle with drug addiction, mental illness, or both. Many of these individuals were previously incarcerated for "low-level" felonies before Proposition 47 changed their classification. To tackle prison overcrowding and inadequate inmate healthcare, Governor Jerry Brown took immediate action to improve prison healthcare services, surpassing private sector standards.
College Lanes on Road to Final Four Vary by Conference, School Size Original
Today’s guest columnist is former George Mason University deputy athletic director Kevin McNamee. It was March of 2006, and one of the nation’s youngest and aspirational institutions was on the proverbial “Road to the Final Four.” George Mason University, with Jim Larranaga at the helm, led Mason’s program past the basketball giants UNC, Michigan State and UConn to secure its historic placement in the Final Four.
Colin Kaepernick Condemns Fourth of July as Celebration of White Supremacy
Added by Debra Tash on July 7, 2020. Saved under Conservative, Editorial Tags: Colin Kaepernick, Fourth of July, Kevin McNamee, White Supremacy . . . by Dr Kevin McNamee , The birth of the United States was an experiment where all men (and women) are created equal and the government receives its authority from the people and not from a monarch was truly revolutionary in its day.
Nokia: Cyber-criminals are exploiting people’s fears of COVID-19
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact the world, people are understandably afraid for the health of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the ‘real’ virus is not the only thing spreading. Cyber criminals are exploiting peoples’ fears and using their need for up-to-date information to infect their devices with malware.
Nokia: Cyber-criminals are exploiting people’s fears of COVID-19
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact the world, people are understandably afraid for the health of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the ‘real’ virus is not the only thing spreading. Cyber criminals are exploiting peoples’ fears and using their need for up-to-date information to infect their devices with malware.
Cyber-criminals are exploiting people’s fears of COVID-19 – we analyze the threats
Cyber-criminals are exploiting people’s fears of COVID-19 – we analyze the threats As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact the world, people are understandably afraid for the health of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the ‘real’ virus is not the only thing spreading. Cyber criminals are exploiting peoples’ fears and using their need for up-to-date information to infect their devices with malware.
Malware in IoT, Crypto-coins & Smart Devices - Prevention and Appropriate Action
Sign Up Get up-to-the-minute news and opinions, plus access to a wide assortment of Information Security resources that will keep you current and informed.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Kevin
Contact Kevin, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack