physical courses take place every 2 weeks on Thursday between 16:00 - 19:00

location/venue for next course will be precised at the end of the previous course

however, due to weather conditions or other unpredictable circumstances, it may also be the case that the outdoor session will need to be canceled or special measures (umbrella, rainjacket) will need to

magnifying glass or telescope can also be useful for certain sessions

should the session get canceled, You will be informed about that no later than at noon (12:00) in seminar's asynchronous matrix seminar room

/join #bio-animals:m3x.baumhaus.digital

who am I

who are You

is this a course for You ?

credits (2 ECTS for >75% attendance, +1 for referat/experiment)

Hausarbeit possible

need help ? (tutor: a.terzieva@udk-berlin.de)

Leistungsnachweis

signature-related issues

Smartphone & Feedback box

Old definition: BB is an educational curriculum integrating paradigms of computer-oriented sciences (e.g. informatics, cybernetics, AI etc.) and nature-oriented sciences (e.g. biology, ecology, botanics etc.) into a life-centered didactic package. Instead of being composed of dry indoor frontal teaching lectures, BB seminars mostly take place outdoor, some of them are peripatetic –i.e. walking– and apart from „aesthetic“ and „theoretical“ components always include a „survival“ component.

New definition: Bildung Biodigitale is a seminar cycle which deploys eco-artificial education within University context.

``Ecoartificial education (EAE) integrates those forms of pedagogical and didactic practice where artificially intelligent systems are being deployed for the purpose of increase of Wuman’s knowledge and respect of the surrounding biosphere.''

EAE is about cultivating what Charles Darwin called ``the most noble attribute of man''

The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.

search & hunt; observation &  contemplation

stories & aphorisms

species identification (install Merlin Bird App) & interaction

human-generated texts, images & videos

AI-generated texts, images & videos

discussions

concepts

biographies & historical examples

algorithm

homeworks

games

We will play a game: "What kind of animal am I ?". 

In his book The New Ethics, American zoologist and philosopher J. Howard Moore argued that humans are simply individual sentient beings, existing alongside a number of other sentient beings, differing only in degree, not in kind.

Moore asserts that the Golden Rule, which he calls "The Great Law", is applicable to all beings, regardless of their species membership.

He contends that the New Ethics is an ethical consequence of Darwin's theory of evolution, which established that all beings are related to each other and that it rejected the anthropocentric belief that non-human animals were produced for the benefit of humans.

The question is: "Should the New Ethics and the Golden Law be extended to encompass non-organic forms of intelligence ?"

(Equivalent question is "Can AI possess at least animal-level sentience ?")

You will be divided into two groups, one is to provide arguments for "yes" answer, the other for the answer "no". When discussing / reasoning about AI - humanity relations, think also about humanity - animal relations.

Think about history of human art.

Do animals play some role in it ?

Name some examples...

(& let's consult Karel so that he can start showing us his "opinion" on the topic)

Animals of slow motion, soft substance, able to increase their bulk and restore parts which have been destroyed, extremely tenacious of life, and the inhabitants of moist places. Many of them are without a distinct head, and most of them without feet. They are principally distinguished by their tentacles (or feelers). By the Ancients they were not improperly called imperfect animals, as being destitute of ears, nose, head, eyes and legs; and are therefore totally distinct from Insects.

A very numerous and various class consisting of small animals, breathing through lateral spiracles, armed on all sides with a bony skin, or covered with hair; furnished with many feet, and moveable antennae (or horns), which project from the head, and are the probable instruments of sensation.

Always inhabiting the waters; fish are swift in their motion and voracious in their appetites. They breathe by means of gills, which are generally united by a bony arch; swim by means of radiate fins, and are mostly covered over with cartilaginous scales. Besides the parts they have in common with other animals, they are furnished with a nictitant membrane, and most of them with a swim-bladder, by the contraction or dilatation of which, they can raise or sink themselves in their element at pleasure.

Animals that are distinguished by a body cold and generally naked; stern and expressive countenance; harsh voice; mostly lurid color; filthy odor; a few are furnished with a horrid poison; all have cartilaginous bones, slow circulation, exquisite sight and hearing, large pulmonary vessels, lobate liver, oblong thick stomach, and cystic, hepatic, and pancreatic ducts: they are deficient in diaphragm, do not transpire (sweat), can live a long time without food, are tenacious of life, and have the power of reproducing parts which have been destroyed or lost; some undergo a metamorphosis; some cast (shed) their skin; some appear to live promiscuously on land or in the water, and some are torpid during the winter.

A beautiful and cheerful portion of created nature consisting of animals having a body covered with feathers and down; protracted and naked jaws (the beak), two wings formed for flight, and two feet. They are areal, vocal, swift and light, and destitute of external ears, lips, teeth, scrotum, womb, bladder, epiglottis, corpus callosum and its arch, and diaphragm.

Animals that suckle their young by means of lactiferous teats. In external and internal structure they resemble man: most of them are quadrupeds; and with man, their natural enemy, inhabit the surface of the Earth. The largest, though fewest in number, inhabit the ocean.

Take a photo of at least one synanthrope which shares Your household with You.

Try to identify Your species and put the photo in the #bio-animals room along its latin name. 

(Should You have difficulties identifying the animal, upload the photo nonetheless and we'll try to identify the animal for You.)

The next session will take place in my garden.

Lest the wetter is very bad, we meet on 4th May 2023 (AE530504) at following GPS coordinates: 52.57924726434418, 13.437712684712407

(Parcel 37, KGA Dreieck Nord, not far from crossing Frithjofstrasse / Romain-Rolland Strasse, S-Bahn Pankow Heinersdorf or M2 Heinersdorf)