Views Expressed Podcast

The "Humanity by Proxy" Book

This post is a little different. First, this week marks my one-year anniversary on Substack. This is, in fact, weekly post number 52! Second, my book came out this week! Humanity by Proxy: Essays at The Intersection of Philosophy and AI [https://www.amazon.com/Humanity-Proxy-Essays-Intersection-Philosophy-ebook/dp/B0GDTM7PS1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RUK5W9D20TTH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dbZnD2ZQxyVSxc3H2pr1dw.VR2MuPvUDjxGUk3eHWhHfEbYzgR_YPTTlKv1BX4OZLg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Chapa+humanity+by+proxy&qid=1769638170&sprefix=chapa+humanity+by+proxy%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1] is a collection of essays drawn from this very Substack newsletter. The paperback, hard cover, and eBook are all available now. The audiobook should be out in a couple of weeks. This week, I thought I would tell you about the how the book came to be and then make an announcement about the future of Views Expressed... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe [https://chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Life is Hard

At a budget hotel in Lexington, Massachusetts, my team of Air Force reserve officers and government civilians working on AI policy gathered around the bar. We had just finished our annual Department of the Air Force Data and AI Conference and everyone wanted to blow off a little steam. I had prearranged dinner plans with some good friends in Newton and told the team I’d catch up with them later. By the time I got back, they were quite a few drinks ahead of me. Then two things happened. ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe [https://chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Noumena and Phenomena

Network Rail chose to delay several freight and passenger trains [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwygqqll9k2o] in Lancashire, England recently because of damage to a rail bridge. Following minor tremors, someone posted a photo showing severe damage to the bridge. Based on that photo, rail authorities acted from caution and halted the trains—as any reasonable person might do. Here’s the thing, though: There was no damage to the bridge. The image that circulated was AI-generated. Kant had a pretty bold claim about the universe we call home. Kant argued that there are real things—things as they are. These, he called “noumena.” Then there are our perceptions of things. These aren’t things as they really are, but only as we perceive them. These, he called “phenomena.” ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe [https://chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Culture Eats Trash Cans for Breakfast

A brief note before I begin: as you may have noticed, I took two weeks off from publishing here. I appreciate your patience. When I decided last January to publish these newsletters every Thursday, I didn’t anticipate that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years would all fall on Thursdays. My two weeks off were enjoyable, but, like Frank Costanza [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THp3bduyLks], “I’m back, baby!” There’s a story—probably an apocryphal one—about how Walt Disney decided where to put trash cans at Disney World. He bought a hot dog and then walked while he ate. He counted his steps and stopped when he had finished his hot dog. That’s how far apart the garbage cans should be. The moment you find you have trash in your hand—through the magic of Disney—a trash bin should appear before you. The story probably isn’t true, but it does point to Walt’s obsession with cleanliness. Rubbish, Walt believed, should never be visible to the park’s visitors. But placing a bin here or there isn’t enough to drive cleanliness amidst a culture of litter. Even when it comes to refuse, I suppose, culture eats strategy for breakfast... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe [https://chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Moral Injury and War

Many years ago, we stood up a new M-1B Predator squadron—the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron. The last time the squadron had been activated was during the Vietnam War, when US Air Force pilots flew O-1s, O-2s, and the mighty OV-10 Bronco in the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron. For the squadron stand-up event, we tracked down as many veterans of the original Vietnam-era squadron as we could. Thirteen such members descended upon Whiteman Air Force Base to celebrate with us. For us, it was the re-activation of an old squadron. For them, it was a reunion. We affectionately called that baker’s dozen “the old guys.” My commander told us in no uncertain terms that part of our job that weekend was to listen to the old guys’ stories; and so, we did. On Saturday, late into the night at a visiting officers’ quarters room our guests called “the old guy hooch,” we listened to their war stories. Most our guests—and indeed most members of our squadron—had long since gone home. Five of them and two of us remained. Long after the sun had set, as the solo cups were emptied and refilled, and as voices lowered, the tenor of the conversation changed. No doubt, the day’s talk of throttle settings and aerial tactics drew the old guys into a headspace they hadn’t often occupied. Memories turned to their aircraft and their war. As forward air controllers - airborne, they didn’t carry heavy bombs or missiles. Instead, they carried white smoke rockets. Flying aircraft with longer loiter times at slower speeds, the pilots of the 20th identified targets and marked them with smoke and then directed the heavier aircraft—often F-105 Thunderchiefs (or “Thuds”)—onto those targets. To a person, each one of those five who remained that night had a story about a target mark and a weapons employment that still raises questions deep in their memories and in their consciences. One veteran in particular, John, told the story of a man in local attire riding his bicycle toward the friendly forward operating base (FOB). He said he didn’t have any reason to suspect the bicyclist of being a member of the Viet Cong, but the rules of engagement were clear: if a person got within a certain range of the FOB and continued toward the FOB, he was to be identified as hostile. John marked the target and the Thuds did the rest. Moral injury, as a field of study, is relatively young. But as a phenomenon, it is as old as war. ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe [https://chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]