Artificial Intelligence and Samuel Butler's Erewhon

I'm not worried, of course, but the current controversy over AI made me think of Samuel Butler's dystopian novel, Erewhon; Or, Over the Range (1872). Butler's narrator in the novel is a New Zealand sheepherder in search of lost sheep. He gets lost in the mountains himself, and stumbles into an isolated civilization. "Erewhon" is an anagram for "Nowhere." Butler was following the example of Sir Thomas More's Utopia. More's title means Nowhere in Latin. But you probably already knew or guessed that. 

Erewhon is an upside down world which the author uses to satirize the customs and practices of Victorian England. Erewhonians are vegetarians, but some people (men) are unable to follow the vegetarian code. They go to illicit chop houses to eat forbidden meat. The parallel to Victorian brothels is obvious. Crime is treated in hospitals rather than punished. In contrast, illness is criminalized and the ill sent to prison. 

Instead of churches, it has lavishly decorated musical banks, where people (mostly women) go ostentatiously once a week in their best outfits to deposit money and listen to "hideous" music. They act as if  they place the greatest value on the musical banks, and the money they deposit into them is the "real" currency. In fact, the musical currency is worth very little. Erewhonians place most of their wealth in an alternative set of financial institutions. No points for guessing what Butler was satirizing here.

Now to the connection to AI. The people of Erewhon have destroyed most of their machinery, except for some disabled models they have put in museums as a warning. The machines had been reproducing themselves. They were evolving, becoming intelligent and threatening to become the masters of humans. Here Butler was no doubt influenced by the evolutionary writings of Charles Darwin and others, which were producing enormous controversy in the Western world. 

The destruction of the machines had taken place hundreds of years before. The controversy over the machines had divided Erewhon into two camps, the machinists and the anti-machinists. A bloody civil war ensued that lasted for many years. The anti-machinists prevailed, wiped out their opponents, and destroyed the hated machines. Not all of them, but the most advanced and dangerous

Perhaps the Erewhonians were onto something. We may be at war with the machines soon, I write on my laptop, while listening to music on my iPhone and checking my activities on my Smart Watch. 

Willie Sutton: Why We Should Tax the Rich

According to a much related story, a newspaper reporter once asked the renowned bank robber Willie Sutton (1901-1980) why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the money is," he is alleged to have answered. Sutton denied ever saying such a thing. It was too obvious, he claimed. 

Perhaps he didn't say that, but he did say he loved robbing banks. It gave him a tremendous thrill, he claimed. And he was very good at it. He never killed anyone. He even carried unloaded guns to make sure he didn't. [Image: Willie Sutton]

Sutton was no heroic Robin Hood, despite some attempts to romanticize his exploits. He robbed the rich, but kept the proceeds. He spent about half his life in jail, but savvy technician that he was, escaped from prison three times. He was a master of disguise and subterfuge. His nicknames included "Willie the Actor" and "Slick Willie."

Nevertheless, one can't help wishing that a man of Sutton's ability could help our world separate the filthy rich from their ill-gotten gains. Perhaps its too obvious to need saying, but defenders of obscene wealth keep pulling the wool over our eyes and dragging red herrings across our path. 

In the world today, the super rich and huge corporations are like an enormous vacuum, sucking up an astonishing percentage of global wealth. In the process, they have caused or exacerbated enormous economic, environmental,  and social problems. 

Think Exxon Mobil, Shell, and other fossil fuel giants. Think Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and their ilk. I will give a pass to Bill Gates for his well directed philanthropy, and a partial pass to the rich who urge governments to tax them more. 

Increasing taxes on the rich will not solve all our current problems. But it would help more than decreasing taxes on the rich, the default position of many countries in recent decades. 

The promises of "trickle down" economics have proved false. Much like the "opportunities" of Brexit in the UK, the benefits have not materialized, only the costs. 

Higher taxes on great wealth would also help to restore some sense of fairness in our society, a social contract that any healthy polity must possess. Our present trajectory is leading us to an apocalyptic world. 

So, the next time you meet with friends to have a drink, raise a toast to Willie Sutton and don't forget where the money is.

[[Image: Willie Sutton in 1966]

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The Previous Lives of Pubs: The Knights Templar, Chancery Lane

Fancy a pint down at your local bank? These days you might be able to satisfy that fancy. Quite a few bank branches, closed due to the upsurge in online banking or other reasons, have found a new life as pubs.


A prime example is the Knights Templar. Located just off Fleet Street on Chancery Lane, London, it occupies a former branch of the Union Bank (now NatWest). Its original function is emblazoned on a relief above the entrance at the corner of Chancery Lane and Carey Street.   

The pub derives its name from a crusading order of warrior knights with a local connection. The Templars established their English headquarters in the nearby Temple precincts during the 12th century. Fans of the Da Vinci Code may recall that a scene in the novel and film takes place in the Temple Church. The images of the Temple Church below date from c. 1862 and c. 1810.

The Temple area later became the location of two of the Inns of Court, the Inner and Middle Temples. The other two, Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn, are also nearby. In order to become a barrister in England, one must be a member of one of the Inns. 

The décor reflects the name and locale, with paintings, pictures, and engravings of Templars in and out of battle. Other pictures connect the pub to its proximity to the law courts and Inns of Court, including a large painting of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), considered to be the most influential jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. 

The bar and seating area.

Be forewarned: The Knights Templar is closed on Sundays. Surely not because of rigid sabbatarian views, but because traffic is light in this part of London on Sunday.