Hopes and Dangers: Hopes and Dangers: The Future of Technology

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

 WHEN IS TECH GOOD, WHEN IS TECH BAD

The punchline is always this: To the extent that humans are impulsively driven by compassion and concern for others and for the good of the whole there is not a single prospective technological or digital breakthrough that bodes ill in its own right. To the extent that humans are impulsively driven for self-gain with others and the good of the whole as expendable in the equation, even the most primitive industrial/technological development is to be feared.

This view is simple, fundamental, and universal. For example, if humans were fixed in an inescapable makeup characterized by care and compassion, the development of an exoskeletal, indestructible, AI-controlled, military robot that could anticipate my movements up to 4 miles away, and morph to look just like my loving grandmother could be a perfectly wonderful development for the good of humankind. On the other hand, if humans cannot be elevated above the grotesque makeup in which others and the greater good are expendable in the pursuit of selfish gain, then the invention of a fork is a dangerous, even horrifying thing. Continue reading →

Comments on the April 4, 2023 Indictment of President Trump

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Frank Kaufmann, April 5, 2023, New York — The indictment of President Donald J Trump yesterday at the Manhattan Courthouse in the southern district has drawn literally gallons of print ink and miles of video and media commentary.

This is one of the reasons why I have been reluctant to speak on the matter. with so much being said by important, thoughtful and knowledgeable people, it is a bit intimidating or feels a form of hubris to imagine that you have something in particular that also needs to be said on the matter.

On the other hand, the event is so world historical that there would be an element of being irresponsible not to speak publicly in response.

Listen to the podcast:

The external facts of the case are well known. Continue reading →

The Voice of the Voiceless: PWPA President Speaks on Religious Freedom

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

PWPA President Speaks on Religious Freedom 

On December 27, 2022, the PWPA President, Dr. Frank Kaufmann, spoke at the Universal Peace Federation sponsored event, The Voice of the Voiceless: Responsibility of the Media to Defend Religious Freedom. Dr. Kaufmann gave a brief presentation on Religious Illiteracy and Religious Freedom.

Mass communication media is given two great responsibilities. They are (1) to relentlessly fight for freedom of the press in places where it does not exist and (2) to demand the strictly ethical exercise of that freedom by their colleagues in places where it does exist. The International Media Association for Peace, as an open forum in which journalists and scholars can discuss issues freely, promotes the defense of human rights, of which the most foundational is freedom of religion. Other speakers include Ms. Susanna Kaneer on “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a Church’s Campaign for its Application” and Mr. Luke Higuchi on “The Current Religious Freedom Crisis in Japan.”

 

Listen to Dr. Kaufmann’s speech here:

Watch the video here:

Continue reading →

PWPA President Speaks at the International Conference on the Family

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

PWPA President Speaks at the International Conference on the Family

On November 19, 2022, PWPA President, Dr. Frank Kaufmann, spoke at Universal Peace Federation and Professors World Peace Academy’s International Conference on the Family. Dr. Kaufmann gave a brief presentation on “Tradition, Youth, and New Family Values” at the Peace Embassy in Tirana, Albania.

Continue reading →

Scholars Interview Series with Dr. Gordon Anderson – A Manifesto for an Integral Society

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Dr. Gordon Anderson speaks about his latest publication, Integral Society, Social Institutions and Individual Sovereignty

In this interview, Dr. Gordon Anderson discusses his newly published work, “Integral Society, Social Institutions and Individual Sovereignty”. Dr. Anderson explains the proper levels and spheres for social institutions such that they strengthen human sovereinty and freedom. Special empahsis is placed on economic freedom that has been blocked by corrupt relationships between centralized banks and exploitive governments.

Continue reading →

PWPA President Speaks on the Future of the Metaverse

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

On September 15, 2022, Dr. Frank Kaufmann, President of PWPA, offered brief thoughts on the future of the Metaverse at an online event sponsored by the Pew Research Center and Elon University. Dr. Kaufmann was one of six experts invited to speak at the Twitter Spaces audio program, “Hype, Hope or Hell?: The Metaverse in 2040”, hosted by Lee Rainie and Janna Anderson.

Continue reading →

Scholars Interview with Dr. Bruce Tallman, Author of God’s Ecstatic Love

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Dr. Bruce Tallman speaks about his latest publication, God’s Ecstatic Love

Dr. Bruce Tallman is an author, spiritual director, and marriage coach. As a full-time spiritual director since 2002, Dr. Tallman has worked with laity and clergy from every Christian denomination. He has published two books for spiritual directors (one of them, Finding Seekers: How to Develop a Spiritual Direction Practice from Beginning to Full-Time Employment, is a bestseller in the field). He is passionate about his mission, which is to help people grow in wisdom and love. In this interview, we discuss his latest publication, God’s Ecstatic Love.

Please read more on Dr. Bruce Tallman here:

Continue reading →

Professors Interview Series: Dr. Craig Considine

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Dr. Craig Considine speaks on his new publication, People of the Book: Prophet Muhammad’s Encounters

Dr. Craig Considine is an Irish-Italian American award winning scholar of Islam, author, and professor at the prestigious Rice University. In this interview we talk about his new publication, People of the Book: Prophet Muhammad’s Encounters

Please read more on Dr. Craig Considine here:

About Craig Considine

Dr. Considine is an award winning professor and the best-selling author of The Humanity of Muhammad – A Christian View. Dr. Considine is recognized as an authority in interfaith dialogue. He has written seven books and multiple articles for the field of Christian-Muslim relations and Islamic studies. Dr. Considine’s opinions appear regularly in leading news and media outlets around the world. Considine also has experience in film-making, having directed the critically acclaimed documentary film Journey into America. He is a practicing Roman Catholic of Irish, Italian, Scottish, and English descent and a native of Needham, Massachusetts. Dr. Considine holds a PhD in sociology from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, an MSc Lond. in international relations from Royal Holloway, the University of London, and BA in international relations from American University in Washington, DC.

Continue reading →

Interview with Professor Alon Ben Meir on Israeli Palestinian Relations

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Dr. Alon Ben Meir is a professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute. Ben-Meir is an expert on Middle East and West Balkan affairs, international negotiations, and conflict resolution. In the past two decades, Ben-Meir has been directly involved in various backchannel negotiations involving Israel and its neighboring countries and Turkey.

We are most fortunate to have Professor Ben Meir for an interview on his forthcoming World Affairs article, “The Case for an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian Confederation, Why Now and How?”

Continue reading →

Dr. Gordon Anderson on the International Journal of World Peace (IJWP) and Institutional Values Transmission (IVT)

Professors World Peace Academy Posted on by

Dr. Gordon Anderson edited the International Journal of World Peace (IJWP) for 35 its 38 years, and was central to its success and production from the moment of its founding. We are fortunate to have had an important hour with Dr. Anderson, to learn of the history of the journal, and also to move in our conversation into Dr. Anderson’s continued work in the systematic study of institutions, and the preservation or loss of values and culture thereunto related.
Here is the podcast of our Interview with Dr. Anderson (Interview Transcript below)

Continue reading →