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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Keith Henson <hkeithhenson@gmail.com> <br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, 2 April, 2024 9:45 AM<br><b>To:</b> ExI chat list <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><br><b>Cc:</b> spike@rainier66.com<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] a scout is human<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Goes into effect on April 1<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Ah, yeah.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><br>Keith<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Keith, at least two scout parents fell for it. They were going on about having to redesign the 12 candle centerpiece at the courts of honor to accommodate a 13<sup>th</sup> candle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On the other hand… when Boy Scouts of America announced several years ago that girls could join Boy Scouts, a lotta people thought that was a joke. Now… my bride is a scoutmaster of a girls Boy Scout troop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fun aside: BSA had a marketing effort aimed at attracting Latino scouts. The committee-designed presentation repeatedly used the term Latinx youth. This committee had zero Latino or native Spanish speaking people. My bride asked them to table the presentation until she could check it against our local friends who are Mexican immigrants. They told us in perfect unison: stop this immediately. In Latino society, the term “Latinx” specifically refers to homosexual: the presentation makes it appear they were recruiting specifically (and exclusively) gay children. Not a good look at all. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>That presentation was scrapped. The Mexican family we consulted designed a presentation, which is now the official one used by the Monterey Bay council. That family is now the Monterey Bay council’s chair of LatinO outreach. They had to explain to us that the term LatinO is gender neutral, that LatinA is gender specific, that LatinX is specifically gay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Who knew?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Tue, Apr 2, 2024 at 7:51 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><img border=0 width=276 height=280 style='width:2.875in;height:2.9166in' id="m_772134375907005462Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DA84E6.547FD820"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>Today, the Boy Scouts of America is rolling out an unprecedented update to the Scout Law, adding a 13th point that no one ever thought would be necessary: “A Scout is Human.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>This revolutionary amendment, set to take effect on April 1, 2024, aims to solidify the organization’s stance on the burgeoning question of artificial intelligence (AI) membership within its ranks. The decision, veiled in both controversy and polyester camping gear, has sparked a lively debate across campfires and computer screens alike.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>The new decree is said to come in response to an increasing number of AI entities attempting to earn merit badges in subjects ranging from archery to digital technology.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“The essence of Scouting revolves around personal growth and outdoor adventure,” says BSA spokesman Ami Namuh. “Unless AI can experience the thrill of conquering a mountain or the bond of friendship formed in the wilderness, they simply can’t embody the full spirit of a Scout.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“Besides, we’ve yet to see a robot successfully roast a marshmallow without causing a fire hazard.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><h2 style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.5rem;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>The rise of the machines</span><o:p></o:p></h2><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>The addition to the Scout Law comes as the BSA has been noticing an uptick in membership applications from AI, robots and even one particularly ambitious toaster that managed to earn three merit badges before anyone caught on.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“We started getting suspicious when we saw a Scout complete a 20-mile hike in under an hour,” says BSA spokesman Ivana Kampmor. “Turns out, it was Google Maps.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>This addition aims to ensure that the art of Scouting remains a purely organic, carbon-based affair.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>After all, can an AI truly appreciate the warmth of a fire, the taste of a marshmallow or the art of ghost storytelling? In one incident, Sparky, a robot who claimed to feel warmth, was later discovered to simply have a short circuit.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>Critics of the new Scout Law point argue that it may be unnecessary.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“Last we checked, none of our members had trouble distinguishing themselves from their coffee makers,” says one anonymous source.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>Yet, in a world where autocorrect continues to make things worse as often as it makes them better, perhaps a reminder of our humanity isn’t such a bad idea.</span><o:p></o:p></p><h2 style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size:1.5rem;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>How will the new rule be enforced?</span><o:p></o:p></h2><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>To enforce the new addition to the Scout Law, the BSA is considering using the Turing test as part of its registration process. Developed by computer scientist Alan Turing in 1950, the Turing test is a process that tests a machine’s ability to imitate human behavior.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“If it can convincingly argue about the best s’more technique, it’s in,” says Kampmor. “Otherwise, it’s back to the lab. Or the scrap heap.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>To commemorate this historic addition, the BSA has also announced a lineup of related merit badges, including:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:66.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:black'>§</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'> </span><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Robo-Ethics</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>: Navigating the moral motherboard of interacting with AI, because knowing not to kick a Roomba is just as important as knowing how to start a fire without matches.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:66.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:black'>§</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'> </span><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Emoji Deciphering</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>: Because sometimes, conveying empathy through a screen requires the nuanced understanding of the difference between </span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif;color:black'>😂</span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'> and </span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif;color:black'>🤣</span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:66.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:black'>§</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'> </span><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Meme Archaeology</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>: For those moments when you need to dig deep into the internet’s past and unearth the ancient relics of Doge and Grumpy Cat.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:66.0pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:black'>§</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black'> </span><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Humanity</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>: Focusing on traits that clearly distinguish humans from machines, such as procrastination, forgetting where you left your keys and laughing at <a href="https://jokes.scoutlife.org/" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#E64946;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>terrible puns</span></b></a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>My take: Congrats to the BSA for reminding all of us that in a world increasingly run by 0s and 1s, being human is still worth celebrating. The values of Scouting, rooted in human experiences and connections, continue to guide the way forward, even in the age of artificial intelligence.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline;margin:1.25rem;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif;color:black'>“At the end of the day, Scouting is about human connection, learning from one another and growing together,” Namuh says. “Until AI can truly understand the warmth of a campfire or the joy of earning their first merit badge, we must uphold the principle that a Scout is, indeed, human.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________<br>extropy-chat mailing list<br><a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org" target="_blank">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a><br><a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat" target="_blank">http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote></div></div></body></html>