• A Nature paper on the Tolman-Eichenbaum Machine (TEM) was highlighted as a computational model of the hippocampus that shares architectural similarities with transformers, suggesting transformers may be viewed as TEMs with softmax attention (links: Nature 2022, arXiv 2112.04035).

• Participants debated the ethics and practicality of a newly reported NIH-funded experiment that used genetically modified mosquitoes to deliver a vaccine to a human volunteer, with arguments ranging from “cost-saving” to comparisons with historical pharma practices of secondary infection.

• A discussion on Worldcoin’s biometric “Orb” identity system included Vitalik Buterin’s defense, a parody video, and a critique by Molly White; concerns centered on forced biometric registration, potential eye-gouging for UBI fraud, and the dystopian scenario of AI-driven identity farming of the deceased.

• Energy constraints on large-scale AI training were contrasted with biology: the group noted that GPU clusters can be throttled for efficiency, while floating nuclear plants were floated as a long-term power solution; second-hand K80 GPUs (~US$60 on eBay) were weighed against modern cards for running 33–65 B-parameter LLaMA models.

• A new open-source cell-free biocomputing operating system named “Trumpet” was shared (Nature Communications 2023), aimed at making robust, simple biological computing more accessible.

• The feasibility of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in a “long-timeline, no-AGI” future was questioned; participants argued that automation could make most human labor obsolete, leading to techno-feudalism unless nations restrict capital flight or shift from cash UBI to direct provisioning of essential goods.

• Structured argumentation was proposed as an alternative to democracy for policy-making, with skepticism voiced about scalability beyond small, highly engaged groups or well-funded adversaries.

• Practical food redistribution was discussed through the lens of volunteer-run food banks that rely on surplus from distributors and gardens, illustrating a low-overhead model of abundance-based logistics rather than traditional charity or state welfare.