About us
# About Us
New York City Skeptics is an all-volunteer nonprofit community dedicated to science, critical thinking, skepticism, evidence-based reasoning, and scientific literacy.
If you're interested in skepticism, the scientific method, psychology, philosophy, logical reasoning, debunking pseudoscience, fact-checking, and separating evidence from misinformation, you'll find like-minded people here.
Our events explore topics such as:
- Critical thinking and cognitive biases
- Science and scientific discoveries
- Skepticism and skeptical inquiry
- Psychology and human behavior
- Medicine and evidence-based healthcare
- Extraordinary claims and extraordinary evidence
- Astrology, psychics, homeopathy, conspiracy theories, paranormal claims, and other forms of pseudoscience
- Media literacy and evaluating evidence
Whether you're a lifelong skeptic or simply curious about how to think more critically, you're welcome to join us. Our meetings are friendly, respectful, and open to everyone who values reasoned discussion.
To keep conversations enjoyable and focused, we generally avoid discussions centered on religion, partisan politics, and climate change.
Please RSVP early, some of our events have limited seating.
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About New York City Skeptics
For more information about our organization and other activities, visit www.nycskeptics.org.
Upcoming events
5
AI: existential danger or no big deal?
The Flame Diner, 893 9th Ave, New York, NY, USWelcome to “Skeptic Dinners,” a series of events facilitated by Prof. Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher and biologist at the City College of New York. The idea is similar to that of the Ancient Greek symposia: let’s get a small number of like-minded people together over drinks and food and discuss interesting subjects!
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So, is AI a great technology that will usher a new era of progress and prosperity for humanity, or is it going to kill us all?
Make up your mind by reading and discussing together two articles representing the opposing viewpoints, a skeptic technique going back to ancient Greece and Rome!
Suggested readings / viewing:
* Pausing AI Developments Isn't Enough. We Need
to Shut it All Down, by Eliezer Yudkowsky (available for free download as pdf here)* The case for AI doom isn't very convincing, by Timothy B. Lee (available for free download as pdf here)
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NOTE: Since these are dinner events at a restaurant, you are expected to consume some food. Also please treat your rsvp seriously and update it if you decide not to come. If you don’t and we end up with empty seats, you may be barred from some of the next meeting. Thanks for understanding!
10 attendees
Past events
448
