Seattle Atheist Church

Is Buddhism a philosophy, a religion or a type of psychology? We’ll explore the diversity of many schools and denominations of Buddhism that developed in Asia, noting a large variety of practices and teachings over its 2,600 year history, shaped by isolated geographies more than imperial decrees or inquisitions. What is different, and what do the major branches have in common?

This week's speaker will be Topher.

After the talk, we'll have a group discussion to explore the ideas presented, and to share related thoughts, resources, and personal experiences.

This week is our next installment of Atheist YouTube! We'll be watching the video "Can we build AI without losing control over it? | Sam Harris" from the channel TED.

Here's the description they gave for this video:

Scared of superintelligent AI? You should be, says neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris -- and not just in some theoretical way. We're going to build superhuman machines, says Harris, but we haven't yet grappled with the problems associated with creating something that may treat us the way we treat ants.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews
Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector

After the talk, we'll have a group discussion to explore the ideas presented, and to share related thoughts, resources, and personal experiences.