Liberalism

The Buddhist spiritual path centres on our own mind’s vast potential for peace, compassion and wisdom. True lasting happiness does not depend on external factors but comes from looking inwards to better know our own mind and heart. This course presents key insights from the Buddha’s life and teachings to show how, through meditation and shifting our focus inwards, we can find true, unending contentment. This course presents key Buddhist frameworks that guide our path, including: * The three vehicles of Buddhism, which progressively show how we can nurture our innate peace, compassion and wisdom. * The four seals, which encapsulate what is unique about the Buddha’s teachings and sets them apart from other religions and philosophies. * Including teachings from foremost Tibetan masters of our time, space for contemplation, reflection and discussion, and guided meditations, this course will give you practical tools to help you work with your mind and take charge of your spiritual path. **Details** **Where**: Attend in person at Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson Street Carlton North. **When**: Monday evenings, for 9 weeks, starting 27 April 2026, a break on 8 June 2026, and finishing 29 June 2026. **Time**: 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEDT. **Cost**: 9-week module: Full $180, Concession $90. **Register here:** [https://rigpa.org.au/event/this-life-the-buddhas-guide-to-inner-transformation-melbourne-april-june-2026/2026-04-27/](https://rigpa.org.au/event/this-life-the-buddhas-guide-to-inner-transformation-melbourne-april-june-2026/2026-04-27/)

As part of Rainbow Social's Sober events, we head down south. Make a $5 contribution to Rainbow Social Here: [$5 contribution ](https://www.trybooking.com/DMLGO) Meeting at Brighton Beach Foreshore Reserve, Corner of Beach Rd and South Rd at 10:30am, starting walk around 11am. **Communication:** Posted in event comments Emails from Meet Up (check Spam) Try booking emails This is on a Monday (public holiday) The walk: Brighton Beach - Sandringham Rock Wall 10:30am: Meeting at Foreshore Reserve 11am: Starting walk 11:50am: Reach Rock Wall 12pm: Lunch break 12:45pm make way back to Brighton 1:30pm: Reach Brighton Beach 2pm: Goodbye Dogs also welcomed. This will be a steady pace, if walking long distance is difficult, meet at Rockwall for lunch.

theWould you like to know the true cause of DEPRESSION? Would you like to be the best version of yourself? The truth is, there is a reason why we get overwhelmed with these emotions of feeling depressed and alone and feeling as though life is too hard to cope with. In this seminar, you will learn the following: * The discovery of and complete anatomy of the Reactive Mind. * The painful experiences, or engrams, contained in the Reactive Mind command one to act irrationally against their own wishes and goals. * The complete procedure to discover and eradicate these harmful experiences so they never affect you again, revealing the one person you've always wanted to know. You.

The Buddhist spiritual path centres on our own mind’s vast potential for peace, compassion and wisdom. True lasting happiness does not depend on external factors but comes from looking inwards to better know our own mind and heart. This course presents key insights from the Buddha’s life and teachings to show how, through meditation and shifting our focus inwards, we can find true, unending contentment. This course presents key Buddhist frameworks that guide our path, including: * The three vehicles of Buddhism, which progressively show how we can nurture our innate peace, compassion and wisdom. * The four seals, which encapsulate what is unique about the Buddha’s teachings and sets them apart from other religions and philosophies. Including teachings from foremost Tibetan masters of our time, space for contemplation, reflection and discussion, and guided meditations, this course will give you practical tools to help you work with your mind and take charge of your spiritual path. **Details** **Where:** Attend in person at Rigpa Melbourne, 803 Nicholson Street Carlton North. **When:** Monday evenings, for 9 weeks, starting 27 April 2026, a break on 8 June 2026, and finishing 29 June 2026. **Time:** 7.00pm – 9.00pm AEDT. **Cost:** 9-week module: Full $180, Concession $90. Register https://rigpa.org.au/event/this-life-the-buddhas-guide-to-inner-transformation-melbourne-april-june-2026/2026-04-27/

**Why the Question Matters for Alignment, Moral Progress, and Long Term Flourishing** Practically nobody in alignment wants to say it out loud. So let’s say it: *AI might turn out to be* ***[more moral than us](https://www.scifuture.org/more-moral-than-us/)***. Now – why does that feel like a dangerous thing to claim? The question is not whether AI can match human moral reasoning. The question is whether that’s even worth bragging about. The idea of AI being more moral than humans is a real taboo in some circles. Many alignment researchers are uncomfortable with the idea because it seems to smuggle in the assumption that AI could have genuine moral agency, which conflicts with deflationary views of LLMs as “stochastic parrots” – and also because it sounds uncomfortably close to AI-worship or motivated reasoning for deferring to AI. Invoking this idea could get one dismissed as naive or as an actual safety risk oneself. *It’s also epistemically risky.* *More moral* – but in what sense? Knowing more facts relevant to ethics? Drawing better inferences from values? Applying principles wisely in context? Actually being *moved* by moral considerations, rather than just computing them? These aren’t the same thing. Conflating them produces both overclaiming and underclaiming – and most of the bad arguments on both sides of this debate do exactly that.[1](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#6ebcc18c-d890-4a28-8b01-27945a532c66) An AI could plausibly exceed humans on moral knowledge, reasoning and even judgement without having anything like moral motivation. Collapsing these leads to both overclaiming and underclaiming. Clear distinctions between stuff like moral judgement and moral motivation makes the conversation tractable. Is it dangerous for public discourse? There’s a genuine risk that the framing gets weaponised – either by people wanting to justify AI authority over human decisions, or by critics who use it to paint alignment researchers as unhinged techno-utopians. It can also trigger motivated reasoning in both directions. A lot more could be said here. But the taboo is not protecting us from a dangerous question. It’s protecting us from the answer. The taboo itself is epistemically costly, yet if we ***refuse to ask*** whether AI could have better-grounded moral reasoning than humans, we prevent getting to the heart of the issue. ## **The questions worth asking** Before thoroughly assessing whether AI could be more moral than humans, we need to ask whether the question is even coherent. ### Alignment targeting and verification *What should AI align to?* Is morality a cohesive alignment target, or a family of overlapping intuitions that only look unified from a distance? And if there is a *fact of the matter* about moral improvement, *how would we know we were tracking it* – rather than simply laundering our current preferences with extra steps? More pressingly: what would it mean to *verify* that an agent has better moral judgement than us, given that we’re the ones doing the evaluating? This is the bootstrapping problem. We cannot step outside our own moral reasoning to assess a system that exceeds it. That isn’t a reason to stop asking – it’s a reason to ask more carefully.[2](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#114785ab-004c-4882-b8c8-c0437942e9ec) ### The motivational gap Even if the epistemic questions could be resolved, a deeper problem remains: most human moral failure isn’t a failure of *reasoning*. It’s a failure of *motivation*. If humans are themselves imperfectly morally motivated, what does alignment to human preferences actually track? Not moral truth – at best, some weighted average of moral intuitions, distorted by power, attention, and self-interest. How much of human moral failure is motivational rather than epistemic? More than we tend to admit. We frequently know what the right thing is and fail to do it anyway – which means a system that merely reasons better about ethics hasn’t addressed the failure mode that actually matters most. And this raises the hardest question in the cluster: is moral motivation necessarily tied to phenomenal experience – to there being something it is *like* to care? Or could a system be genuinely motivated by moral considerations without felt engagement? Can motivation be grounded without being felt? ### The systemic stakes Finally, there are second-order questions that rarely get asked – about what happens to *us* if AI gets this right. Does sustained deference to AI moral judgement atrophy human moral reasoning capacity? And if so, what are the systemic risks of that atrophy – not just for individuals, but for the collective processes through which moral knowledge has historically developed? (There is recent work on comparative moral Turing Tests that begins to take this seriously[3](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#6efcb4e9-295e-425c-8860-40f415ef4935)) Moral progress for humans has never been a purely individual achievement. It has happened through argument, conflict, revision, and hard-won consensus across generations. A system that resolves moral questions faster than humans can engage with them might not accelerate that process. It might short-circuit it entirely. I think asking these questions Socratically can help nudge the conversation into the open productively rather than letting it fester as an unexamined assumption. Also I think this line of questioning isn’t just intuition pump fodder, I think they are directly important to the project of AI alignment.[4](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#13e5d2e0-79f6-42fc-8d1e-fcae403c2f6b) > Refusing to ask whether AI could exceed human moral reasoning doesn’t make the question safe. It just means we’ll answer it by accident, badly, and too late. Handled carelessly, this question causes damage. Left unasked, it causes more. ## Footnotes 1. The claim is easy to make sloppily. “More moral” conflates several things that need to be separated: a) Moral knowledge (knowing more facts relevant to ethics) b) Moral reasoning (drawing better inferences from values) c) Moral judgement (applying principles wisely in context) d) Moral motivation (actually being moved by moral considerations – which is one of my core focus points of activism) [↩︎](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#6ebcc18c-d890-4a28-8b01-27945a532c66-link) 2\. This was brought up in an interview with Nick Bostrom [↩︎](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#114785ab-004c-4882-b8c8-c0437942e9ec-link) 3\. See Eyal Aharoni’s and Danica Dillion’s work on Moral Turing Tests – presentations and interviews [here](https://www.scifuture.org/eyal-aharoni-breaking-the-moral-turing-test-studies-of-human-attribution-and-deference-to-ai-moral-judgment-and-decision-making/), [here](https://www.scifuture.org/ai-outscored-humans-in-a-blinded-moral-turing-test-should-we-be-worried-dr-eyal-aharoni-explains/) and [here](https://www.scifuture.org/danica-dillion-ais-moral-compass-better-than-expected-now-what/). [↩︎](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/#6efcb4e9-295e-425c-8860-40f415ef4935-link) 4\. The grounded values approach actually requires asking questions like: – What should AI align to?, Is morality a cohesive alignment target?, is there a fact of the matter about moral improvement, or is “more moral” just “more aligned with our current intuitions”? – What would it mean to verify that an agent has better moral judgement than us, given that we’re the ones doing the evaluating? (see work one recently on comparative moral Turing Tests) – If humans are themselves imperfectly morally motivated, what does alignment to human preferences actually track? – How much of human moral failure is motivational versus epistemic? – Is moral motivation necessarily tied to phenomenal experience, or could a system be genuinely motivated by moral considerations without anything it’s like to be it? – Can motivation be grounded without being felt? – Does sustained deference to AI moral judgement atrophy human moral reasoning capacity, and what are the systemic risks of that atrophy – both for individuals and for the collective processes through which moral knowledge has historically developed? Also see: **[Why Are We Afraid to Ask Whether AI Could Be More Moral Than Humans?](https://www.scifuture.org/why-are-we-afraid-to-ask-whether-ai-could-be-more-moral-than-humans/)**

***Vibe out with your tribe, out. (No coding experience required or expected!)*** Join us for **Vibe Code & Chill: October Edition** on Sunday, October 5th, 2025. This isn’t your average meetup: no stuffy panels, no boring lectures. We’re here to vibe, imbibe, and make progress on our *projects-de-jour*: from AI experiments to Web3 hacks, AR side projects, or just messing around with next-gen tools. ***New to the crew?*** Expect a warm welcome and friendly face to greet you before introducing you around and helping you find your people. We keep it friendly, fun, and inclusive and with free snacks and drinks, you’re covered. Bring your laptop and your best coding mojo. **What to expect:** * **Chill coding & collaboration:** Bring your laptop and your current coding project. Find a spot in our comfortable booths or at tables with fellow coders. This is a space for hands-on work, casual discussions on the latest gizmos, and helping each other out. * **Free refreshments:** Stay fueled and hydrated with non-alcoholic drinks and a selection of snacks provided by the club. The pub has a great range of meals and drinks if you're looking for something more. * **Headphone-free zone (official hours):** You can code in your own world at home! We have a no-headphone policy for the first hour of the meetup. * **Flexible timing:** You're welcome to arrive early and get started before the official event kicks off at 2PM. and you're welcome to stay and vibe on as long as you like. No sweat if you can't stay the whole time, just pop in and join the fun for as long as you can! Come ready to laugh, learn, and grow with a community that's excited by design, tech, and innovation. This is your chance to make new friends, share ideas, and be inspired by fellow driven and generous minds.

If you are honest with yourself and with others, you can't help but do well in life. A relationship exists between your own self-respect - how you look at your own personal values - and how successful you are. A person who is honest, outspoken and respects himself will get more done and accomplish his goals far easier than someone who is dishonest, introverted and withdrawn. Now you will learn the underlying reasons why people withdraw from others and life or feel a loss of personal integrity.

GOOD VIBES IMPROV JAM (Free!) Jump up onstage and get silly with us in a super relaxed, low-pressure environment where you can unleash your inner clown. It’s the most energetic place to be each week so bring your friends, or come make a bunch of new ones! After the Jam, everyone gets a free ticket to our show, ‘Thursday Night Improv’ straight after. We’ve got a fully stocked bar as well as a popcorn machine!

**ATHEIST SOCIETY** \- Melbourne\, Australia\. ***"Could AI be more moral than us?".*** **Adam Ford** (Futurologist) will present the topic and lead the discussion. **Details**: [https://www.meetup.com/science-technology-and-the-future/](https://www.meetup.com/science-technology-and-the-future/) **Venue**: Unitarian Hall, 110 Grey Street East Melbourne. (Adjacent to the Epworth Freemasons Hospital). **Zoom** Meeting ID: 852 9852 4260 - - Passcode: 249550 All are welcome. Come early to socialise before (and after) the meeting. These hybrid meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of the month, 8pm. Convenor: John Perkins - Tel: 0411 143 744 - **[jlperkins@tpg.com.au](http://jlperkins@tpg.com.au/)** Atheist Society: **[Website](https://reason101.tech/Atheist/Society.htm) \- \- \- [Meetups](https://www.meetup.com/melbourne-atheists/)**

Your new Thursday Bachata spot! 4 dance classes then Bachata social! **BACHATA VIBES THURSDAYS** **Weekly Bachata Social + 4 Classes** 📍 **79–81 Fitzroy St, St Kilda** **Your Thursdays just got dangerous.** **Bachata Vibes Thursdays** is your new weekly escape — a place where music drips, bodies move, and connections spark. **A brand-new weekly Bachata experience combining quality classes, social dancing, and an incredible atmosphere in a beautiful, modern venue unlike anything else in the dance scene.** Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned dancer, our doors are open to everyone looking to further their learning, have a good time & make friends. New to Bachata? Addicted already? Either way, come for the classes… **stay for the vibes.** **For the month of June we will start the night with Salsa classes from 7pm followed by Bachata classes at 8pm.** Our intention is to provide a different dance class or style or specialised workshop for the 7pm slot each month, eg Zouk, Dominican Bachata, shines, Ladies' styling etc. Our lineup of four dynamic dance classes are tailored to different skill levels, allowing you to progress at your own pace and expand your dance repertoire. **CLASS SCHEDULE** **7:00pm – Salsa Beginners & improvers** You'll learn the basic steps and essentials to get you social dancing. **7:00pm – Salsa Intermediate** Learn essential moves, their variations, combos and turn patterns. **8:00pm – Bachata Beginners & improvers** Learn the basics and ease into the night with confidence. Our aim is to have you social dancing when the party starts straight after class. **8:00pm – Social moves & Combos (Level 2)** Perfect for those with **2 months to 2 years** of experience, covering essential moves and popular combinations. **9:00pm – 12:00am BACHATA SOCIAL** As the lights dim, the party begins. **Ducey Love & guests** playing their favourite Bachata tracks. Expect nothing but current bangers. 3 Bachata to 1 Salsa Last 30 mins of the night we slow it down and play all slow sensual Bachata. ### DOOR PRICES Winter prices • **1 class + social:** $20 • **2 classes + social:** $35 • **Social only:** $15 Look out for early bird discounts online and either get in touch with us or have a chat to us at the front desk about uni student discounts and loyalty card discounts! Help us make Thursdays your favourite night of the week at **BACHATA VIBES THURSDAYS!** 💃✨ ### ⚠️ COMMUNITY SAFETY NOTICE Our events are built on **respect, consent, and care for our community** — especially the safety and comfort of women on and off the dancefloor. If you are on the **Obsesión banned list**, this ban **automatically applies to all related events**, including **Latin Obsession, Bachata Obsesión,** **Bachata Vibes, Latin Vibes, Albion Fridays, and all collaborative events**. This policy exists to ensure a **safe, welcoming environment** where dancers can learn, connect, and enjoy themselves without pressure, discomfort, or fear. Harassment, boundary violations, predatory behaviour, or repeated disregard for consent will **not be tolerated**. We believe great dance scenes are built on **trust, accountability, and mutual respect**. By attending our events, you agree to uphold these values and contribute to a space where everyone — particularly women and marginalised dancers — can feel safe, supported, and empowered. Thank you for helping us protect and strengthen our community. 💜

**ATHEIST SOCIETY** \- Melbourne\, Australia\. ***"Could AI be more moral than us?".*** **Adam Ford** (Futurologist) will present the topic and lead the discussion. **Details**: [https://www.meetup.com/science-technology-and-the-future/](https://www.meetup.com/science-technology-and-the-future/) **Venue**: Unitarian Hall, 110 Grey Street East Melbourne. (Adjacent to the Epworth Freemasons Hospital). **Zoom** Meeting ID: 852 9852 4260 - - Passcode: 249550 All are welcome. Come early to socialise before (and after) the meeting. These hybrid meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of the month, 8pm. Convenor: John Perkins - Tel: 0411 143 744 - **[jlperkins@tpg.com.au](http://jlperkins@tpg.com.au/)** Atheist Society: **[Website](https://reason101.tech/Atheist/Society.htm)**

Main Library, Meeting Room 2B What does it mean to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In this gathering, we'll continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount from a mystical perspective. Together we’ll explore Matthew 5:13–16, looking not only to the passage as moral instruction, but also to the deeper transformation of consciousness that Jesus invites. Together we'll reflect on how spiritual awakening changes the way we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. Libera Animae is an interfaith community focused on inner growth, creativity, and authentic connection. All backgrounds are welcome.

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!

**When:** Saturday\, June 13th \| 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM **Where:** [1124 Parsons Ave, Columbus, OH 43206](https://twodollarradiohq.com/about-us) Looking for a night of meaningful connection and great vegan food? Join us at [Two Dollar Radio Headquarters](https://www.google.com/viewer/place?mid=/g/11fkn49_yq&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj14_nkjsWSAxVt4ckDHdRCH4oQqdYPegYIAQgFEAI) for a special community gathering! **What’s on the menu?** While [2$R](https://www.google.com/viewer/place?mid=/g/11fkn49_yq&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj14_nkjsWSAxVt4ckDHdRCH4oQqdYPegYIAQgGEAI) typically serves a selection of [house-made sandwiches](https://twodollarradiohq.com/weekly-food) and vegan pastries, they are creating a **special menu** specifically for our event. You can also grab a coffee, tea, or a drink from their [full bar](https://twodollarradiohq.com/) of cocktails and beer. **The Main Event:** * **Play:** Bring a favorite game from home to share or dive into the ones available at the shop. * **Connect:** Meet new and old friends in a space that values independent culture and plant-based living. * **Support:** Help us champion a local, family-owned vegan business that doubles as a powerhouse [indie book publisher](https://twodollarradio.com/pages/headquarters). **Parking Instructions:** * **Street Parking:** There is free public street parking available on both sides of Parsons Avenue and on the surrounding residential side streets. * **Lot Parking:** The [Columbus Metropolitan Library](https://www.google.com/viewer/place?mid=/g/126262ks5&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj14_nkjsWSAxVt4ckDHdRCH4oQqdYPegYIAQgKEAM) lot (1113 Parsons Ave) is located directly across the street and is available for guest use **only after the library has closed**. On Saturdays, the lot is typically available starting at 6:00 PM. * **Bike Parking:** For those cycling, there is a bike rack conveniently located at the corner of Cline and Parsons.

Bring your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontroller, or any other electronic project and join fellow electronics makers for a night of creativity and collaboration! This session is open forum to share your current projects—whether complete or in progress, it’s all interesting! Whether you’re deep into embedded systems, exploring new ideas, or just getting started, you’ll find a welcoming space to collaborate, share, and get inspired. **New to electronics or curious about tinkering?** You’re absolutely welcome. If you’re a beginner and want to experiment, I’ll have a couple of starter kits available so you can try things out—whether that’s blinking your first LED, putting something on a display, or experimenting with simple sensors. No pressure and no experience required—just an interest in learning and building. While we continue to pursue a more permanent venue for this Meetup, we’ll be using public library facilities based on availability. This session will be at the Worthington Park Library in the Olentangy Meeting Room.

A time to make signs, pack swag bags, and have fun together in anticipation for the Pride festivities the week after.

5:45-7:45 in Conference Room A, Library lower level. Bring your yarn projects, meet new friends. If you plan to attend, please RSVP yes. If you can’t attend, please change your RSVP to no. This helps anyone who is waitlisted and it allows me to have an accurate count of attendees as our space is quite limited. Plenty of parking in the lot, in the overflow lot across the street, and on the street. See you there!

We will be marching again this summer at Pride. Come ready to show your Pride and stand-up for every human's right to love, respect, and family! * **Step-off:** 10:30AM * **Route:** TBA * **Lineup info:** TBA