The Problem With Zero

It’s a fascination how zero poses huge problems for mathematicians but causes no problems for safety (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRRolKTlF6Q).

It’s fascinating how zero can mean many things for linguists (In football zero is ‘Nil’, in a telephone number its Oh, in decimals its ‘naught’ and in tennis its ‘love’).

But don’t worry in Safety zero only means one thing, no harm. Of course, this only means physical harm because we all know that as foundational to fallibility, all of us are harmed each day. Most of this harm cannot be seen, so we don’t need to count it in safety. Any psychological harm, social harm or social-psychological harm that is unconscious doesn’t need to be counted. Such is the great safety delusion (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/).

I came across this classic clip today of a robot hitting a human (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MjAXd5GCC9c). Here we have a robot clearly programmed to just run. It goes off course and hits a human but because it has no heart, skin, body, gut, Mind, feelings or emotions (and never can) it doesn’t stop and cannot stop to see if the human is OK. It’s a classic example of why all the projections of AI and so called ‘machine learning’ are utter nonsense.

It is only in fallibility (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/fallibility-risk-living-uncertainty/) that we can empathise, help and care. A robot and AI will never have the fallibility needed to care. Setting up machines to crunch data and regurgitate algorithms can never know what care is. AI can never know what heart knowledge is. AI can never be inspired by a dream to write a song or cry over that song.

So, don’t buy into all the propaganda about AI ‘taking over’, that’s why it’s called ‘artificial’, it’s not real in the sense that it can know real life. Similarly, it can never know ‘real risk’ (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/real-risk/) nor an ethic of care.

All of the nonsense that is paraded about projections of AI are premised on the delusion of the brain-as-computer. And all the research shows, the human brain and embodied being, is nothing like a computer. There will never be AI with a central nervous system made up of blood and Mind as an intercorporeal being that knows the harm and fallibility of living. Don’t believe the movies of the Matrix or Blade Runner, this is just fiction.

AI can never be conscious of its own being because as Roger Penrose rightly informs us; consciousness can never be computational https://youtu.be/hXgqik6HXc0?si=VH7H9oEFaQAqy99V). Being in conscious living needs an ecological Mind and soul.

So, back to zero, the yearning for perfection and the ideology or perfectionism. If you don’t know that zero is mathematically, linguistically and philosophically a delusion, you need some mental health counselling. The sooner you dump the zero delusion, the sooner you can get on with real living and properly facing the wicked problem of risk.

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Prof. Robert Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions

Latest posts by Prof. Robert Long (see all)

• Is There a Measure of Moral Harm - July 22, 2026
• Free Stuff from SPoR - July 22, 2026
• How Can Safety Cause Moral Injury and Harm? - July 20, 2026
• Trump Safety - July 20, 2026
• The Sin Bin and Blame - July 20, 2026

PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.