Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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remote work at home hybrid work telecommuting teleconference work from anywhere remote office laptop computer woman businesswoman flex work distributed work webcam conference call coworkers teamwork
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 18, 2024
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Remote Work: Liberation or a Major Step Back?

Feeling disconnected or undervalued can lead to quiet quitting, data shows
Peter Biles
April 18, 2024
3

Articles and studies abound on the viability of remote work, particularly following the mass transformation of the white-collar workplace after 2020. While millennials and Gen-Z workers, fresh out of college, fled metro areas and moved online, whole office spaces found themselves empty. Office real estate workers continue to struggle leasing out their spaces to businesses, since so many employers now have a remote or hybrid work schedule. It is difficult to reach a conclusive stance on the pros and cons of remote work by reading the dozens of articles on the topic. Opinions vary so widely. Some praise the new shift towards remote work as a revolutionary step in the workforce. Others note that remote work is actually a step Read More ›

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New York City Skyline
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 17, 2024
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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Doc Ock and His Sentient AI Arms

Could AI ever control the human mind?
Peter Biles
April 17, 2024
3
Arts & Culture

It’s interesting that the Spider-Man universe (or multiverse, I guess) is studded with well-meaning villains. In my last movie review, we looked at Norman Osborn and his tragic transformation into the Green Goblin. What’s odd about his character is that he’s almost a father figure to Peter Parker throughout the film, offering support, guidance, wisdom. It’s the allure of a mysterious form of biotechnology and corporate pressure that sends him off the deep end. It isn’t so different with the iconic Dr. Octopus. An idealist set on inventing a new source of perpetual energy, Dr. Octavius is a friendly but ambitious scientist, who, like Osborn, takes Peter under his wing. The experiment to create a sustained fusion reaction, though, goes Read More ›

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Mind Burst
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post
Author
News
Date
April 17, 2024
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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Could Consciousness Have Evolved?

Michael Egnor takes a hard look at the evidence in this classic podcast episode.
News
April 17, 2024
1
Natural Intelligence

On a classic episode of ID the Future, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Bernardo Kastrup, a philosopher with a background in computer engineering, about consciousness, evolution, and intelligent design. Did consciousness evolve? What does the evidence suggest? And how do materialists deal with the seemingly immaterial reality that is consciousness?  Enjoy this guest episode from Mind Matters, a podcast of Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. Dig Deeper Cross-posted at Evolution News.

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Aerial photo of mix color of stream in to river
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post
Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
April 17, 2024
Categorized
Environment
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Utah Goes Up Against “Nature Rights”

Utah is the fourth state — the others are Ohio, Florida, and Idaho — restricting rights to the human realm where they belong.
Wesley J. Smith
April 17, 2024
3
Environment

A bit ago, I warned that environmental radicals were pushing to grant rights to the Great Salt Lake. Thankfully, legislators noticed and passed a bill prohibiting granting rights to any non-human aspects of nature. From H.B. 0249: 63G-31-102. Legal personhood restricted.Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a governmental entity may not grant legal personhood to, nor recognize legal personhood in:(1) artificial intelligence;(2) an inanimate object;(3) a body of water;(4) land;(5) real property;(6) atmospheric gases;(7) an astronomical object;(8) weather;(9) a plant;(10) a nonhuman animal; or(11) any other member of a taxonomic domain that is not a human being. There has been advocacy among environmentalists to grant rights to nature broadly understood and to each of these identified categories, hence the need for a detailed Read More ›

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High speed fiber optic internet concept
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post
Author
News
Date
April 16, 2024
Categorized
Technology
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Bob Metcalfe on Our Connected World

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards interviews Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet
News
April 16, 2024
1
Technology

The Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence is pleased to be able to share the videos from the 2023 COSM conference, now available on YouTube. This annual conference explores the status and the future of our era-defining technologies, from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to new developments in biotech. Today’s video features a conversation with Bob Metcalfe, a pioneer in the field of computer science and the inventor of Ethernet. Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards interviews Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and recipient of the prestigious Turing Award, about the predicted pathologies of the internet and the reversals associated with the rise of connectivity.

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Chatbots Callcenter
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
April 16, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Elon Musk: AI will be smarter than a human in 2025: Why he’s wrong

The superficial glibness of LLMs is a wonderful example of the adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Gary Smith
April 16, 2024
7
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
Based on extensive training on untold amounts of text, LLMs are able to repackage superficially compelling answers that they literally do not understand. Read More ›
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A group of people walking together through a bustling shopping mall. This image can be used to depict a busy shopping day or to illustrate consumerism and retail therapy.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 15, 2024
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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The Crisis of Identity That Tech Doesn’t Help

Consumerism works well but leaves us empty
Peter Biles
April 15, 2024
2
Arts & Culture

Writer and cultural commentator Aaron Renn wrote recently about the dissolution of identity in the United States, contending that if we don’t know who we are, we will never know what to do. Renn writes frequently on issues facing young men in America and the challenges of living well in the secular world. He writes, The reality is that a lot of people in top positions of our society act as if they want you living like Simba. They want porn available for you to watch. They want you betting on the big game on your phone. They want you focused on “experiences” and consumption, like hitting the latest hot travel destination or going to the new farm-to-table restaurant that Read More ›

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Comparison. Portrait of beautiful woman with problem and clean skin, aging and youth concept, beauty treatment
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post
Author
News
Date
April 15, 2024
Categorized
Biology, Technology
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Anti-Aging: Is it Possible or a Pipe Dream?

A brand-new video on the topic of anti-aging technologies from the 2023 COSM conference
News
April 15, 2024
1
Biology, Technology

The Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence is pleased to be able to share the videos from the 2023 COSM conference, now available on YouTube. This annual conference explores the status and the future of our era-defining technologies, from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to new developments in biotech. Today’s video features a discussion on anti-aging, and whether this is even a possibility. Matt Scholz, CEO of Oisin Biotechnologies, leads a discussion with Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, and Elena Sergeeva, Neuroscientist at Tufts and Harvard and co-founder of Tiamat Labs, about anti-aging biotechnologies — how genetic reprogramming of cells could negate the effects of aging and even allow a person to stay in perfect health indefinitely, essentially Read More ›

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space
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
April 13, 2024
Categorized
Science Fiction
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Spaceman: Along Came a Spider and Sat Down… Well, Maybe

The spider is an alien with a somewhat complex relationship to people and toilets
Gary Varner
April 13, 2024
7
Science Fiction
Adam Sandler gives a marvelous performance at a key point, but the script doesn’t give a specific moment that tells the audience what changed his mind. Read More ›
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artificial intelligence deepfake AI image of a woman mixed with robotic tech elements
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
April 13, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Politics
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Deep Fake Videos Can Upgrade Political Humiliation and Rule by Fear

AI human impersonation video technology promises rule by terror to degrees never before imagined
Richard W. Stevens
April 13, 2024
6
Artificial Intelligence, Politics
When propaganda is easily generated, millions fully embrace their inability to know the truth. They can’t so it doesn’t matter and never will. Read More ›
spidermen-stockpack-adobe-stock
SPIDERMEN
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 12, 2024
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism
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Green Goblin, the Hasty Transhumanist

A classic Marvel villain presents a picture of hurried science gone wrong
Peter Biles
April 12, 2024
3
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

“The product is certified ready for human testing.” I’m not quoting Elon Musk in relation to Neuralink. That’s the line from the fictional Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man movie, starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and the green maniac himself, Willem Dafoe. I’ve seen this movie dozens of times, so maybe it’s due to the weird fact that twenty-plus years after this film hit the scene, we now live in a world where big science organizations like Osborn’s Oscorp seem to be dealing with similar conflicts that ultimately produced the iconic Green Goblin. Not that Elon Musk or Sam Altman are going to start flying around on saucers and terrorize New York City. But they are eager to rush Read More ›

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Effektives arbeiten im Büro mit der KI, nicht gegen die KI
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
April 11, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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The AI Hype Machine Just Rolls On, Living on Exhaust

Even chatbot enthusiasts, are starting to admit that scaling up LLMs will not create genuine artificial intelligence
Gary Smith
April 11, 2024
6
Artificial Intelligence
Decades of geniuses trying to build computers that are as intelligent as they are have shown how truly remarkable our brains are—and how little we understand. Read More ›
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ai technology, robotic technology system, molecule of chemical, atom cell plexus and science, abstract futuristic universe cyber network server online, background illustration 3d rendering
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post
Author
News
Date
April 11, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Meta AI Scientist: AGI is a Pipe Dream

Human intelligence still can't be matched by a soulless algorithm
News
April 11, 2024
2
Artificial Intelligence

Predictions on AI’s ever-developing complexity have tech optimists counting the days until the machine replaces the human mind. Artificial general intelligence is the term they use to describe the point in which AI will officially overtake human intelligence. However, certain experts in the field, among them Robert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, protest the assumption. AI researcher and scientist Yann LeCun, the AI chief at Meta, said recently that the current AI systems are nowhere close to achieving human-like intelligence. LeCun said, “We’re easily fooled into thinking they are intelligent because of their fluency with language, but really, their understanding of reality is very superficial,” he said. “They’re useful, there’s no question about that. But on the Read More ›

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kid with apple on head
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
April 10, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Military
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How Could Intelligent Design Help Us In a Conflict?

Well, what would happen if Daffy Duck teams up with Marvin the Martian?
Eric Holloway
April 10, 2024
4
Artificial Intelligence, Military

In war, the goal is to eliminate a threat as quickly as possible, given available resources. We try to hit the center of a target with the fewest arrows. A key mathematical concept of intelligent design, active information, captures this dilemma. It also helps us understand the role of artificial intelligence might play in wartime. Active information Active information is the difference between two sources of information. Picture archers shooting at a target: 1. Endogenous information: What is the size of the target? And how difficult is the target to hit? It is the difference between hitting a squirrel and hitting the moon. 2. Exogenous information: How skilled the archer is who is firing the arrows? What difference does the Read More ›

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post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
April 9, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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COSM 2023 Now on YouTube!

COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks.
Caitlin Cory
April 9, 2024
3
Artificial Intelligence

You can now watch the 2023 COSM Technology Summit on YouTube. If you weren’t able to attend, or perhaps you want to revisit some of your favorite speakers, we are now releasing the second tranche of videos for your enjoyment. Click here to go to the COSM 2023 Playlist on YouTube! COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks. Stephen Wolfram spoke about his efforts to make the world more computable so that computers can help us understand the world. Afterward, George Gilder and Bob Metcalfe joined him in a fascinating discussion about Turing machines, neural networks, and AI-driven language models. A panel featuring William Dembski, Robert Marks, and George Montanez offered Read More ›

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Front view, Capitol dome building at night, Washington DC, USA. Illuminated Home of Congress and Capitol Hill. Artificial Intelligence concept, hologram. AI, machine learning, neural network, robotics
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 9, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

The AI Bandwagon & Biden’s Executive Order

There are dangers and AI mitigation is needed. The question, though, is how .
Robert J. Marks
April 9, 2024
7
Artificial Intelligence

On Oct 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. A follow-up  OMB Policy for management of AI was announced on March 28, 2024. Swallowing AI hype, the AI directive kills a fly with grenade just in case there are other flies nearby. AI remains an exciting often mind-blowing technology, but hyped futuristic depictions of AI in The Terminator and The Matrix are unrealizable science fiction. Unlike humans,  AI will never understand what it is doing, be creative or experience qualia. AI is a tool. Like electricity or thermonuclear energy, it can be used for good or evil. Or can be the source of unforeseen accidents ranging from frayed house wiring to Chernobyl. Read More ›

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Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and modern computer technologies concepts. Business, Technology, Internet and network concept.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 9, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Is Sam Altman Losing Popularity?

People who know Altman are getting tired of his antics
News
April 9, 2024
2
Artificial Intelligence

In November of 2023, just a year after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Sam Altman was ousted from his post as CEO. Days later, he waltzed back in and retook the throne, snagging a new board in the process. Even though the talk of the drama has died down since then, with other issues, like the 2024 election, taking center stage, it’s still worth wondering why all that happened in the first place. According to Insider and Gizmodo, people familiar with Altman worry that he’s more in it for himself than for the good of humanity. Altman often uses grandiose rhetoric on how AI will enhance and perhaps even define the humanity of the future. (In a good way, of Read More ›

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Big brother is watching you. Digital spy concept. Based on Generative AI
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post
Author
William A. Dembski
Date
April 8, 2024
Categorized
Ethics
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Orwell’s Cold Dystopia is Closer Than We Think

When we speak lies as truth, tyrants come marching in
William A. Dembski
April 8, 2024
23
Ethics

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. [Winston’s] heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him… And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right. The obvious, the silly, and the true had got to be defended. Truisms are true, hold on to that! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth’s center. With the feeling that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote: Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. GEORGE ORWELL, 1984 Read More ›

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Man praying on his knees against large smartphone
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 8, 2024
Categorized
Addiction
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David Foster Wallace: If Screens Are Your Main Media Diet, You’re Going to Die

The novelist warned about the pitfalls of the online life
Peter Biles
April 8, 2024
2
Addiction

“If we ate like this all the time, what would be wrong with that?” So asks David Foster Wallace, compellingly played by Jason Segel, in the 2015 film The End of the Tour. Wallace is in the car with a Rolling Stone reporter, David Lipsky, cramming down sweets from a gas station when he says that. After Lipsky quips back about obesity, Wallace says, “It has none of the substance of real food, but it’s real pleasurable.” The End of the Tour is set in 1996 shortly after Wallace’s gargantuan novel Infinite Jest hit the literary scene and impressed the nation with its length, wit, tragedy, and insight. A massive book about loneliness, Infinite Jest takes place in a semi-futuristic Read More ›

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Soldier on top of the mountain with the Israeli flag
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 7, 2024
Categorized
Military
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Cyberwarfare in the Israeli War

Cyberwarfare is the new arms race where opponents try to outdo each other using computer technology
Robert J. Marks
April 7, 2024
2
Military

Cyberwarfare is the new arms race where opponents try to outdo each other using computer technology. For example, some missiles are guided by the GPS I use daily and take for granted. Israel’s cybersecurity infrastructure has activated nationwide GPS jamming. The jamming seeks to disrupt drones and GPS-guided missiles aimed at the country.   Nowhere is GPS jamming more concentrated than in the Middle East. HERE is a map of areas around the world where GPS is disrupted. Click and drag to rotate the globe. In developing weapons in the cyberwarfare back and forth, the United States remains aware of dependency on easily disreputable technology like GPS. If GPS is disrupted, what technology can take its place? One approach is Read More ›