Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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Invisibility Isn’t Science Fiction; It’s Interesting Engineering

Things are visible only when light strikes them but light can sometimes be manipulated so as not to strike them, with remarkable results.
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transparent invisible person on the city street. ai generated
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Dune, Part Two: Paul Becomes a Hero — Very Reluctantly

Some departures from the book work better than others. The “reluctant hero” trope simplifies a complex political situation but at a cost
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desert landscape with sand being shaped into sharp dunes by the wind.
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Fine-Tuning of Universe Makes a Top Neuroscientist “Very Hopeful”

Allen Institute’s Christof Koch talks about the assumptions underlying his consciousness theory — which led many other neuroscientists to try to Cancel him
physics-or-mathematical-equations-on-a-universe-decorative-led-background-give-the-impression-of-interstellar-space-travel-stockpack-adobe-stock
Physics or mathematical equations on a universe decorative LED background give the impression of interstellar space travel.
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At Chronicle of Higher Ed: Critical Thinking Isn’t Just Chat

Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk test Big Tech’s chatbots for critical thinking skills before an academic audience — with sobering but often hilarious results
chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-conversational-chat-bot-by-open-ai-using-machine-learning-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence conversational chat bot by open ai using machine learning, Generative AI
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Is Our World, Post-1950, Really a Geological Epoch?

Some earth scientists lobby for calling the past 75 years the Anthropocene epoch, giving it equal importance with the 16-million-year Upper Jurassic
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Nuclear power plant.
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Grappling Honestly With Science’s Blind Spot

An astrophysicist, a theoretical physicist, and a philosopher all walk into a bar and say, “At the heart of science lies something we do not see that makes science possible” Um… yes!
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Healthy retina, illustration
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About the claim that chatbot Claude 3 showed self-awareness…

Has anyone noticed the resemblance between the conviction that an AI project thinks like a human and that extraterrestrials are visiting us?
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Robot, chat bot, android and digital evolution of robotics. Future processor development technologies. 3D illustration of quantum cyberspace. AI and global data
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Pink Dancing Hippos: Don’t Tell ChatGPT-4 Not to do Something

Can OpenAI fix this flaw in GPT4? Absolutely. Time will tell if they do or not.
isolated-childrens-toy-against-a-blue-texture-background-teddy-bear-from-childhood-an-old-pink-hippo-stockpack-adobe-stock
Isolated children's toy against a blue texture background, teddy bear from childhood, an old pink hippo
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If AI Speeds Up Science, Does It Risk Squashing Some Parts?

A Yale anthropologist and a Princeton psychologist warn of the dangers of overreliance on AI in science
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Doctor and robotics research diagnose Human brains scan generative ai
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How Is Intentionality Embedded in the Universe?

All efforts to extinguish intentionality and morality only serve to further establish their inescapable reality
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Tourists jumping off a large rock ledge in Amoudi Bay on Santorini Island in Greece.
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How Materialism Handicaps Us in Understanding AI’s Limits

Sabine Hossenfelder acknowledges AI’s limits, yet she is convinced that it will become conscious
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Robot hand displays blue digital interface, wearing blue suit and helmet.
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Dune Part Two Succeeds Brilliantly — But Dooms Plans for Part III

The difficulty is that the changes made for the film have warped the core story so much that it’s going to be nearly impossible to follow the source material from here on out.
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sandstorm in the desert. Generative AI,
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Wrestling with AI: Making More and Better Disciples

AI may have "knowledge," but it lacks wisdom.
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Artificial neuron in concept of artificial intelligence. Wall-shaped binary codes make transmission lines of pulses and/or information in an analogy to a microchip.
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