Mind Matters
Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
Latest Articles
Micro Softy 54: A Plane Problem for Aspiring Engineers
The senator is leaving Washington to avoid the governor and their planes are headed in opposite directions
Are Human Beings Machines? Surgeon and Historian Go Head-to-Head
At COSM 2025, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and Skeptic Magazine editor Michael Shermer faced off on some of the most critical questions of our lives
Straight Talk About AI From a Valley Tech Exec
Microsoft vice-president Uli Homann lays out what it can — and can’t — really do for you
Bonnassies, coauthor of French bestseller, interviewed on Humanize
The science world appears to be moving away from the assertive atheism of James D. Watson, who died earlier this month
Tortured, Contradictory: The Legacy of James Watson
A noxious atheist, Watson unwittingly pointed the way toward scientific evidence of a creator
How To Write a Time Travel Story That Keeps Making Sense, Part 1
Here in Part 5, I offer an approach that allows for time travel without obvious giant plot holes
U.K. Hospices Collapsing as Government Pushes Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide/euthanasia will surely be seen as a splendid way to save money by erasing expensive patients, even if not terminally ill
Current Science Is Sending Alarming Signals of a Declining System
Retractions have increased five-fold (and that's just the tip of the problem) while the Big Five science publishers continue to make huge profits
Neuroscience and Philosophy: Limits of Cutting-Edge Brain Science
Neuroscience topics like self-consciousness, social interaction, agency, and the binding problem sit at the intersection of science and philosophy
Home Ownership: Madness Over 30-Year Mortgages
It is tempting to put borrowing and investment decisions in separate mental buckets, but they are intimately related
Educating the Tech Workforce: A Powerhouse Panel
Former Arizona governor Doug Ducey introduced statewide school choice and since then, sixteen states have followed suit
German Identical Twins Receive Death on Demand
People Magazine seems eager to platform the idea of death on demand
George Gilder: Wafer Scale Tech Will Have Smartphone’s Impact
However, in his COSM 2025 fireside chat with bestselling author Andrew Mayne, he conceded that it is a disruptive technology and many are hesitant to make the leap
Animal Intelligence: What We Might Expect — and What Surprises Us
One risk with trying to put animal intelligence on a continuum with human intelligence is that it can result in apparently pointless controversies
Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind: Bridging the Gap
Computational neuroscientist Joseph Green tackles the gap in the current Mind Matters podcast
A Lack of Transparency Threatens AI — and the American Economy
Even the Wall Street Journal does not appear to understand the nature of the looming problems
Monday Micro Softy 53: Kicking In the Door
To solve this puzzle, you will need to sharpen your abductive reasoning skills
Scientist Cuts Ties with Top Journal Nature over Ideological Bias
Warnings about the ideological pollution of science journals have not convinced the funders or editors of these important publications to institute reform
Kids and Chatbots: How Dissenting Views Got Me Disinvited
As a lifelong software engineer, I am an insider on a topic like this and I know that their programming makes them unsuitable for children
Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor: Does the Soul Really Exist?
He offers evidence that helps explain why modern medicine tries to understand near-death experiences, not merely explain them away
Briefs
What if all that hate is just a few angry people with keyboards?
Google offers new way to check for AI deepfakes
Philosopher: Free will hypothesis survives test of predictions
Nvidia’s earnings call rattles “whole financial world” — but why?
If OpenAI fails, would the tech industry suffer?
The “Anthropocene” geological epoch is dead, as an idea
Researcher argues that chimpanzees show rationality too
Tech industry layoffs continue; AI’s role remains unclear
Researchers sometimes “add” copy just to get published
Why are there 350 different theories of consciousness?
Videos
Science Uprising 10: Asking the Impolite Questions About AI
Is It Really the End for Silicon Valley or Just a Reboot?
COSM 2021: Kai-Fu Lee Tries His Hand at Future Casting
