Mind Matters
Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
Latest Articles
The Boy Who Proved Most Theories of Consciousness Wrong
He was unequivocally conscious — without a cerebral cortex and even without brain hemispheres
Pew: Rate of Decline in Christian Belief in U.S. Is Slowing
The decline may be in the process of reversing itself. News items tell the story
Information, Evolution & AI: A Conversation with William Dembski
In discussion with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, Dembski stresses that AI is a tool, not a mind. Treating it otherwise leads to addiction, manipulation, and cultural decline
Egypt To Expropriate Historic St. Catherine’s Monastery?
The fate of St. Catherine’s as a symbol is of greater importance than the fate of this particular holy site and its resident monks
NYT Journalist: The “Download” Model of Knowledge is Flawed
We learn by wrestling with ideas, by paying attention and making connections.
Michael Egnor: Science Offers Evidence of an Immaterial Mind
At the Knight and Rose show, he and co-author Denyse O’Leary talk about how split-brain surgeries, veridical near-death experiences, and terminal lucidity challenge materialist views of the mind.
Terminator Dark Fate: We Meet the Sender of the Mystery Texts
At this point in the story, our characters clash with Border Patrol — and discover a Terminator with a conscience
What Are My Recommendations for Reining in/Reforming Google?
Part 10: Here’s one thing: If Google claims Section 230 and DMCA protections but actively moderates or curates content, it is a publisher, not a neutral platform
The Skeptic, the Neuroscientist and the Neurosurgeon Walk Into a…
… most interesting discussion by all accounts. Skeptical science writer Michael Shermer hosted sometimes-controversial neuroscientist Christof Koch and Christian neurosurgeon Michael Egnor
Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 Can Deceive and Blackmail
Is AI getting out of control?
France: Assisted Suicide on the March
Right-to-die campaigners have welcomed the law, though describing it as relatively modest in scope.
1960s Chatbot Pioneer Was Right to Worry About What He’d Created
AI “companions” may be dumbing us down intellectually and emotionally
Philosopher George Gilder Talks About AI and Real Innovation
Host Wesley J. Smith asks, “Should we be excited or fearful, optimistic or quaking in our boots?”
LLMs Are Bad at Good Things, Good at Bad Things
LLMs may well become smarter than humans in the near future but not because these chatbots are becoming more intelligent
Part 2: The Fiction of Generalizable AI: How to Game the System
Progress toward real generalization, by any substantive measure, is nil. Perhaps we should reexamine the very concept of the “I” in AI
AI’s Contradictory Impact on Productivity: Squeezing a Balloon
AI appears to give support workers a big revolution in productivity. But it is somewhat like a child squeezing a balloon; the air pushes out someplace else
Monday Micro Softy 28: Beating the Odds of Winning Sweepstakes?
Does it make a difference when the sweepstakes hobbyist sends in her entries?
How the Physicalist Theory of Mind Blows Itself Up
If we examine its basic premise that the brain is a computer and the mind is software we come across a startling contradiction
No Mark Zuckerberg, AI ‘Friends’ Are Not Good for Mental Health
Zuckerberg's proposed AI friends will not alleviate the epidemic of loneliness and depression and I can tell you a few reasons why
The Immortal Mind: How Neuroscience Points Beyond Materialism
Andrew McDiarmid interviews neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the ways in which the mind is more than the brain
Briefs
Will white collar work really be obsolete any time soon?
Hawk learns to monitor traffic signals to catch urban prey
AI is booming in every way except in productivity
OpenAI announces that it will remain a non-profit — sort of
AI developer wants to try to translate animal languages
Study: Another crow first — crows can detect geometric shapes
Why chatbots commonly make so many false statements
Study: Neanderthals invented their own tech, didn’t copy others
Hero rat finds 109 landmines, breaking record
Insights into why chatbots hallucinate, spewing false information
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
