Mind Matters
Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
Latest Articles
Does Quantum Mechanics Help Us Make Sense of the Soul?
Quantum mechanics seems to be the game-changer that Albert Einstein (1879–1955) feared it would be. It is certain to liven up discussions about the soul
Does It Matter WHY a Chatbot Slanders You?
Google’s AI chatbot service blames users’ questions and unfixable software for the bot’s shocking defamation of a man’s character
And — No Surprise, Really — Now It’s WILD Animals’ Rights
Like many progressive activists, Michael Burrows is far less concerned with our welfare than that of animals. He even opposes conservation efforts because these involve human control
Skeptic Michael Shermer’s (Non)-Vision of the Soul
Responding to Michael Egnor at COSM 2025, he said that the soul is an explanation but not a good explanation for our relationship to our bodies
COSM 2025: Entanglement in Physics —What It Means for Materialism
Physics is sometimes weirder than we imagine or physicists can explain. It does not favor a tidy materialist explanation of our cosmos
New Allegations Claim Meta Dismissed Risks to Children
New complaints, same story: Meta cares more about business growth than protecting kids
Does Neuroscience Show That We Are Mere Biological Machines?
At COSM 2025, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor assembled his strongest evidence for no
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
Briefs
Physicist proposes new consciousness theory that explains NDEs
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
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
