Latest Articles
No, Twitter Is Not the New Awful
It’s the Old Awful back for more. It’s the Town Without Pity we all tried to get away from
Can genes predict which birds can learn to talk?
A recent study disappointed researchers, who really hoped to learn why humans use language
If Computers Thought Like Fruit Flies, They Could Do More
But even with more sophisticated buzz, there remain "non-computable" things that a computer cannot be programmed to think
Consumers Were Not Buying Robots as Friends This Year
The market for drudgery busters remains strong. For dogs and pals, not so much
Can Big Data Help Make Your Book a Best Seller?
It’s more likely to help you picture your odds more clearly and clarify your goals
How is Human Language Different from Animal Signals?
What do we need from language that we cannot get from signals alone?
Science Confronts Credibility Issues?
Not to worry, prestigious researchers blame them on social media trolls and bots
That Plant Is Not a Cyborg
Or a robot. The MIT researcher's underlying idea is a good one but let’s not “plant” mistaken ideas
Quantum Randomness Gives Nature Free Will
Whether or not quantum randomness explains how our brains work, it may help us create unbreakable encryption codes
Dogs Are Not as Intelligent as Seals?
That doesn't sound right to you? Putting aside the hoopla around IQ tests for furries and flipperies, there is a serious science question about what “intelligence” really is
McDonald’s, Meet McPathogens
What happens when the drive to automate everything meets the Law of Unintended Consequences?
AI and the Future of Murder
If I kill you but upload your mind into an android, did I murder you or just modify you?
Who Does the Concept of “Intellectual Property” Really Benefit?
Was traditional copyright law meant to protect algorithms that decide people’s financial fate?
Quantity vs Quality: Can AI Help Scientists Produce Better Papers?
What happens when scientists simply can't read all their peers' papers and still find time for original research?
Has Neuroscience Disproved Thinking?
A philosopher argues that Nobel Prize-winning research shows that the theory of mind is just another illusion, useful for survival and success
Robert J. Marks Talks Computers with Michael Medved
Computers can magnify what we do, he says, and that's the real threat
Can Plants Be as Smart as Animals?
Seeking to thrive and grow, plants communicate extensively, without a mind or a brain
AI Winter Is Coming
Roughly every decade since the late 1960s has experienced a promising wave of AI that later crashed on real-world problems, leading to collapses in research funding.
Does Democracy Demand a War on Twitterbots?
A key concern is that citizens could be induced to vote for a demagogue by Twitterbots spreading fake news.
Human Consciousness May Not Be Computable
One model of consciousness would mean that conscious computers are a physical impossibility
Can the Air Force Create Thinking Planes?
Smart drones? They are working on general artificial intelligence (GAI)
Do Quasars Provide Evidence for Free Will?
Possibly. They certainly rule out experimenter interference.
Is AI Creating the Conditions for Marxist Revolution?
An analyst looks at the conditions then and now
Tom Stoppard’s New Play Tackles Consciousness Itself
Consciousness is a hard problem for science, principally because no one quite understands what makes us the subjects of our experiences.
Too Big to Fail Safe?
If artificial intelligence makes disastrous decisions from very complex calculations, will we still understand what went wrong?
AI Social Media Could Totally Manipulate You
Deep learning specialist: And the scary thing is, the AI needed is not especially advanced
How the KGB Found CIA Agents
An illustration of complex, specified information (CSI) in the world of foreign intelligence agencies
The Death of the Ad Agency Was Widely Publicized
But, like so many industries, advertising turned out to be weathering the digital storm after all
Yes, Even Lizards Can Be Smart
If you catch them at the right time. But can we give machines what the lizard has by nature?
Crows Can Be as Smart as Apes
But they have quite different brains. The intelligence doesn't seem to reside in the details of the mechanism
