Mind Matters | Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Latest Articles

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
November 2, 2026

Categorized
Mathematics, Probability

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties}

Monday Microsofty 103: The Achepocalypse-Now Virus

_{What effect do false positives have on the significance of test results?} _{Robert J. Marks
November 2, 2026

5

Mathematics, Probability}

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 1, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Cryptocurrency, Politics, Social Media, Technology

Tagged
AnotherNation (network state), Balaji Srinivasan, Marc Andreessen, Network State (book 2022), Praxis (network state), Sebastian Widmann, Taylor Lorenz, Zuzalu (network state)}

Some Tech Bros Want To Found States That Exist Mainly Online

_{Trust folks in Silicon Valley to dream big. Some are flirting with abandoning nations and starting a Network State (or States)} _{Denyse O'Leary
November 1, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Cryptocurrency, Politics, Social Media, Technology}

Global financial risk management, interconnected business sectors across countries, datadriven analysis of international trade risks, corporate decisionmaking technology.

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
November 1, 2026

Categorized
Media

Tagged
Communication, media, Psychology, Semiotics, symbols, Visuals}

The Power Semiotics Has on the Mind

_{Signs and symbols can influence our behaviour} _{Kenneth Francis
November 1, 2026

5

Media}

Film studio with cameras and movie equipment exposing edge of facade

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 31, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology

Tagged
Agner Fog, Featured, Glenn Reynolds, H. Allen Orr, Meme concept, Meme Machine (1999), Simon Bennett, Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002), Streisand effect, Susan Blackmore}

Whatever Happened to Dawkins’s Famous Darwinian “Memes”?

_{His materialist theory of information transmission was wildly popular but, after a couple of decades, it has disappeared, almost without a trace} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 31, 2026

5

Evolution, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology}

Portrait of angry cat on blue background. Generative AI

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
October 31, 2026

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
Disney, Frog in kettle, Lucas, Rushed, Star Wars, Sun}

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 19

_{Poe blew up the chamber keeping the sun contained inside the planet, so now the planet is about to explode} _{Gary Varner
October 31, 2026

6

Science Fiction}

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 30, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Computer Security, Crime, Data Privacy

Tagged
AI journalists, Coyotec, CYbersecurity breaches, Entravision, Jason Clinton, Jessica Lipsky, Liability and AI mishaps, Neverskilling, Richard Stevens, Rogue AI agents, Sam Altman, White House and AI}

Should We Trust the Tech Bros as Far as We Can Throw Them?

_{Or not quite that far? A dose of legal liability might make the discussion more realistic} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 30, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Computer Security, Crime, Data Privacy}

Business leader presenting ai governance framework hologram with risk management ethical standard and data privacy concept

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post

News
Date
October 30, 2026

Categorized
Addiction, Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models (LLMs)

Tagged
Andrew McDiarmid, Children and AI, David Klinghoffer, Sherry Turkle}

Kids and AI: Dad Wishes He’d Said No Even to the X-box

_{Increasing numbers of parents and administrators are beginning to see that more AI is not a benefit in education} _{News
October 30, 2026

3

Addiction, Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models (LLMs)}

Little caucasian preschool or primary school girl talking to futuristic digital overlay Artificial intelligence virtual reality chatbot technology as new way of learning concept

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
October 30, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
mind, Shadows, Spectres, Strange encounters}

The Strange Phenomenon of Imaginary Friends and Other Weird Things

_{Does the mind play tricks or do supernatural entities exist?} _{Kenneth Francis
October 30, 2026

5

Philosophy of Mind}

Brain mind way soul and hope concept art, illustration, surreal mystery artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea of success

^{Type
post

News
Date
October 29, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity, Work

Tagged
Casey Luskin, COSM 2026, Featured, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Nathan Jacobson, Robert J. Marks}

COSM 2026: Human Creativity Is Never Going To Be Obsolete

_{Our panelists, who understand both AI and creativity, look forward to explaining why} _{News
October 29, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity, Work}

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 28, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Genetics, Media, Science

Tagged
Genetic Book of the Dead (2024), Nathan Comfort, Philip Ball, Richard Dawkins, Selfish Gene (1976)}

Top Science Mags Are Backing Away From Dawkins’ Selfish Gene Why?

_{On the 50th anniversary, the book and its central thesis are met with brickbats, not bouquets} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 28, 2026

5

Evolution, Genetics, Media, Science}

Dynamic dna strands replicating and evolving inside a human cell with glowing gene effects

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
October 28, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Media, Psychology

Tagged
AI limitations, AI panic, AI threat narrative, Andrew Ng, Anthropomorphism, Clickbait, Emergentism, Hallucination (AI), Naturalism, Roger Penrose, Uncanny Valley}

When the AI Headlines Cry Wolf…

_{Alarming recent news warns us of possible AI catastrophes. How seriously should we take them?} _{Robert J. Marks
October 28, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Media, Psychology}

^{Type
post

Nathan Jacobson
Date
October 27, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity, Work

Tagged
COSM 2026:, Featured, Generative AI, Midjourney, Nathan Jacobson, Photoshop}

AI Empowers Creativity and Creates Work

_{I’d like to make a case, from the perspective of a creator and graphic designer, that the anxiety about generative AI is largely unwarranted} _{Nathan Jacobson
October 27, 2026

12

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity, Work}

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
October 27, 2026

Categorized
Sociology

Tagged
AI, Culture, god, Sex, Shaping, The Beatles}

God, The Beatles, and AI

_{Three Main Things That Shaped Western Civilization} _{Kenneth Francis
October 27, 2026

6

Sociology}

Close up of vinyl record on stack of records collection

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 26, 2026

Categorized
Media, Science

Tagged
Featured, Jerry Coyne, Michael Shermer, Nature (journal), Scientific American, Steven Pinker, Wokeness in science publishing}

Top Science Writers Are Trashing Scientific American?

_{Founded in 1845, SciAm was long synonymous with the scientific revolution. We sense ferment in the air} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 26, 2026

5

Media, Science}

LKW kippt Altpapier zur Wiederverwendung ab - Herstellung von neuem Papier in einer Papierfabrik // Truck tips waste paper for reuse - production of new paper in a paper mill

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
October 26, 2026

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties, Ronald Coase (1910‒2013)}

Monday Microsofty 102: News Is 80% Accurate 90% of the Time

_{But what does that really mean?} _{Robert J. Marks
October 26, 2026

5

Mathematics}

^{Type
post

News
Date
October 25, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion

Tagged
Bret Swanson, COSM 2026, Doug Smith, Featured, George Gilder, Gloo, Maria Deutscher, Mark Albertson, Pat Gelsinger, UnIntelligence (book 2026)}

COSM 2026: Can AI Help the Church? A CEO’s Surprising View

_{If you’ve used wi-fi or a USB stick, Pat Gelsinger has impacted your life. But he wants to impact it much more than that} _{News
October 25, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Religion}

Nighttime Connection: A celestial cityscape, bathed in the soft glow of distant stars, is illuminated by a glowing Wi-Fi signal, symbolizing the ever-present connectivity of modern life.

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 25, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
AI consciousness, INtelligence vs. consciousness, Nature (journal)}

Nature Article Denies AI Consciousness

_{Some scientists who study consciousness are pushing back against AI consciousness claims} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 25, 2026

4

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Artificial intelligence humanot at psychotherapist

^{Type
post

Terrell Clemmons
Date
October 25, 2026

Categorized
Religion

Tagged
Alister McGrath, Coming to Faith Through Dawkins (book 2023), Denis Alexander, Lawrence Krauss, New atheism decline, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Meyer}

Aggressive Atheism’s “Somewhat Different Delusion” Stalls Out

_{Imagine being such a poor evangelist for atheism that people credit you with helping them become Christians} _{Terrell Clemmons
October 25, 2026

7

Religion}

sacred baptism art, close-up religious art baptism in jordan river sunlight, dove as holy spirit, serene ambiance space for text on left

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
October 25, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Chaos, De Sade, Decadence, Enlightenment, France, Thinkers}

So Much for the ‘Great’ Minds of the Enlightenment

_{The mind’s ideas are what shapes the world, as France burns} _{Kenneth Francis
October 25, 2026

7

Philosophy of Mind}

A haunting view of a post-fire urban landscape.

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 24, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Paleontology, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Dave Coppedge, Grisly Folk (short story 1921), H. G. Wells (1866–1946), Neanderthal man, Neanderthal tools, Nicholas St. Fleur, Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)}

From the Rewrite Desk: Neanderthal Man Was Not a Stupid Brute

_{No, no. Not from OUR rewrite desk; from National Geographic's. But why this? Why now?} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 24, 2026

5

Evolution, Paleontology, Philosophy of Mind}

Change: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Is No Longer a Figure of Fun

COSM 2026: Meet the Guy Who Made the Internet Seamless

Is Theophobia the Weirdest Kind of Fear?

Latest Articles

Monday Microsofty 103: The Achepocalypse-Now Virus

The Power Semiotics Has on the Mind

Whatever Happened to Dawkins’s Famous Darwinian “Memes”?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 19

Should We Trust the Tech Bros as Far as We Can Throw Them?

Kids and AI: Dad Wishes He’d Said No Even to the X-box

The Strange Phenomenon of Imaginary Friends and Other Weird Things

COSM 2026: Human Creativity Is Never Going To Be Obsolete

Top Science Mags Are Backing Away From Dawkins’ Selfish Gene Why?

When the AI Headlines Cry Wolf…

AI Empowers Creativity and Creates Work

God, The Beatles, and AI

Top Science Writers Are Trashing Scientific American?

Monday Microsofty 102: News Is 80% Accurate 90% of the Time

COSM 2026: Can AI Help the Church? A CEO’s Surprising View

Nature Article Denies AI Consciousness

Aggressive Atheism’s “Somewhat Different Delusion” Stalls Out

So Much for the ‘Great’ Minds of the Enlightenment

From the Rewrite Desk: Neanderthal Man Was Not a Stupid Brute

Podcast

Walter Myers on Cloud Computing and Philosophy of Identity

Briefs

Are the companies that own AI a bigger threat than the tech?

News agency notes rise in machine-driven attacks on “secure” data

MIT psychologist: Beware the chatbot’s artificial empathy

Spotted! Indie Canadian news outlet sniffs out phantom AI “writer”

Parents enlist AI to monitor what goes on at school boards

Is AI really making us more productive? That’s unclear

Can machines reason? Depends on what you mean by “reason”

Nuclear doomsday mag says, AI Doomerism is bad science

How much can the AI companies get away with before karma kicks in?

Videos

Douthat Exits New York Times, Final Podcast Hosts Biohacker Bryan Johnson

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