Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Monthly Archive June 2022

croupier-hands-dealing-cards-on-t-blackjack-poker-table-gambling-table-with-cards-and-chips-stockpack-adobe-stock
Croupier hands dealing cards on t blackjack poker table, gambling table with cards and chips
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 23, 2022
Categorized
Probability
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Can You Really Be a Card Counter Without Resorting to Magic?

Math nerd (and successful gambler) Salvador Cordova explains how card counters improve their odds in blackjack
News
June 23, 2022
10
Probability

Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks is back withSalvador Cordova, mathematician, engineer — and gambling ace. In previous episodes, they discussed why most players lose and how “advantage players” — those who understand the game, the players, the management, and the mathematical probabilities — sometimes clean out casinos. Of course, they also sometimes get kicked out, as has happened to Cordova, and new rules and precautions ensue. And, doubtless, new ways are found around them. In this new podcast episode, “Can a good hustler count cards like a computer?”, Cordova says a bit more about how the pros improve their odds from pure chance by card counting. He made his living, inpart, that way from about 2005 through 2014. Read More ›

-stockpack-unsplash
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 23, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , ,

Ever Wish You Had Total Recall? Ask People Who Do…

Recall of every detail of one’s past works out better for some people than for others
News
June 23, 2022
7
Neuroscience
Just why some people can recall almost everything that happened to them is a mystery in neuroscience, in part because they are few in number. Read More ›
literary-fiction-police-inspector-investigate-crime-and-mystery-story-conceptual-idea-with-sherlock-holmes-detective-hat-smoking-pipe-retro-magnifying-glass-and-book-isolated-on-wood-table-top-stockpack-adobe-stock
Literary fiction, police inspector, investigate crime and mystery story conceptual idea with sherlock holmes detective hat, smoking pipe, retro magnifying glass and book isolated on wood table top
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2022
Categorized
Education, Philosophy
Tagged
, , ,

Researchers: Learning by Inference Beats Learning by Association

They found that seeing the patterns underlying events (inference) allowed test volunteers to make predictions about future events
News
June 22, 2022
4
Education, Philosophy

When we learn by association, we notice that some things occur together. For example, suppose three items are frequently seen together on a kitchen table — salt, ketchup, and vinegar. So we might learn to associate salt and vinegar with ketchup. But what, if any, is the relationship? When we infer information about the world around us, we don’t just associate items with each other. We see the pattern underlying them. By seeing the pattern in the group of condiments, we learn more: In this case, we infer that dinner will likely be fish and chips. If the group had been plum sauce, soya sauce, and Sriracha sauce, we would infer that fish and chips won’t be served this time; Read More ›

chatbot-assistant-ai-artificial-intelligence-stockpack-adobe-stock
Chatbot assistant, Ai Artificial Intelligence
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Prof: How We Know Google’s Chatbot LaMDA Is Not a “Self”

Carissa Véliz, an Oxford philosophy prof who studies AI, explains where Google engineer Blake Lemoine is getting things mixed up
News
June 22, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming

Say what you want about Blake “LaMDA is a person!” Lemoine. He has forced many people to help us clarify what AI — and in particular, a large language program — is and is not. For that, we should thank him. First, LaMDA is not conscious, sentient, not a self. And second, it’s not even a new idea, just a much bigger and more sophisticated version of a 1960s idea. Oxford philosophy prof Carissa Véliz, author of Privacy Is Power (2021) reminds us of philosopher Thomas Nagel’s seminal question, What is it like to be a bat? Nagel meant that, if an entity is be conscious or sentient, there must be something that it “is like” to be that entity. Read More ›

a-german-train-passes-a-train-station-stockpack-adobe-stock
a german train passes a train station
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
Tagged
, , ,

The “My Train Is Moving Too!” Illusion

Special neurons help us study the motion of others when we are moving too — but they can sometimes be fooled
News
June 22, 2022
3
Neuroscience

Do you recall that odd feeling when — sitting on a train that you know is standing still — you suddenly feel that it is moving (!)? It happens when you are watching a moving train right beside you and there is no other reference point. There’s a name for that: vection, “the sensation of movement of the body in space produced purely by visual stimulation.” It is a staple, of course, of IMAX films and virtual reality displays. And it’s a fairly easy illusion to produce: It turns out that vection can be induced with any sufficiently decent screen and some scenery. Experimenters can put make people believe they’re spinning in a circle, zipping back and forth, and even Read More ›

working-data-center-full-of-rack-servers-and-supercomputers-modern-telecommunications-artificial-intelligence-supercomputer-technology-concept3d-renderingconceptual-image-stockpack-adobe-stock
Working Data Center Full of Rack Servers and Supercomputers, Modern Telecommunications, Artificial Intelligence, Supercomputer Technology Concept.3d rendering,conceptual image.
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 21, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Human exceptionalism, Law, Natural Intelligence
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

Engineer: Failing To See His AI Program as a Person Is “Bigotry”

It’s not different, Lemoine implies, from the historical injustice of denying civil rights to human groups
Denyse O'Leary
June 21, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Human exceptionalism, Law, Natural Intelligence

Earlier this month, just in time for the release of Robert J. Marks’s book Non-Computable You, the story broke that, after investigation, Google dismissed a software engineer’s claim that the LaMDA AI chatbot really talked to him. Engineer Blake Lemoine, currently on leave, is now accusing Google of “bigotry” against the program. He has also accused Wired of misrepresenting the story. Wired reported that he had found an attorney for LaMDA but he claims that LaMDA itself asked him to find an attorney. He went on to say, I think every person is entitled to representation. And I’d like to highlight something. The entire argument that goes, “It sounds like a person but it’s not a real person” has been Read More ›

rain red umbrella
October walk in the rain, a young woman with a red umbrella in the autumn city park, autumn look
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 21, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, , ,

Computer Prof: You Are Not Computable and Here’s Why Not

In a new book, Baylor University’s Robert J. Marks punctures myths about the superhuman AI that some claim will soon replace us
News
June 21, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Philosophy of Mind

In a just-released book, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks II explains, as a computer engineering professor at Baylor University, why humans are unique and why artificial intelligence cannot replicate us: ”Emotions that make us human will never be duplicated by a machine,” says Marks. “These include compassion, love, empathy, elation, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, pleasure, pride, excitement, embarrassment, regret, jealousy, grief, hope, and faith. Properly defined, creativity, sentience, and understanding are also on the list. These and other non-algorithmic traits are evidence of non-computable you.” Discovery Institute, “Are Future Humans Doomed To Be Replaced By Artificial Intelligence?” at PR NewsWire (June 21, 2022) Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will (Discovery Institute Press, 2022) is Read More ›

new-strong-password-and-weak-ones-near-keyboard-stockpack-adobe-stock
New strong password and weak ones near keyboard.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 21, 2022
Categorized
Computer Security, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Forget Your Password? Apple Wants To End Them for Good But…

Do you want to give Apple your face- and fingerprints, maybe other “biometrics” down the road…?
News
June 21, 2022
5
Computer Security, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy

We’ve all heard the tales of woe about people whose password was “password” or “123456” or “BertJones”. Currently, Big Tech, tired of the flak and the fallout, is trying to end passwords. Here’s Apple’s approach: When Apple’s latest software updates for iPhones, iPads and Macs arrive this fall, they will include a way for users to log into various online accounts without entering passwords or relying on password managers to save and fill in credentials. The technology generates unique passkeys for each app or browser-based service in the place of characters. Those passkeys, a new type of identity authentication, prompt a scan of your face or fingerprints to log you in… Passkeys, like those from Apple, are made up of Read More ›

female-politician-talking-on-media-press-conference-public-relations-event-stockpack-adobe-stock
Female politician talking on media press conference, public relations, event
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 20, 2022
Categorized
Media, Philosophy, Religion, Science
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Why Science News Sucks — A Response to a Disgusted Physicist

There are reasons why science journalists can't usually be skeptical in the way that other journalists can. Here are some of them
Denyse O'Leary
June 20, 2022
7
Media, Philosophy, Religion, Science

In her usual forthright manner, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder asks, by blog post and Youtube video, “Why does science news suck so much? It’s hardly an original question but among her suggested answers are some thoughtful reflections, including 9. Don’t forget that science is fallible A lot of media coverage on science policy remembers that science is fallible only when it’s convenient for them. When they’ve proclaimed something as fact that later turns out to be wrong, then they’ll blame science. Because science is fallible. Facemasks? Yeah, well, we lacked the data. Alright. But that’d be more convincing if science news acknowledged that their information might be wrong in the first place. The population bomb? Peak oil? The new ice Read More ›

croupier-behind-gambling-table-in-a-casino-stockpack-adobe-stock
Croupier behind gambling table in a casino
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 20, 2022
Categorized
Mathematics, Probability
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Can Casinos Ban Customers Who Might Get TOO “Lucky”?

Sal Cordova was good enough at card counting that his photo was circulated and casino nabbed his driver’s licence…
News
June 20, 2022
15
Mathematics, Probability

In a recent podcast, “When the house can’t win the game, it will change the rules” (June 9, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his discussion with mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on the mathematics of gambling — who wins, who loses, and why. Last week, we looked at the struggle between the casino and the “advantage player” who knows very well how the system works and spots its weaknesses. But now, what about banning a suspiciously “lucky” would-be customer outright? Here’s what happened to Sal Cordova: https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-190-Sal-Cordova-Episode-2-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 11:10 min. A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Sal Cordova: One of the better things is that Read More ›

twisted-watch-face-representing-the-infinite-time-spiral-stockpack-adobe-stock
Twisted watch face representing the infinite time spiral
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 19, 2022
Categorized
Philosophy, Physics, Relationships
Tagged
, , , , , , , , ,

Can the Future Reach Back and Affect the Past?

Researchers say that only elementary particles can really time travel but there is another way…
News
June 19, 2022
7
Philosophy, Physics, Relationships

If the future influenced the past, that would be retrocausality. As Victor Bhaura puts it, Retrocausality means that, when an experimenter chooses the measurement setting with which to measure a particle, that decision can influence the properties of that particle (or another one) in the past, even before the experimenter made their choice. In other words, a decision made in the present can influence something in the past. Victor Bhaura, “Retrocausality — Future Influences Past Information Before Occurrence Of An Event” at Medium (June 8, 2022) Bhaura reminds us of a limerick called “Relativity” from 1923: There was a young lady named BrightWhose speed was far faster than light;She set out one dayIn a relative wayAnd returned on the previous Read More ›

colorful-background-made-of-fallen-autumn-leaves-stockpack-adobe-stock
Colorful background made of fallen autumn leaves.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 19, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Philosophy, Physics, Religion
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Did Carl Sagan Think the Universe Shows No Design?

Like Fred Hoyle, he seems to have thought it showed design — until that view became politically associated with religion
News
June 19, 2022
6
Biology, Philosophy, Physics, Religion

It’s a complicated story. At one time, a religious skeptic like astronomer Carl Sagan (1934–1996) could write: The universe was made on purpose, the circle said. In whatever galaxy you happen to find yourself, you take the circumference of a circle, divide it by its diameter, measure closely enough, and uncover a miracle — another circle, drawn kilometers downstream of the decimal point. There would be richer messages farther in. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or what you’re made of, or where you come from. As long as you live in this universe, and have a modest talent for mathematics, sooner or later you’ll find it. It’s already here. It’s inside everything. You don’t have to leave your Read More ›

Futuristic and sci-fi human android portrait with pcb metallic skin and binary code green background. AI, IT, technology, robotics, science, transhumanism 3D rendering illustration concepts.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 19, 2022
Categorized
Religion, Transhumanism
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , ,

Transhumanism as a Cool New Secular Religion

It includes such ventures as endowing plants — via genetic engineering — with the capacity for human-like thought and giving them rights…
News
June 19, 2022
12
Religion, Transhumanism

In a recent Living in the Solution podcast with otolaryngologist and broadcaster Elaina George at Liberty Talk radio, Wesley J. Smith, lawyer and host of the Humanize podcast at Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism tackled the question of “Can You be a Christian and Believe in Transhumanism?” (June 4, 2022) Transhumanism or H+, as it is sometimes called, is a movement to create immortality through new biotechnology or merger with artificial intelligence (AI). In the first portion of the podcast, which we covered last Sunday, they talked about the way being a human, a computer, or an animal is viewed by transhumanists as all just a choice now, thanks to new technology. In this portion, we look at the Read More ›

sci-fi-concept-image-illustration-unknown-origin-radio-signal-waves-coming-out-from-deep-cosmos-space-in-colorful-nebula-and-millions-stars-with-galaxies-universe-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Sci-fi concept image illustration. Unknown origin radio signal waves coming out from deep cosmos space in colorful nebula and millions stars with galaxies universe background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 18, 2022
Tagged
, , , ,

ET? China Claims To Have Picked Up Unusual Radio Signals…

Most expert sources are skeptical that it is ET but the signals are unusual and warrant investigation
News
June 18, 2022
5

The fact that the story appeared and then abruptly disappeared from a Chinese government-run science and technology website left many wondering. It seems to be back again: After launching the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, the “China Sky Eye” has made important progress. A few days ago, Professor Zhang Tongjie, chief scientist of the China Extraterrestrial Civilization Research Group of the Department of Astronomy and Extraterrestrial Civilization Research Group of Beijing Normal University, revealed that his team used the “Chinese Sky Eye” to discover several cases of possible technological traces and extraterrestrial civilizations from outside the earth. candidate signal. Zhang Tongjie said that these are several narrow-band electromagnetic signals different from the past, and the team is currently working on further Read More ›

celestial-digital-art-venus-planet-and-galaxies-in-outer-space-stockpack-adobe-stock
Celestial digital art, Venus planet and galaxies in outer space
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 18, 2022
Tagged
, , , , ,

New Analysis Casts Doubt on Claims for Life on Venus

The newer study agrees that the composition of Venus’s atmosphere is unusual but not that it is evidence for life.
News
June 18, 2022
3

A new study throws cold water (vapor?) on an earlier paper that suggested that aerial life forms could exist in Venus’s massive cloud cover: Researchers from the University of Cambridge used a combination of biochemistry and atmospheric chemistry to test the ‘life in the clouds’ hypothesis, which astronomers have speculated about for decades, and found that life cannot explain the composition of the Venusian atmosphere. Any life form in sufficient abundance is expected to leave chemical fingerprints on a planet’s atmosphere as it consumes food and expels waste. However, the Cambridge researchers found no evidence of these fingerprints on Venus. University of Cambridge, “No signs (yet) of life on Venus” at ScienceDaily (June 14, 2022) The paper is open access. Read More ›

pixel dispersion man
Portrait of a man with pixel dispersion effect
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
June 18, 2022
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science Fiction, Transhumanism
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , ,

Review: Transcendence — The Soul Meets the Singularity

In Part 1 of my review of the 2014 classic, we start with the question: Can a human mind be completely transferred to a computer?
Gary Varner
June 18, 2022
6
Philosophy of Mind, Science Fiction, Transhumanism

Since Johnny Depp has been all over the news lately, this would be a great time to review his contribution to the world of sci-fi, Transcendence (2014), or as I like to call it, “Oh Great. Now, We Have to Kill the Internet.” The movie plays on two themes. First, there is the idea that futurist Ray Kurzweil calls the Singularity, a moment where AI surpasses humanity. Second, the movie explores two closely related questions: Is there a soul, and does this soul reside within the brain? Johnny Depp’s character, Will Caster, does not believe in the soul, but he does recognize that there is some unmapped region within biological life that allows a human to distinguish between right and Read More ›

healthy-lifestyle-choice-fresh-vegetables-and-fruit-shaped-as-human-head-stockpack-adobe-stock
Healthy lifestyle choice. Fresh vegetables and fruit shaped as human head
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 17, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
Tagged
, ,

Yes, Our Brains — Like Computers — Have a Low-Power Mode

Sure they do. It makes a lot of sense to conserve power when food supplies are low
News
June 17, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Neuroscientists have often wondered if the high-metabolism human brain had a power conservation mode and a recent open-access paper in Neuron finds that brains use an energy-saving strategy to cope with shortages. Cognitive neuroscientist Allison Whitten explains: Now, in a paper published in Neuron in January, neuroscientists in Nathalie Rochefort’s lab at the University of Edinburgh have revealed an energy-saving strategy in the visual systems of mice. They found that when mice were deprived of sufficient food for weeks at a time — long enough for them to lose 15%-20% of their typical healthy weight — neurons in the visual cortex reduced the amount of ATP used at their synapses by a sizable 29%. But the new mode of processing Read More ›

handsome-man-playing-in-casino-stockpack-adobe-stock
Handsome man playing in casino
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 17, 2022
Categorized
Probability
Tagged
, , , ,

The Struggle Between Casinos and Advantage Players

The scene is enlivened by assorted other characters who use romance to help in the struggle for a big win. Sal Cordova explains
News
June 17, 2022
12
Probability

In a recent podcast, “When the house can’t win the game, it will change the rules” (June 9, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his discussion with mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on the mathematics of gambling — why the odds are stacked against the gambler — or, depending on a gambler’s skill and knowledge of the circumstances, maybe they aren’t… https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-190-Sal-Cordova-Episode-2-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at approximately 00:31 min. A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow below. Marks and Cordova ended Episode 1 by discussing the famous advantage player Don Johnson who cleaned out Atlantic City for tens of millions of dollars in 2011. What was his secret? Sal Cordova: He Read More ›

african-american-smiling-woman-math-teacher-stands-at-black-board-with-pointer-stockpack-adobe-stock
African American smiling woman math teacher stands at black board with pointer.
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
June 17, 2022
Categorized
Education, Mathematics
Tagged
, , ,

Reviving the Relational View of Mathematics

Unfortunately, some textbooks teach number rules rather than relationships, so students may not know why the rule matters
Jonathan Bartlett
June 17, 2022
6
Education, Mathematics

While helping a friend’s teenage son with math, I was perusing the textbook used. I was dismayed by the presentation of the topic of translating graphs. More than that, I believe the issue reflects some general problems with how mathematics is typically presented to high school students. Specifically, the text addressed how to do graph transformations for exponential functions. That is, if you have a function with the form y = a ⋅ bx (where a and b are constants), how would you create a new equation whose graph was moved up, down, left, or right? The method the book proposed, while technically correct, misses a huge opportunity to help students. The book presents a general form for transforming exponential Read More ›

print-is-alive-stockpack-unsplash
Print is Alive
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 16, 2022
Categorized
Media, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

Have Newspapers Simply Lost Touch With the Mainstream Public?

The depressing stats tell a tale that’s a bit more complex: Readers tolerate out-of-touch media less now because they we need them so much less
Denyse O'Leary
June 16, 2022
5
Media, Social Media

Earlier this week we looked at the way a flailing newspaper chain decided to cut back on editorial and opinion pages. The decision should not be a surprise in an age when so much opinion is available for free — and by no means is all of it foolish. One familiar response has been to say, well, media are too “liberal” (or “leftist” or “progressive”) for the readers — and that’s why newspaper are losing them. It’s a factor but there is more to the story. First, we are dealing with a fact: Pious disclaimers notwithstanding, as a group, media personnel are generally more likely to support progressive causes than average Americans. A variety of explanations is offered, including this Read More ›