Mind Matters | Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Blume des Lebens mit Sternenkosmos und Lichtstreifen

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News
Date
September 9, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Anil Seth, Consciousness, Materialism}

The Science “Advances” Disproving the Mind Are Ever More Elusive

_{A friendly interview with an important neuroscientist makes that starkly clear} _{News
September 9, 2021

3

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

University of Sussex neuroscientist Anil Seth, author of Being You: A new science of consciousness (October 2021), is quite determined to stamp out consciousness as an immaterial idea. It’s “stubbornly mysterious,” according to Tim Adams for The Guardian. But, we are assured, “Advances in understanding how the brain functions undermine those ideas of dualism, however.” But those advances prove increasingly elusive. From the interview: Anil Seth: It’s the boring answer of continuing to do rigorous science, rather than proposing some eureka solution to “the hard problem” [the question of why and how our brains create subjective, conscious experience]. My approach is that we risk not understanding the central mystery of life by lurching to one or other form of magical Read More ›

Piano tuning process. closeup of hand and tools of tuner working on grand piano. Detailed view of Upright Piano during a tuning

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News
Date
September 8, 2021

Categorized
Mathematics, Science

Tagged
Cosmic fine-tuning, Featured, Fine-tuning, Fred Hoyle, Freeman Dyson, Ola Hössjer, Robert J. Marks}

Ours Is a Finely Tuned — and No Free Lunch — Universe

_{Mathematician Ola Hössjer and biostatistician Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón explain to Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks why nature works so seamlessly} _{News
September 8, 2021

13

Mathematics, Science}

Our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks had a chance, recently, to talk with Swedish mathematician Ola Hössjer and University of Miami biostatistician Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón on the many ways in which the universe is finely tuned for life. This is Part 1. Part 2 will shortly follow. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-Episode-150-Hossjer-Diaz-.mp3 This portion begins at 00:00 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Today on Mind Matters news on the podcast, we’re going to talk about fine-tuning of the universe for life. Scientists know that Earth is is finely tuned for life to come into existence. For example, pronounced atheist Sir Fred Hoyle (1915–2001). Hoyle was a great astronomer, maybe known best for his coining the term, Big Read More ›

Mature businessman or a scientist with robot.

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Stephen Berger
Date
September 7, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Jobs}

Artificial Intelligence and the Golden Rule

_{The application of the Golden Rule to AI development is complex and multifaceted, but it is still the right rule to live by} _{Stephen Berger
September 7, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence}

How does the Golden Rule apply to developers of artificial intelligence (AI)? To simplify the application let’s assume there are only two people involved. One runs a small trucking company but also knows how to develop sophisticated AI. This business owner develops an AI enabled system capable of driving his truck. The other person is the truck driver, whom the owner no longer needs. If the owner believed in following the Golden Rule, how should he treat his driver? Let’s assume the driver has worked for the company for forty years but is not yet financially ready to retire. A number of answers are possible. Some companies have bridged long-time employees to retirement. The owner might do that for his Read More ›

The code is on a laptop on a wooden table in front of the window in the dark with a view of the lights of the night city, color lighting in the room, home decor

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Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 7, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Programming

Tagged
Legacy code}

Know When to Hold ’em, Know When to Fold ’em

_{Taking control of the rewrite reflex} _{Jonathan Bartlett
September 7, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Programming}

Computer programmers are a pretty predictable bunch. Every time they approach legacy code, the gut reaction is “let’s rewrite this from scratch.” The reaction is understandable for many reasons. First of all, code written by someone else (or even yourself a long time ago) is hard to understand. Even good documentation can’t cover every detail you need to know, and there is nothing that helps you understand the problem better than writing the code yourself. Second, as time goes on, and you think about a problem, you always come up with better (or at least different) approaches. You might realize that some aspect of your code could be factored out. You might think that rearranging the code would make it Read More ›

Young woman looking on the black board with mathematical formulas and calculations. Bright idea, way of thinking, discovery and challenge concept.

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News
Date
September 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Featured, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Kai-Fu Lee, Niall Ferguson}

If You Fear High Tech Debates, Stay Away From COSM 2021

_{COSM 2021 will be held in person. You will interact with the real movers and shakers.} _{News
September 6, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

Recently, George Gilder and Jay Richards enjoyed a wide ranging discussion on the topics and people converging for the COSM 2021 Technology Summit: From Life After Google to Life After Capitalism. In the first portion, they discussed life after capitalism. Who can still innovate? In this portion, they talk about innovations that will make a difference: This portion starts at about 10:30 min. Here is a partial transcript and notes: George Gilder: Kai-Fu Lee will be there to talk about his new book, Ten Visions, about artificial intelligence. We hope that he can give us some ideas that are relevant to the new environment for US-China relations… But people like Kai-Fu Lee are keeping world of knowledge and wealth, then Read More ›

Closeup of unrecognizable little girl using smartphone, focus on hands scrolling through internet, copy space

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News
Date
September 6, 2021

Categorized
Education, Ethics, Surveillance

Tagged
Child sexual abuse (online)}

Drawing a Line: When Tech To Keep People Safe Seems Dangerous

_{A dispute at the Washington Post about tech aimed at detecting child sex abuse highlights some of the issues} _{News
September 6, 2021

3

Education, Ethics, Surveillance}

Princeton computer scientists Jonathan Mayer and Anunay Kulshrestha thread that needle:: Earlier this month, Apple unveiled a system that would scan iPhone and iPad photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The announcement sparked a civil liberties firestorm, and Apple’s own employees have been expressing alarm. The company insists reservations about the system are rooted in “misunderstandings.” We disagree. We wrote the only peer-reviewed publication on how to build a system like Apple’s — and we concluded the technology was dangerous. We’re not concerned because we misunderstand how Apple’s system works. The problem is, we understand exactly how it works. Opinion by the Editorial Board: Apple’s new child safety tool comes with privacy trade-offs — just like all the others Read More ›

Inside the brain. Concept of neurons and nervous system.

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News
Date
September 5, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Benjamin Libet, Michael Egnor}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the Timing of Sensory Processing

_{One neuroscientist, encountering the timing, made up a theory that didn’t really work, but he was a great neuroscientist anyway} _{News
September 5, 2021

11

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor did a recent podcast with host Arjuna Das at Theology Unleashed, “where Eastern theology meets Western skepticism.” In the previous segment, Dr. Egnor talked about the troubles of being a non-materialist medical scientist, including demands that he be fired and death threats and so forth. In this segment, he talks about the meaning of “soul” in philosophy. Not a “spook” of some kind but common sense reasoning about life and death: Arjuna Das: So there’s a delay in how long it takes for the brain to process visual sensations compared to auditory sensations. So it’s a half second delay and this creates a problem. … We have no free will then. (01:57:50) Michael Egnor: If I can Read More ›

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News
Date
September 5, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience

Tagged
Neurons}

How Complex Is a Single Neuron in Your Brain?

_{An artificial intelligence network did not do nearly as well} _{News
September 5, 2021

2

Neuroscience}

Every single neuron in your brain is this complex: Today, the most powerful artificial intelligence systems employ a type of machine learning called deep learning. Their algorithms learn by processing massive amounts of data through hidden layers of interconnected nodes, referred to as deep neural networks. As their name suggests, deep neural networks were inspired by the real neural networks in the brain, with the nodes modeled after real neurons — or, at least, after what neuroscientists knew about neurons back in the 1950s, when an influential neuron model called the perceptron was born. Since then, our understanding of the computational complexity of single neurons has dramatically expanded, so biological neurons are known to be more complex than artificial ones. Read More ›

Mystical dark blue foggy forest with snowflakes.

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News
Date
September 4, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Science}

If You Met Someone in a Dream Every Night… ? Sci-Fi Saturday

_{In a sci-fi short, a paramedic must confront a question about the nature of reality} _{News
September 4, 2021

18

Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Science}

“Time is a Place” (2017) by Tim Nackashi (uploaded at DUST November 24, 2018, 7:08 min) Two strangers, a woman and a man, are haunted by a recurring dream they seem to share night after night. Their illusory time together in the dream is more freeing than anything in waking life. She has not told him that in reality, she is a paramedic who discovered his unconscious body at the scene of an accident. Review: The film started out as a mess. It was unclear whether the characters are dead or alive — but, under the circumstances, that must matter. It remains unclear until the very end. But the basic idea is, in principle, intriguing: What if two people share Read More ›

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News
Date
September 4, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Guillermo Gonzalez, Jay Richards, Peter Ward, Privileged Planet hypothesis, Rare Earth hypothesis, Rogue planets concept}

Could “Rogue Planets” Hold the Key to Extraterrestrial Life?

_{A new paper asks us to think about the possibilities of planets that have been kicked out of a predictable orbit.} _{News
September 4, 2021

3

Arts & Culture, Science}

A new paper asks us to think about the possibilities of planets that have been kicked out of a predictable orbit: In a new paper, Alberto Fairén from the Center of Astrobiology in Madrid, Spain, and I look into the possibility that planets wandering through interstellar space could also host life. These “rogue” planets may have been ejected out of their original solar system during the early, chaotic phase of planetary formation. There are two general types of rogue planets: gas giants like Saturn and Neptune, and rocky Earthlike planets. While the chances for life on gas giants is extremely remote, rocky migrating planets could in principle host microbial life. To do that, they would need internal heat from the Read More ›

Full moon on desert mountain peaks at sand storm

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News
Date
September 4, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Science

Tagged
Science fiction}

When the Robot Discovers Nature — Sci-Fi Saturday

_{On a ruined planet, a dog robot get caught in a time warp} _{News
September 4, 2021

18

Arts & Culture, Environment, Science}

“Genesis” (2020) at DUST May 2, 2021 Constantin Kormann(4:00 min, animated) Our protagonist lands on a foreign planet, finds an alien artifact and travels back into a time, where the planet was covered by a lush forest. Review: The “protagonist” is actually a dog robot who finds itself trapped in a time warp. The big question would, of course, be — why go back to techno-civilization, especially if you are just a dog anyway? Cute. But what happens when the battery runs out? Curiously, we think we should make robots like the animals we know. Think of Boston Dynamics’s controversial police “dogs.” Nature seems to have thought of everything first — an argument, if you like, for intelligent design. Anyway, Read More ›

Oumuamua is a mildly active comet, and the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System.

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News
Date
September 4, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Avi Loeb, Oumuamua}

What Space Object ‘Oumuamua Says About How Science Works

_{The space object, thought by at least one famed astronomer to be an ET lightsail, prompts thoughts about how scientists decide what to believe} _{News
September 4, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Science}

The subtitle of Matthew Bothwell’s wrap-up on ‘Oumuamua is most informative: An alien-made artefact or just interstellar debris? What ʻOumuamua says about how science works when data is scarce. At least one astronomer, Harvard’s Avi Loeb, insisted that ‘Oumuamua must be an “extraterrestrial light sail.” And few suggested that that couldn’t possibly be true. Right. What do we do when we are not sure? Bothwell, author of the forthcoming Invisible Universe, offers some thoughts. W all imagine ET in our own image: Victorians of the late 19th century, living in the era of ambitious engineering, looked at Mars and saw globe-spanning canals – evidence, they believed, of a grand industrial civilisation mirroring their own. In the Cold War 1960s, as Read More ›

Senior couple watering seedlings in their garden

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Caitlin Cory
Date
September 3, 2021

Categorized
Economics, Events

Tagged
COSM 2021, Gale Pooley, Julian Simon, Scarcity, Simon Abundance Index}

Scarcity? We have the same resources as Neanderthal Man!

_{What we do with our resources is different. Economics professor Gale Pooley has spent his career lifting our spirits about the state of the world} _{Caitlin Cory
September 3, 2021

3

Economics, Events}

COSM 2021 is fast approaching. On the weekend of November 10-12, titans of the tech world will descend on Bellevue, Washington, to discuss the future of technology. Topics to be covered include blockchain, NFTs, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and Big Questions like “Is Technology Soaring or Slumping?” This year, COSM will include Discovery Institute’s own Gale Pooley, senior fellow at the Center on Wealth & Poverty. This isn’t Pooley’s first round at COSM. He addressed the COSM crowd in 2019 with a talk entitled, “Killing Thanos – Defeating the Ideology of Scarcity” (video posted at the end of this article). This November, Pooley’s topic is “The End of Inflation.” The economics professor has spent his career lifting our spirits about Read More ›

Electrocardiogram in hospital surgery operating emergency room showing patient heart rate with blur team of surgeons background

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News
Date
September 3, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, Consciousness, mind, Sam Parnia}

Why Some Scientists Think Consciousness Persists After Death

_{We should not assume that people who are near death do not know what we are saying} _{News
September 3, 2021

4

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

A very significant change that happened in the last century or so has been the ability of science professionals to see what happens when people are thinking, especially under traumatic conditions. It was not a good moment for materialist theories. Here is one finding (there are many others): Death is a process, usually, not simply an event. Consciousness can persists after clinical death. A more accurate way of putting things might be that the brain is able to host consciousness for a short period after clinical death. Some notes on recent findings: The short answer is, probably, yes: Recent studies have shown that animals experience a surge in brain activity in the minutes after death. And people in the first Read More ›

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News
Date
September 2, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
COSM 2021, Featured, Friedrich Hayek, George Gilder, Jay Richards, Life After Capitalism (book), Niall Ferguson, Peter Thiel (at COSM 2021)}

What Do We Need To Know About Life After Capitalism?

_{At COSM 2021, a number of thinkers will discuss and debate the pressing questions} _{News
September 2, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

Recently, George Gilder and Jay Richards enjoyed a wide ranging discussion on the topics and people that will converge for the COSM 2021 Technology Summit: From Life After Google to Life After Capitalism. They cover the paradoxes of the future of technology. Here is a partial transcript of the first ten minutes: Jay Richards: The theme of COSM 2021 is Life After Capitalism, which is also the name of your forthcoming book. What does that mean exactly? What are you referring to, this idea of life after capitalism? George Gilder: In the last few months, literally trillions of dollars of new money has been printed. Money has been deprived of its informational content. It’s now merely an expression of government Read More ›

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News
Date
September 1, 2021

Categorized
Environment, Ethics, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Mushrooms Have Minds? Well, If You Doubt Humans Are Exceptional…

_{… it is a short step to thinking that mushrooms have minds. A Miami University biologist has taken that step} _{News
September 1, 2021

4

Environment, Ethics, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

It’s pretty daring to claim that mushrooms have minds. But, in the light of what we have learned about plant communications, we should perhaps pause a moment to at least listen. Miami University biologist Nicholas P. Money, argues: Given the magical reputation of the fungi, claiming that they might be conscious is dangerous territory for a credentialled scientist. But in recent years, a body of remarkable experiments have shown that fungi operate as individuals, engage in decision-making, are capable of learning, and possess short-term memory. These findings highlight the spectacular sensitivity of such ‘simple’ organisms, and situate the human version of the mind within a spectrum of consciousness that might well span the entire natural world. Nicholas P. Money, “The Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
September 1, 2021

Categorized
Events

Tagged
Babak Parviz, COSM 2021, Google Glass}

Babak Parviz, Inventor of Google Glass, Returns to COSM 2021

_{Parviz will be addressing the question, “Is It the End for Silicon Valley?”} _{Caitlin Cory
September 1, 2021

2

Events}

Last time he appeared at COSM, he contributed to a panel discussion on Information Theory of Biotech. Now, Dr. Babak Parviz is returning to COSM this November to address the question, “Is It the End for Silicon Valley?” Parviz has an impressive history that spans engineering and health care issues, but he is perhaps most famous for his leadership in developing Google Glass. As described by the University of Michigan in 2014: Google Glass is compact, lightweight, and while resting on your nose, will guide you to your destination, allow you to have phone conversations, take photos and video, get information, and share your experiences with others in unprecedented ways. Glass is the first device that allows us to truly Read More ›

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News
Date
September 1, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Tagged
Memory}

Our Brains Break DNA in Order to Learn More Quickly

_{Memory loss in old age may be easier to understand if we know more about the mechanisms our brains are using to keep key memories intact} _{News
September 1, 2021

5

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience}

An interesting 2015 discovery sheds some light on memory issues: The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations — more than previously realized, according to a new study — to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage. David Orenstein, “Memory-making involves extensive DNA breaking” at MIT News (July 14, 2021) The paper is open access. Jordana Cepelowicz explains an “unsettling” discovery made by Li-Huei Tsai’s team at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory: … to express learning and memory genes more quickly, brain cells snap their DNA into pieces at many key Read More ›

Business Leadership Attributes and Features in Literature

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News
Date
August 31, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Creativity, Economics, Events

Tagged
Ben Horowitz, COSM 2021, Featured}

What Does Super-Investor Peter Thiel Think You Should Read?

_{Some books to consider include history as well as business strategy. The two cannot be separated} _{News
August 31, 2021

2

Business and Finance, Creativity, Economics, Events}

Peter Thiel, whose name is practically synonymous with successful high-tech investing, will be speaking at COSM 2021. He has also offered some thoughts on books worth reading: Here are three of them, courtesy Kevin Rooke: ➤ The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (Harper Business 2014): From Thiel: “Every management guide presumes that all great companies follow a formula. But successful startups don’t imitate; they build innovations that can’t be copied. Ben Horowitz knows no recipe guarantees success. He has written the first true guide for protecting a startup from self-sabotage.” ➤ Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder (Basic Books, 2010) From Thiel: “He tells how Read More ›

Bull figurine standing on bitcoins, concept of cryptocurrencies

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News
Date
August 31, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
cryptocurrencies, Peter Thiel (cryptocurrency)}

Seven in 10 Institutional Investors Expect To Buy Cryptos

_{Mainstreaming continues, despite the detractors, with major investment players signing on} _{News
August 31, 2021

2

Business and Finance, Economics}

Cryptocurrencies are now estimated to be worth roughly $2 trillion and — despite pressure from regulators — demand from investors continues: In July 2021, FTX—the Antigua-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange which offers futures, leverage tokens and OTC trading—raised $900 million from over 60 investors. This included venture capital firms Paradigm and Sequoia, hedge funds and the private equity group Thoma Bravo. It was the largest private equity deal in the crypto industry’s history, valuing the business at $18 billion—one of the largest rounds of financing for a digital assets startup. In May 2021, Block.one —the Peter Thiel, Alan Howard and Louis Bacon backed blockchain software firm—pumped $9.7 billion into a new cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary called Bullish Global. Even excluding Block.one’s capital Read More ›