^ArchiveArticles

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 20, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Donald Trump, Fox News, hype, Joe Biden, Laura Ingraham, Military, Robert J. Marks, Technology, Wokeness}

Robert J. Marks on Fox News

_{Dr. Marks talked about the hype over AI and where the danger really lies} _{Peter Biles

March 20, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence}

Robert J. Marks, director of the Walter Bradley Center, was the subject of a new op-ed at Fox News, which featured his unique insights on artificial intelligence and how it can best be used by human beings. Contrary to much of the present alarmism over AI systems like ChatGPT, Marks remains level-headed about AI’s place in today’s world, pushing back against “sci-fi” apocalypticism while at the same time addressing real issues and concerns. Marks said, “No, AI is not going to take over. You’re not going to be its pet in the future. It’s going to be a tool which disrupts society, but we’re still going to be in charge. -Scott Whitlock, AI expert warns of too much ‘hype’: Humans Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
March 20, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Human exceptionalism, Mathematics, media, UK}

We Can’t Build a Hut to the Moon

_{The history of AI is a story of a recurring cycle of hype and disappointment} _{Eric Holloway

March 20, 2023

4

Artificial Intelligence}

Once upon a time there live a tribe who lived on the plains. They were an adventurous tribe, constantly wanting to explore. At night they would see the moon drift lazily overhead, and became curious. How could they reach the moon? The moon was obviously higher than their huts. Standing on the highest hut no one could reach the moon. At the same time, standing on the hut got them closer to the moon. So, they decided to amass all their resources and build a gigantic hut. Reason being that if standing on a short hut got them closer to the moon, then standing on a gigantic hut would get them even closer. Eventually the tribe ran out of mud and Read More ›

Artificial intelligence. Microchip connections, electric pulses and binary codes.

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 20, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
Chip, Computation, Computer Systems, Computers, Electronics, Engineering, Pi, Raspberry Pi, Wi-Fi}

The Raspberry Pi Phenomenon

_{A Raspberry Pi is a full computer that is not much larger than a credit card, but still packs enough power to be usable as a desktop computer} _{Jonathan Bartlett

March 20, 2023

5

Technology}

For the uninitiated, the Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer that runs the Linux operating system. It can be either operated as a desktop computer or as an embedded system (i.e., a custom electronic device), or both. Historically, computer systems were either general-purpose computers or embedded systems. General-purpose computers required too much hardware, too many chips, and too much power to work inside an electronic device. However, as manufacturers packed more and more functionality into less and less space using less and less power, eventually it became possible to have a computer that was small, cheap, powerful, and not especially power-hungry. The Raspberry Pi came about right as this was happening. A Raspberry Pi is a full computer that is not much Read More ›

Artificial intelligence. Network in hive mind brain. Vintage futuristic poster.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 19, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Brain as computer, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), ChatGPT, Elon Musk, Neuralink, Neuroscience, The Conversation, transhumanism}

Is the “Singularity” Already Here?

_{Two experts in the tech field warn that the singularity, as we've come to imagine it, might be right around the corner} _{News

March 19, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence}

The singularity refers to the future point when the human and the machine will merge––when the personal and technological distinction breaks down entirely. It sounds dystopian and far off. But, two experts in the tech field warn that the singularity, as we’ve come to imagine it, is right upon us. Writing for The Conversation, John Kendall Hawkins and Sandy Boucher comment, To understand why this isn’t the stuff of fairy tales, we need only look as far as recent developments in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). BCIs are a natural beginning to the singularity in the eyes of many futurists, because they meld mind and machine in a way no other technology so far can. Elon Musk’s company Neuralink is seeking permission from the US Food Read More ›

Concept art illustration of post-apocalyptic New York city

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 18, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Apocalypticism, HBO Max, Kansas City, The Last of Us, TV shows, Zombies}

The Last of Us, Episode 4

_{After a derailing of the narrative, the actual plot makes a comeback} _{Gary Varner

March 18, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

After a tough episode three, The Last of Us decides to return to the plot, and we see the writing quality improve somewhat. We pick up with Joel and Ellie driving down the road, and to be candid, the scenes are interesting. There was, however, one giant plot hole during this sequence I couldn’t ignore. It’s a little thing, but as someone who grew up in Missouri, I found it hilarious. So, while they are driving along, they come across a herd of bison. The subtext behind the camera shot is painfully obvious, “Now that man is gone, the buffalo have returned. Nature is healing!” Of course, what the camera crew failed to notice, or at least, what they were Read More ›

a woman is reading a book and holding coffee

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 17, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts & Culture, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Non-Computable You (book), Peter Biles, Robert J. Marks, Salvo}

ChatGPT and Personal Consciousness

_{AI vs. the human voice in literature and the arts} _{News

March 17, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

This week, Peter Biles, Writer & Editor for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, wrote a piece for Salvo on ChatGPT and the uniqueness of the human voice in literature and the arts. Biles cites Christina Bieber Lake, professor of English at Wheaton College, from her book Beyond the Story: American Literary Fiction and the Limits of Materialism. Bieber Lake pushes back against the reductionistic worldview of Darwinistic materialism, appealing to the personal nature of the human being and the relationships we share together. Since a computer fails to practice personal consciousness, it also fails to create meaningful literature, which always involves two persons––one person speaking to another. Biles also cites Robert J. Marks’s essential book on the topic Read More ›

Retro wave 80s computer all-in-one illuminated by neon light isolated on black

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 17, 2023

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Jeffrey Funk, neural network, Robert J. Marks, Tech}

AI is Old News, Says Tech Consultant

_{AI actually dates back to the 1950s. It is not new, says Funk} _{News

March 17, 2023

1}

This week, Robert J. Marks sat down with technology consultant and retired professor Jeffrey Funk, who contributes often to Mind Matters, usually in tandem with Gary Smith. Marks and Funk talked about tech startups, where the industry is headed, and the exaggerated hype that currently attends the discourse over AI. Funk talked about the various stages of AI development. “AI is not new,” he said. AI is 70 years old. ChatGPT and other generative AI models are based on neural networks, which have become economical through Moore’s Law, through this incredible increase in computing power that has been going on since the 1950s. But it’s slowed dramatically. -Jeffrey Funk, Jeffrey Funk on AI, Startups, and Big Tech | Mind Matters Read More ›

wheelchair for physical assistance at nursing home, close up. Generative AI

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 16, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts & Culture, HBO Max, TV shows}

The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part 3)

_{Romanticizing a murder-suicide distracts us from the story and suggests an approval of euthanasia} _{Gary Varner

March 16, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

In the previous review, we discussed the love story of Bill and Frank, and how it must’ve only been written to appease the critics because, while it stirred some controversy, it contributed nothing to the plot. We started out following Joel and Ellie across the countryside, but then, we were unexpectedly forced to watch an approximately forty-minute flashback that literally showed Bill and Frank’s entire cliché and boring life together. And before we can return to the real story, we must see how the two meet their untimely end. This final sequence starts out with Bill getting into a gunfight with some raiders who are all dying horribly at the hands of Bill’s various traps. At first, Bill seems to Read More ›

Composite collage image of delighted black white colors person hold telephone raise fist celebrate like notification facebook instagram tiktok

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 16, 2023

Categorized
Global Technology

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, China, Data Security, Instagram, National Security, social media, Texas, TikTok}

The Clock’s Ticking for TikTok

_{Biden admin might ban TikTok in the U.S. if company doesn't sell} _{News

March 16, 2023

2

Global Technology}

The Biden administration is considering banning TikTok in the United States if the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it. The news arrives amidst growing concerns over national security and Chinese espionage tactics, particularly in light of the “spy balloon” that was shot down off the American east coast in February. ByteDance is a Chinese company, and as such, is subject to disclose its information to the Chinese Communist Party. Today, more than half of American states have placed bans on state-issued devices out of privacy and security concerns. Texas representative Paul Michael McCaul said, TikTok is a modern-day Trojan horse of the [Chinese Communist Party], used to surveil and exploit Americans’ personal information. It’s a spy baloon for your Read More ›

Golden Ring and Mountains Digital Art 3D Render

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 15, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts & Culture, Cinema, J.R.R. Tolkien, LOTR, New Line Cinema, Peter Jackson, Rings of Power (Amazon film series 2022-), Screen Rant, The Lord of the Rings, Warner Bros}

Don’t Turn The Lord of the Rings into Star Wars

_{When you have something as good as the world of Middle Earth, it becomes ever easier to injure the original vision and trade quality for commercial success} _{Peter Biles

March 15, 2023

5

Arts & Culture}

Amazon’s The Rings of Power, which is based on the appendices in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, was an ambitious and expensive project that arguably provided little more than a surface-level and underdeveloped interpretation of Middle Earth and its characters. The show, while entertaining and with its strengths, exemplified a flaw many fans feared: commercializing Tolkien inevitably leads to compromise. Even Peter Jackson’s highly praised rendition of the fantasy epic has its critics, including Tolkien’s son and heir of the family estate, Christopher. The show was visually stunning but had some storytelling issues. For one, we don’t ever get a sense of Middle Earth’s size. Characters pop in and out of different places as if it’s a five-minute Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 15, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Apocalypticism, Arts & Culture, Bait and Switch, Culture, Gary Varner, Nick Offerman, Science fiction, The Last of Us, TV shows}

The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part 2)

_{Why were we subjected to this episode if it wasn’t going to contribute to the narrative?} _{Gary Varner

March 15, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we discussed how episode three started out relatively strong then unexpectedly shifted to another story altogether. It’s important to note that we are not watching a ten-minute flashback or some b-plot involving a couple of supporting characters. Almost all of the episode is devoted to Bill and Frank, and frankly, their story goes nowhere. As I mentioned before, the subject of this random entry into the series is Bill and Frank’s romantic relationship, and given the fact that this little deviation from the source material contributes nothing to the plot as a whole, it is strongly suspected that the only reason the writers chose to tell this story was to gain the admiration of critics who share their Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 15, 2023

Categorized
Business and Finance

Tagged
Banking, Bonds, Income, Interest rates, Investment, Principal, Silicon Valley, SVB}

Aren’t US Treasury Bonds Supposed to be Safe?

_{How can you lose money selling treasury bonds?} _{Jonathan Bartlett

March 15, 2023

3

Business and Finance}

For context, read Bartlett’s two previous articles on the fall of SVB and interest rates. Some people are confused as to how you can lose money selling treasury bonds, since they are supposed to be “safe” assets (the government is not expected to default on its loans, and, if it does, the economy probably has bigger problems). Economist Bob Murphy put together a great explainer thread on Twitter, which I will largely follow here. Let’s say that there is an asset that always yields a 1% return every year on however much you have invested, but you never get the principal back except by selling it to someone else. Let us call this asset ABC, and let us say that it is Read More ›

Cute 3D Snapchat Ghost Cartoon Character

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 14, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, chatbots, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Snapchat, social media, teenagers}

You Too, Snapchat? Another AI Bot Hits the Scene

_{"My AI" is eerily human, like the Bing bot, and just as inappropriate} _{News

March 14, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence}

Snapchat introduced a new feature in its app: an AI chatbot “friend” called “My AI.” (Just what lonesome teens need.) We’ve already seen the rogue behavior of Bing’s chatbot, which, in conversation with a New York Times tech journalist, dubbed itself “Sydney” and started beseeching its human counterpart to leave his wife and fall in love with it. Romantic, right? Not so much. The journalist left the experience with the creepy sense that AI had just crossed a sensitive boundary, and that tech companies need to get better at controlling the unpredictable beast they’ve unleashed. “My AI” Gives Shady Advice to Kids Just a couple of weeks later and here we are with AI making inroads into an app used Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 14, 2023

Categorized
Business and Finance

Tagged
Banking, capitalism, economy, Finance, Interest rates, Invesment, Investors, Silicon Valley}

Why Did the Tech Bubble Correspond with Low Interest Rates?

_{Ultimately, our economy’s deeper problems aren’t so much a result of “money” as they are bad allocations of resources.} _{Jonathan Bartlett

March 14, 2023

4

Business and Finance}

For context, read Bartlett’s article explaining the fall of SVB here. I wanted to make a quick note about why tech bubbles tend to correspond with low interest rate environments. Interest rates essentially dictate how long someone can wait before they need to produce something of real value. In a 20% interest rate environment, it will be evident really quickly if you are failing to produce something of value. Since essentially 1/5 of your capital disappears each year, if you aren’t doing something that will generate real profits quickly, you are sunk. You can’t paper over problems with more borrowing because the cost of that borrowing is so high. Additionally, in such an environment, the payoffs for investment need to be large Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 13, 2023

Categorized
Business and Finance

Tagged
Assets, Banking, Debt, Investors, Loan, Silicon Valley}

What’s Going on at Silicon Valley Bank?

_{The bank's failure is making a lot of people nervous about their money} _{Jonathan Bartlett

March 13, 2023

5

Business and Finance}

Many people awoke this morning to news of a bank that suddenly collapsed – Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB. While information is still developing, I thought I would provide some background information on what is known so far. SVB is the go-to bank for Silicon Valley startups. Over the last few years, the tech bubble has been growing and growing and growing, focused especially around Silicon Valley. That meant a lot of banking was happening, and it was happening with SVB. That is where the various companies put their deposits. How does a bank make money? By lending out deposits. In 2021, at the height of the tech bubble (and, not coincidentally, at a historically low-interest rate environment). The bank did what most banks do Read More ›

Wallpaper of cordyceps fungi, realistic detail photo macro, illustration, like the movie the last of us,

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
March 13, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
HBO, Pedro Pascal, Science fiction, The Last of Us}

The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part I)

_{This episode serves as a bad omen when it comes to writers’ willingness to stick to the script} _{Gary Varner

March 13, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

In episode two, Tess sacrifices herself after being bitten, and in episode three, we find Joel and Ellie grieving over her death. This scene is another example of the actors overplaying the anger when the tone should be more somber. Joel is hesitant to talk to Ellie until Ellie insists that Tess’s death wasn’t her fault, and that Joel and Tess made their own choices. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with the scene necessarily, but in the first two episodes, it’s already apparent that the HBO adaptation is having a difficult time establishing the father-daughter dynamic between Ellie and Joel that the game is known for. This scene only adds to that problem. However, this might not be an issue Read More ›

Circle of paper people holding hands on pink surface. Community, brotherhood concept. Society and support.

^{Type
post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
March 13, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Human rights, Robert J. Marks, robotics}

Love Thy Robot as Thyself

_{Academics worry about AI feelings, call for AI rights} _{Richard W. Stevens

March 13, 2023

6

Artificial Intelligence}

Riffing on the popular fascination with AI (artificial intelligence) systems ChatGPT and Bing Chat, two authors in the Los Angeles Times recently declared: We are approaching an era of legitimate dispute about whether the most advanced AI systems have real desires and emotions and deserve substantial care and solicitude. The authors, Prof. Eric Schwitzgebel at UC Riverside, and Henry Shevlin, a senior researcher at the University of Cambridge, observed AI thinkers saying “large neural networks” might be “conscious,” the sophisticated chatbot LaMDA “might have real emotions,” and ordinary human users reportedly “falling in love” with chatbot Replika. Reportedly, “some leading theorists contend that we already have the core technological ingredients for conscious machines.” The authors argue that if or when Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 10, 2023

Categorized
Biology}

Mice With No Mother?

_{Biotechnologists keep pushing the borders of what is possible in procreation} _{Wesley J. Smith

March 10, 2023

3

Biology}

Biotechnologists keep pushing the borders of what is possible in procreation. Mice pups have now been born with no mother and two fathers. It was done, apparently, by transforming skin cells from male mice into pluripotent stem cells and thence into egg cells with XX chromosomes. From the Guardian story: Male skin cells were reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state to create so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The Y-chromosome of these cells was then deleted and replaced by an X chromosome “borrowed” from another cell to produce iPS cells with two identical X chromosomes. “The trick of this, the biggest trick, is the duplication of the X chromosome,” said Hayashi. “We really tried to establish a system to duplicate the X chromosome.” Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 10, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, art, Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Culture, Dall-E, Gary Smith, Midjourney, mind, OpenAI}

Observing and Communing

_{What human art and literature do that AI can't} _{Peter Biles

March 10, 2023

5

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E are generally adept at capturing the accuracy of the human form. The concerns over copyright, job infringement, and general degradation of the visual arts via such AI are ongoing concerns for many artists and practitioners. However, a new New Yorker article by Kyle Chayka identifies a noticeable flaw in AI artwork: human hands. Missing the Big Picture Chayka begins by recalling an art class where he was asked to draw his own hand. It’s an assignment for beginners, and as behooves a novice, tempts the artist to focus more on the specific contours of the hand instead of the overall structure and form. The forest gets lost in the trees, so to speak. Read More ›

Brain psychology mind soul and hope concept art, 3d illustration, surreal artwork, imagination painting, conceptual idea

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 9, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Blake Lemoine and LaMDA, Consciousness, Google, LaMDA, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks, Science fiction}

Blake Lemoine and Robert J. Marks on the Mind Matters Podcast

_{Marks and Lemoine discuss sentience in AI and the question of the soul} _{News

March 9, 2023

1

Artificial Intelligence}

Lemoine thinks AI can be sentient but Marks firmly rejects such a notion. While disagreeing, they maintained a respectful dialogue. Well worth listening to. Read More ›