Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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digital-chatbot-robot-application-conversation-assistant-ai-artificial-intelligence-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Digital chatbot, robot application, conversation assistant, AI Artificial Intelligence concept.
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 11, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Politics
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Note to Parents: Grooming and Wokeness Are Embedded in Chatbots

With or without tuning, all AI chatbots are biased one way or another. AI without bias is like water without wet
Robert J. Marks
January 11, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Politics

First impressions of a person can be wrong. Further interactions can reveal disturbing personality warts. Contrary to initial impressions, we might find out they lie, they are disturbingly woke,  they can’t do simple math, their politics is on the extreme left, and they have no sense of humor or common sense.   I have just described Open AI’s GPT3 chatbot, ChatGPT. Initially, users are gobsmacked by the its performance. Its flashy prose responses to simple queries look amazing.  But become roommates with the chatbot for a few hours and its shortcomings become evident .  It can’t get its facts straight, can’t do simple math problems, hates Donald Trump, and is being groomed to be “woke.” Its performance warts are so numerous that Bradley Center Senior Fellow Gary N. Smith hoists a Read More ›

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Health care researchers working in life science laboratory, medical science technology research work for test a vaccine, coronavirus covid-19 vaccine protection cure treatment
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post
Author
News
Date
January 11, 2023
Categorized
Peer Review, Philosophy, Science
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Gloomy News from a Nature Article: Is the End of Science Near?

A study in the premier science journal notes the long term falling off of truly original findings, as opposed to endless citations of others’ findings
News
January 11, 2023
9
Peer Review, Philosophy, Science

Science writer Tibi Puiu reports on new findings that reflect what many today, have begun to suspect: Over the past few decades, the number of science and technology research papers published has soared, rising at a rate of nearly 10% each year. In the biomedical field alone, there are more than a million papers pouring into the PubMed database each year, or around two studies per minute… The new study revealed that the “disruptiveness” of contemporary science has decreased, rendering ever diminishing returns. In this particular context, authors define disruptiveness as the degree to which a study departs from previous literature and renders it obsolete. In other words, a highly disruptive study is one that completely changes the way we Read More ›

technology-and-network-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Technology and network concept
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 10, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Programming
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Is ChatGPT Solely a Neural Network? I Tested That…

Changing the random number test to a "computer easy, human hard" test requires simply that we ask ChatGPT to reverse the random number. It couldn't.
Eric Holloway
January 10, 2023
9
Artificial Intelligence, Programming

ChatGPT is a direct descendent of GPT-3, and is a fancy form of a fancy machine learning algorithm called a neural network. For an overview of all of ChatGPT’s neural network complexity, here is a fun article. However, all that is beside the point. The important thing about a neural network: It can only generate what is in its training data. Therefore, ChatGPT can only produce what is in its training data. ChatGPT’s training data does not include the conversation you or I are having with ChatGPT. Therefore, if something novel occurs in the conversation, ChatGPT cannot reproduce it. That is, if ChatGPT is a neural network. Conversely, if ChatGPT reproduces novel text from the conversation, then ipso facto ChatGPT is not a Read More ›

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Screaming portrait of capuchin wild monkey
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post
Author
News
Date
January 10, 2023
Categorized
Archeology, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Study: Monkeys, Not Humans, Likely Made Ancient Brazilian Tools

The stone objects, dated from 50,000 years ago, look like the ones made by capuchin monkeys today
News
January 10, 2023
4
Archeology, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

There’s a danger in looking too hard for evidence of our ancient ancestors. Sometimes we could be seeing things that aren’t there. One group of stone tools from 50,000 years ago could, it is now suggested, have been made by monkeys: Excavations at Pedra Furada, a group of 800 archaeological sites in the state of Piauí, Brazil, have turned up stone shards believed to be examples of simple stone tools. Made from quartzite and quartz cobbles, the oldest ones appear to be up to 50,000 years old, which would put them among the earliest evidence of human habitation in the Western Hemisphere. However, the tools also bear a striking resemblance to the stone tools currently made by the capuchin monkeys Read More ›

deep-learning-neural-network-ai-artificial-intelligence-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Deep learning neural network AI Artificial intelligence concept
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 10, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Programming
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Programmer: Deep Learning Can’t Give Us Computers That Think

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) — computers that think like humans — would need to be able to generalize, which he says Deep Learning doesn’t do
News
January 10, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence, Programming

At Medium late last year, a programmer/researcher who writes under the name “Rebel Science,” assessed Deep Learning, a favorite of the self-driving car quest, as “useless” because it can’t generalize: The biggest problem with DL is its inherent inability to effectively generalize. Without generalization, edge cases are an insurmountable problem, something that the autonomous vehicle industry found out the hard way after wasting more than $100 billion by betting on DL. Rebel Science, “Deep Learning Is Not Just Inadequate for Solving AGI, It Is Useless” at Medium (Nov 2, 2022) Displaying for readers a picture of a bicycle, he continues, A deep neural network cannot perceive this bicycle unless it has been previously trained to recognize it. Generalization is the Read More ›

3d-illustration-of-eschers-inspired-stairs-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D illustration of Escher's inspired stairs
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Mathematics, Physics
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How Surreal Artist MC Escher Influenced Physicist Roger Penrose

Escher’s mathematical art was all the more remarkable because he had no formal training in mathematics
Denyse O'Leary
January 9, 2023
4
Arts & Culture, Mathematics, Physics

Last month, Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviewed eminent British mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose on a number of topics, including the influence of surrealist artist M. C. Escher (December 9, 2022/32:00 min). Here is a transcribed selection from the second part of the discussion in Part 1 above*, beginning around the 12-minute mark, with some notes: Robert Lawrence Kuhn: We talked about the impossible Penrose triangle which really opens up another area of your life in terms of visual representations of remarkable things. Penrose tiling really new ways of thing of seeing visual representation of fiery fundamental geometric and algebraic transformations and things. But what I wanted to ask you is, as youdeveloped that you had this interaction with the artist Read More ›

sick-asian-senior-woman-fainted-unconscious-at-the-table-fall-face-downelderly-female-patient-stop-breathing-due-to-heart-failure-cardiac-arrestsevere-arrhythmia-sudden-unexpected-death-syndrome-stockpack-adobe-stock
Sick asian senior woman fainted unconscious at the table, fall face down,elderly female patient stop breathing due to heart failure, cardiac arrest,severe arrhythmia, sudden unexpected death syndrome.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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How Do Strokes, Dementia Offer Insight Into How the Brain Works?

Neurologist Andrew Knox thinks the brain may store memories is an associative scheme, where previous memories are used to build up new ones
News
January 9, 2023
7
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released last Thursday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows is from Part 3 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers and Part 2: What is happening when children have strokes or dementia signs? https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 18:25 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. The discussion began with the question, “How does the brain store memories?” Andrew Knox: There are different schemes for storing memories, but patients with Alzheimer’s seem to have Read More ›

the-drawings-from-the-ceiling-of-altamira-cave-in-santillana-del-mar-cantabria-spain-stockpack-adobe-stock
the drawings from the ceiling of Altamira cave in Santillana Del Mar, Cantabria, Spain
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Archeology, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind
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Do Cave Paintings From 20,000 Years Ago Show Symbolic Writing?

In an article in the Cambridge Archeological Journal, researchers say they’ve deciphered the dots and Y’s among the animal paintings
Denyse O'Leary
January 9, 2023
5
Archeology, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

London-based wood carving conservator Ben Bacon has, with academic colleagues, shaken up Ice Age paleontology by demonstrating that the marks on the 20,000-year-old cave paintings of animals found across Europe could be interpreted as a lunar calendar timing their reproductive cycles: Prof Paul Pettitt, of Durham University, said he was “glad he took it seriously” when Mr Bacon contacted him. “The results show that Ice Age hunter-gatherers were the first to use a systemic calendar and marks to record information about major ecological events within that calendar.” News, “Londoner solves 20,000-year Ice Age drawings mystery” at BBC (January 5, 2023) The paper is open access. Bacon had spent many hours both on the internet and in the British Library, studying Read More ›

twitter blue bird on brown tree branch.jpg
blue bird on brown tree branch
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post
Author
News
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Censorship, Social Media
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What? Twitter is “neutral”? A thoughtful engineer responds

Despite appearances, Twitter is not a conventional public square, but a private corporation
News
January 9, 2023
7
Censorship, Social Media

This column by Texas State University engineering prof Karl Stephan is republished with thanks from Engineering Ethics (January 2, 2023) Back when I started this blog in 2006, the phrase “social media” was hardly used by anybody, according to Google Trends.  It began to climb above 1% of its current frequency of use around 2008, possibly in connection with the elections of that year, and has been climbing ever since.  Twitter, the social-media format that has become the default medium of choice for announcements by Presidents on down, was also founded in 2006.  From an obscure techie-speak term, it has turned into a routine and near-universal medium of expression that its leadership has claimed is as neutral as they can make it.  But Read More ›

internet-law-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Internet law concept
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law
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You’ve Got a Robot Lawyer in Your Pocket (Really?)

The DoNotPay AI lawyer program might be useful for fighting parking tickets but it is unsuited to serious litigation where much more complex issues are at stake
Richard W. Stevens
January 9, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence, Law

The Gutfeld! program on Fox News on January 6, 2023, recently had fun discussing robots replacing lawyers to practice law. In faux serious rhyme, Greg Gutfeld intoned: “Can a computer that’s self aware, keep you from the electric chair?” Sparking the conversation was the report that an artificial intelligence (AI) smartphone app was slated to assist a defendant fighting a parking ticket in a currently-undisclosed courtroom: Gigabytes of text could stream forth addressing the near infinite number of questions raised about robot lawyers. For now, let’s just explore the “robot lawyer” app built by DoNotPay. The company’s website declares: “The DoNotPay app is the home of the world’s first robot lawyer. Fight corporations, beat bureaucracy and sue anyone at the Read More ›

lost-and-confused-man-walks-puzzled-on-a-penrose-triangle-perplexed-person-looks-disoriented-ahead-dont-know-which-way-to-choose-surreal-and-conceptual-scene-mental-maze-optical-illusion-stockpack-adobe-stock
Lost and confused man walks puzzled on a penrose triangle. Perplexed person looks disoriented ahead, don't know which way to choose. Surreal and conceptual scene, mental maze, optical illusion
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 8, 2023
Categorized
Mathematics, Philosophy of Mind, Physics
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Nobelist Roger Penrose Talks About His Impossible Triangle

At Closer to Truth, the mathematical physicist explains to Robert Lawrence Kuhn how he understands the relationship between mathematics, the mind, and the physical world
Denyse O'Leary
January 8, 2023
8
Mathematics, Philosophy of Mind, Physics

Last month, Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviewed eminent British mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose on the relationship between mathematics, the mind, and the physical universe (December 9, 2022/32:00 min). Penrose likes to illustrate the relationship between the three with an “impossible” triangle (see below). Here are a couple of transcribed selections from the first part of the discussion in Part 1*, concerning the Penrose Triangle, with some notes: Robert Lawrence Kuhn: Let’s start with your grand metaphysical framework, your three worlds — three mysteries: the physical world, the mental world, the platonic or mathematical world — each connected to the other two in your famous diagram of an equilateral triangle. What’s the origin of this vision of yours of foundational reality? Read More ›

ai-sim-city
photorealistic smoke sim in a sci-fi/knolling case - AI Generated
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 8, 2023
Categorized
Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Physics
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A Physicist Rejects the Idea That We Live in a Sim Universe

At IAI News, Marcelo Gleiser worries that the claim that we are simulated beings with no free will reduces our ability to tackle the problems humanity faces
News
January 8, 2023
5
Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Physics

Dartmouth College physicist Marcelo Gleiser insists that the reality in which we live is not a simulation by advanced aliens or other intelligences — and that the fact that it isn’t is important. As the summary of his essay at IAI News explains, The idea that we are living in a simulation has become commonplace. Elon Musk, for example, thinks it is almost certain we are living in a simulation. But the simulation hypothesis comes up against insurmountable problems, and is, in the end, an excuse for us not to sort out our real moral failings… Marcelo Gleiser, “Reality is not a simulation and why it matters” at IAI News (January 4, 2023) The “simulation” idea may sound pretty far-fetched Read More ›

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Drug Addiction And Mental Function
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 8, 2023
Categorized
Addiction
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This New Year, Resolve to Dive Headfirst into Life

Dr. Anna Lembke urges people to abandon isolating addictions and choose honesty and relationship instead
Peter Biles
January 8, 2023
4
Addiction

With the new year in full swing, people are considering resolutions and asking themselves what habits they need to change. For me, my negative habits almost entirely revolve around technology. Too much time checking social media, email, browsing Twitter and YouTube, going down the cat video abyss. Skimming news, articles, photos, and videos, diminishes the attention span and leaves one feeling empty, restless, and in greater need of a “fix.” It’s a socially acceptable drug, but no less addicting than the others. Lembke, medical director of Stanford Addiction Medicine, asks us in her book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton 2021), Why, in a time of unprecedented wealth, freedom, technological progress, and medical advancement, do we appear to be Read More ›

lunar-base-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Lunar base illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 7, 2023
Categorized
Physics
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The Search for Extraterrestrial Life 17

Interest in moon exploration and bases is growing and it turns out there is more water there (carried by the solar wind) than thought
News
January 7, 2023
9
Physics

In our universe: We’re always learning new things now. The universe “has 2−3× more light than expected from the integrated light from galaxies” “According to new measurements by New Horizons, the light coming from stars beyond the Milky Way is two to three times brighter than the light from known populations of galaxies – meaning that there are even more out there than we thought! – Matt Williams, Universe Today, (December 24, 2022) The paper is open access. While we’re here, rogue stars may be even older than we thought: “”We don’t exactly know what made them homeless. Current theories cannot explain our results, but somehow they were produced in large quantities in the early universe,” James Jee, an astronomer Read More ›

fantasy-robot-wedding-couple-stockpack-adobe-stock
fantasy robot wedding couple
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
January 7, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Orville Episode 10: You’ve Heard of Saving the Best for Last?

Well, decide for yourself if you think that’s what the writers did. Some of us would describe it in other terms
Gary Varner
January 7, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Episode 10 fails for many reasons, but it’s not the kind of terrible where the episode is so bad you can throw your head back and laugh. Not only is it bad; it’s boring. Mixed up scenes, clunky dialog, and pretentious diatribes spread through the story. The story opens with Moclans Bortus and Klyden renewing their vows. Apparently, the all-male Moclans have a ritual where they essentially run naked through the forest until the “dominate male” catches the “submissive male” and . . . I’ll let you use your imagination. This scene is painful to watch. Two overweight men shamble through the woods in G-strings and the viewer is subjected to every horrendous second. I’m sure you’re wondering, “what kind Read More ›

aerial-view-of-frankenstein-castle-in-southern-hesse-germany-stockpack-adobe-stock
Aerial view of Frankenstein Castle in southern Hesse, Germany
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 7, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism
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The Prophecies of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Andrew Klavan explores the world of the Romantics in new book and finds special insight in Shelley’s classic horror story
Peter Biles
January 7, 2023
4
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

Andrew Klavan, acclaimed novelist and host of the Andrew Klavan Show at the Daily Wire, wrote a book about his profound encounters with the Romantics of the 19th century, called The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England’s Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus. The Romantics include literary figures like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and John Keats. While it’s common to highlight the Romantics’ veneration of nature, they were also living in the throes of the Enlightenment, in which atheistic materialism was becoming a minority alternative to theism. Klavan writes, “The wonderful success of science at explaining the material world threatens to create in scientists a bias towards Read More ›

military-bomb-defusing-robot-with-shepherd-dog-in-the-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Military bomb defusing robot with shepherd dog in the background.
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 6, 2023
Categorized
Law, Politics, Robotics
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How San Francisco’s Gun Fears Prevented Lifesaving Innovation

Killer robots in law enforcement would reduce the death toll but they are a bridge too far for many politicians
Robert J. Marks
January 6, 2023
4
Law, Politics, Robotics

In November, 2022, San Francisco voted to allow police to deploy killer robots. Less than a month later, the city reversed their decision. Initially, in an 8-3 vote, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors allowed law enforcement to use robots “as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD.” Sounds like reasonable policy, but protestors held up “NO KILLER ROBOTS!” signs at City Hall and the Board of Supervisors caved. This may be a case of hoplophobia, an irrational fear of firearms. So-called “killer robots” can deploy explosives to allow passage through blockaded doors or, in extreme situations, kill those who put innocent Read More ›

human-brain-neuronal-stimulation-or-activity-with-the-close-up-of-a-neuron-cell-3d-rendering-illustration-neuroscience-neurology-medicine-science-cognition-intelligence-psychology-concepts-stockpack-adobe-stock
Human brain neuronal stimulation or activity with the close-up of a neuron cell 3D rendering illustration. Neuroscience, neurology, medicine, science, cognition, intelligence, psychology concepts.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 6, 2023
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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What Is Happening When Children Have Strokes or Dementia Signs?

Many children who would have died 40 years ago can live a relatively full life today but they are at risk of stroke or dementia
News
January 6, 2023
8
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released yesterday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows reflects Part 2 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 10:50 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. Andrew Knox: If you had a stroke in what we would call a primary motor area, an area with the connections to motor pathways through the rest of the body — all of those patients might lose the ability to move their arm Read More ›

mini-robot-work-stockpack-adobe-stock
mini robot work
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 6, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity
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Can a Chatbot Tell Jokes. Yes, If They Are Stale

As chatbots sort through the vast mass of online information for appropriate responses to questions, jokes were bound to come up
News
January 6, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Corinne Purtill reported a year ago at Time Magazine on Jon the Robot, a chatbot that was programmed to learn to tell stand-up comedy jokes: An experiment billed as a comedy act, Jon is the brainchild of Naomi Fitter, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. The tiny android performs when a handler (who must also hold the mic) presses a button, then tells the same jokes in the same order, like a grizzled veteran comic at a down-market Vegas casino. Corinne Purtill, “Artificial Intelligence Can Now Craft Original Jokes—And That’s No Laughing Matter” at Time 2030 (January 4, 2022) But the robot’s act is more human than it might first Read More ›

neuron-cells-sending-electrical-chemical-signals-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Neuron cells sending electrical chemical signals. 3d illustration .
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 5, 2023
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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How Our Brains Are — and Aren’t — Like Computers

Pediatric neurologist Andrew Knox looks at the topic with computer engineer Robert J. Marks
News
January 5, 2023
9
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released today, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023): The brain is a marvelous organ still not understood. Artificial neural networks are supposed to be a simulation of the human brain. But comparing the brain to an artificial neural network is like comparing the human heart to a pump handle. Dr. Andrew Knox and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the brain, aging, and neurology. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at 00:04 min. A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: I got to ask you kind of a personal Read More ›