Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Erik J. Larson

the-mythic-horse-pegasus-with-white-wings-flying-in-the-sky-619373519-stockpack-adobestock
The mythic horse pegasus with white wings flying in the sky among lightnings

The Limits of What We Can Learn From Studying Creativity

In this third and final part of my essay, I look at what sets us apart from machines: Our capacity to leap from commonsense inferences to entirely new ways of understanding reality
People struggling in the aftermath of brain injuries provide some valuable insights into that leap. Read More ›
new-ideas-or-transformation-concept-with-crumpled-paper-ball-446070781-stockpack-adobestock
New ideas or transformation concept with crumpled paper balls and a crane, teamwork, creativity, business concept

Stranger Things: Why Mad Scientists Are Mad

At the highest levels, creativity seems to bypass the deliberate, structured thought process altogether
The real danger of reductionism is not just that it fails to explain creativity, but that it actively encourages dismissal of what cannot be reduced. Read More ›
an-open-black-box-emitting-a-burst-of-glowing-golden-sparks-1186408008-stockpack-adobestock
An open black box emitting a burst of glowing golden sparks and light, symbolizing mystery, magic, and surprise, perfect for a Black Friday shopping concept

The Slow Decline of a Key Aspect of Creativity

The mechanization of mind is changing how we think about creativity — and not in a good way
In this first of three parts, I look at the role of serendipity — the art of making happy, unexpected discoveries — and how a mechanized world diminishes it. Read More ›
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Digital puzzle pieces interlocking seamlessly, glowing against a futuristic blue abstract background, symbolizing the concept of API integration and seamless connectivity

Part 2: The Fiction of Generalizable AI: How to Game the System

Progress toward real generalization, by any substantive measure, is nil. Perhaps we should reexamine the very concept of the “I” in AI
In too many discussions, intelligence is treated as if it were a linear phenomenon that more scaling and a few extra gigabytes of data will solve. Read More ›
person-uses-laptop-interacting-with-ai-virtual-assistant-ai-1133554305-stockpack-adobestock
Person uses laptop interacting with AI virtual assistant. AI head graphic overlay laptop keyboard. Concept of AI prompt engineering, LLM. Person types on keyboard to communicate with virtual

The Fiction of Generalizable AI: A Tale in Two Parts

Why intelligence isn’t a linear scale — and why true generalization remains unsolved
The big idea behind generative AI (mistakenly) assumes a network can start blank and be transformed into an intelligent agent simply via enough data. Read More ›
ai-robot-sitting-on-a-chair-next-to-an-elderly-man-with-coff-895612249-stockpack-adobestock
AI robot sitting on a chair next to an elderly man with coffee, both waiting for a job interview. AI vs human concept. futuristic technology coexisting with people in a professional environment

The Linda Problem Revisited, As If Reality Matters

Part 2: AI enthusiasts use false claims for humans' “natural stupidity” to bolster claims for machine intelligence
The people who flunked the Linda problem were not biased; they just assumed there was some POINT to telling them that Linda was active in social justice issues. Read More ›
cognitive-bias-and-judgement-error-conceptual-illustration-s-552792735-stockpack-adobestock
Cognitive Bias and Judgement Error - Conceptual Illustration

Humans Aren’t That Biased — and Machines Aren’t That Smart

Part 1: At an upcoming conference on AI, I will be puncturing that particular AI enthusiast’s fantasy
Via the "Linda Problem," Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky convinced generations that we don't grasp probability. They're wrong. Read More ›
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Illuminated cityscape on digital network, futuristic scene

The Last Humanist: What the Digital Age Can’t Replace

My review of Superbloom by Nicholas Carr, perhaps the last critic standing, with thoughts on some of his earlier books
Unlike the surveillance capitalism crowd, Carr doesn’t just rail against Big Tech’s designs; he interrogates our willing participation. Read More ›
blueprint-of-a-futuristic-smart-city-with-interconnected-bui-1015024509-stockpack-adobestock
Blueprint of a futuristic smart city with interconnected buildings and sustainable energy systems

Why Smart Cities Are a Dumb Idea

Seattle, in its current state, feels like the ghost of a promise — an uncanny blend of technological optimism and visible collapse
Seattle’s streets pulse with data. But walk those same streets and it becomes clear: the life has drained out of the space between the data points. Read More ›
a-red-squirrel-sits-on-a-tree-in-the-forest-and-eats-a-nut-s-480723528-stockpack-adobe_stock
a red squirrel sits on a tree in the forest and eats a nut

How Fruit Flies, Bees, and Squirrels Beat Artificial Intelligence

AI researchers assume they are on the path to intelligence, yet intelligence itself remains a mystery and many animals do better than current AI
Real intelligence is embodied. It exists within a living system, interacting dynamically with an environment. AI, on the other hand, is an abstraction. Read More ›
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3D Molecular Visualization: Complex Biomolecule Structure Models. Generative AI.

AI in Biology: The Future AI Didn’t Predict

It doesn’t look like the past. Physical systems that evolve over time but don’t follow a fixed formula have always presented a deep challenge to AI
The problem of outliers or “edge cases” has frustrated AI scientists and engineers (and now structural biologists) for decades, and there’s no good answer yet. Read More ›
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Dementia-related amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles , neurological disorders, protein deposits

AI in Biology: The Disease Connection — When Proteins Go Wrong

Some of the most crucial proteins for human health—the ones we need to understand most urgently—are the very ones that AI has the hardest time modeling
The issue is not simply that AI struggles with intrinsically disordered regions — it is that the very premise of IDR behavior contradicts the way these models operate. Read More ›
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IDP Clinical Trials: Illustrate the stages of clinical trials for drugs targeting intrinsically disordered proteins, from preclinical testing to phase III trials.

AI in Biology: So Is This the End of the Experiment? No.

But a continuing challenge is that many of the most biologically important proteins don’t adopt a single stable structure. Their functions depend on structural fluidity
The core issue AI isn’t just missing data — AlphaFold’s entire approach is built on assumptions that don’t apply to disordered proteins. Read More ›
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AlphaFold Accuracy Visualization on a Tablet Cutting-Edge Biochemical Analysis

AI in Biology: What Difference Did the Rise of the Machines Make?

AI works very well for proteins that lock into a single configuration, as many do. But intrinsically disordered ones don’t play by those rules
The resulting problems aren’t a temporary bug — they’re a basic limitation of training a machine learning model on a dataset where proteins always fold neatly. Read More ›
the-elaborate-process-of-protein-folding-essential-for-prope-583365421-stockpack-adobe_stock
the elaborate process of protein folding, essential for proper function within living organisms

AI in Biology: AI Meets Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Protein folding — the process by which a protein arrives at its functional shape — is one of the most complex unsolved problems in biology
The mystery of protein folding remains unsolved because, as is so often the case with AI narratives, the reality is much more complicated than the hype. Read More ›
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Clever black child thinking on chalkboard background with science formulas

Why Humans Aren’t That Biased, and Machines Aren’t That Smart

Claims about the cognitive biases that supposedly overwhelm our judgment should be taken with a helping of salt
It’s no wonder that techno-futurists trumpet a coming machine intelligence with such ease — they’ve lowered the standards so much to begin with. Read More ›
concept-of-artificial-general-intelligence-achieving-human-l-1057608663-stockpack-adobe_stock
Concept of artificial general intelligence achieving human-level understanding

Machine Intelligence and Reasoning: We Are Not on a Path to AGI

AI guru François Chollet’s Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC) proves we’re not on a path to AGI
A reality check for LLMs is inevitable, and with OpenAI, “Project Strawberry,” and the new hype cycle — thanks to Chollet and others — it’s already here. Read More ›
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large language model AI machine learning concept brain business

From Data to Thoughts: Why Language Models Hallucinate

The limits of today’s language models and paths to real cognition
We’ll need an architectural approach that can handle propositions—thoughts, judgments, reasoning structures—as first-order objects. Read More ›
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industry 4.0, Factory Industrial Engineer working with automation robot arms machine in intelligent factory, generative ai

Why Human Intelligence Thrives Where Machines Fail

We're worried about AI and trust. We should be worried about something deeper
Our intelligence interacts dynamically with our environment in a way that machine intelligence doesn’t. Read More ›
the-concept-of-the-human-brain-the-right-creative-hemisphere-579439991-stockpack-adobe_stock
The concept of the human brain. The right creative hemisphere versus the left logical hemisphere. Education, science and medical concept, illustration.

The Left Brain Delusion: Are We Steamrolling Human Agency?

The two hemispheres of our brain really do see the world differently

Techno-futurists love to dream up visions of the future. Invariably, these are worlds where everything is under control—where every problem has a solution, and the future unfolds exactly as planned. We do seem to be moving toward some sort of centralized loss of agency. But what’s distinctive about the techno-futurist vision is the belief that this is not only inevitable but wonderful. Self-driving cars eliminate wasted time in traffic; smart cities like Songdo or Masdar City adjust every streetlight and service in real-time to optimize efficiency. AI-driven healthcare, like the tools developed by Google’s DeepMind, promises to  pinpoint diagnoses. Automated finance uses algorithms to manage our money and secure our futures. Everything works, all the time. But doomsday visions flip Read More ›