Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryArtificial Intelligence

abstract-ai-generated-illustration-of-a-colored-floating-liquid-in-the-trend-colors-pink-orange-blue-and-violet-stockpack-adobe-stock
abstract ai generated illustration of a colored floating liquid in the trend colors pink, orange, blue and violet
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 17, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law
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Three Artists Launch Lawsuit Against Stable Diffusion

Content creators claim new AI tools violate copyright and intellectual property
Peter Biles
January 17, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence, Law

Three artists, Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan and Karla Ortiz are filing a lawsuit against the AI image generators Midjourney, Stability AI, and DeviantArt. They claim the AI tools commit copyright violation and infringement of intellectual property. The lawsuit appears amid growing concerns among content creators over the increasing popularity and use of new AI image and text generators like DALL-E and ChatGPT. According to a report from Techspot,  The trio have launched a class action on behalf of all artists affected and are “seeking compensation for damages caused by Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney, and an injunction to prevent future harms.” The lawsuit alleges direct copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement related to forgeries, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Read More ›

young-african-male-programmer-writing-program-code-sitting-at-the-workplace-with-three-monitors-in-the-office-image-focused-on-the-screen-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young african male programmer writing program code sitting at the workplace with three monitors in the office. Image focused on the screen
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 17, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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How are Developers Using OpenAI’s Tools in their Software?

There are several interesting uses of the new AI tools, but time will tell which ones take off
Jonathan Bartlett
January 17, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI has released two major tools for developers to make use of GPT-3 and DALL-E.  GPT-3 is the radical new text generation tool, which generates large or small amount of texts from simple prompts.  It can also classify text into categories  GPT-3’s text-generation system forms the core of OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT.  DALL-E is an image generation tool, which creates images from text prompts.  Together, these two tools provide today’s state-of-the-art in AI-based content generation. So how are developers making use of these new features?  Today we are looking at several ways that these tools have been put to use. Basic Content Generation The core of GPT-3 is generating content from prompts.  Whether for making blog posts, writing summaries, or Read More ›

people-standing-around-big-data-cloud-stockpack-adobe-stock
people standing around big data cloud
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post
Author
News
Date
January 16, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Relationships
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A Fun Scottish Film on Breaking Free From Global AI

In “Widdershins,” our animated hero is leading the perfect life — if only he were a machine, that is. Then he meets someone who…
News
January 16, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Relationships

In “Widdershins,” our animated hero is leading the perfect life — if only he were a machine, that is. Then he meets someone who… Can he break free? Does he even want to? Eleven minutes will tell… The life of a pampered gentleman is seamlessly automated by machines, but his orderly existence is thrown into chaos when he chooses to pursue a free-spirited woman, against the advice of his robot butler. – Director, Simon Briggs, 2018

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Plato, fresco at Greek Orthodox Church
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 16, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Education
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What Students Lose by Embracing Easy Tech Like ChatGPT

AI systems not only pose a problem for teachers, but will compromise intellectual excellence and moral virtue
Peter Biles
January 16, 2023
4
Artificial Intelligence, Education

We’ve heard a lot about ChatGPT and its wonders and gaping pitfalls. Among the dangers it poses is academic cheating and corner-cutting. It’s no secret that the new bot makes Comp 1 a whole lot easier for a typical incoming freshman. Some universities and schools are banning the AI system outright. Teachers wonder how they will be able to discern plagiarism. Other voices chide the alarmists and call for students and teachers to use ChatGPT as a classroom aid.   But one area that has gone a bit underdiscussed in the conversation is ethics. Dr. Anthony Bradley of The King’s College tweeted this a few days ago, Students are writing papers using AI. Colleges are scrambling to combat it. We Read More ›

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Error page template for website. Retro robot with monitor computer head. Warning message on blue screen. macro view copy space
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post
Author
Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith
Date
January 16, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Large Language Models Can Entertain but Are They Useful?

Humans who value correct responses will need to fact-check everything LLMs generate
Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith
January 16, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

In 1987 economics Nobel Laureate Robert Solow said that the computer age was everywhere—except in productivity data. A similar thing could be said about AI today: It dominates tech news but does not seem to have boosted productivity a whit. In fact, productivity growth has been declining since Solow’s observation. Productivity increased by an average of 2.7% a year from 1948 to 1986, by less than 2% a year from 1987 to 2022. Labor productivity is the amount of goods and services we produce in a given amount of time—output per hour. More productive workers can build more cars, construct more houses, and educate more children. More productive workers can also enjoy more free time. If workers can do in four Read More ›

scared-businessman-hiding-behind-a-pc-stockpack-adobe-stock
Scared businessman hiding behind a pc
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 16, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Found! ChatGPT’s Humans in the Loop!

I am the only writer I’ve been able to discover who is suggesting ChatGPT has humans in the loop. Here is a series of telling excerpts from our last conversation…
Eric Holloway
January 16, 2023
10
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

The new ChatGPT chatbot has wowed the internet. While students revel in the autogenerated homework assignments, the truly marvelous property of ChatGPT is its very humanlike interactions. When you converse with ChatGPT you could swear there was a human on the other end, if you didn’t know better. For all intents and purposes, ChatGPT has achieved the holy grail of AI and passed the Turing test, on a global scale. Always quick to snatch a deal, Microsoft is currently in talks to spend a mere $10B to acquire half “the lightcone of all future value.” However, things are not always what they seem. Previously, I pointed out aspects of ChatGPT that implied humans were helping craft the chatbot’s responses. Now, Read More ›

man-reading-in-the-park-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man reading in the park
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 13, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Will ChatGPT Replace Human Writers?

Some people think so. But maybe they’re mistaken about the purpose and nature of language
Peter Biles
January 13, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

In the wake of the notorious ChatGPT chatbot from OpenAI, many are asking, “What’s going to happen to people who make their living as writers?” We’re talking journalists, novelists, academics, etcetera. It’s a valid question given the dexterity of the new technology. OpenAI’s DALL-E image generator poses the same question to visual artists. If a machine can generate a skillfully crafted piece of text or an image, the need for human writers and artists turns opaque. That is if we actually think artificial and natural intelligence are comparable competitors.   Cynics are claiming a doomsday for writers. Sean Thomas of the Spectator thinks doomsday is upon us. He wrote in a January 10th article, I’ve done writing of all kinds Read More ›

abstract-digital-human-face-artificial-intelligence-concept-of-big-data-or-cyber-security-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Abstract digital human face. Artificial intelligence concept of big data or cyber security. 3D illustration
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 12, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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If Consciousness Is Not Physical, How Can an AI Duplicate It?

Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviewed Berkeley philosopher Hubert Dreyfus on the question before his death in 2017
Denyse O'Leary
January 12, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

At Closer to Truth, Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviewed the late philosopher Hubert Dreyfus (1929–2017) a couple of years back on the question “Is consciousness entirely physical.” The interview was released May 18, 2022 (10:03 min). Here’s the big question about consciousness, our inner experience of what things feel like. Is consciousness a product of the physical world alone? Because if consciousness is the output of the physical brain by itself, however complex, then consciousness as physicalism would defeat those who believe, or hope for, the existence of nonphysical realities. Some philosophers (physicalists) do maintain that consciousness is entirely physical or, more commonly, they dance around the point. For example, philosopher David Papineau said in 2020, “If only we could stop Read More ›

digital-chatbot-robot-application-conversation-assistant-ai-artificial-intelligence-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Digital chatbot, robot application, conversation assistant, AI Artificial Intelligence concept.
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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 ›

technology-and-network-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Technology and network concept
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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 ›

deep-learning-neural-network-ai-artificial-intelligence-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Deep learning neural network AI Artificial intelligence concept
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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 ›

internet-law-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Internet law concept
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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 ›

mini-robot-work-stockpack-adobe-stock
mini robot work
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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 ›

top-mark-on-essay-stockpack-adobe-stock
Top mark on essay
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 4, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Students Depend on ChatGPT for Final Exams

The new bot will only get better from here, but it won’t help students become better thinkers
Peter Biles
January 4, 2023
4
Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence chatbot, has made headlines for over a month now, and for good reason. It’s an advanced bot designed to problem solve. It can “converse” with people on a range of topics. A problem for us to solve now is how to deal with ChatGPT’s invasion into the sphere of education. Students report using ChatGPT on final exams and papers according to a recent write-up from The College Fix. One College of Staten Island student used the bot on both final exams and “got As on both.” He commented that “half the kids in my class used it.” The student also noted that he used the chatbot to complete a multiple-choice exam, on which he got Read More ›

chat-bot-and-future-marketing-concept-chatbot-icon-hand-holding-mobile-phone-with-automatic-chatbot-message-screen-with-abstract-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Chat bot and future marketing concept , Chatbot icon , Hand holding mobile phone with automatic chatbot message screen with abstract background
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post
Author
News
Date
January 2, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Relationships
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Let’s Call AI What It Really Is: Faux Intelligence

Gary Smith at Salon: While GPT-3 can string words together in convincing ways, it has no idea what the words mean
News
January 2, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Relationships

Pomona College business and investments prof Gary Smith warns Salon readers not to be too gullible about what human-sounding chatbots really amount to. He notes that in the 1960s, a pioneer chatbot called ELIZA convinced many psychiatric patients that they were interacting with a real psychiatrist. The machine simply repeated back their statements as questions, a popular psychiatric technique at the time because it generated more and more discussion — from the patient. The patients’ belief that they were interacting with a human being came to be called the Eliza effect. Has much changed? If you play around with GPT-3 (and I encourage you to do so) your initial response is likely to be astonishment — a full-blown Eliza effect. Read More ›

silver paper clips
An extreme close up image of metal paper clips
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post
Author
News
Date
December 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Religion
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Santa Fe Prof Dissects End-of-World Super-AI Claims

There seems to be little communication, she notes, between people concerned about sci-fi AI risks and people concerned about predictable everyday risks
News
December 27, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Religion

Santa Fe Institute professor of complexity Melanie Mitchell takes issue — in a gentle way — with those who warn about the dangers of superintelligent machines (AI alignment) destroying us all: In one scenario, for example, Oxford Future of Humanity Institute’s Nick Bostrom developed a scenario by which a super AI, told to make paper clips, might use up the world’s resources in doing so. Her comment: To many outside these specific communities, AI alignment looks something like a religion — one with revered leaders, unquestioned doctrine and devoted disciples fighting a potentially all-powerful enemy (unaligned superintelligent AI). Indeed, the computer scientist and blogger Scott Aaronson recently noted that there are now “Orthodox” and “Reform” branches of the AI alignment Read More ›

ai-machine-learning-hands-of-robot-and-human-touching-on-big-data-network-connection-background-science-and-artificial-intelligence-technology-innovation-and-futuristic-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI, Machine learning, Hands of robot and human touching on big data network connection background, Science and artificial intelligence technology, innovation and futuristic.
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post
Author
News
Date
December 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Google Dismisses Engineer’s Claim That AI Really Talked to Him

The reason LaMDA sounds so much like a person is that millions of persons’ conversations were used to construct the program’s responses
News
December 27, 2022
7
Artificial Intelligence

This story was #5 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. In “Google dismisses engineer’s claim that AI really talked to him” (June 14, 2022), our News division looks at what happened when software engineer Blake Lemoine, now ex-Google, became convinced that the large language program he tended to was a person. Google engineer Blake Lemoine was working with LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), a large language program which motors through trillions of words on the internet to produce coherent answers using logic. Along the way, he convinced himself that the program is Read More ›

chatbot-conversation-person-using-online-customer-service-with-chat-bot-to-get-support-artificial-intelligence-and-crm-software-automation-technology-virtual-assistant-on-internet-stockpack-adobe-stock
Chatbot conversation. Person using online customer service with chat bot to get support. Artificial intelligence and CRM software automation technology. Virtual assistant on internet.
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
December 26, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming
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Yes, ChatGPT Is Sentient — Because It’s Really Humans in the Loop

ChatGPT itself told me there could be humans crafting its input. My tests indicate that that’s likely true
Eric Holloway
December 26, 2022
12
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming

OpenAI, recently released a new AI program called ChatGPT. It left the internet gobsmacked, though some were skeptical, and concerned about its abilities. Particularly about ChatGPT writing students’ homework for them! [ChatGPT] also appears to be ominously good at answering the types of open-ended analytical questions that frequently appear on school assignments. (Many educators have predicted that ChatGPT, and tools like it, will spell the end of homework and take-home exams.) Kevin Roose, “The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT” at New York Times (December 5, 2022) The really amazing thing is ChatGPT’s humanlike responses. They gives an observer an unnerving suspicion that the AI is actually sentient. Maybe it is actually sentient. Wait, what? You heard me. The AI is Read More ›

Customer service and support live chat with chatbot and automati
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
December 26, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Chatbots: Still Dumb After All These Years

Intelligence is more than statistically appropriate responses
Gary Smith
December 26, 2022
7
Artificial Intelligence

This story, by Pomona College business and investment prof Gary Smith was #6 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. At any rate: “Chatbots: Still dumb after all these years.” (January 3, 2022) In 1970, Marvin Minsky, recipient of the Turing Award (“the Nobel Prize of Computing”), predicted that within “three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being.”  Fifty-two years later, we’re still waiting. The fundamental roadblock is that, although computer algorithms are really, really good at identifying statistical patterns, they have no way of Read More ›

sad emoticon
Emoticon sadness LED
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 25, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Physicist Max Tegmark Worries About Intelligent AI’s “Suffering”

What strikes me about Tegmark’s approach to the question is its fundamental lack of seriousness
Denyse O'Leary
December 25, 2022
8
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

In a recent interview, MIT theoretical physicist Max Tegmark talked to Robert Lawrence Kuhn at Closer to Truth about “transhuman brains” (Dec 20, 2022, 8:43 min): Transhuman brains are the melding of hyper-advanced electronics and super-artificial intelligence (AI) with neurobiological tissue. The goal is not only to repair injury and mitigate disease, but also to enhance brain capacity and boost mental function. What is the big vision, the end goal — how far can transhuman brains go? What does it mean for individual consciousness and personal identity? Is virtual immortality possible? What are the ethics, the morality, of transhuman brains? What are the dangers? Here’s a partial transcript and comments: Max Tegmark: I think it’s pretty clear that artificial intelligence Read More ›