Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryArtificial Intelligence

intelligence-artificielle-stockpack-adobe-stock
Intelligence artificielle
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post
Author
News
Date
October 30, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Transhumanism
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John Lennox: Transhumanism Versus Traditional Humans

In the second part of his bonus feature for Science Uprising, Oxford mathematician Lennox compares transhumanism with traditional claims to transcend humanity
News
October 30, 2022
10
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Transhumanism

In the second part of Oxford mathematician John Lennox’s bonus interview for the Science Uprising series, “John Lennox on the Transhumanist Claim AI Will Turn Humans into Gods” (October 17, 2022), Lennox talks about claims that we will merge with computers (artificial intelligence) to achieve immortality. How plausible is that? Lennox is the author of 2084:: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020). A partial transcript and notes for the second half follow (the first half is here): The AI concept of transhumanism? (13:45) John Lennox: The origin of the word “transhumanism,” interestingly enough, is not secular at all. It wasn’t first used by a scientist but it was used in a translation of one of the books of Read More ›

robot army
Military artificial intelligence arms race to produce an AI enabled army with autonomous robot soldiers and weapon systems, conceptual illustration
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Robots, Drones, and Modern Warfare

Robots might not take over the world like the sci-fi movies depict, but AI in modern warfare threatens much destruction
Peter Biles
October 27, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence

You might remember the blockbuster movie I, Robot (2004) starring Will Smith, who plays a tough-minded homicide detective named Del Spooner in Chicago in the year 2035. Humanoid robots serve humanity and have become incorporated into society. Still, ever since a robot saved Del at the expense of a little girl, he hates them and thinks they will eventually overrun the world. I, Robot imagines a society in which AI could physically overtake humanity. The technology we’ve created for our own use ends up using us, unto our own destruction. Movies like I, Robot, Terminator, and others envision sentient, human-like robots that threaten to jeopardize the meaning of being human. But is that the real danger of AI, or does Read More ›

multiracial-friends-having-fun-and-laughing-drinking-coffee-in-coffeehouse-diverse-young-people-talking-joking-sitting-together-at-cafe-table-multi-ethnic-millennials-spending-time-in-coffee-shop-stockpack-adobe-stock
Multiracial friends having fun and laughing drinking coffee in coffeehouse, diverse young people talking joking sitting together at cafe table, multi ethnic millennials spending time in coffee shop
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post
Author
News
Date
October 25, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Language
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How Would an AI Chatbot Handle the Complexities of Oral Language?

University of Toronto linguist Joseph Wilson unpacks some of the differences between the way we speak and the way we write
News
October 25, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Language

Joseph Wilson, a linguist and journalist who has done considerable work with oral languages (languages not yet written down), offers some thoughts on claims that chatbots like Blake Lemoine’s LaMDA, really speak like human persons. He offers a sharp distinction between oral language and the written language that chatbots are trained on: But this excludes all unwritten forms of communication: sign language, oral histories, body language, tone of voice, and the broader cultural context in which people find themselves speaking. In other words, it leaves out much of the interesting stuff that makes nuanced communication between people possible. Joseph Wilson, “Why AI Will Never Fully Capture Human Language” at Sapiens (October 12, 2022) We really don’t know how old spoken Read More ›

kunstliche-intelligenz-konzept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Künstliche Intelligenz Konzept
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post
Author
News
Date
October 25, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind
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Oxford’s John Lennox Busts the “Computer Takeover” Myth

AI is here to stay, he says, but in addition to doing a great deal of good, it raises vast problems we must address
News
October 25, 2022
10
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Earlier this month, we looked at claims that robots are going to scarf up everyone’s jobs. That was a bonus feature in the Science Uprising series. In another bonus interview, “John Lennox on the Transhumanist Claim AI Will Turn Humans into Gods” (October 17, 2022), Oxford mathematician Lennox talks about claims that 1) computers are taking over and that 2) we will merge with them (transhumanism). Lennox is the author of 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020). This is the first of two parts, where he talks mainly about narrow AI but then gets into the topic of artificial general intelligence (AGI). A partial transcript and notes follow: John Lennox: The typical AI system consists of a Read More ›

ai-generated-wooden-board
AI-generated digital art of a wooden board
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
October 23, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity
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AI Art Is Not “AI-Generated Art.” It is Engineer-Generated Art

The computers aren’t taking over the art world. The engineers are. Just the way engineers have taken over the music world with modern electronic music
Eric Holloway
October 23, 2022
11
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Creativity is a mysterious thing. Our world economy is powered by creativity, yet despite the best efforts of our best engineers, creativity has not been captured by a machine. Until recently. With the new school of AI things have changed. We now have GPT-3 that can digress at length about any topic you give it. Even more remarkable, we have the likes of Dall-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. These phenomenal AI algorithms have scaled the peak of human creativity. AI can now create art that has never been seen before: The new artistic AI has become so successful the image social networks have become flooded with their artwork. Some communities have even banned the AI art. But the AI art Read More ›

internet-law-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Internet law concept
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 21, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law
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Hawaiʻi’s Indefinite COVID Lockdown: How Would an AI Rule?

The governor of Hawaiʻi claimed that legislation supported his right to extend draconian COVID lockdown rules indefinitely. Here’s a test for an AI law program
Richard W. Stevens
October 21, 2022
10
Artificial Intelligence, Law

Some people say artificial intelligence (AI) systems can become more intelligent, more intellectually capable, than humankind. After all, they say the AI “AlphaZero has taught itself chess from scratch in just a few hours and then went on to beat the world’s previous best chess-playing computer program.” AI already reads x-rays, drives cars, orders meals by phone, diagnoses skin cancer, and predicts the next movie hit. Some say AI will soon do legal analysis and make judicial decisions more accurately and fairly than humans can. Using a recent true case, let’s overview what it takes to write AI software that would analyze a statute. First, as in an appellate court brief, let’s set up the real life problem and the Read More ›

cursive writing
closeup of old handwriting; vintage paper background
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 20, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Shakespeare vs. AI: Who Wins?

AI fails to do justice to the full range and depth of human language
Peter Biles
October 20, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

I’ve written a fair bit in the last month on the development of AI art tools, but what about language? AI, as you’re probably aware, is not only able to mimic artistic styles. Its developers also want it to generate words, and to all appearances, they are succeeding. If visual artists are in trouble, how are journalists, novelists, and academics implicated in the AI revolution? I have a background in English, literature, and creative writing, so naturally, this AI issue hits a bit closer to home. Suppose an AI program could compose a short story with the prose quality and cohesive style of Ernest Hemingway. Could AI eventually produce news content, thus substituting the human reporter or journalist? As it Read More ›

painting of human eye
“Fluorite” - oil painting. Conceptual abstract picture of the eye. Oil painting in colorful colors. Conceptual abstract closeup of an oil painting and palette knife on canvas.
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 19, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Human Artists and their AI Copycats

What will happen to actual artists if AI can mimic their styles?
Peter Biles
October 19, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Imagine you’re walking through a world-class art museum, and you come across Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” (Let’s assume someone hasn’t already thrown tomato soup on it.) The painting isn’t a replication. It’s not a copy of a copy of a copy. It’s the original canvas and paint, the direct object created by the artist himself, shaped by age, visited by thousands of admirers—it’s “vintage.” You stand there admiring the work of a past genius, and get a sense of its beauty and meaning in a whole new way. There’s something unique in witnessing “the real thing.” Why do people travel worldwide to look at Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” when they can see a digital recreation through a Google search? Or why Read More ›

concept-of-translation-from-different-languages-on-an-abstract-world-map-stockpack-adobe-stock
Concept of translation from different languages on an abstract world map
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post
Author
News
Date
October 18, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Language, Machine Learning
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What Happens When You Feed a Translation Program Utter Nonsense?

News
October 18, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Language, Machine Learning

Indiana University cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter had a lifelong acquaintance with and admiration for the Swedish language and with the help of Swedish friends, became conversant with it. That led him in turn to try an experiment on machine translation programs such as Google Translate and DeepL. At Inference Review, he tells us, “although — or perhaps because — these programs have improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years, I greatly enjoy discovering and poking fun at their many unpredictable weaknesses.” Thus the author of author of Gödel, Escher, Bach (1979) constructed a paragraph of pure nonsense in made-up Swedish, something like Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” which plays around similarly with English: All mimsy were the borogoves, And Read More ›

Retro looking TV
Retro wave, 80s. Old tv with antenna with neon light. Top view, minimalism
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
October 17, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media
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The Graying of the Art — and AI — World

Why is so much modern media made up of rehashes and remakes?
Jonathan Bartlett
October 17, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media

The world of popular art (TV, movies, etc.) has a problem. I would even go as far as to label it a crisis. The problem is that the art world is becoming increasingly derivative. There are some points where it is obviously derivative—every movie is a remake, and every TV show is a reboot. We are getting the same stories regurgitated instead of novelty. However, there are also more subtle ways that this is happening.  TV comedies work largely by including inside jokes from previous TV shows.  One of the most popular writers of the 20th century was Louis L’Amour. What I think made L’Amour’s stories so great is that he could draw from a vast amount of personal experience. He could write about a lot Read More ›

fantasy v
NFT virtual land is an own-able area of digital land on a metaverse platform, NFT real estate is parcels of virtual land minted on the blockchain, conceptual illustration
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 12, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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The Danger of Deepfakes (and Deepcake)

In a metaverse world dominated by AI, life and art is in danger of being eclipsed
Peter Biles
October 12, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other optimistic futurists think the metaverse is our collective future. We will exist in virtual nonexistence. We will eat, shop, worship, communicate, and marry in the metaverse. This is where progress is taking us. So, we’d best go along for the ride if we don’t want to get left behind. But “living” in a metaverse may be much more complicated than you might think. The question of identity, and who has the power to distribute identities at will, haunts the metaverse project, and there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. In September, a Russian deepfake company called “Deepcake” (the name strangely makes me hungry for dessert) pasted the face of Bruce Willis on a Read More ›

social-media-concept-social-networking-service-video-hosting-website-streaming-video-stockpack-adobe-stock
Social media concept. Social networking service. Video hosting website. Streaming video.
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post
Author
News
Date
October 10, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Politics
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Does the White House AI Bill of Rights Amount To Anything?

Tech industry watchers aren’t sure
News
October 10, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Politics

Recently, the White House has been advertising a blueprint for its “AI Bill of Rights”: “To advance President Biden’s vision, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has identified five principles that should guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the American public in the age of artificial intelligence.” Summarized at CNN, these principles are That people should be protected from systems deemed “unsafe or ineffective;” that people shouldn’t be discriminated against via algorithms and that AI-driven systems should be made and used “in an equitable way;” that people should be kept safe “from abusive data practices” by safeguards built in to AI systems and have control over how data about them is used; Read More ›

metaverse-technology-future-concept-vr-virtual-digital-reality-cyber-metaverse-simulation-innovation-connection-global-blockchain-experiences-network-futuristic-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Metaverse technology future concept. VR virtual digital reality cyber metaverse simulation Innovation connection global blockchain experiences network futuristic. 3d rendering.
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post
Author
News
Date
October 7, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Virtual Reality
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How’s Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Doing These Days?

That’s been quite the flop — but the world of virtual reality and avatars is mainstreaming quite rapidly
News
October 7, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Virtual Reality

Apple’s Tim Cook doesn’t think much of it, apparently. Billions of dollars later, lots of people don’t: As waves of critics pointed out, the design of this “immersive” world is astoundingly underwhelming. In the cursed screenshot, Zuck’s pasty, robotic avatar — the design of which is perhaps a half step above a Wii Mii — is pictured in front of a sparse, sad landscape upon which arbitrarily sized replicas of France’s Eiffel Tower and Spain’s Tibidabo Cathedral are uncomfortably plopped. Maggie Harrison, “Wave of criticism hits Zuckerberg’s Metaverse for looking like crap” at Futurism (August 17, 2021) It turns out, even employees who built it don’t use it. At Forbes, the Money columnist thinks the basic idea is the way Read More ›

bumblebee
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 7, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Law
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Did the Court Really Say Bees Are Fish?

And would an AI-run court — which some propose — make a different decision? Not here because California law allows the interpretation
Richard W. Stevens
October 7, 2022
8
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Law

See headlines like: “Great Day” For Bumblebees as Californian Court Rules That They Are Fish and: Bees are fish, California court rules You’d believe, on reading them, that a California court recently ruled that bees are fish. Another eyeroll-worthy court decision! Readers here might muse, “An artificial intelligence-run legal system would never make such a crazy ruling!” The Seemingly Boring Narrow Issue Let’s skip past the exciting headlines. The California Court of Appeal in Almond Alliance of California v. Fish & Game Commission faced the issue of “whether the bumble bee, a terrestrial invertebrate, falls within the definition of fish, as that term is used in the definitions of endangered species, threatened species, and candidate species” under specific sections of Read More ›

knowing-the-enemy-stockpack-adobe-stock
Knowing the Enemy
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post
Author
News
Date
October 6, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Sports
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Elite World of Chess Rocked by Machine-Driven Scandal

A young player’s astonishing rise in the standings is linked to illegal use of a chess computer
News
October 6, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Sports

After withdrawing from matches in protest, on September 26, world champion Magnus Carlsen accused Hans Moke Niemann, a grandmaster at 19, of cheating. He described cheating in chess as “a big deal” and “an existential threat to the game.” How is it possible to cheat in elite chess and how is cheating detected? Well, in many matches, the moves are made online. Chess.com is a website that detects cheating by comparing players’ moves with those of powerful machines. As Ella Feldman explains at Smithsonian Magazine, the Wall Street Journal got hold of a 72-page report from Chess-com on the problem: Did a player make a critical move that aligns with what a chess engine might suggest? And if the answer Read More ›

robot-standing-holding-a-pencil-on-notebookretro-vintage-style-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Robot standing holding a pencil on notebook,retro vintage style
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post
Author
News
Date
October 5, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Law
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The Computer Is Not an Idea Machine, It’s a Powerful Pencil

Robert J. Marks talks to Pastor Greg Young of Chosen Generation about his new book, Non-Computable You
News
October 5, 2022
9
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Law

Recently, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks was a featured guest on Pastor Greg Young’s Chosen Generation Radio, in regard to his new book Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will (Discovery Institute Press, 2022) . The nationally syndicated talk show on USA Radio networks, which can be found on stations including KTRB in San Francisco, KDIS in Little Rock, and KYAH in Delta, Utah. The topic turns to artificial intelligence and patents for inventions: Here he is with Dr. Marks, discussing artificial intelligence and patents. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Mind-Matters-205-Robert-J-Marks.mp3 (The discussion started out with talk of beards.) Pastor Greg Young: Well, one thing that AI doesn’t have is beards. Robert J. Marks: They don’t have beards, among a Read More ›

robot-with-artificial-intelligence-observing-human-skull-in-evolved-cybernetic-organism-world-3d-rendered-image-stockpack-adobe-stock
Robot with Artificial Intelligence observing human skull in Evolved Cybernetic organism world. 3d rendered image
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post
Author
News
Date
October 4, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism
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Computer Takeover Won’t Happen, Say a Scientist and Philosopher

Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith say that the Singularity advocates are missing something fundamental about computers vs. humans
News
October 4, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism

Scientist and entrepreneur Jobst Landgrebe and philosopher Barry Smith published a book last month that directly challenges the claim AI is becoming capable of human type thought and will run our world whether we like it or not. Here’s what critics are saying about Why Machines will Never Rule the World: Artificial Intelligence without Fear (Routledge, 2022) It’s a highly impressive piece of work that makes a new and vital contribution to the literature on AI and AGI. The rigor and depth with which the authors make their case is compelling, and the range of disciplinary and scientific knowledge they draw upon is particularly remarkable and truly novel. – Shannon Vallor, Baillie Gifford Chair, Edinburgh Futures Institute, The University of Read More ›

future-of-medicine-stockpack-adobe-stock
Future Of Medicine
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post
Author
News
Date
October 4, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health
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Would You Trust a Robot To Do Surgery on You?

If you were an astronaut, you may not have an alternative
News
October 4, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health

We’ve heard about how Watson flopped in medicine — and yet a remote surgical robot is going to the International Space Station: On Earth, this technology already allows doctors to assist people in faraway locations where services are not readily available. However, the MIRA technology has the added benefit of performing operations autonomously, meaning that astronauts serving on the Moon and Mars could receive medical care without the need for a human surgeon. Matt Williams, “A Remote Surgical Robot is Going to the International Space Station” at Universe Today (August 8, 2022) Integrating AI and medicine is a complex dance. The Virtual Incision machine, slated for 2024, is part of a program to enable long-term life in space: “NASA has Read More ›

silly robot
Friendly crazy robot handyman on orange background. Creative design cyborg toy. Copy space photo
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
October 3, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics

Tesla’s Optimus is Sub-Optimal

With other robotics programs far outrunning Tesla, it can be hard to see what Elon Musk is adding to the field and why he's even trying
Jonathan Bartlett
October 3, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics

As promised, Elon Musk demonstrated his prototype robot “Optimus” at the 2022 Tesla AI Day.  The original plan for the robot included: Navigating the world through AutoPilot (the Tesla vehicle’s driver assistance system) Being able to perform repetitive or dangerous tasks safely Being able to be instructed using natural language instead of programming A year later, the Tesla robot has not even remotely demonstrated the ability to do any of these things with any sophistication.  That’s not surprising given Elon Musk’s penchant for promising things and not delivering them, but it does drive home the point that many of Musk’s mistakes stem from his more general misconceptions about the nature of the world.  Musk is great at organizing people, capital, Read More ›

the-face-of-a-businessman-and-a-robot-opposite-each-other-look-into-the-eyes-modern-technologies-robot-versus-human-artificial-intelligence-neural-networks-3d-render-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
The face of a businessman and a robot opposite each other look into the eyes. Modern technologies, robot versus human, artificial intelligence, neural networks. 3D render, 3D illustration.
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post
Author
News
Date
October 3, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Human exceptionalism
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One Thing We Can Know About Computers: They Are Not Creative

Computer engineer Robert J. Marks explains that to David Krieger at the Power Hour
News
October 3, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Human exceptionalism

Recently, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks was a featured guest on David Krieger’s The Power Hour (KCXL in Liberty, Missouri, and KTRW in Spokane, Washington, September 22, 2022). Despite a short-lived religion based on the idea: https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/Mind-Matters-205-Robert-J-Marks.mp3 Robert J. Marks: In fact, there are entire religions which are based on artificial intelligence. One of the most incredible ones is a guy named Anthony Levandowski, who founded an AI church. In the AI church, here’s some examples. We are told that someday we will be able to be uploaded to a computer, and we can be reborn into an eternal life of silicon. And so that’s kind of copying from the Christian church about immortal life. That’s the way Read More ›