Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryInformation Theory

close-up-image-of-a-human-cell-nucleus-with-chromatin-strands-cytology-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close-up image of a human cell nucleus with chromatin strands, cytology Generative AI
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 18, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , ,

Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 3

Theoretical biologist Barbieri’s practical dilemma is that a popular, dominant idea like “life is just chemistry” need not be proved, only insisted on
Denyse O'Leary
August 18, 2023
6
Biology, Information Theory

We’ve been following the efforts of University of Ferrara theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri to make sense of the enormous amount of information in life forms. His 2016 paper proposes to do it in a thoroughly physicalist science environment where life is just chemistry that once happened to swish together in an unusual way. As we have seen in Part 1 and Part 2, the project is not going well. Meaning Cannot Exist in an Intellectually Null Universe The idea that information is a mere linguistic metaphor that does not really belong in science is popular in biology today. It supports conventional biologists’ greatest intellectual commitment: That Darwinian evolution, by natural selection acting on random mutation, creates the entire complex, specified Read More ›

anasazi-ruins-in-mesa-verde-stockpack-adobe-stock
Anasazi Ruins in Mesa Verde
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 12, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 2

Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri envisions life’s origin in terms that only make sense if we assume life is the work of an intelligent agent
Denyse O'Leary
August 12, 2023
6
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy

Earlier this week, we looked at a most interesting paper, by University of Ferrara theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri. He was discussing the discomfort biologists feel with the vast amount of information in life forms, which — in the view of many — “does not really belong in science.” The divide, he says, is between biologists who insist that life is chemistry only and those who, like him, see it as chemistry plus information. The problem is obvious: Information is by its nature immaterial. It is measured in bits, not kilograms or joules. It is understood in terms that invoke mathematics and probability more than chemistry and physics. A physicalist biologist ignores or discounts the role of information. Barbieri wants to Read More ›

blue-human-dna-strand-surrounded-by-dna-structure-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Blue Human DNA Strand Surrounded by DNA Structure. Generative AI
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 9, 2023
Categorized
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Can Information Be Separated From Intelligence? Part 1

Theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri finds that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.”
Denyse O'Leary
August 9, 2023
6
Biology, Chemistry, Information Theory, Philosophy

In 2016, University of Ferrara theoretical biologist Marcello Barbieri wrote a rather interesting open access paper on a key philosophical conflict in biology: Is life only chemistry or is it chemistry plus information? In it, he says that many biologists see information in life forms — biological information — as something that “does not really belong to science.” How did they get there from here? Author of Code Biology: A New Science of Life (Springer, 2015), Barbieri offers a history, a critique, and a proposed solution. In this three-part series, I will look at all three elements. First, the history. Molecular biology understands genes as transferring linear sequences of information to proteins that carry out instructions. That’s information as it Read More ›

pharmacist-holding-medicine-box-and-capsule-pack-in-pharmacy-drugstore-stockpack-adobe-stock
Pharmacist holding medicine box and capsule pack in pharmacy drugstore.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 14, 2023
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , , ,

The Role of Information Theory in Medicine

Jay Richards interviews Matt Scholz, Founder & CEO of Oisín Biotechnologies about the challenges and promises of the information theory of biotech
News
July 14, 2023
3
Information Theory

Jay Richards interviews Matt Scholz, Founder & CEO of Oisín Biotechnologies about the challenges and promises of the information theory of biotech. Besides the regulatory environment, Scholz believes that one of the biggest impediments to breakthroughs in medicine is the ability to empower the patient. Strangely, the one person who has no say in healthcare is the patient who ought to be “the arbiter of what goes into their body and not just be subject to the whims of the system.” Matthew Scholz is Immusoft’s founder and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer from 2009 through 2017. Immusoft’s inflection point as a company came when Matthew conceived how a research system developed by Nobel Laureate and former President of Read More ›

3d-render-abstract-geometric-background-colorful-constructor-logic-game-cubic-mosaic-structure-isometric-wallpaper-blue-green-cubes-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d render, abstract geometric background, colorful constructor, logic game, cubic mosaic structure, isometric wallpaper, blue green cubes
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
May 17, 2023
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , ,

Minecraft: A World of Information

The world's bestselling video game captures the insight that information is created and consumed by human minds
Eric Holloway
May 17, 2023
4
Information Theory

What if I told you intelligent design theory is responsible for the most successful computer game of all time? This game is Minecraft. It has sold over 238 million copies, the highest selling game of all time.  What makes the game even more extraordinary is it was created entirely by one man, Markus Persson, over a weekend, who then later sold the game to Microsoft for $2.5 billion dollars. Hard to make this sort of thing up. How does Minecraft work? You can think of Minecraft like a computer game form of Legos, the popular building block toy, with added monsters.  You are dropped into an algorithmically generated world where you have to discover resources, find food, and build structures to survive the Read More ›

reaching toward chatbot
Chat bot Robot Online Chatting Communication Business Internet Technology Concept
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 18, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Information Theory, Relationships
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Why We Should Not Trust Chatbots As Sources of Information

A linguist and an information theorist say that chatbots lack any awareness of the information they provide — and that matters
News
December 18, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Information Theory, Relationships

Linguist Emily M. Bender and information theorist Chirag Shah, both of the University of Washington, have a message for those who think that the chatbot they are talking to is morphing into a real person: No. Not only that but there are good reasons to be very cautious about trusting chatbots as sources of information, all the more so because they sound so natural and friendly. First, decades of science fiction, the authors point out, have taught us to expect computer scientists to develop a machine like that: However, we must not mistake a convenient plot device — a means to ensure that characters always have the information the writer needs them to have — for a roadmap to how Read More ›

3d-illustration-of-interconnected-neurons-with-electrical-pulses-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D illustration of Interconnected neurons with electrical pulses.
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 25, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, ,

Science Isn’t Even Possible Apart From Non-Material Consciousness

Theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder tries hard to argue against that conclusion but things do not go well…
Denyse O'Leary
November 25, 2022
4
Information Theory, Philosophy of Mind

A couple of days ago, we were looking at the way theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder grapples with the way quantum mechanics has undermined materialism. Whether and how we choose to measure something has a big impact, which makes consciousness very difficult to just explain away. Here is her most helpful video on the topic (all the more helpful, one might say, because she is so clearly unhappy with the outcome!): “Does Consciousness Influence Quantum Effects?” (November 19, 2022) Nobelist Eugene Wigner (1902–1995) was one of the physicists who explored the problem. Hossenfelder points to his famous “Wigner’s friend experiment.” (3:01). Here is an illustration from a different source: Essentially, as Wigner pointed out in 1961, a basic building block of Read More ›

COSM2022-Nov10-174A0722-medicine-panel-backstage
Type
post
Author
Casey Luskin
Date
November 12, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , ,

Is Information the Future of Medicine and Biology?

University of Washington’s Georg Seelig wants to “design molecules” and “write genetic information”
Casey Luskin
November 12, 2022
5
Information Theory

At a Thursday afternoon panel at COSM 2022, pioneers in biology had a chance to talk to the public about the code that is written into our genomes. First up was Georg Seelig, a Swiss synthetic biologist and researcher at the Paul Allen School of Computer Science at the University of Washington (UW). He described his bioengineering research as aiming to learn “to read and write the language of the genome,” which is a “sort of a code” written in a “language.” Popular wisdom might hold that we have fully deciphered this language — and Seelig acknowledges that “over the last few decades, we’ve really learned a lot about the syntax of this language.” But he explains there’s still much Read More ›

backgrounds-of-characteristics-and-different-shaped-colony-of-bacteria-and-mold-growing-on-agar-plates-from-soil-samples-for-education-in-microbiology-laboratory-stockpack-adobe-stock
Backgrounds of Characteristics and Different shaped Colony of Bacteria and Mold growing on agar plates from Soil samples for education in Microbiology laboratory.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 23, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Information Theory
Tagged
, ,

Bacterial Growth Patterns Can Spell Out Our Inmost Thoughts

Crazy? No. Researchers reduced them to an alphabet and you can test it for yourself
News
September 23, 2022
2
Biology, Information Theory

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created an encoder/decoder using bacterial growth patterns. Because such growth patterns tend to be regular, they can be reduced to an encoding scheme they call “emorfi”: The encoding is not one-to-one, as the final simulated pattern corresponding to each letter is not exactly the same every time. However, the researchers discovered that a machine learning program could learn to distinguish between them to recognize the letter intended. Ken Kingery, Duke University, “An AI message decoder based on bacterial growth patterns” at Phys.org (September 23, 2022) The paper requires a fee or subscription. Go here to see how it works and test it yourself. We tried it with “Bacterial growth patterns can spell out your Read More ›

website-designer-working-digital-tablet-and-computer-laptop-with-stockpack-adobe-stock
Website designer working digital tablet and computer laptop with
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 10, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , , ,

Is Information Physical? It Depends On What You Mean by Physical…

Information makes things happen but, curiously, it erases its own history
News
July 10, 2022
9
Information Theory

University of Pittsburgh physics prof David Snoke has thought a lot about the relationship between information and physical reality. For example, why does a zip drive full of critical information — that will cause many changes when people read it — weigh only as much as an empty one? Here’s an excerpt from a lecture he gave (podcast) in 2015 on whether information is physical. Although the talk was intended for a group of scientists, it is lay-friendly and enjoyable: People say, “Well, information is not a real thing,” or “It’s only between humans” or something like that. That’s not the way physicists typically talk. So I want to connect you to some of the work that’s been done over Read More ›

two heads different directions
Bipolar disorder mind mental concept. Change of mood. Emotions. Split personality. Dual personality. Head silhouette of man
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 26, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, , , , ,

The Battle Over the Human Mind Split Two Great Thinkers

Charles Darwin opted for a materialist model; his co-theorist Alfred Russel Wallace insisted that the mind was not just the brain
News
June 26, 2022
6
Information Theory, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–2013) share the credit, technically, for the theory of evolution by natural selection but Darwin became the icon. One reason they parted ways was that Wallace did not agree with Darwin that the human mind was simply an organ that evolved naturally, like any other. There had to be something more to it. Philosopher Neil Thomas explains: In his older years Wallace came to reject natural selection as an explanation for the unfurling of all human and even animal life. By then he had transitioned towards the espousal of a form of natural theology; but his initial and gravest misgiving in the 1860s was focused four-square on the mystery of how the human Read More ›

toilet-paper-shortage-coronavirus-panic-buying-man-hoarding-carrying-many-rolls-at-home-in-fear-of-corona-virus-outbreak-closing-shopping-stores-stockpack-adobe-stock
Toilet paper shortage coronavirus panic buying man hoarding carrying many rolls at home in fear of corona virus outbreak closing shopping stores.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 10, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Media, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Economist Faces Painful Truths About COVID-19 Information Dump

Jeffrey A. Tucker admits he was wrong to think that just giving people more information would reduce panic — or that Big Tech was a force for human freedom
News
June 10, 2022
6
Information Theory, Media, Social Media

Economist Jeffrey A. Tucker, president of the Brownstone Institute, shares some thoughts about what he learned about the spread and management of information from the response to COVID-19. Two things he learned are especially worth noting. At one time, Tucker, who describes himself as a “Victorian Whig” (an old-fashioned liberal), believed that merely giving people access to more accurate information would improve our response to crises. He had good reason to believe that: Historically, dictators like Stalin, Hitler, or Xi have restricted access to information in order to keep the public easy to control. So what happened when, in the Western world, the internet opened the dam? The speed and abundance of information actually amplified error. At the height of Read More ›

multi-casino-games-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Multi Casino Games Concept
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 3, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gambling: WHY the House Always Wins in the Long Run…

The casinos are not cheating. They rely on the Law of Large Numbers, part of the mathematical structure underlying our universe
News
June 3, 2022
12
Information Theory

In this week’s podcast, “The house always wins in the long run” (June 2, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on a subject on which he has strong views: gambling. Marks tells us, “I teach a graduate course on probability and stochastic processes. There I teach the stupidity of casino gambling. In statistics, there’s a theorem called the Law of Large Numbers. It teaches that you can’t win in the long run at casino games. Period. The law of large numbers is a mathematical truth. It’s a law as serious as the law of gravity. It’s why casinos always get rich and the gambler always gets poor. There is a Read More ›

abstract-image-of-dna-chain-on-blurred-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
abstract image of dna chain on blurred background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 29, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Information Theory: Evolution as the Transfer of Information

Information follows different rules from matter and energy, which might change the way we see evolution
News
May 29, 2022
4
Information Theory

One reason that the theory of evolution is controversial is the claim that sheer randomness produces information. That is, randomly generated events are somehow selected for survival and continuing complex development (Darwinian evolution). The theory is understandably popular because, if correct, it would answer a great many questions. The problem is, we do not see randomly generated events producing complex mechanisms in the life around us. We are asked, however, to believe that this modern synthesis (MS) is true over the grand sweep of evolutionary time. Over the years, it has become evident that evolution happens in a number of ways. including horizontal gene transfer between unrelated species, epigenetic inheritance of genes that changed during our parents’ lifetimes, and convergent Read More ›

weasel-peering-out-of-a-burrow-stockpack-adobe-stock
weasel peering out of a burrow
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
May 23, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Information Theory
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , ,

Dawkins’ Weasel Program vs the Information Life Acquires En Route

To demonstrate what is wrong with fully naturalist assumptions like those of Richard Dawkins’ Weasel program, I developed Weasel Libs, modeled on Mad Libs
Eric Holloway
May 23, 2022
6
Biology, Information Theory

In his famous Weasel program zoologist and philosopher Richard Dawkins shows that the simple combination of random mutation and natural selection (Darwinian evolution) can produce the English sentence, “Methinks it is like a weasel”, in a short time period. The point of his program is to demonstrate that evolution can generate the complex, pre-specified DNA sequences we find in biology before the heat death of the universe. His argument sounds persuasive because both English sentences and DNA sequences are made up of symbols. Both can be randomly modified anywhere, and by cumulative selection, they can plausibly adapt to the environment in reasonably short order. Writers in English can learn to pen best-selling novels through trial and error and audience feedback. Read More ›

math-equations-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-deep-learning-computer-program-technology-illustration-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Math Equations of Artificial intelligence AI deep learning computer program technology - illustration rendering
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 12, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Mathematics
Tagged
, , , , ,

Does Information Have Mass? An Experimental Physicist Weighs In

Physicist Melvin Vopson argues that information has mass; Eric Holloway replies that, if so, it must come from outside the universe. Meanwhile…
News
April 12, 2022
4
Information Theory, Mathematics

It’s generally held that information does not have mass. However, physicist Melvin Vopson, reflecting on the work of Rolf Landauer (1927–1999), offers a somewhat alarming view: Not only does information have mass but that — at the rate we humans output it now — its energy will outweigh Earth. Yesterday, Eric Holloway offered a response to that claim: Let’s accept that creation of information can indeed increase the amount of energy and mass in a system. But, according to the conservation of energy, the energy in a closed system remains constant. So, if Vopson is correct we now have a mystery because his theory is in tension with the conservation of energy. The only solution is that the system is Read More ›

visualization-of-virtual-world-stockpack-adobe-stock
Visualization of Virtual World
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
April 11, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged
, , ,

Does Information Weigh Something After All? What If It Does?

At the rate we create information today, one physicist computes that in 350 years, the energy will outweigh the atoms of Earth
Eric Holloway
April 11, 2022
4
Information Theory

In the 1960s, IBM researcher Rolf Landauer (1927–1999) observed that if the logical information in a computational system decreased, then the physical entropy in the system must increase (Landauer’s Principle). This conclusion follows from the principle that the entropy in a closed system can never decrease. A decrease in the logical information corresponds to a decrease in entropy. And factoring in the principle that the entropy cannot actually decrease, the physical system itself must increase in entropy when the information decreases. This increase in entropy will result in the emission of heat, and a reduction of energy in the system. Now Melvin Vopson, a physicist at the University of Portsmouth, has taken Landauer’s principle to the next logical step. He Read More ›

illustration-of-red-blood-cells-with-cancer-cells-stockpack-adobe-stock
Illustration of red blood cells with cancer cells.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 4, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Medicine and Health
Tagged
, , , , , ,

“Killing Disease and Living Longer” Biotech Panel Now Online

Combining information technology with microscopic nanotechnology can help us find and weaken toxic bacteria so antibiotics can destroy them
News
March 4, 2022
3
Information Theory, Medicine and Health

Here’s the Innovations in Biotech workshop at COSM 2021 dedicated to “Killing Disease and Living Longer,” on November 11, 2021 in Bellevue, Washington: Panelists: Matt McIlwain (Moderator) — Managing Director, Madrona Venture GroupStephen C. Meyer — Director, Center for Science and CultureJim Tour — T.t. and W.f. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Rice UniversityMatthew Scholz — CEO, Oisin Biotechnologies Attendee Casey Luskin offers an overview of this panel at Manipulating Molecules: Combining info + nano for better medicine: At COSM 2021, scientists like Jim Tour and entrepreneurs like Matt Scholz offer a window into how we are learning to manipulate the building blocks of life (November 12, 2021). For example, Tour and his team are designing light-activated nanodrills which can drill Read More ›

monarch-butterfly-congregation-2-stockpack-adobe-stock
Monarch Butterfly Congregation 2
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 31, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Natural Intelligence
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Can Animal Behavior Simply Be Transferred Into the Genome?

For example, how do Monarch butterflies from Canada get to the same trees in Mexico as their great-grandparents landed in?
News
January 31, 2022
13
Information Theory, Natural Intelligence

Recently, geologist Casey Luskin interviewed Eric Cassell, author of Animal Algorithms: Evolution and the Mysterious Origin of Ingenious Instincts (2021) on one of the central mysteries of biology: How do animals “know” things that they can’t have figured out on their own? Here’s the first part, with transcript and notes. Below is the second part, which looks at some “how” questions. Eric Cassell is an expert in navigation systems, including GPS whose experience includes more than four decades of experience in systems engineering related to aircraft, navigation and safety. He has long had an interest in animal navigation. His model for animal navigation is the natural algorithm: The animal’s brain is “programmed” to enable navigation. Here’s Part II of our Read More ›

engineer-technicial-drawings-and-mechanical-parts-engineering-industry-work-project-paper-prints-projectant-hand-with-pencil-measuring-tools-on-table-stockpack-adobe-stock
Engineer technicial drawings and mechanical parts engineering industry work project paper prints. Projectant hand with pencil, measuring tools on table.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 10, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory
Tagged

Study Information Theory with Engineer Robert J. Marks—and Save Over 50%!

Join computer engineer Robert J. Marks to take a deep dive into these issues and more in Marks’ new online course Evolutionary Informatics, which has just debuted at DiscoveryU
News
January 10, 2022
2
Information Theory

What can we learn from information theory about the possibilities—and limits—of machine intelligence? How can the methods of probability help us better assess the capabilities of “evolutionary” algorithms? Join computer engineer Robert J. Marks to take a deep dive into these issues and more in Marks’ new online course Evolutionary Informatics, which has just debuted at DiscoveryU, Discovery Institute’s online learning platform.Tuition for the Evolutionary Informatics,course is set at $100, but with a special coupon code (2022special47) you can reduce the cost by more than 50% to just $47! The coupon code is valid through Feb. 28, 2022. Students can use a different code (2022special25) to reduce the cost of the course to $25, also through Feb. 28. Dr. Marks Read More ›