Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryMedia

doctor-reviews-brain-scans-stockpack-adobe-stock-1284682992-stockpack-adobestock
Doctor reviews brain scans

Burying Stories Is No Way to Advance Science

A story about a man with a severe brain defect who led an apparently normal life has been almost buried in efforts to explain it away
Michael Egnor and I wrote The Immortal Mind to show that the mind is not simply what the brain does and this story is but one example among many. Read More ›
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Creative representation of social media engagement. A red

AI Blackmail & Clickbait:  Give Us Dirty Laundry

Despite all the hype about AI threatening blackmail, here’s what really happened…
Chatbots have been trained on such stories. People forget it’s just a machine and panic because they think of it as a person who really thinks things. Read More ›
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a newspaper printing press, showcasing the journalism and media industry profession

Legacy Media is at a Crossroads. Can They Regain Public Trust?

Unless journalists recognize the ways they've fallen short, people will continue to distrust mainstream media
The coverup of Biden's cognitive decline couldn't have come at a worse time. New media platforms are eating up more and more of people's time and attention. Read More ›
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A business team with raised fists celebrating a milestone, highlighting workplace enthusiasm and achievement

Group Founded by Francis Collins Starts PR Campaign for “Science”

The answer to lack of public trust in science does not lie in PR. It lies rather in addressing the attitudes and practices that lead to loss of trust
The growing crisis of confidence in science isn’t because people believe “science” is bad. It’s because they believe the current scientific elite is untrustworthy. Read More ›
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eccentric mad scientist set against a solid green felt background, showcasing their quirky personality and wild inventions. Ideal for promoting creativity, science events, or educational materials

The Wrong Tool to Fix Woke Science Journals

The government has no business pressuring medical journals about their content — even if their bias is ruining historic reputations
The First Amendment applies here. The editors and publishers have every right to destroy their journals’ reputations without fear of being investigated. Read More ›
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FAQ, ask quiestion online, what where when how and why, search information on internet

Wikipedia Cofounder on Wikipedia, AI, Bias, and Human Knowledge

In the podcast, Sanger explains Wikipedia’s early attempts to reflect a neutral point of view, It was, he says, just a dream
He talks about the shortcomings of large language models and why humans are irreplaceable and essential to increasing our understanding of the world. Read More ›
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Podcasting and radio concept with retro microphone and headphones on empty wooden table and dark blank wall background with place for your logo or text. 3D rendering, mock up

Is “New Media” Really the Answer?

Old and new media and the crisis of trust and expertise
Some might say we are introducing a new oral culture, where people have switched from reading words, arguments etc. to listening and watching the screen. Read More ›
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Businesswoman interviewed for a podcast

Information Imperialism: The Battle for Free Access Heats Up

Headline incidents are only one part of an international trend toward attempted government control of the news stream
Regardless of who emerges as the victor in the battle between government censors and independent creators, the traditional media landscape is now history. Read More ›
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Woman putting red sign with words

NYT on COVID: Not “Badly Misled.” One of the Worst Misleaders!

The Times writer smears legitimate doubt by associating it with unnamed questionable persons and causes — that works if people don’t know the story
Legacy media are giving way to broader-based social media. But trust in science is also at a low ebb. And what’s the replacement for science? Read More ›
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Antique Wooden TV Stand with Decorative Frame Cut-Out for Historical Display

Stop Moaning About the ‘Mainstream Media’. You Are the Media Now

Social media have become much more important, relative to traditional news media and we are only beginning to grasp the profound implications
People can now build in their own spare rooms an audience that used to require printing presses or big TV studios. No surprise, governments want control. Read More ›
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A wall filled with various types of televisions. Perfect for illustrating technology, entertainment, or media concepts

A Careful Autopsy on Legacy Mainstream Media

The new digital world is horizontal. You — not just a White House press correspondent — can watch a top-level White House meeting from anywhere in the world
Andrey Mir tells us that legacy media had tried entering the digital world but were captured by online progressives who ruled them but did not subscribe. Read More ›
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Topological phases in quantum systems represent new states of matter with unique properties offering potential applications in quantum computing and material science Background Illustration, Bright

Does Everyone Think We Should Exaggerate Scientific Advances?

Many “breakthroughs” reported breathlessly in media are nowhere close to resulting in usable products or services
Companies, universities and almost everyone else hypes the latest advances while those who question the hype are told that they are the problem. Read More ›
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Canadian maple leaf flag seen flying half mast on a flag pole in northern Canada during fall, autumn season with stunning snow capped mountains in background.

Trudeau Resigns: Canada’s Media Control Bills Are Stymied For Now

Is the Woke war on reality beginning to stall? In Canada, it is a war not only on math, science, and biology, but also history
Bill C-413, which might criminalize honest scrutiny of extraordinary claims re residential schools, is part of a larger war on the primacy of fact over feelings Read More ›
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side view of cyborg robot writing a story using old typewriter and looking at paper laying next to it on table, generative AI

Evolution Journal Editors Resign After AI Takes Over

Publisher Elsevier seems to have created a lot of extra work for the editors by introducing AI-generated errors into the publishing process
Was a journal that tries to explain the origin of the unique human mind without any reference to the Mind that created the universe bound to end up here? Read More ›
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Colonisation of Mars. Mars base colony in open space. Digitally generated AI image

Why Do Science and Tech Writers Hate Elon Musk?

It's partly because he encourages bottom-up media but also he encourages a sort of vision that is now largely lost
Musk's philosophy of the future: I believe it should be curiosity about the Universe – expand humanity to become a multiplanet, then interstellar, species. Read More ›
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Tide going out on beach in Mexico at sunset with mountains behind

Woke SciAm Editor Resigns in Post-US Election Uproar

Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine and former Scientific American columnist, offers a thoughtful response
Shermer writes, "the people promulgating these woke ideas are mostly true believers" and their fervor makes it easier to convince themselves, not others. Read More ›
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Consensus word made of square letter block on green square mat background.

Nature Editorial Attacks Trump for Ignoring “Scientific Consensus”

Mistrust of the state, which the editorialists fear, doesn’t weaken democracy. It is essential to its proper functioning. Hence the Constitution and Bill of Rights
Nature, a British publication, should stay out of American politics; otherwise, it breeds the very mistrust of the science sector that it decries. Read More ›
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Wiki - word concept on cubes

What Went Wrong With Wikipedia — And Can It Be Fixed?

Many people may be unaware of Wikipedia's biases because they simply never hear information that is omitted both by mainstream media and by Wikipedia
Despite its neutrality claims, Wikipedia often refuses to use sources that may be the only ones providing accurate information on some sensitive topics. Read More ›
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Small orange flags places in grass in memory of the thousands of Indigenous children that died in Canada's residential school system. Wide view.

Canada’s Residential Schools: A Saga of Journalistic Wrongdoing

Even as the story is collapsing for lack of evidence, there is a move afoot to criminalize doubt about what happened (denialism).
Could it happen in the United States? Of course. It can happen anywhere where people are willing to ignore the demands of evidence in favor of private truth. Read More ›