Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryMedia

cameroon-pongo-songo-smiling-man-with-chimpanzee-pan-troglod-839088447-stockpack-adobestock
Cameroon, Pongo-Songo, Smiling man with Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) on back

Evolution Debate: Today, a Priest Might Win Over Clarence Darrow

The National Catholic Register offers an interesting take on today’s hundredth anniversary of the Scopes trial verdict

Fr. Martin Hilbert argues that causality — design, to use the more loaded term — is written deep into nature, and the best science demonstrates that.

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Professional microphone in radio station studio on air

Why Public Funding Cuts the Heart out of Media

To be proper critics of government, media like NPR must be financially independent. Otherwise, they have no place to stand that gives them a clear view

As a veteran journalist puts it, once you build a co-dependence like that, you lose public trust. People are just not going to believe you.

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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.

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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.

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a-newspaper-printing-press-showcasing-the-journalism-and-med-581501669-stockpack-adobestock
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.

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a-business-team-with-raised-fists-celebrating-a-milestone-hi-712844824-stockpack-adobestock
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.

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eccentric-mad-scientist-set-against-a-solid-green-felt-backg-1196615635-stockpack-adobestock
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.

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faq-ask-quiestion-online-what-where-when-how-and-why-search-230581296-stockpack-adobestock
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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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antique-wooden-tv-stand-with-decorative-frame-cut-out-for-hi-1123936178-stockpack-adobe_stock
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.

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a-wall-filled-with-various-types-of-televisions-perfect-for-715054386-stockpack-adobe_stock
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.

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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.

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canadian-maple-leaf-flag-seen-flying-half-mast-on-a-flag-pol-469219951-stockpack-adobe_stock
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

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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?

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colonisation-of-mars-mars-base-colony-in-open-space-digitall-582832763-stockpack-adobe_stock
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.

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tide-going-out-on-beach-in-mexico-at-sunset-with-mountains-b-391796205-stockpack-adobe_stock
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.

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consensus-word-made-of-square-letter-block-on-green-square-m-233406584-stockpack-adobe_stock
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.

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