_{Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis}

^CategoryPsychology

Portrait of smiling multinational people different religions stand together. National Religious Freedom Day. January 16. Holiday concept. Template for background, banner, card, poster and wallpaper

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 24, 2025

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Mental health, Psychology, Religion

Tagged
Harold Koenig, P. Scott Richards}

Religious Involvement Generally Predicts Better Mental Health

_{The signal that rises above the research noise is mostly positive. The question, in most cases, is what it points to} _{Denyse O'Leary
August 24, 2025

5

Medicine and Health, Mental health, Psychology, Religion}

Harold Koenig and colleagues are confident that improving the quality of research will strengthen the usefulness of the overall database.

Robot Therapist AI Mental Healthcare Concept Future Psychology Support Empathy Technology Listening Session

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News
Date
August 20, 2025

Categorized
Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Psychology, Relationships

Tagged
AI and values, AI bubble, AI therapists, Chris Rufo, Gary Marcus, Geoffrey Hinton, J. David Creswell, Maggie Harrison Dupré, My Boyfriend Is AI (Reddit), Sam Altman}

AI Is Impacting Our Culture — But Not As We Were Told To Expect

_{Okay, your boss is not a robot. Your doctor is not a chatbot. But here are some things that are actually happening that we might not have expected} _{News
August 20, 2025

5

Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Psychology, Relationships}

One change is that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT-5, seems to be acknowledging that the AI bubble might soon burst.

World Puzzle

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
August 1, 2025

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology

Tagged
Artificial intelligence (puzzles vs. mysteries), Enron scandal, Gerd Gigerenzer, Gregert Trevertony, Gut Feelings (2007), Malcolm Gladwell, McCarthyism, What the Dog Saw (2009)}

Mistaking the World for a Puzzle Risks a New McCarthyism

_{In Part 2, I look at the imaginary world we invent when we succumb to puzzle thinking} _{Erik J. Larson
August 1, 2025

7

Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology}

It’s imaginary because the clues that matter — why people starve, why peace fails, why the planet overheats — are not hidden in larger and larger datasets.

Adorable toddlers playing around lots of toys at kindergarten

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post

Michael Egnor
Date
June 7, 2025

Categorized
Language, Psychology

Tagged
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), Behaviorism, Jerry Fodor (1935–2017), Noam Chomsky}

Why Behaviorism Failed as a Leading Theory in Psychology

_{The human mind, like the origin and development of life itself is not reducible to merely physical processes} _{Michael Egnor
June 7, 2025

6

Language, Psychology}

In our minds, as in our cells, we can see the clear signature of a Mind beyond this universe.

AI robot sitting on a chair next to an elderly man with coffee, both waiting for a job interview. AI vs human concept. futuristic technology coexisting with people in a professional environment

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
May 20, 2025

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Probability, Psychology

Tagged
Amos Tversky (1937‒1996), Axiomatic rationality, Black swan events, Daniel Kahneman (1934‒2024), Ecological rationality, Grice’s cooperation principle, John Kay, Linda Problem, Mervyn King, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Unknown unknowns}

The Linda Problem Revisited, As If Reality Matters

_{Part 2: AI enthusiasts use false claims for humans' “natural stupidity” to bolster claims for machine intelligence} _{Erik J. Larson
May 20, 2025

12

Artificial Intelligence, Probability, Psychology}

The people who flunked the Linda problem were not biased; they just assumed there was some POINT to telling them that Linda was active in social justice issues.

Cognitive Bias and Judgement Error - Conceptual Illustration

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
May 19, 2025

Categorized
Probability, Psychology

Tagged
Amos Tversky (1937‒1996), Axiomatic rationality, Blaise Pascal, Chevalier de Mere, Cognitive biases, Daniel Kahneman (1934‒2024), Featured, John Kay, Linda Problem, Mervyn King, Michael Lewis, Radical Uncertainty (Little Brown 2020), The Undoing Project (Norton 2016)}

Humans Aren’t That Biased — and Machines Aren’t That Smart

_{Part 1: At an upcoming conference on AI, I will be puncturing that particular AI enthusiast’s fantasy} _{Erik J. Larson
May 19, 2025

7

Probability, Psychology}

Via the “Linda Problem,” Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky convinced generations that we don’t grasp probability. They’re wrong.

Businessman using smartphone to chatting by use chat Bot program for Artificial intelligence or AI technology concept.

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News
Date
May 13, 2025

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Psychology

Tagged
AI customer service, AJ Dellinger, Featured, Gary Marcus, Klarna and AI, Shoplifting, Target and self-checkout}

Companies Spending A Lot on AI Are Not Seeing A Big Return

_{Target and WalMart are reversing course, cutting back on self-checkout} _{News
May 13, 2025

5

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Psychology}

Perhaps it is worth keeping in mind that bots not only don’t buy things themselves but may be chasing away humans who do.

Charles Darwin observing Ape skulls

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
April 25, 2025

Categorized
Evolution, Philosophy, Psychology

Tagged
Private truth, Salvo Magazine, Scopes Trial 1925}

Salvo: The Facts and Fictions of the Scopes Monkey Trial

_{Society has changed so much that biologists face trouble not for believing in Darwinism but for believing in the reality of biology} _{Denyse O'Leary
April 25, 2025

5

Evolution, Philosophy, Psychology}

The biologists who would pride themselves on enthroning Darwinism as a public truth a century ago find that what is publicly true no long even matters the way it used to.

Hacker in prison cell. Selective focus. AI generated, human enhanced

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 20, 2025

Categorized
Law, Psychology, Relationships

Tagged
Augustine Brannigan, Philip Zimbardo (1933–2024), Sociology, Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE), Thibault Le Texier}

Should the Iconic Stanford Prison Experiment Study Be Retracted?

_{Within six months of the death of the famous sociologist who devised it, long-simmering questions have risen to the surface} _{Denyse O'Leary
March 20, 2025

5

Law, Psychology, Relationships}

Beware of wildly popular sociology that tells us that our public policy preferences are somehow embedded in human nature. Life was never as simple as that.

Man choosing which hamburger to eat from fast food restaurant

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post

Peter Biles
Date
March 6, 2025

Categorized
Business and Finance, Creativity, Psychology

Tagged
Childhood, Digital native, Jonathan Haidt, McDonald's, Play place, Technology, X}

A New McDonald’s PlayPlace Doesn’t Look Very Fun

_{A virtual playground doesn't offer kids genuine play} _{Peter Biles
March 6, 2025

3

Business and Finance, Creativity, Psychology}

Hopefully the McDonald’s corporation will realize that the PlayPlace is a big part of what makes its restaurants so appealing.

Clever black child thinking on chalkboard background with science formulas

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post

Erik J. Larson
Date
February 15, 2025

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Transhumanism

Tagged
Amos Tversky (1937–1006), Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), Chevalier de Méré, Daniel Kahneman (1934-2024), Featured, Grice’s maxims, John Kay, Linda Problem, Mervyn King, Michael Lewis, Noise: (Little Brown 2021), Olivier Sibony, Radical Uncertainty (Norton 2020), Richard Branson, Thinking Fast and Slow (FSG 2011), Undoing Project}

Why Humans Aren’t That Biased, and Machines Aren’t That Smart

_{Claims about the cognitive biases that supposedly overwhelm our judgment should be taken with a helping of salt} _{Erik J. Larson
February 15, 2025

17

Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Transhumanism}

It’s no wonder that techno-futurists trumpet a coming machine intelligence with such ease — they’ve lowered the standards so much to begin with.

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News
Date
January 25, 2025

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology}

Cognitive Psychology and AI: Exploring Their Intersection

_{Cognitive psychology can be contrasted with behaviorism because it investigates the black box of mental processes} _{News
January 25, 2025

3

Artificial Intelligence, Psychology}

Cognitive scientist Dr. Joe McDonald notes that AI is not able to contextualize information, which limits its use in psychological tests.

Masculinity - a gigantic and unmovable weight chained to a vulnerable and suffering person in pain, misery and helplessness. Cold and tragic condition created by Masculinity ,3d illustration

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News
Date
October 13, 2024

Categorized
Philosophy, Psychology, Relationships

Tagged
George Gilder, Steven Pinker}

Philosopher Asks, Why the Toxic War on Masculinity?

_{Prominent evangelical philosopher Nancy Pearcey is teaching a course on the roots of the “hate men” movement today. Here’s an excerpt from the controversial book it's based on} _{News
October 13, 2024

15

Philosophy, Psychology, Relationships}

Pearcey argues that the biblical view of manhood offers men far greater dignity than any secular view, especially the Darwinian one.

Flower, Green, Plant

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Peter Biles
Date
September 11, 2024

Categorized
Philosophy, Psychology

Tagged
Beauty, College, Consciousness, Evolution, Gen Z, Jonathan Haidt, phones, the anxious generation}

Haidt: Beauty and Awe Help Us Escape the Phone-Based Life

_{The question is: why are we drawn to beauty?} _{Peter Biles
September 11, 2024

5

Philosophy, Psychology}

I want the beauty of the forest to actually be beautiful, not just signal a primordial drive to forage and hunt.

Old Egyptian hieroglyphs with UFO Aliens on ancient background. Concept humanoid Flying saucer history of Earth. Generation AI

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 7, 2024

Categorized
Extraterrestrial life, Psychology, Science}

Are Beliefs in Space Aliens Really Spiraling Out of Control?

_{A British philosophy prof sees such views as a “widespread societal problem,” comparing them to the J6 riot} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 7, 2024

5

Extraterrestrial life, Psychology, Science}

On the whole, Milligan’s worries are not so much unreasonable as they are perennial. People will NOT easily accept that we might be alone in the universe.

Close-up check mark on cube wooden toy block stack with cross symbol for true or false changing mindset or way of adapting to change leader and transform quiz answer and poll concept.

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Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 5, 2024

Categorized
Politics, Psychology}

Polling Season: Time To Be Manipulated!

_{The fact that polls can be analyzed numerically is one of their limitations for prediction} _{Jonathan Bartlett
September 5, 2024

9

Politics, Psychology}

If we obsess about polling data, all we will hear is the distorted echo of our own voices. We need to focus on issues and policies instead.

Humanoid robot doing work in front of a laptop in an office room. Based on Generative Ai.

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News
Date
August 27, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Robotics

Tagged
Eliza effect}

Why Are Robots Built To Look Like Humans?

_{It’s not because that’s the most efficient way to design them for high tech work} _{News
August 27, 2024

4

Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Robotics}

The main effect of humanoid robots is psychological; people tend to believe they are actually thinking when they are not.