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Mind Matters Reporting on Natural and Artificial Intelligence

CategoryReligion

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Warning Sign about Stumbling
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 12, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Science
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In Dan Brown’s AI Hype Novel, the Hero Stumbles Onto God

Not clear that was supposed to happen but stories do get away on their authors at times…
News
July 12, 2020

In a recent podcast, “John Lennox: False Assumptions in the hype over AI,” Oxford mathematician John Lennox, author of 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020) discussed common mistaken assumptions with Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. One of them seems to be that AI might prove there is no God, replace God, or become God. Things get interesting when these science fictions meet the world of fact. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-090-John-Lennox.mp3 From the transcript: Robert J. Marks: In your book, you discussed Dan Brown’s novel entitled Origin. Now Dan Brown is famous for writing many, I don’t know, kind of strange books. One was the Da Vinci Code, but his recent one deals with artificial intelligence and you discuss Read More ›

St-Francis-Outpatient-Center
St Francis Outpatient Center in Federal Way, Washington State
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
June 1, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Religion
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COVID-19: Atheism Went Viral As Well

Atheists are uniquely unsuited to accuse others of devaluing human life
Michael Egnor
June 1, 2020

Professor Steven Pinker’s quickly deleted tweet provides a window into anti-religious hate. In health and medicine, he is entirely mistaken. 

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two-astronauts-on-the-alien-planet-discover-plant-life-space-travel-discovery-of-habitable-worlds-and-colonization-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Two Astronauts on the Alien Planet Discover Plant Life. Space Travel, Discovery Of Habitable Worlds and Colonization Concept.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 31, 2020
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Science
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Is Intelligence Common or Rare in the Universe?

A recent analysis says that life is common but intelligence not so much. Let’s explore the reasoning
News
May 31, 2020

We really don't know anything about life elsewhere in the universe so even university-trained scientists often try to WISH it into existence.

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if-then-logic-statement-written-in-white-chalk-on-a-black-chalkboard-isolated-on-white-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
If Then logic statement written in white chalk on a black chalkboard isolated on white
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post
Author
News
Date
May 10, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Religion
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Gödel and God: A Surprising History

A thought-provoking account of master logician Gödel’s largely unknown proof of the existence of God
News
May 10, 2020

In an unsanitized, politically incorrect (but factual) history, Selmer Bringsjord talks about how the tormented genius Kurt Gödel took up a quest that dated back a thousand years to prove the existence of God by formal logic. His original version didn’t quite work but his editor’s version passed an important logic test.

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Fractal galaxy cosmic consciousness, the Eye that is the Source of Creation
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 22, 2020
Categorized
Religion
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God’s Existence Is Proven by Science

Arguments for God’s existence can be demonstrated by the ordinary method of scientific inference
Michael Egnor
March 22, 2020

If we approach the arguments logically, as the ancient philosophers did, we will see that it is more certain that God exists than that anything else does. Atheist evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne should consider the arguments more carefully before assuming that prayer is foolish.

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Panoramic aerial view of St Peter's square in Vatican, Rome Italy
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post
Author
Jay Richards
Date
March 22, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Ethics, Religion
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Why Does the Vatican Need Microsoft?

Should the Church really partner with IBM and Microsoft to make pronouncements on tech regulation?
Jay Richards
March 22, 2020

When giant corporate actors like IBM and Microsoft promote “transparency and compliance with ethical principles?”, we run the risk that they are helping to craft regulations that hinder future competitors (“regulatory capture”). Rather than partner with them in making statements, the Church should stay clear.

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Group of people holding hands praying worship believe
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 15, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Religion
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Jerry Coyne Hasn’t Got a Prayer

He understands neither natural theology nor natural science
Michael Egnor
March 15, 2020

We are more scientifically certain of God’s existence than we are of quantum mechanics or Newtonian or relativistic gravitation. The logic is rigorous.

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Digital Brain
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 10, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Are We Doomed Unless We Get Ourselves Digitized?

A tech writer suggests humans can escape Earth’s end by digitizing ourselves elsewhere in the galaxy
Denyse O'Leary
March 10, 2020

Today’s apocalyptic vision seems now to have moved on from the arrival of the extraterrestrials to uploading ourselves to a supercomputer. Whether it’s possible is really secondary. The main question is whether it answers a cultural need for a vision that mirrors the inner turmoil of the day.

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Female surgeon praying in operation theater
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post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 8, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Religion
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Why prayer is wise during a pandemic

Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne thinks that only fools would pray about coronavirus. He is wrong and here is why
Michael Egnor
March 8, 2020

If God is real, then prayer is probably the first thing you want to do in a crisis. A plea to the Boss is a fine preamble to the grunt work of managing a crisis. I’m a neurosurgeon, and I pray before each operation. It really helps.

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Panorama starry landscape. Panorama of the universe. Planet and stars rise.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 15, 2020
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Scientific American Explores Panpsychism… Respectfully

This is a major change. At one time, a science mag would merely ridicule the idea of a conscious universe
News
January 15, 2020

Make no mistake, panpsychism—as Goff elucidates it—is a purely naturalist view (“nothing supernatural or spiritual”). But, unlike the village atheist, he goes on to ask, but then what is nature? Matter is all there is? But what is matter? It turns out, no one really knows.

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Businessman forecasting a crystal ball
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 30, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion
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2019 AI Hype Countdown #2: Big Data Is Our Crystal Ball!

The biggest problem is that human behavior is not as predictable as the models imply
Jonathan Bartlett
December 30, 2019

Many models are ridiculously simplistic, making the results worse than worthless. They become a way of solidifying biases.

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Photo by NeONBRAND
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
December 29, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Why Materialism Fails as a Science-Based Philosophy

I don’t believe that either panpsychism or cosmopsychism is true. But I have some sympathy with people who hold those views
Michael Egnor
December 29, 2019

There is no doubt that consciousness is a fundamental property of animal and human existence. As philosopher Philip Goff notes, a philosophy like materialism that cannot plausibly account for it cannot be correct.

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sport cyclisme velo tour de France
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
December 11, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Religion
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I Am Giving Up Cycling

It’s just not worth it if a machine can beat me
Brendan Dixon
December 11, 2019

It’s not that I cannot cycle or that I don’t like to or that I’m not good at it (for a human). But just the other day, as I pedaled along, I was passed by a motorcycle. Its speed was incredible! I appeared to be pedaling in place as the machine zoomed into the distance. In that moment, it became all too clear that my days as a meaningful human were ending. The machine was my better. Okay. That is not true. I am not going to quit cycling. And, being passed by a motorcycle—a machine we built purposely to go faster than anything our two legs can achieve—is not a meaningful measure of my prowess as a cyclist. Many Read More ›

Web banner abstract smooth round pebbles sea texture background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 8, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Does the Bible Talk About Near-Death Experiences?

Walter Bradley points to an incident in the life of the apostle Paul in the New Testament that sounds like a near-death experience
News
December 8, 2019

Paul's remarkable vision, described in 2 Corinthians 12:2, could well have been a near-death experience. He was once stoned and assumed to be dead, his body abandoned outside city walls. But he revived. 

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asian business woman in a heated discussion
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post
Author
News
Date
November 29, 2019
Categorized
Global Technology, Religion, Surveillance, Technocracy
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How Tech Savvy Helps Hong Kong Hold Off China

Several other factors help, including spirituality and a sense of unique identity as Hongkongers
News
November 29, 2019

The stakes are high. Hongkongers have been energized by the dramatic recent win for democracy at the polls. But so have the police.

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Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism - illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 19, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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Transhumanism—Is It a Dangerous Idea?

Some Silicon Valley greats hope to merge with machines to live forever. But what then?
News
November 19, 2019

The late philosopher Jerry Fodor (1935—2017) said that the reason “we’re all materialists” is that the alternatives seem even worse. Transhumanism, had he lived to see it develop, would give him pause for further reflection. 

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old tree roots in a green forest
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 6, 2019
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Religion
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New Research Suggests That Plants Can “Think”

But what does that mean? Clearly not what some people expect
Denyse O'Leary
November 6, 2019

From time immemorial, we have endowed what we find in nature with our own characteristics. That is called mythology. The people who think that salad is murder or beg plants to forgive their sins are not helping the environment; they are incorporating a mythology into their lives

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Detail of cyborg eye and robot.3d illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 6, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Technocracy
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But Could Techno-Immortality Ever Be the Real Thing?

Oxford mathematician John Lennox looks at Ray Kurzweil’s techno-immortality from a Christian perspective
News
November 6, 2019

In these excerpts from the podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks talks with John Lennox about an AI immortality where we are told, for example, that we won’t need tongues because we can tap right into our taste buds.

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COSM-3104
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 23, 2019
Categorized
Religion, Work
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Tech Entrepreneur Peter Thiel says Silicon Valley is losing its touch

Peter Thiel also compared universities today to the Catholic Church at its worst
Denyse O'Leary
October 23, 2019

About the Big Tech companies, he says, “The story is not that they have done a lot of bad things but that they have not done enough good things. That remains the core challenge of Silicon Valley.”

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