^TagFeatured

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 8, 2023

Categorized
Addiction

Tagged
Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation (Dutton 2021), Featured}

This New Year, Resolve to Dive Headfirst into Life

_{Dr. Anna Lembke urges people to abandon isolating addictions and choose honesty and relationship instead} _{Peter Biles

January 8, 2023

4

Addiction}

With the new year in full swing, people are considering resolutions and asking themselves what habits they need to change. For me, my negative habits almost entirely revolve around technology. Too much time checking social media, email, browsing Twitter and YouTube, going down the cat video abyss. Skimming news, articles, photos, and videos, diminishes the attention span and leaves one feeling empty, restless, and in greater need of a “fix.” It’s a socially acceptable drug, but no less addicting than the others. Lembke, medical director of Stanford Addiction Medicine, asks us in her book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton 2021), Why, in a time of unprecedented wealth, freedom, technological progress, and medical advancement, do we appear to be Read More ›

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
January 7, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Bortus (character in the Orville series), Dr. Finn (Orville character), Featured, Gordon Malloy (character in Orville series), Klyden (character in the Orville series), Lysella (character in Orville series), Moclans in Orville sci-fi series, Orville Season 3 Episode 10, Ty (character in Orville series)}

Orville Episode 10: You’ve Heard of Saving the Best for Last?

_{Well, decide for yourself if you think that’s what the writers did. Some of us would describe it in other terms} _{Gary Varner

January 7, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Episode 10 fails for many reasons, but it’s not the kind of terrible where the episode is so bad you can throw your head back and laugh. Not only is it bad; it’s boring. Mixed up scenes, clunky dialog, and pretentious diatribes spread through the story. The story opens with Moclans Bortus and Klyden renewing their vows. Apparently, the all-male Moclans have a ritual where they essentially run naked through the forest until the “dominate male” catches the “submissive male” and . . . I’ll let you use your imagination. This scene is painful to watch. Two overweight men shamble through the woods in G-strings and the viewer is subjected to every horrendous second. I’m sure you’re wondering, “what kind Read More ›

Aerial view of Frankenstein Castle in southern Hesse, Germany

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 7, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

Tagged
Andrew Klavan, Arts & Culture, Daily Wire, Featured, Frankenstein, Literature, Machines, Mary Shelley, Materialism, Romanticism, science, Science fiction, transhumanism, Wordsworth}

The Prophecies of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

_{Andrew Klavan explores the world of the Romantics in new book and finds special insight in Shelley’s classic horror story} _{Peter Biles

January 7, 2023

4

Arts & Culture, Transhumanism}

Andrew Klavan, acclaimed novelist and host of the Andrew Klavan Show at the Daily Wire, wrote a book about his profound encounters with the Romantics of the 19th century, called The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England’s Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus. The Romantics include literary figures like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and John Keats. While it’s common to highlight the Romantics’ veneration of nature, they were also living in the throes of the Enlightenment, in which atheistic materialism was becoming a minority alternative to theism. Klavan writes, “The wonderful success of science at explaining the material world threatens to create in scientists a bias towards Read More ›

Military bomb defusing robot with shepherd dog in the background.

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post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 6, 2023

Categorized
Law, Politics, Robotics

Tagged
Constitutional carry, Dallas, David Brown, Featured, Hoplophobia, Killer robots, Killer robots in law enforcement, San Francisco, Second Amendment}

How San Francisco’s Gun Fears Prevented Lifesaving Innovation

_{Killer robots in law enforcement would reduce the death toll but they are a bridge too far for many politicians} _{Robert J. Marks

January 6, 2023

4

Law, Politics, Robotics}

In November, 2022, San Francisco voted to allow police to deploy killer robots. Less than a month later, the city reversed their decision. Initially, in an 8-3 vote, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors allowed law enforcement to use robots “as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD.” Sounds like reasonable policy, but protestors held up “NO KILLER ROBOTS!” signs at City Hall and the Board of Supervisors caved. This may be a case of hoplophobia, an irrational fear of firearms. So-called “killer robots” can deploy explosives to allow passage through blockaded doors or, in extreme situations, kill those who put innocent Read More ›

Human brain neuronal stimulation or activity with the close-up of a neuron cell 3D rendering illustration. Neuroscience, neurology, medicine, science, cognition, intelligence, psychology concepts.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 6, 2023

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Tagged
Andrew Knox, Batten disease, Dementia in children, Featured, neuroplasticity, Robert J. Marks, Strokes in children}

What Is Happening When Children Have Strokes or Dementia Signs?

_{Many children who would have died 40 years ago can live a relatively full life today but they are at risk of stroke or dementia} _{News

January 6, 2023

8

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience}

In the podcast released yesterday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows reflects Part 2 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 10:50 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. Andrew Knox: If you had a stroke in what we would call a primary motor area, an area with the connections to motor pathways through the rest of the body — all of those patients might lose the ability to move their arm Read More ›

Neuron cells sending electrical chemical signals. 3d illustration .

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
January 5, 2023

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Tagged
Andrew Knox, Brain vs. computer, Featured, Neural networks, Neurons, Robert J. Marks, Strokes, Strokes in childhood}

How Our Brains Are — and Aren’t — Like Computers

_{Pediatric neurologist Andrew Knox looks at the topic with computer engineer Robert J. Marks} _{News

January 5, 2023

9

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience}

In the podcast released today, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023): The brain is a marvelous organ still not understood. Artificial neural networks are supposed to be a simulation of the human brain. But comparing the brain to an artificial neural network is like comparing the human heart to a pump handle. Dr. Andrew Knox and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the brain, aging, and neurology. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at 00:04 min. A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: I got to ask you kind of a personal Read More ›

Abstract apocalyptic background - burning and exploding planet . digital art style, illustration painting

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
December 31, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction

Tagged
Charly (character in Orvilles 3), EMP device in Orville series, Featured, Isaac (robot in Orvilles 3), Kaylon (characters in Orville), Kaylon Primary in Orville series, Kelly Grayson (character in Orville series), Krill (characters in Orville series), Moclans in Orville sci-fi series, Orville Season Three Episode 9, Talla (character in the Orville series), Teleya (character in Orville series), Union (in Orville series)}

Should a Woman Die in Order to Save a Race of Robots?

_{In The Orville, Episode 9, Charly is confronted with that very choice} _{Gary Varner

December 31, 2022

7

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction}

In Part 1 of my review of Orville Season Three, Episode 9, Charly and Isaac had invented a doomsday EMP device that can annihilate the robotic Kaylon. Ed doesn’t want to use the device to wipe out the entire robotic species because he thinks they are alive, though why he thinks so is never made clear. But, oh well. The Union decides to offer the Kaylon a peace treaty, and the robots accept the deal. However, unbeknownst to our heroes — such as they are — one member of the Union decides it would be better to destroy the Kaylon, and hands the device over to the humanoid Moclans and the reptilian Krill, who have recently formed an alliance. The Read More ›

Glowing huge nebula with young stars. Space background

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post

Author
News
Date
December 30, 2022

Categorized
Philosophy, Physics

Tagged
Beryllium and carbon, Carbon and life, Cosmic coincidences needed for life, Featured, Fine-tuning of universe for life, Five-nucleon crevasse, Fred Hoyle, Fred Hoyle and superintellect, Goldilocks universe, Helium and carbon, Return of the God Hypothesis (book), Stephen C. Meyer, Willie Fowler}

Has a Superintellect Monkeyed With Our Universe’s Physics?

_{Groundbreaking astronomer Fred Hoyle was a staunch atheist but then he tried showing that carbon, essential to life, could form easily…} _{News

December 30, 2022

8

Philosophy, Physics}

This story was #2 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten stories of 2022, based on reader interest. In “Has a superintellect monkeyed with our universe’s physics?” (August 14, 2022), our News division looked at the remarkable way that the physics of our universe enables life: Groundbreaking astronomer Fred Hoyle was a staunch atheist but then he tried showing that carbon, essential to life, could form easily… It got worse: To form carbon at all, gravitational forces must be balanced just right with the electromagnetic forces. That’s just the start… https://episodes.castos.com/id/91f5535b-1f52-41d8-ab90-d87ff21a6be1-IDTF-1632-StephenMeyer-God-Multiverse.mp3 Stephen C. Meyer: Now, some of the most important fine tuning parameters were Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
December 29, 2022

Categorized
Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion

Tagged
Augustine of Hippo, Augustinian proof (of God), Featured, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Jerry Coyne on God, Platonic forms, Realism (in philosophy), Scholastic realism}

Mathematics Can Prove the Existence of God

_{Atheist biologist Jerry Coyne finds that difficult to believe but it’s really a matter of logic} _{Michael Egnor

December 29, 2022

6

Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion}

This story was #3 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten stories of 2022, based on reader interest. In “Mathematics can prove the existence of God” (July 31, 2022), neurosurgeon Michael Egnor offers this thought: Because mathematics can show infinity, eternity, and omnipotence, it can only have proceeded from a mind with those characteristics. That’s God. In a recent post, atheist biologist Jerry Coyne takes issue with a commenter who asserts that God exists in the same sort of way mathematics exists. Here’s the analogy the commenter offered, as quoted by Coyne: Think of numbers for example, or mathematical equations, these are metaphysical things, Read More ›

Chatbot conversation. Person using online customer service with chat bot to get support. Artificial intelligence and CRM software automation technology. Virtual assistant on internet.

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post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
December 26, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming

Tagged
Artificial intelligence as sentient, ChatGPT, ChatGPT and humans in the loop, Connie Loizos, Featured, Humans in the loop, Kevin Roose, Sam Altman, Sentience}

Yes, ChatGPT Is Sentient — Because It’s Really Humans in the Loop

_{ChatGPT itself told me there could be humans crafting its input. My tests indicate that that’s likely true} _{Eric Holloway

December 26, 2022

12

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming}

OpenAI, recently released a new AI program called ChatGPT. It left the internet gobsmacked, though some were skeptical, and concerned about its abilities. Particularly about ChatGPT writing students’ homework for them! [ChatGPT] also appears to be ominously good at answering the types of open-ended analytical questions that frequently appear on school assignments. (Many educators have predicted that ChatGPT, and tools like it, will spell the end of homework and take-home exams.) Kevin Roose, “The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT” at New York Times (December 5, 2022) The really amazing thing is ChatGPT’s humanlike responses. They gives an observer an unnerving suspicion that the AI is actually sentient. Maybe it is actually sentient. Wait, what? You heard me. The AI is Read More ›

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post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
December 26, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Featured, Google, GPT-3, GPT-3 (Gary Smith's tests), LaMDA, Large Language Models (LLMs), Marvin Minsky, OpenAI, Timnit Gebru}

Chatbots: Still Dumb After All These Years

_{Intelligence is more than statistically appropriate responses} _{Gary Smith

December 26, 2022

7

Artificial Intelligence}

This story, by Pomona College business and investment prof Gary Smith was #6 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. At any rate: “Chatbots: Still dumb after all these years.” (January 3, 2022) In 1970, Marvin Minsky, recipient of the Turing Award (“the Nobel Prize of Computing”), predicted that within “three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being.” Fifty-two years later, we’re still waiting. The fundamental roadblock is that, although computer algorithms are really, really good at identifying statistical patterns, they have no way of Read More ›

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
December 24, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics, Science Fiction

Tagged
Charly (character in Orvilles 3), Ed Mercer (Orville character), EMP attack in Orville series, Featured, Isaac (robot in Orvilles 3), Kaylon (characters in Orville), Krill (characters in Orville series), Moclans in Orville sci-fi series, Teleya (character in Orville series), Union (in Orville series)}

Is It Technically Genocide If We Kill a Planetful of Robots?

_{Orville Season 3, Episode 9, features an EMP-like device that could wipe out the robotic Kaylon} _{Gary Varner

December 24, 2022

7

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Robotics, Science Fiction}

This is the best episode of the third season, but there was still plenty to question about the ethical underpinnings. The first scene shows the Krill’s Supreme Chancellor, Teleya, forming an alliance with the Moclans, who have just been ousted from the Union. This doesn’t make any sense. The Moclans hate women. Teleya is a woman. Now, the writers do take the time to address this discrepancy, but it’s a superficial attempt, and therefore, not enough to convince the viewer that this alliance could really happen. Stop and consider who the Moclans are: They don’t just have a bias against women. They hate women. So much so that they turn every child on their planet into a man. There is Read More ›

A sheet of white paper is held by a protester in China.

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 23, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China, Global Technology

Tagged
A4 Revolution, Amy Chang Chien, Apple Airdrop, Caiwei Chen, China, China protests 2022, Claire Fu, Featured, Instagram, Instagram and China protests, Paul Mozur, Twitter, Twitter and China protests, Urumqui apartment fire, White paper movement (China), Zero-Covid policy in China}

China: Protesters Evade Censors and Confront State Surveillance

_{Chinese citizens are known for their clever plays on words to evade social media censors.} _{Heather Zeiger

December 23, 2022

7

Censorship, China, Global Technology}

The graffiti on the bathroom wall at the university said there would be a gathering in honor of the people who had died in an apartment fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Bathrooms usually do not have surveillance cameras, so this announcement would probably go unnoticed by censors. It is better than risking punishment by posting on social media. In another city, Chinese citizens discretely shared information about the location of a vigil for the Urumqi victims on WeChat in the guise of dinner plans. A number of people died in the fire, whose toll was likely inflated because emergency vehicles were unable to access the building due to zero-Covid measures. Social media posts showed doors that were barred shut and barricades Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
December 23, 2022

Categorized
Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Physics

Tagged
Consciousness (prism analogy), Donald Hoffman, Erwin Schrödinger, Erwin Schrödinger on mind, Featured, Robert Prentner, Universal mind (Schrödinger's view)}

Schrödinger Believed That There Was Only One Mind in the Universe

_{The quantum physicist and author of the famous Cat Paradox believed that our individual minds are not unique but rather like the reflected light from prisms} _{News

December 23, 2022

6

Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Physics}

This story was #9 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. Here’s #9, from our news division, for those of us who like pondering the deeper things: Schrödinger believed that there was only one Mind in the universe: Consciousness researcher Robert Prentner and cognitive psychologist will tell a prestigious music and philosophy festival in London next month that great physicist Donald Hoffman, quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) believed that “The total number of minds in the universe is one.” That is, a universal Mind accounts for everything. In a world where many scientists strive mightily to explain how the human Read More ›

Power outage. Electricity missing. Blackout concept.

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post

Author
Forrest M. Mims III
Date
December 22, 2022

Categorized
Military

Tagged
Arthur Bradley, Coronal mass ejection (CME), EMP attack, Featured, Richard Carrington, Top 10 2022}

What Would It Take to Survive an EMP Attack?

_{Remember, almost all conventional power sources and the entire internet would be knocked out and might take many months to replace} _{Forrest M. Mims III

December 22, 2022

11

Military}

As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. Let’s start with #10, electronics expert Forrest M. Mims III on “What would it take to survive an EMP attack?“ We are increasingly vulnerable to both natural disruptions and military attacks on our power grids. Earlier this month I wrote about electromagnetic pulse impulses (EMPs), which would destroy your electronics, leaving you and your surroundings intact — but without easy means of survival. Force of nature: Sometimes the sun is to blame for knocking out the power supply Natural disruptions can give us some idea what to expect. When lightning destroys a transformer atop a power pole, nearby Read More ›

Black and white computer keyboard keys close-up. Concept of unstructured big data that need to be sorted ready to be consumed by machine learning model for deep learning.

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
December 19, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Andrew Gelman, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Ben Kovitz, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Deep Learning AI energy costs, Featured, Galactica, Galactica writing essays, GPT-3 limitations, GPT-3 methodology, Karelian Bear Dog, LaMDA (claims for understanding), Large Language Models (LLMs), Michael Black, Slavoj Žižek, Werner Herzog, Yann LeCun}

Large Learning Models Are An Unfortunate Detour in AI

_{Gary Smith: Even though LLMs have no way of assessing the truth or falsity of the text they generate, the responses sound convincing} _{Gary Smith

December 19, 2022

9

Artificial Intelligence}

For decades, computer scientists have struggled to construct systems possessing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that rivals the human brain—including the ability to use analogies, take into account context, and understand cause-and-effect. Marvin Minsky (1927–2016) was hardly alone in his overly optimistic 1970 prediction that, “In from three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being.” AGI turned out to be immensely more difficult than imagined and researchers turned their attention to bite-size projects that were doable (and profitable). Recently, large language models (LLMs) — most notably OpenAI’s GPT-3 — have fueled a resurgence of hope that AGI is almost here. GPT-3 was trained by breaking 450 gigabytes of text data into Read More ›

Man is using laptop with black keys, Social media and social networking. Marketing concept

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post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 19, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee on Twitter, Doxxing on Twitter, Elon Musk and Twitter takeover, Featured, Mastodon, Twitter and child porn}

Musk’s Tyrannical Turn With Twitter

_{While the political bias is gone, the ego bias seems to have just begun} _{Jonathan Bartlett

December 19, 2022

4

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

I was hopeful when Elon Musk took control of Twitter. As a longtime Musk skeptic in many areas, I thought that his move into Twitter would actually be a good thing. First of all, it matches his background better than Tesla. Twitter is a software play, and Musk’s actual expertise is in building software. Second, Twitter is just about software, not artificial intelligence, which tends to be where Musk gets into trouble. Finally, Musk has at least claimed to be a libertarian, though this seems to be limited to situations where he simply decides that he doesn’t want to do what is required of everyone else. When Musk first took control, it looked positive. Despite the incessant screaming of the Read More ›

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post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 19, 2022

Categorized
Economics, Mathematics

Tagged
Everett Dirksen, Featured, U.S. deficit in personal terms, U.S. spending and deficits}

Celebrating My 2 Billionth Birth-Second: What Big Numbers Mean

_{Let’s see if we can give a clearer, sharper personality to these big numbers} _{Robert J. Marks

December 19, 2022

4

Economics, Mathematics}

I have lived for over two billion seconds. In 2013, I celebrated my 2 billionth birth-second. The party did not last long. Today US spending and deficits are going through the roof. References to billions and trillions of dollars of spending and deficit are everywhere. The late US Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois is purported to have said “A billion here, a billion there; pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” He said this in the middle of the last century. Today we can replace “billion” in Dirksen’s quote with “trillion.” Let’s see if we can give a clearer, sharper personality to these big numbers. A trillion is a thousand times bigger than a billion. If we scale a trillion Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
December 17, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction

Tagged
Bortus (character in the Orville series), Dolly Parton avatar in Orville series, Ed Mercer (character in Orville series), Featured, Heveena (character in the Orville series), Kelly Grayson (character in Orville series), Klyden (character in the Orville series), Moclans in Orville sci-fi series, Moclus (planet in Orville series), Topa (character in the Orville series), Union (in Orville series)}

The Orville 3 8: The Writers Finally Figured Out Moral Ambiguity

_{Is it right to endanger the lives of many to save one? The Orville crew must confront that in the case of the Moclan girl Topa} _{Gary Varner

December 17, 2022

7

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction}

Judging by my mixed emotions regarding the Episode 8 from Season 3, I’d say the writers did fairly well with tackling a morally ambiguous story. There are still problems, but nothing that damages the story. For once, the writers do not scream their opinions at the audience. They even chose two likable characters to act as surrogates for the opposing points of view. As the story opens, Topa wants to meet Heveena, the female Moclan who defended her in court when she was a baby and tried to prevent the all-male (by preference) race from turning her into a boy. Heveena was unable to convince the Moclans to spare Topa, but the young girl later learned the truth and was Read More ›