^TagFeatured

High-Ranking Military Man holds a Briefing to a Team of Government Agents and Politicians, Shows Satellite Surveillance Footage.

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
February 6, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Military

Tagged
2034: A Novel of the New World War, China, Elliot Ackerman, Featured, Futurist fiction, James Stavridis, United States, Wired}

Sci-fi Saturday Books: Will World War III Be the U.S. vs. China?

_{One thing that is certain is that it will be a cyber war} _{Heather Zeiger

February 6, 2021

7

Arts & Culture, Military}

Wired Magazine devoted its entire February 2021 issue to the first four chapters of a book depicting a near-future dystopia in which the U.S. goes to war with China. You can read the first part of the book here. The authors of 2034: A Novel of the New World War have military backgrounds and were inspired by Cold War literature that speculated on the worst-case scenario if the U.S. and Russia had gone to war. The reason for the Wired editors’ interest is that 2034 is no ordinary thriller. Admiral James Stavridis comes with a wealth of experience in how such a conflict might play out. He is a retired four-star U.S. naval officer who has received numerous medals and Read More ›

Programming language and development of applications concept on yellow blue background. Training courses of php, sql, html, css and other disciplines.

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post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
February 5, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Featured, halting problem}

Human Ingenuity vs. the Computer’s Halting Problem

_{In a dialogue with a friendly skeptic, I suggested an explanation he found astounding but it’s the only possible one} _{Eric Holloway

February 5, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence}

When studying computer science a student invariably learns about the infamous halting problem. The problem states there is no general algorithm that can determine for every deterministic computer program whether that program will halt or not. This struck me as absurd when I first learned of the problem. Surely a whizkid like myself could design a simple algorithm to track the program’s memory and catch when it started repeating itself and determined it would not halt. Once convinced the problem was indeed provably unsolvable, I then thought the problem must show that humans are not computers. This is because it seems intuitive that for every program, if I watch it enough and think about it carefully enough, I should be Read More ›

New York, NY - MARCH, 2019: Deepfake Face Manipulation of Asian Male

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Author
News
Date
February 5, 2021

Categorized
Global Technology, Military

Tagged
Alexander Litvineko, Arctic, Deepfakes, Denise Simon, Featured, Novichok, Polonium, Robert J. Marks, robotics, Russia, Sergei Skripal, Vladimir Putin}

Today’s Russian Diplomacy: Deepfakes and Radioactive Poisons

_{Because deepfakes are getting harder to spot, American news platforms waste time and energy trying to root them out} _{News

February 5, 2021

8

Global Technology, Military}

In a recent podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks hosted Denise Simon, an intelligence analyst, talking about the way hostile foreign powers can use AI to generate false information. Denise Simon discusses both deepfake attacks—and some much more sinister ones. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-119-Denise-Simon.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at about 17:50. Show notes and links follow. Denise Simon: That [the Maskirovka Technique of deception and deepfakes] is another component of how we try to decipher what’s real coming out of the Kremlin and what isn’t real. And even if it isn’t real, what consequences it has on influence and activities. Robert J. Marks: One of the things that Russia is invested in is artificial intelligence. Vladimir Putin has Read More ›

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Author
Eric Holloway
Date
February 4, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Design Inference (book), Explanatory Filter, Featured, Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), GMO detection, Intelligent design theory, William Dembski}

Is GMO Detection an Application of Dembski’s Explanatory Filter?

_{If so, it would be an instance of the use of the filter in biology} _{Eric Holloway

February 4, 2021

7

Information Theory}

Have you ever heard people say that intelligent design (ID) theory has never been applied to biology? They are wrong! In fact, it is applied frequently in the very important field of detecting genetically modified organisms (GMOs). “A genetically modified organism contains DNA that has been altered using genetic engineering.” (National Geographic) Detection can trace the use of GMOs, now frequent in our food supply, so that products can be recalled if there is a problem or if people just don’t want to use GMO products. GMOs are intelligently designed biological organisms, and scientists use design theorist William Dembski’s explanatory filter to detect GMOs. My claim is a bit daring, perhaps alarming for some people. Maybe I’m stretching the definition Read More ›

Binary digits stolen computer data, cyber attack threat

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Author
News
Date
February 4, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Military

Tagged
Denise Simon, Donald Trump, Evgeny Primakov, Fake companies, Featured, Gerasimov Doctrine, Kremlin, Money laundering, Mueller Report, Primakov Doctrine, Robert Gates, Robert J. Marks, Russia, Valery Gerasimov}

How Russia Uses New Tech to Create Chaos in the United States

_{Information warfare is part of the new Russian warfare strategy known as the Gerasimov and Primakov doctrines} _{News

February 4, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Military}

In last Thursday’s podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks hosted Denise Simon, an intelligence analyst, talking about the way hostile foreign powers can use AI to generate false information. Denise Simon describes that and other techniques as a “new art form” and this time she explains how Russia uses it against the United States. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-119-Denise-Simon.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at about 09.33. Show notes and links follow. Robert J. Marks: We’ve been talking primarily about disrupting media with fake news. What other sort of things are the Russians doing? Denise Simon: They will create fake companies in the United States. They will hide money and people in the United States. In fact, they just found Read More ›

Kashgar, China - with more than 80% of the population made by Uyghurs, Kashgar displays a lot of Islamic landmarks. Here in particular the Id Kah Mosque, the biggest mosque in China

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
February 3, 2021

Categorized
Data Privacy, Global Technology, Surveillance

Tagged
Biometric databases, Cell phone surveillance, China, Featured, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, Intercept (publication), iTap, Police databases (China), Sharp Eyes Initiative (China), Strike Hard Campaign (China), Uyghurs}

Leaked Police Database: Total Surveillance of China’s Uyghurs

_{Human Rights Watch notes that many countries engage in human rights abuses, but “more than any other government, Beijing has made technology central to its repression.”} _{Heather Zeiger

February 3, 2021

8

Data Privacy, Global Technology, Surveillance}

Human Rights Watch has released its 2021 annual report of global human rights abuses in 2020. In his keynote article, Executive Director Kenneth Roth said “this has been the darkest period for human rights in China since the 1989 massacre that ended the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.” The report outlines several ways that the Chinese Communist Party has repressed Chinese citizens. Among those are the Uyghurs, an ethnically Turkish majority Muslim people living in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China. The CCP continues to use every means, including massive technological surveillance, to control the Uyghur population. This is the second year that China has been one of the biggest offenders of human rights. Last year’s keynote article pointed out Read More ›

Propaganda and brainwashing of the influential mass media concept. Vintage TV set with hypnotic spiral on the screen.

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Author
Michael Egnor
Date
February 3, 2021

Categorized
Education, Ethics, Philosophy

Tagged
Critical theory, Featured, Hannah Arendt, Intersectionality, Propaganda in education, Tom Knighton, Totalitarian education, totalitarianism, Women's sports}

Contradictory Beliefs Are a Feature, Not Bug, of Critical Theory

_{As a historian of totalitarianism has pointed out, “The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any.”} _{Michael Egnor

February 3, 2021

6

Education, Ethics, Philosophy}

“Intersectionality” is the claim by critical theorists that various kinds of oppression against victim groups intersect, in the sense that all oppression ultimately has the same source — you. In an essay at Substack titled “Intersectionality Has Hit the Stop Sign,” Tom Knighton argues, too optimistically in my view, that intersectionality is falling victim to its own contradictions. I believe he misunderstands the nature of the problem. Let me explain why. He cites the example of women’s rights vs. trans rights. A major victory for women’s rights is all-female sports, which allow women to compete without having to overcome the natural physical advantages of men. A major victory for trans rights is to allow men who identify as women to Read More ›

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Author
Eric Holloway
Date
February 3, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Artificial intelligence training models, Featured, Human intelligence, Insourcing, Outsourcing}

Will Ordinary Human Intelligence Become the New “Oil”?

_{At one time, the tech craze was for outsourcing jobs. Maybe it’s time to look at “insourcing” instead} _{Eric Holloway

February 3, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

Outsourcing is the silver bullet of the IT age. Everything can be made more cheaply and more profitably by sourcing the work from places with a lower cost of living. But do those places always have to be overseas? Not necessarily. The perils of overseas outsourcing are well known, ranging from communication through cultural or time zone incompatibilities. What if there were a way to eliminate those incompatibilities while still retaining the benefits of workers who live in an area with a lower cost of living? This is possible through “insourcing.” There are regions of the United States where the cost of living is quite low, allowing companies to have their cake and eat it too. Work can be done Read More ›

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Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 2, 2021

Categorized
Religion, Science

Tagged
Blaise Pascal, Claude Shannon, Donald Knuth, Featured, Francis COllins, George Washington Carver, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Leonhard Euler, Michael Faraday, Richard Feynman, Robert Boyle, Thomas Bayes, Tycho Brahe}

Five Surprising Facts Re Famous Scientists We Bet You Never Knew

_{How about juggling, riding a unicycle, and playing bongo? Or catching criminals or cracking safes?} _{Robert J. Marks

February 2, 2021

8

Religion, Science}

We know what famous scientists like Einstein are famous for but we don’t know much about who they are. Here are five personal life facts about scientists who made a big difference to our understanding of the world that you probably didn’t know. The most interesting one is saved for last. 1.Isaac Newton dressed as a bum to mingle with the unwashed and catch criminals. Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) was the father of classical physics and an inventor of calculus. When students take their first college classes in calculus and physics today, they study the concepts Newton developed in the 17th century. But Newton also wrote over a million words on Biblical prophecy. He was also the Warden and Read More ›

Bottom view of three professional doctors leaning over the patient and wearing medical masks while holding the anesthetic inhaler

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Author
Michael Egnor
Date
February 2, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Allan Leslie Combs, Anesthesia, Consciousness, Featured, Memory, Soul (concept)}

What Is Your Soul Doing When You’re Under Anesthesia?

_{It’s an intriguing and important question and you may be surprised by some of the answers} _{Michael Egnor

February 2, 2021

6

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

First, no one should worry about unpleasant awareness during anesthesia. I’ve performed more than 7000 brain operations and I’ve never had a patient experience unpleasant awareness related to anesthesia. It does happen, but it’s rare, and I’ve never seen it. I’ve had general anesthesia myself four times, and as I tell my anesthesiology colleagues, I’m a big fan of anesthesia. Modern anesthesia is safe, highly effective, and indispensable. Don’t be afraid of it. But I do need to tell you that there are scientific facts about anesthesia and awareness that may surprise you. Second, when I use the word “soul,” rather than “mind” or “consciousness,” to describe mental states, I am not using the word in a spooky or New Read More ›

Cell phone with blue thumbs-up icons and red heart icons rising out of bright screen 3D illustrationCell phone with blue thumbs-up icons and red heart icons rising out of bright screen

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Author
News
Date
February 1, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Denise Simon, Featured, Gerasimov Doctrine, Internet Research Agency, Internet trolls, Robert J. Marks, Russia}

Not Conspiracy Theory: How Online Trolls Can Control Your News

_{The way the internet works makes that possible} _{News

February 1, 2021

6

Social Media}

In last Thursday’s podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks hosted intelligence analyst Denise Simon, talking about the way hostile foreign powers can use AI to generate false information: A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at 00.33. Show notes and links follow. Robert J. Marks: Before we talk about some of the psychological aspects of something you taught me, which was the Gerasimov doctrine, there was recently a four day drill held in December 2019 in the Gulf of Oman in the Indian Ocean. The participants in these war games, I believe you can call them war games, were not exactly friends to the United States. They included Russia, Iran and China, and since Mind Matters and our Read More ›

Hand turning off the bulb lamp.Turning off the light.

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Author
Michael Egnor
Date
January 31, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Coma, Consciousness, Featured, Jerry Fodor, John Locke, Mechanical philosophy, Persistent vegetative state (PVS), Unconsciousness}

Your Soul Has No “Off Switch”

_{A major modern misunderstanding of the human mind is to assume that it is like a machine with an “on” and an “off” switch} _{Michael Egnor

January 31, 2021

9

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

I have written, in an earlier post, about the problem of “consciousness:” — that is, the problem inherent to the word itself and to the concept it conveys. I believe that “consciousness” is a mere narrative gloss on the mind — it denotes nothing beyond the mental powers of the soul. This is not just linguistic nitpicking. The concept of “consciousness” is much worse than useless. It leads us to misunderstand the mind in a profound way, as I will explain. The point may seem subtle but I believe that, if you think deeply enough about it, you will see that it is obviously true. First, I am not saying “consciousness” is an illusion. or possibly a delusion. This witless Read More ›

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Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 30, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Featured, Gamestop (GME), Investors, stock market, WallStreetBets}

Who Is Allowed in the Smoke-Filled Rooms of Investment?

_{How the stock market is manipulated, using the GameStop episode as an example} _{Jonathan Bartlett

January 30, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Economics}

Full disclosure: I continue to maintain positions in some of the stocks mentioned in this article. But, as you will see, my goal here is neither to promote stock or dissuade from it, but rather to ask a deeper question about who is allowed to do what about a stock. For those who are unaware, the last two weeks in the stock market have gone crazy. GameStop (GME), a company that continues to lose money, skyrocketed from $18/share to, as of the time I’m writing, just about $450 per share. That’s right the stock soared over 20 times in value over the period of a few weeks. Several other stocks have also skyrocketed, including AMC Entertainment (AMC) and Koss Corporation Read More ›

military troops in action urban environment

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Author
News
Date
January 29, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Featured, Fine-tuning, Firing squad analogy, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks}

What If, Condemned, You Had 12 Friends on the Firing Squad?

_{We try to understand why the universe seems fine-tuned for life} _{News

January 29, 2021

4

Information Theory}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a frequent contributor to Mind Matters News, interviewed our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks on the nature of information. In this second part of the interview (here’s the first part), the question comes up: How do we know if something is an accident or not? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-118-Robert-Marks.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at 11:02. Show notes and links follow. Michael Egnor: Aristotle said that in order to understand any process in nature, you really need to know four causes of that process. Note: The causes, according to Simply Philosophy are material, formal, efficient, and final. The material cause of a thing is what it is made of. A cat, for example, is made of Read More ›

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Author
News
Date
January 29, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Featured, Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics (book), Michael Egnor, No Free Lunch theorems, Robert J. Marks}

Does Information Just Happen? Or Does the Universe Have Meaning?

_{The computer revolution did not show that information could be produced from nothing} _{News

January 29, 2021

6

Information Theory}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a frequent contributor to Mind Matters News, interviewed our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks, a computer engineer, on the nature of information. Information makes a huge difference to what happens among human beings. But it is not like matter or energy. It doesn’t weigh anything or generate heat. How can we understand it scientifically? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-118-Robert-Marks.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at 01:10. Show notes and links follow. Robert J. Marks: Well, my background is not in biology, but it is in computer science and computer engineering. And one of the things we do is do artificial intelligence. And I think maybe your question translated to artificial intelligence is, can anything happen in artificial Read More ›

The red human figure extends its influence to the neighboring figures. Spreading ideas and thoughts, recruiting new members. Infection of other people, zero patient. Leader and leadership, new team.

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Author
News
Date
January 28, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Education

Tagged
Featured, Forbes, Influence, Influence vs power}

To Succeed, Understand Difference Between Influence and Power

_{Do you wonder why some people are listened to and not others, regardless of the value of their ideas? Well, read on…} _{News

January 28, 2021

3

Business and Finance, Education}

At business mag Forbes, some have begun to consider the difference between influence and power: Swarthmore College has been rated the best liberal arts college in the U.S. by Academic Influence, a new college rankings method that uses artificial intelligence technology to search massive databases and measure the impact of work by individuals who’ve been affiliated with colleges and universities throughout the world. Last Monday, Academic Influence released its first-ever ranking of American liberal arts colleges – those four-year institutions that are relatively small in size, focus on bachelor’s level education, emphasize direct engagement with professors, provide an enriched residential experience, and insist on broad grounding in the liberal arts along with focused study in a major. In brief, here’s Read More ›

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Author
Michael Egnor
Date
January 27, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Adrian Owen, Anesthesia, Consciousness, Featured, Glasgow Coma Scale}

Does the Ability To Think Depend on Consciousness?

_{From a medical perspective, “consciousness” adds nothing to the description of mental states} _{Michael Egnor

January 27, 2021

8

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

The title question might seem like a strange one but it is vitally important if we are to interpret neuroscience correctly and if we are to understand the mind–brain relationship. In my view, the capacity for thought does not depend on consciousness. The term “consciousness” is at best meaningless and at worst an impediment to understanding the mind. “Consciousness” is a very vague term and, ultimately, I don’t think it has any useful meaning at all, apart from other categories such as sensation, perception, imagination, reason etc. Aristotle had no distinct term for it. Nor do I think did any of the ancient or medieval philosophers. Consciousness is a modern term that seems to subsume all of the sensate powers Read More ›

Global virus and disease spread, coronavirus

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
January 26, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Science, Technocracy

Tagged
China, COVID-19, Featured, Freedom of expression, Zhang Youngzhen}

How China Has Tried To Suppress Coronavirus Science

_{So far as investigative journalists have been able to determine, the suppression came directly from the top} _{Heather Zeiger

January 26, 2021

10

Medicine and Health, Science, Technocracy}

An investigation by the Associated Press reveals what everyone has suspected since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) pandemic: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been keeping a tight rein on the publication or distribution of any scientific research on the coronavirus conducted within the country. AP recently found out just how extensive the muzzling of scientific findings has been. Its report also confirms that the orders came from the top: The AP investigation was based on dozens of interviews with Chinese and foreign scientists and officials, along with public notices, leaked emails, internal data and the documents from China’s cabinet and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It reveals a pattern of government secrecy and top-down control Read More ›

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post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 25, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Amazon Web Services (AWS), censorship, e-mail, encrypted email, Encryption, Featured, Free speech, Gab, MeWe, Multimedia, Parler}

What We Can Do To Prevent More Online Censorship

_{Encrypted email can be an end-around social media companies' monopoly of free speech} _{Eric Holloway

January 25, 2021

4

Social Media}

With all the concern about major social media companies deplatforming those they disagree with, there is a concern that these companies’ monopoly on social media will eliminate free speech. New social media platforms such as Gab, Parler and MeWe have popped up to offer freer alternatives. Yet even that is not without peril, as deplatforming can happen lower down the technology stack. Parler was recently kicked off AWS (Amazon Web Services). However, in the midst of all the hubbub we’ve forgotten the original social network: email. Email is still here. The distance between email and modern social media may be smaller than it first appears. Lets make a short list of the perceived differences between social media and email, and Read More ›

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Author
Stephen Berger
Date
January 24, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Programming

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Featured, ontology, Policy-based radio, Prioritization, Risk assessment, Risk management, semantic reasoning, spectrum, Wireless}

Why Medical Device Companies Use Priorities Created by Toy Makers

_{The priorities followed by product developers arise from the ontology they use} _{Stephen Berger

January 24, 2021

6

Ethics, Programming}

The priorities of product development teams arise from the ontology, the beliefs about the nature of reality, they follow. One of the greatest values of defining that ontology is to identify blind spots and wrong assumptions. When the source of priorities is clear, improved, more adaptable options become possible. As Clayton Christensen (1952–2020, pictured) has said: To grow profit margins and revenue, he observes, such companies tend to develop products to satisfy the demands of their most sophisticated customers. As successful as this strategy may be, it means that those companies also tend to ignore opportunities to meet the needs of less sophisticated customers — who may eventually form much larger markets. A hierarchy of products starts with the components, Read More ›