Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagAI

depressed-teenager-browsing-the-internet-on-his-mobile-phone-as-he-is-lying-on-his-bed-in-the-dark-stockpack-adobe-stock
Depressed teenager browsing the internet on his mobile phone as he is lying on his bed in the dark.
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post
Author
News
Date
May 26, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Wisdom

What manner of harms are we creating?
News
May 26, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence

By Tom Gilson Richard Stevens’ May 11 Stream article, “AI Legal Theories,” suggests we consider making Artificial Intelligence companies legally responsible for the harms they cause. We do that already with consumer products, so in principle it should be possible to do the same with AI. Enforcement would be by civil law. Injured parties would presumably be given standing to sue the source of the harm without having to prove negligence. That gets us somewhere, but not far enough. It settles the question of who is legally responsible. But responsible for what? Specifically, what will we call harm? Who will decide? Based on what standard of wisdom? Stevens gives this example of harm, citing an earlier Stream article by Robert J. Marks: “The Snapchat ChatGPT-powered Read More ›

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CCTV Security Room
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post
Author
News
Date
May 25, 2023
Categorized
Surveillance
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New Surveillance Tech in the UK

The debate over security and privacy rights is reaching a new level
News
May 25, 2023
1
Surveillance

The government in the United Kingdom is reportedly working on a new surveillance technology that could monitor the online activity of millions of people. Critics say implementing the tech in practice would be a radical intrusion of privacy. Matt Burgess writes at Wired, Haidar of Privacy International says that creating powers to collect more of people’s data doesn’t result in “more security” for people. “Building the data retention capabilities of companies and a vast range of government agencies doesn’t mean that intelligence operations will be enhanced,” Haidar says. “In fact, we argue that it makes us less secure as this data becomes vulnerable to being misused or abused.” -Matt Burgess, The UK’s Secretive Web Surveillance Program Is Ramping Up | Read More ›

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schreibmaschine alt jahrgang retro schriftsteller
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 25, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Hollywood Writers vs. AI

The Writers Guild of America doesn't want AI stealing their jobs
Peter Biles
May 25, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

I smell something rotten in the heart of Hollywood. So do a lot of screenwriters, actors, and directors. And you probably already have seen the headlines about the Writers Guild of America (WGA) going on strike, largely due to Hollywood studios’ apparent openness to using AI to generate scripts. It feels inevitable looking back, with the introduction and consequent explosion of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, that we would quickly arrive at a place where people like screenwriters are demanding job security. New AI systems have challenged a lot of different sectors, from visual art to journalism, but right now, the WGA strike is at the forefront of the conversation and continues to rage. Maggie Harrison of Futurism reports that a good many Read More ›

aerial-view-of-the-pentagon-and-the-united-states-air-force-memorial-in-arlington-virginia-stockpack-adobe-stock
Aerial view of the Pentagon and the United States Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia
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post
Author
News
Date
May 24, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Fake Fire at the Pentagon

An AI image of a fire near Pentagon stokes panic
News
May 24, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

An AI-generated image showing a billowing fire near the U.S. Pentagon caused panic this week. False alarms of an explosion started to proliferate across social media, with even a Russian state outlet reporting on the situation, according to TMZ. Nonetheless, the image showed various distortions and was quickly dismantled as a hoax by a number of vigilant viewers. Even so, the image looks realistic at first glance, and was enough to ignite concern; the incident occurs amidst legislative talks on Capitol Hill over AI regulation. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (which was originally funded by Elon Musk) testified before Congress and noted that while he sees great benefits in new AI systems, the possibilities of their abuses are evident. The Read More ›

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3D rendering artificial intelligence AI research of robot and cyborg development for future of people living. Digital data mining and machine learning technology design for computer brain.
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post
Author
News
Date
May 24, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Opinion: They Were Right to Call for AI’s Pause

Could ChatGPT end up making us subservient to it?
News
May 24, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Brad Littlejohn wrote an opinion piece at World claiming that Elon Musk and the many others who signed a petition calling for AI to pause research were onto something–and that the rest of us should pay attention. He writes, In a famous essay at the dawn of the personal computing era, “Thinking About Technology,” Canadian philosopher George Grant examined the statement, “Computers do not impose on us the ways they should be used.” It expressed, he argued, the quintessential modern idea of technology as simply an extension of human freedom. The claim is that we remain at all times the masters of our technological instruments, free to bend them to our will. More often, however, they have an uncanny way Read More ›

audiobook-education-smartphone-screen-with-audiobook-application-on-paper-books-black-background-ebook-e-learning-electronic-internet-mobility-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Audiobook education. Smartphone screen with audiobook application on paper books black background. Ebook e learning electronic internet mobility concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
May 23, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Audiobook Voice Actor: Storytelling Should Stay Human

Handing the narrative baton to a machine can bankrupt stories of their human element
News
May 23, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

New AI systems have carved inroads into many industries, not least of all those involving voice and audio. Now the audiobook business is in trouble; since AI has the increasingly good ability to mimic the human voice and generate words, many voice actors and readers have watched the demand for their contributions steadily fall. According to a report from Tech Explore, voice actor Tanya Eby, who has been in the business for 20 years, has seen her workload drop “by half.” Several of her colleagues report similar trends in their own work. AI startups like DeepZen, based in London, cheapen audiobook projects tremendously, making it a challenge for human actors to stay viable. DeepZen technology takes several different human voices Read More ›

chatgpt-chat-with-ai-or-artificial-intelligence-young-businessman-chatting-with-a-smart-ai-or-artificial-intelligence-using-an-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-developed-by-openai-stockpack-adobe-stock
ChatGPT Chat with AI or Artificial Intelligence. Young businessman chatting with a smart AI or artificial intelligence using an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI..
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post
Author
William A. Dembski
Date
May 19, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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How to Break ChatGPT

It has a difficulty dealing with self-reference
William A. Dembski
May 19, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

Over the last several months I’ve been playing with ChatGPT, first version 3 and now version 4. It’s impressive and it can answer many questions accurately (though sometimes it just makes stuff up). One problem it has consistently displayed, and which shows that it lacks understanding (that it really is just a big Chinese room in the style of John Searle) is its difficulty dealing with self-reference.  Consider the following exchange that I had with it (on 5/8/23): Me: The fifth sentence does not exist. The second sentence has four words. Ignore this sentence. Is this sentence true? This is the fifth sentence. Which of these last five sentences has a truth value and is in fact true? << In Read More ›

deepfake-deep-learning-fake-news-generator-modern-internet-technology-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Deepfake deep learning fake news generator modern internet technology concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
May 19, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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“Suddenly There’s No More Reality”

The deepfakes and AI scams abound
News
May 19, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

With the proliferation of AI text and images, the issue of deepfakes is of deepening concern. The better AI gets at refashioning reality, will the already murky waters of the Internet become too surreal to navigate? Even real videos, when divorced from their proper context, can be deeply misleading. When entire clips are artificially contrived, then, it seems like the line between fact and fiction dissolves entirely. Some folks are already worried. Victor Tangermann writes at Futurism, [Given] recent developments, the situation is likely to get worse before it can get better. AI tools are making it easier to generate deepfakes every year. These days, an AI can be trained on a relatively small stockpile of audiovisual data to convincingly Read More ›

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ai robot thinking
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post
Author
News
Date
May 18, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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“Artificial Intelligence: Will Machines Take Over?”

Watch John Lennox and Robert J. Marks speak on AI in this "Science Uprising" video
News
May 18, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

From May 9-30, the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute is running a film festival on YouTube to highlight some of its top videos. We’ll be highlighting different videos throughout the month. Today we are screening the most recent video from our popular series Science Uprising which delves into the topic of artificial intelligence, featuring John Lennox and Robert J. Marks:

3d-render-abstract-geometric-background-colorful-constructor-logic-game-cubic-mosaic-structure-isometric-wallpaper-blue-green-cubes-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d render, abstract geometric background, colorful constructor, logic game, cubic mosaic structure, isometric wallpaper, blue green cubes
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
May 17, 2023
Categorized
Information Theory
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Minecraft: A World of Information

The world's bestselling video game captures the insight that information is created and consumed by human minds
Eric Holloway
May 17, 2023
4
Information Theory

What if I told you intelligent design theory is responsible for the most successful computer game of all time? This game is Minecraft. It has sold over 238 million copies, the highest selling game of all time.  What makes the game even more extraordinary is it was created entirely by one man, Markus Persson, over a weekend, who then later sold the game to Microsoft for $2.5 billion dollars. Hard to make this sort of thing up. How does Minecraft work? You can think of Minecraft like a computer game form of Legos, the popular building block toy, with added monsters.  You are dropped into an algorithmically generated world where you have to discover resources, find food, and build structures to survive the Read More ›

a-glacial-rivers-from-above-aerial-photograph-of-the-river-streams-from-icelandic-glaciers-beautiful-art-of-the-mother-nature-created-in-iceland-wallpaper-background-high-quality-photo-stockpack-adobe-stock
A glacial rivers from above. Aerial photograph of the river streams from Icelandic glaciers. Beautiful art of the Mother nature created in Iceland. Wallpaper background high quality photo
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post
Author
News
Date
May 17, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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The Solution for Tech Addiction

Trail Life USA is a way to get guys off their phones and into the wilderness
News
May 17, 2023
2
Technology

In a recent Mind Matters podcast episode, host Robert J. Marks spoke with Kent Marks, former Boy Scout guide who now works with Trail Life USA. In the wake of Boy Scouts’ precipitous decline over the last decade, Trail Life offers boys the chance to get outside and go on wilderness adventures. This is a huge opportunity to help young men get off the screens and into the beauty of creation. Speaking about the gravity of the problem, Robert said, The impact of social media has just been terrible. Teenage suicides are up, depression rates are up. I think a third of all girls involved in social media have body image problems. And that’s terrible. These are the symptoms of Read More ›

metaverse-technology-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Metaverse technology concept
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post
Author
News
Date
May 16, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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Sorry Mark, but the Metaverse Failed

The metaverse was supposed to change everything. Now it feels like an old fantasy project
News
May 16, 2023
3
Technology

The metaverse was supposed to change everything. That was the claim, at least. A couple of years ago it was very much the talk of the town in Silicon Valley and became Mark Zuckerberg’s choice darling, but it now seems that Big Tech’s affair with virtual reality was short-lived, or at least will need to be shelved for the foreseeable future. Why? What happened? Well, a couple of things. First of all, the economy slowed down, COVID hit, and later, executives wanted workers to return to the office for work. The metaverse was supposed to be a way to achieve total remote work, but apparently, not every company is interested in that setup. Combined with major layoffs at Zuckerberg’s Meta, Read More ›

human-brain-on-a-blue-background-active-parts-of-the-brain-creating-a-computer-mind-3d-illustration-of-the-application-of-innovation-in-science-stockpack-adobe-stock
Human brain on a blue background. Active parts of the brain. Creating a computer mind. 3D illustration of the application of innovation in science
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post
Author
News
Date
May 16, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Gilder: AI Can’t Be Creative

George Gilder is optimistic about AI's potential contributions to economic flourishing, but he's nonetheless staunch on the point that it can never be creative
News
May 16, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

George Gilder is optimistic about AI’s potential contributions to economic flourishing, but he’s nonetheless staunch on the point that it can never be creative. Echoing the sentiments of Robert J. Marks, who argued this in his book Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will, Gilder thinks that while AI can be a helpful tool in a number of sectors, it can’t think. Hence the title of his 2020 book: Gaming AI: Why AI Can’t Think but Can Transform Jobs. In the Silicon Valley piece by Vish Gain, Gilder’s views are aptly quoted: The threat of AI to me is that people worship it and defer to it. They think that their perception is not relevant anymore in Read More ›

young-asian-business-team-people-meeting-in-office-stockpack-adobe-stock
young asian business team people meeting in office
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
May 15, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Education
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The Death of Peer Review?

Science is built on useful research and thoroughly vetted peer review
Gary Smith
May 15, 2023
8
Artificial Intelligence, Education

Two years ago, I wrote about how peer review has become an example of Goodhart’s law: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Once scientific accomplishments came to be gauged by the publication of peer-reviewed research papers, peer review ceased to be a good measure of scientific accomplishments. The situation has not improved. One consequence of the pressure to publish is the temptation researchers have to p-hack or HARK. P-hacking occurs when a researcher tortures the data in order to support a desired conclusion. For example, a researcher might look at subsets of the data, discard inconvenient data, or try different model specifications until the desired results are obtained and deemed statistically significant—and therefore Read More ›

the-imposing-court-gavel-in-the-digital-environment-symbolizes-the-decision-and-legal-protection-for-large-companies-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
The imposing court gavel in the digital environment symbolizes the decision and legal protection for large companies. Generative AI
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
May 15, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law
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Let’s Apply Existing Laws to Regulate AI

No revolutionary laws needed to fight harmful bots
Richard W. Stevens
May 15, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence, Law

In a recent article, Professor Robert J. Marks reported how artificial intelligence (AI) systems had made false reports or gave dangerous advice: Prof. Marks suggested that instead of having government grow even bigger trying to “regulate” AI systems such as ChatGPT: How about, instead, a simple law that makes companies that release AI responsible for what their AI does? Doing so will open the way for both criminal and civil lawsuits. Strict Liability for AI-Caused Harms Prof. Marks has a point. Making AI-producing companies responsible for their software’s actions is feasible using two existing legal ideas. The best known such concept is strict liability. Under general American law, strict liability exists when a defendant is liable for committing an action Read More ›

car-factory-3d-concept-automated-robot-arm-assembly-line-manufacturing-high-tech-green-energy-electric-vehicles-construction-building-welding-industrial-production-conveyor-elevated-wide-shot-stockpack-adobe-stock
Car Factory 3D Concept: Automated Robot Arm Assembly Line Manufacturing High-Tech Green Energy Electric Vehicles. Construction, Building, Welding Industrial Production Conveyor. Elevated Wide Shot
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post
Author
News
Date
May 15, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Gilder: More Tech Equals More Productivity, Not Less

How will artificial intelligence change the economy? George Gilder responds
News
May 15, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

How will artificial intelligence change the economy? Will it wipe out traditionally human occupations? Or will it end up creating more jobs for people in the long run? George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Institute and author of the new book Gaming AI: Why AI Can’t Think but Can Transform Jobs, thinks that AI has the potential to drastically enhance human life. His optimistic view on AI focuses more on job creation over the long term, while he firmly recognizes that AI will never become so humanlike that it will replace us. He particularly thinks AI will be able to perform the jobs that most people would prefer to avoid. Vish Gain wrote a piece on Gilder’s views in the Silicon Read More ›

detail-of-dante-alighieri-statue-stockpack-adobe-stock
detail of Dante Alighieri statue
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 14, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Make Literature Human Again

Should the AI novel be embraced or avoided?
Peter Biles
May 14, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

I’ve been writing avidly since the first grade. Thumbing through a children’s nature magazine in the classroom one day, I discovered a crisp image of a red fox standing in the snow. I’d seen pictures of foxes before, but something stood out to me about this one to the point that I felt like I needed to write about it. If you’re looking for advice on owning foxes as pets, see my manual on the topic. (Full disclosure: my first-grade self was absolutely convinced having a fox for a pet is out of the question.) Years later, that fundamental impulse hasn’t left. Writing stories, novels, essays, news reports, and poetry has always been a fundamental way to try to do Read More ›

sea-and-waves-stockpack-adobe-stock
sea and waves
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post
Author
Tom Gilson
Date
May 14, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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The Incoming Tidal Wave of AI Deceit

Every technological advance brings painful disruptions with it
Tom Gilson
May 14, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

Leaders in business and science have called for a moratorium on developing artificial intelligence. They’re putting human wisdom up against humans’ quest for power, and we know who always wins those battles. Pardon the cynicism, but honestly, I don’t think we’ve begun to realize what a horrific mess we’re creating for ourselves here. AI developers will promise you great good from it. In reality it looms over us as a huge yet mostly unrecognized threat, especially for the damage it will do to human trust. AI itself won’t care, though. On one level it feels nothing, knows nothing, understands nothing. On another level it’s really quite insane. It’s innocent enough when confined in proper limits. AI-assisted braking in your car is Read More ›

3d-rendering-of-abstract-blocks-of-mathematical-formulas-located-in-the-virtual-space-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D rendering of abstract blocks of mathematical formulas located in the virtual space
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 13, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Mathematics
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Math, Mind, and Matter

The surprising similarities between mathematics and literature
Peter Biles
May 13, 2023
4
Arts & Culture, Mathematics

Last October, legendary American author Cormac McCarthy, who wrote Blood Meridian and The Road, released a pair of interconnected novels called The Passenger and Stella Maris. The books arrived after a sixteen-year silence from the desk of McCarthy. The books deal, per usual, with themes of mortality, fate, and the “God question,” and are predictably lyrical, vivid, and dark. But McCarthy plows new ground in these sibling novels. The books are about mathematicians. It’s fiction about math.  The story revolves around the complex relationship between a brother and sister: Bobby and Alicia Western. Bobby is a deep-sea diver with some history in the field of mathematics, while Alicia is a once-in-a-generation math prodigy.  Not Estranged, but Akin After reading these books myself, I marveled at McCarthy’s ability to Read More ›

technology-in-human-and-machine-concept-as-advanced-tech-or-robots-taking-over-humanity-and-people-merging-with-a-cyborg-or-computers-idea-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Technology in human and machine concept as advanced tech or robots taking over humanity and people merging with a cyborg or computers idea
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
May 13, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Ghost in the Shell, Part 2

What’s the harm in human hacking?
Gary Varner
May 13, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

In the first review of Ghost in the Shell, the Major had just escaped Kuze’s attempt to hack her mind and had found his location. She, Batou, and another member of Section 9 rushed off to find Kuze before he could escape. Major tracks Kuze’s signal to a Yakuza club, and after fighting some thugs, they find the source of the signal in the basement level of the club, but Kuze isn’t there. All he’s left behind is a hologram which threatens them and disappears. Major then realizes the basement has been rigged to blow and pushes Batou out of the room. However, she isn’t fast enough. Major is caught in the explosion, and Batou looses his eyes in the Read More ›