Are Colleges Beyond Saving?
They need to rediscover the purpose of higher educationThe impact of AI and tech addiction is obvious everywhere. But is every college student falling prey to the trends?
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Perspectives of a Different Kind of AI Entrepreneur
How can entrepreneurs incorporate the benefits of AI while maintaining their dedication to serving fellow human beings? On this episode of Mind Matters News, host Robert J. Marks welcomes David Copps, a renowned entrepreneur, technologist, and thought leader with over two decades of experience pioneering advancements in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. He’s the founder and CEO of a Read More ›
How AI Can Complement Human Capabilities: More with Dr. Joe McDonald
On this episode, host Robert J. Marks concludes a conversation with psychologist Dr. Joe McDonald exploring the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI). The age of AI is upon us and is already changing the way we conduct our lives. What is the optimal division of tasks between humans and machines? In Part 2 of this interview, Dr. Read More ›
Beyond the Physical: A Panel Discussion on the Nature of the Mind
Many proponents of artificial intelligence operate from an assumption that our own minds and conscious experience can be solely attributed to our physical brains. But is this assumption true? This question is the key focus of the book Minding the Brain, edited by our guests: Angus Menuge, Brian Krouse, and Robert J. Marks. Joining them to discuss this volume is today’s Read More ›
Cognitive Psychology and the Limits of AI: An Interview with Dr. Joe McDonald
On this episode, host Robert J. Marks begins a conversation with Dr. Joe McDonald exploring the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI). Dr. Joe McDonald is an expert in cognitive psychology and human factors research. He is the CEO and Principal at Jumpseat Research, a firm that applies cognitive science principles to improve technology design and user experiences. Read More ›
Podcast Guest Claims He Won’t Die, Says We’re Creating God With AI
Got immortality? This man says he has the secret.Johnson’s views on AI sound crazy, but they reflect a burgeoning hope that computerized superintelligence will somehow solve all the enigmas of existence.
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2025: Rejecting Brain Rot
Toward a more embodied and human way of lifeFollowing the data, observing personal experience, and developing another vision for human flourishing can get us a step closer to a fuller, intentional life.
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Re-enchanting the Secular West
More writers and intellectuals recognize the need for right-brain thinkingWhile there might not be a culture-wide renewal of faith yet, some significant voices are heralding a new way forward.
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AI Adoption is Slowing Amidst the “Biggest Gamble in Business History”
Workers and companies aren't buying the AI hypeIn the case of AI, knowledge workers are trying to tell us something. They don’t like AI as much the top managers do, and their excitement is falling.
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Want to Talk to Jesus? Consult a Bot
Is AI changing the way people pray?Whatever one’s views on Christ, a computer system can’t materialize his essence.
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What’s Happening to Literature?
Why aren't students reading anything anymore?Consider the great literary tradition, which still calls out with its timeless voice, reminding us that it’s still there for the taking for those who eyes to see and ears to hear.
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Report: Large Language Models Don’t “Think”
Also, Apple Intelligence might not be so intelligent after allA research team at Apple is now sharing that “state-of-the-art” AI bots are failing basic arithmetic problems according to Los Angeles Times. Michael Hiltzik writes, The Apple team found “catastrophic performance drops” by those models when they tried to parse simple mathematical problems written in essay form. In this example, the systems tasked with the question often didn’t understand that the size of the kiwis have nothing to do with the number of kiwis Oliver has. Some, consequently, subtracted the five undersized kiwis from the total and answered “185.” Human schoolchildren, the researchers posited, are much better at detecting the difference between relevant information and inconsequential curveballs. Apple has recently been rolling out tons of new advertisements promoting the iPhone Read More ›
The Tolkien Test vs. the Turing Test
Could AI create Middle-earth?AI can regurgitate but can’t create. It can reflect verbiage but can never reflect on the substance or meaning of the words themselves.
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The Tragic Case of Teen’s Death and Character.AI
From the perspective of friends and family, it looked like Sewell just got mired in his phone. They weren’t aware he “fell for a chatbot.”Sewell spiraled farther down an AI vortex until he fantasized about “joining” the chatbot in some kind of postmortem union.
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The Artist is Stronger than the Censor
Salman Rushdie and standing up for free speechTalking about censorship, for Rushdie, is a conscious choice. We must talk about it too or we will find we can no longer take free speech for granted.
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Smartphone: The “Experience Blocker”
Experience is the key to emotional development and a fully human lifeSmartphones are distracting and addicting, but according to Jonathan Haidt, and supported by our common experience, they can also keep us from a basic ingredient of human life: Experience. Sometimes I wonder if the worst aspect of the “dopamine culture,” as culture critic Ted Gioia calls it, is not that we no longer have the attention spans to focus on our work, but that we no longer seem able to enjoy activities that aren’t based on screens. Simple pleasures like a good meal, meant to savor and digest at a slow pace, or going through a rich and complicated novel that yields real insight and literary joy, or even kissing an actual person in an affectionate way are all “old-school” Read More ›
AI Social Media “Slop” Makes Lies Look Convincing
The AI slop machine holds graver consequences when the images reflect natural disastersAI companies should be held accountable by being required to watermark their images.
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Hinton and Hopfield Win Nobel Prize in Physics
Hinton warns against neglecting AI safetyGeoffrey E. Hinton, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence responsible for helping develop “neural networks,” has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize alongside John J. Hopfield. The two scientists won the award for their groundbreaking work in machine intelligence, paving the way for a revolutionary new way to use computers. Hinton attracted attention just last year when he departed from Google and started warning the public about the potential dangers of new AI systems. He likened the AI revolution to the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, only this time, it won’t be our physical capacities that get trumped by the machine, but our intellects. The New York Times reports, “It will be comparable with the Industrial Revolution,” Read More ›
Coldplay’s “Moon Music” is a Beautiful Leap for the Heavens
An album of energy and hope for a time of strain and painThe concept art of the crescent moon, the stars resembling sparks against a flush blue expanse of the heavens, and the fiery, rainbow sash of ignited atmosphere compel the eye upward.
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Sam Altman Was on My Favorite Writing Podcast. His View on Storytelling Surprised Me.
When we read, we want to hear from a human about what it means to be human.Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has garnered a fair share of criticism from the writing crowd for creating ChatGPT, a tool that on the surface seems to banish the need for human writers at all. However, Altman recently appeared on David Perell’s prominent writing podcast “How I Write” to talk about his own writing process, AI, and what he uses ChatGPT for. Altman and Perell talk about the importance of language for human communication, with Altman noting how he can’t imagine human life without language. AI, Altman says, is supposed to make language and the writing process “better.” In his view, that’s what computers have also sought to do: Create opportunities for humans to expand and deepen their capacities. But Read More ›