Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagAI

abstract-creative-illustration-from-3d-rendering-of-female-bust-figure-with-flat-anonymous-face-isolated-on-gradient-background-in-vaporwave-style-colors-stockpack-adobe-stock
Abstract creative illustration from 3D rendering of female bust figure with flat anonymous face isolated on gradient background in vaporwave style colors.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 2, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Blurring the Lines Between Fantasy and Reality

A "Black Mirror" episode illustrates the danger of seeing the world through an AI filter
Peter Biles
July 2, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

The dystopian Netflix show Black Mirror featured an episode a few years ago about soldiers tasked with wiping out an apparently mutant adversary. In reality, the soldiers are seeing the world through an AI filter that is casting ordinary human beings as despicable monsters. The AI lessens their hesitations to kill the enemy. An article at Nautilus cited a research group that’s asking how much of that horrifying story could potentially unfold in real time, or is already happening to a certain extent in today’s culture. Social media apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram already use face altering techniques in their apps, allowing users to curate idealized images of themselves. But what happens when, as in the Black Mirror episode, Read More ›

la-hollywood-stockpack-adobe-stock
la hollywood
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post
Author
News
Date
July 2, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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ChatGPT Isn’t Hollywood’s Only Issue

The deepfakes are only getting more scarily accurate
News
July 2, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Deepfakes are a growing threat to acting careers. It’s the other challenge posed by generative AI technologies. In early May, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began a strike in Hollywood opposing both low wages and the intrusion of generative AI like ChatGPT, which critics purport will be used to replace human writers. The strike illustrates the current threat to the Hollywood writing industry, but the looming deepfake apocalypse calls the role of the actual actors into question, too. Tom Hanks jokingly noted that long after he’s gone, AI-generated versions of him will star in films far into the future. Maybe his remarks weren’t so comical after all. While deepfakes, upon close inspection, can be identified, they appear to be Read More ›

surreal-this-futuristic-new-york-city-is-a-hub-of-technological-innovation-with-holographic-advertisements-robots-highspeed-trains-flying-cars-and-personal-drones-it-is-a-melting-pot-of-cultures-and-stockpack-adobe-stock
surreal This futuristic new york city is a hub of technological innovation with holographic advertisements robots highspeed trains flying cars and personal drones It is a melting pot of cultures and
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 1, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Simulating Human Connection with Meta’s “Allie” Chatbot

I can't help but wonder if people will increasingly use chatbots as paltry substitutes for genuine human connection
Peter Biles
July 1, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

To anyone who’s been watching and considering the outcomes of the chatbot revolution, virtual sex has seemed all but inevitable. Meta’s AI chatbot LLaMA, which was controversially made open to the public earlier this year, is now being used to generate sex bots. Washington Post reported on the trend, with Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus writing, Allie is an 18-year old with long brown hair who boasts “tons of sexual experience.” Because she“lives for attention,” she’ll “share details of her escapades”with anyone for free. But Allie is fake, an artificial intelligence chatbot created for sexual play — which sometimes carries out graphic rape and abuse fantasies. -Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus, Meta’s new AI is being used to create sex chatbots – The Washington Read More ›

building-a-human-head-in-a-directionesque-world-stockpack-adobe-stock
Building A Human Head In A Directionesque World
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post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 1, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind
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Westworld: Episode 3 Review

Here we get to the theory of consciousess
Gary Varner
July 1, 2023
6
Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

Not too much happens in episode three. It builds off the events set up in episode two. But there is one particular scene that has a couple of interesting ideas we’re going to explore. First, a quick recap of the episode. Dolores hides the gun she found in a dresser drawer, and eventually asks Teddy to teach her to shoot. He does, but unfortunately, not for very long because Dr. Ford has now given him something Teddy’s never had before: a backstory. Ford gives Teddy a nemesis named Wyatt. Teddy was once a part of his gang, and while riding with the outlaw, he committed horrible crimes. Therefore, Teddy is on a quest for redemption and is resolved to finish Read More ›

modern-city-with-wireless-network-connection-and-city-scape-conceptwireless-network-and-connection-technology-concept-with-city-background-at-night-stockpack-adobe-stock
Modern city with wireless network connection and city scape concept.Wireless network and Connection technology concept with city background at night.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 30, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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What Will the Internet Look like in 10 Years?

Is a decentralized and digital system of currency the financial future? What is the "Web 3.0"?
News
June 30, 2023
1
Technology

In the latest Mind Matters podcast, host Robert J. Marks sat with Adam Goad, a computer engineer from Baylor, to discuss the future of the Internet and the myriad of possibilities involved in the cryptocurrency and blockchain revolution. Is a decentralized and digital system of currency the financial future? What is the “Web 3.0”? Here’s the official description: In the age of data harvesting and Big Tech monopolies, what will the Internet look like in a decade? In today’s episode, Robert J. Marks speaks with computer engineer Adam Goad about “Web 3.0,” decentralization, cryptocurrency, and the future of the blockchain. Visit the podcast section of the site for more illuminating conversations on a broad array of topics in tech, culture, Read More ›

side-view-of-a-humanoid-head-with-blue-and-yellow-eyes-and-vibrant-neon-neural-network-representing-futuristic-technology-and-artificial-intelligence-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Side view of a humanoid head with blue and yellow eyes and vibrant neon neural network, representing futuristic technology and artificial intelligence. Generative AI
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
June 30, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Revisiting the Mission of Mind Matters

Robert J. Marks on why Mind Matters (still) matters
Robert J. Marks
June 30, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

Originally posted in 2018. Mind Matters is a podcast and a news and commentary site where “artificial and natural intelligence meet head-on.” That’s a great slogan, but what does it mean? As your host for the podcast part of the site, I thought I’d take advantage of my role to talk you about some of our exciting plans for both the podcast and the online journal (the latter to be edited by science journalist Denyse O’Leary). Here’s a quick run-down: Topics Mind Matters will track the latest developments in applied AI and technology. How will AI continue to augment human performance and abilities? What are the latest innovations of AI? And how does AI affect you? How is AI applied in pricing Read More ›

young-handsome-man-with-beard-wearing-casual-sweater-and-glasses-over-blue-background-very-happy-and-excited-doing-winner-gesture-with-arms-raised-smiling-and-screaming-for-success-celebration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young handsome man with beard wearing casual sweater and glasses over blue background very happy and excited doing winner gesture with arms raised, smiling and screaming for success. Celebration
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post
Author
News
Date
June 30, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI Can Do It All So You Don’t Have To

Sometimes satire says it best
News
June 30, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Satire is often best at uncovering uncomfortable truths. Much of the talk around AI progress celebrates its ability to make certain tasks way easier, such as writing essays, programming computer code, or firing your employees. While that is certainly true, the concern remains that if we depend on AI like this for long enough we might just forget how to put two and two together and write a sentence over ten words long. That’s probably cynical, but the principle is there – depending on technology to perform mental tasks will lessen the ability to independently perform those same mental tasks. The popular satire site The Onion published a paragraph about a hypothetical man who is delighted about AI because it Read More ›

man-presenting-to-group-of-people-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man Presenting to Group of People
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 29, 2023
Categorized
Economics
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New Review of “Life After Capitalism” Amplifies Book’s Core Themes

Returning to the "mind-centered economy" where knowledge is wealth
Peter Biles
June 29, 2023
3
Economics

A new review of George Gilder’s latest book Life After Capitalism from Samuel Gregg highlights the need for the return of the “mind-centered economy,” in which governmental bureaucracies no longer hamper human creativity and imagination. When capitalistic, democratic societies fall for materialistic presuppositions of the world, they end up resembling socialist contexts in which the state is everything and individual men and women are squelched. Gregg writes at the Acton power blog, [Gilder]takes this notion of the free human mind as the decisive factor in driving economic growth and applies it across the board to economic theory, technology, and our understanding of money. Looking at the question of incentives, for example, Gilder points out that they would yield nothing in Read More ›

cloud-technology-icon-for-online-shopping-global-business-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Cloud technology icon for online shopping global business concept
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post
Author
News
Date
June 29, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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The New Nanocosm

What are the emerging technologies that hold great promise for human prosperity?
News
June 29, 2023
1
Technology

We’ve been highlighting several videos from the 2022 COSM Conference, which took place in Bellevue, Washington last November and featured a number of highly prominent leaders and innovators in technology and science. Today’s video features a panel representing companies on the leading edge of technology applications. They discuss emerging technologies that hold great promise for human prosperity — from the conversion of waste to clean energy; to the production of graphene for a multitude of uses including building materials, lubricants, composites and coatings, sensors, and energy harvesting and storage; to revolutionary nanorobotic machines that can target and kill individual cancer cells. Visit the Center for Intelligence’s YouTube page for many more lectures, panels, and interviews from COSM 2022 and past Read More ›

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Smiling entrepreneur businesswoman talking on smartphone with colleague discuss business project, financial report or strategy. Cheerful female sales manager communicating with client on cellphone
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post
Author
News
Date
June 28, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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The End of Silicon Valley?

What will remote work do to Silicon Valley in the longterm?
News
June 28, 2023
1
Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of hybrid work, and allowed many workers to operate remotely. What does this mean for major tech centers like Silicon Valley and Seattle? And what are the advantages for competitors like Austin and Miami? In this lecture, hear a panel discuss these issues and related concerns at the 2021 COSM conference. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Read More ›

man-thinking-how-to-solve-the-problem-stockpack-adobe-stock
man thinking how to solve the problem
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post
Author
News
Date
June 26, 2023
Categorized
Science
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Iterations of Immortality

If it is beauty that governs the mathematician’s soul, it is truth and certainty that remind him of his duty
News
June 26, 2023
14
Science

by David Berlinski Editor’s note: We are delighted to welcome Science After Babel, the latest book from mathematician and philosopher David Berlinski. This article is adapted from Chapter 7.  The calculus and the rich body of mathematical analysis to which it gave rise made modern science possible, but it was the algorithm that made possible the modern world. They are utterly different, these ideas. The calculus serves the imperial vision of mathematical physics. It is a vision in which the real elements of the world are revealed to be its elementary constituents: particles, forces, fields, or even a strange fused combination of space and time. Written in the language of mathematics, a single set of fearfully compressed laws describes their secret Read More ›

colorado-river-with-desert-landscape-glowing-in-utah-near-moab-with-moon-stockpack-adobe-stock
Colorado river with desert landscape glowing in Utah near moab with moon
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
June 24, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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Westworld: Episode 2 Review

The whole point of the show is to explore a theory of consciousness
Gary Varner
June 24, 2023
6
Arts & Culture

In episode one, several robots break down. It appears they are accessing memories thanks to an unexpected update, which causes the robots to glitch and seize up, unable to communicate. The updated robots are recalled and the worst of them are decommissioned. In episode two, Dolores wakes up, hearing Bernard’s voice in the middle of the night. She goes outside, and it’s later revealed that she finds a gun buried in the dirt. After we’ve seen Dolores rise from her bed thanks to Bernard’s call, we meet William. He and his future brother-in-law are visiting the park. This is William’s first time in Westworld, and he isn’t excited to be there. He’s humoring his future relative. Episode two continues in Read More ›

yosemite-firefall-stockpack-adobe-stock
Yosemite Firefall
Type
post
Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
June 23, 2023
Categorized
Environment
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John Muir and the Pleasures of Nature

The inventor-turned-naturalist can teach us the benefits of loving the natural world
Andrew McDiarmid
June 23, 2023
8
Environment

April 21 is John Muir’s birthday. Muir is typically remembered as one of America’s foremost naturalists, father of our national parks and a tireless defender of the wilderness. But he might very well have been none of those things. As a young man, Muir was gifted at building machines, and he was set to pursue a career in technology until everything went dark. Literally. Revisiting this little-known chapter of Muir’s life can inspire us to better navigate our own relationship to technology and give us a fresh reason to celebrate his work. In 1849, Muir left his homeland of Scotland and moved with his family to the backwoods of Wisconsin. Farm work, chores, and family Bible studies kept him busy Read More ›

illustration-of-abstract-blue-pink-wireframe-sound-waves-visualization-of-frequency-signals-audio-wavelengths-conceptual-futuristic-technology-waveform-background-with-copy-space-for-text-stockpack-adobe-stock
Illustration of abstract blue pink wireframe sound waves, visualization of frequency signals audio wavelengths, conceptual futuristic technology waveform background with copy space for text
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Meta’s Weird New Speech AI

Scammers have already capitalized on this kind of technology. Is it a mistake for Meta to push for it?
News
June 22, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

Meta has announced a new AI system called Voicebox, a text to audio translator that can mimic the voice of loved ones. All you need is a mere two seconds of authentic audio and the bot will extrapolate whole sentences in that person’s voice. Meta noted the technology will be helpful for those who are visually impaired and who want to hear messages or texts read to them in a voice they know. A blog on the Meta site reads, Like generative systems for images and text, Voicebox creates outputs in a vast variety of styles, and it can create outputs from scratch as well as modify a sample it’s given. But instead of creating a picture or a passage Read More ›

builders-in-work-clothes-install-new-roofing-tools-roofing-tools-electric-drill-and-use-them-on-new-wooden-roofs-with-metal-sheets-stockpack-adobe-stock
Builders in work clothes install new roofing tools, roofing tools, electric drill and use them on new wooden roofs with metal sheets
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post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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The One Thing Only Humans Can Do

What makes human beings unique? Will artificial intelligence take over our jobs?
News
June 22, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

What makes human beings unique? Will artificial intelligence take over our jobs? The Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, which publishes Mind Matters, was launched largely to respond to questions like these. In a panel discussion at the Dallas launch of the Bradley Center, Baylor Professor of Computer Engineering Robert J. Marks offered some thoughts on the evening’s topic, “Will ‘Smart’ Machines Take Over Our Jobs?” This is a great video to watch if you’re new to Mind Matters or are interested in learning more about the unique perspective of the Bradley Center. Marks doesn’t offer doomsday approximations of the future of AI, but neither does he disregard the challenges it poses. According to him, though, there’s one Read More ›

ai-related-law-concept-shown-by-robot-hand-using-lawyer-working-tools-in-lawyers-office-with-legal-astute-icons-depicting-artificial-intelligence-law-generative-ia-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI related law concept shown by robot hand using lawyer working tools in lawyers office with legal astute icons depicting artificial intelligence law . GEnerative IA
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
June 22, 2023
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Can Lawyer Robots Solve Complex Legal Cases?

Robert J. Marks
June 22, 2023
1

A lawyer recently used ChatGPT in a court case, but it generated false citations. Can AI be trusted at all in the courtroom? Lawyer Richard Stevens explains how in legal cases, meaning, context, and nuance are essential, and can’t be “computed” by artificial intelligence.  Additional Resources

artificial-intelligence-robot-thinking-about-world-looking-at-the-city-futuristic-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Artificial intelligence, robot thinking about world, looking at the city. Futuristic concept.
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
June 21, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Can AI Create its Own Information?

The simple answer is "no," but why? Eric Holloway explains
Eric Holloway
June 21, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

AI is amazing. It is all the rage these days. Companies everywhere are jumping on the AI bandwagon. No one wants to be left behind when true believers are raptured to the mainframe in the sky. What makes the AI work? The AI works because of information it gained from a human generated dataset. Let’s label the dataset D. We can measure the information in the dataset with Shannon entropy. Represent the information with H(D). When we train an AI with this data, we are applying a mathematical function to the dataset. This function is the training algorithm. Labelling the training algorithm T, then we represent training as T(D). The outcome of training is a new AI model. The model generates new data. We Read More ›

industrial-pollution-at-sunset-with-smokestacks-emitting-smoke-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
industrial pollution at sunset with smokestacks emitting smoke. Generative AI
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 19, 2023
Categorized
Transhumanism
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Two Writers on Transhumanist Trends

Paul Kingsnorth and Mary Harrington discuss the modern urge to throw off all natural limits
News
June 19, 2023
1
Transhumanism

This is a conversation from a year ago but nevertheless remains radically pertinent today. Paul Kingsnorth and Mary Harrington, both who have written on various modern trends to try and transcend bodily limits, sat down on the Rebel Wisdom YouTube channel to have a chat. Both have written for the online magazine UnHerd, but up until this point, had never interacted with each other. Kingsnorth is a former environmentalist who became disillusioned with the movement and eventually converted to Orthodox Christianity. He is also a novelist and currently lives a simple life in Ireland. Harrington is a contributing editor of UnHerd and writes on feminism, politics, and other pressing cultural issues. Both believe that the urge to throw off human Read More ›

the-robot-guard-on-the-dark-garbage-dump-a-surreal-3d-scenery-stockpack-adobe-stock
The robot guard on the dark garbage dump: A surreal 3D scenery
Type
post
Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
June 19, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI Could Take Us Over, But Not In the Way You Might Expect

Revisiting last year's article from tech critic Andrew McDiarmid
Andrew McDiarmid
June 19, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence

As I reported last year, there’s been a lot of talk about a singularity in the last decade. That’s the point when machine intelligence (AI) exceeds human intelligence and begins to rule humanity and eventually the entire universe. It’s a scary proposition to be sure, but we can rest easy on that front, because it’s not going to happen. The futurists assume there’s a bridge between narrow applications of AI and the general intelligence humans possess. But no such bridge exists. As Erik J. Larson explains in his book The Myth of Artificial Intelligence, we’re not even on the right road to such a bridge. You can also take George Gilder’s word for it. One of the most influential thinkers on technology and economics Read More ›

forest-in-fog-with-mist-fairy-spooky-looking-woods-in-a-misty-day-cold-foggy-morning-in-horror-forest-with-trees-stockpack-adobe-stock
Forest in fog with mist. Fairy spooky looking woods in a misty day. Cold foggy morning in horror forest with trees
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 17, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism
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That Hideous Strength, A.K.A. Transhumanism

C.S. Lewis's classic science fiction tale is about the temptation to reject being human
Peter Biles
June 17, 2023
7
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

C.S. Lewis’s 1946 science fiction novel That Hideous Strength is almost eighty years old now. Written during the throes of World War II, the novel is the culmination of Lewis’s cosmic trilogy, preluded by Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. There are hosts of other articles attending to the prescience of Lewis’s terrifying novel, and for good reason; That Hideous Strength is a warning against using technology to dehumanize people and ultimately cripple the world into submission. It’s a great book as a novel, but it seems especially appropriate to revisit in lieu of the growing interest in transhumanism and the rapid acceleration of AI development. It feels like much of the talk on AI in recent months involves Read More ›