Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagAlgorithms

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Cropped photo of businessman analyzing business diagram, marketing statistics and finance market graphs on laptop monitor in the office.

Confusing Correlation with Causation

Computers are amazing. But they can't distinguish between correlation and causation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are terrific at discovering statistical correlations but terrible at distinguishing between correlation and causation. A computer algorithm might find a correlation between how often a person has been in an automobile accident and the words they post on Facebook, being a good software engineer and visiting certain websites, and making loan payments on time and keeping one’s phone fully charged. However, computer algorithms do not know what any of these things are and consequently have no way of determining whether these are causal relationships (and therefore useful predictors) or fleeting coincidences (that are useless predictors). If the program is black box, then humans cannot intervene and declare that these are almost certainly irrelevant coincidences. Even if Read More ›

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Visualizatipon of human consciousness in artificial intelligence, process of thinking robot. Humanoid android on dark background with neurals connection. Created with Generative AI

Artificial Consciousness Remains Impossible (Part 2)

A machine no more “does things on its own” than a catapult flings by itself.
Randomness is a red herring when it comes to serving as an indicator of consciousness. Read More ›
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Cloud data computing and neural network, cross-media marketing mesh representing connections,  monitor screen in perspective

You Control the Algorithm

Watch Dr. Phil Parker discuss how he and his team have developed revolutionary new search engine technology

For today’s featured video from a past COSM conference, watch Dr. Phil Parker, INSEAD Chair Professor of Management Science and Founder of Botipedia, discuss how his team has unlocked the power of algorithm-based content creation to create the revolutionary new search engine technology of Botipedia/Totosearch, which promises to be a dramatic improvement over Wikipedia and Google. 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 Institute and author Read More ›

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Panel on AI at COSM 2022

AI’s Lack of Understanding

How are we to view AI in an era where it increasingly seems to mimic human intelligence so well?

We’ve been highlighting a number of interviews from last year’s COSM conference, which attracted many of the most celebrated and respected engineers, scholars, and scientists from around the country. In today’s featured clip, George Montañez, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College, shares his perspective on COSM 2022’s panel on artificial intelligence—areas of agreement and disagreement about the nature and future of artificial intelligence. Montañez, like Robert J. Marks, with whom he shared the panel, thinks AI is impressive and that we’ve made incredible strides in the field of computation, but maintains that these systems lack understanding and sentience. Blake Lemoine, the other panelist in the conversation, thinks AI is capable of a bit more than mere algorithmic Read More ›

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close up of calculation table, printed in an old book

An Illusion of Emergence, Part 2

A figure can tell a story but, intentionally or unintentionally, the story that is told may be fiction

I recently wrote about how graphs that use logarithms on the horizontal axis can create a misleading impression of the relationship between two variables. The specific example I used was the claim made in a recent paper (with 16 coauthors from Google, Stanford, UNC Chapel Hill, and DeepMind) that scaling up the number of parameters in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can cause “emergence,” which they define as qualitative changes in abilities that are not present in smaller-scale models but are present in large-scale models; thus they cannot be predicted by simply extrapolating the performance improvements on smaller-scale models. They present several graphs similar to this one that seem to show emergence: However, their graphs have the logarithms of Read More ›

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Stethoscope with financial on the desk.

The Practice of Medicine and Ongoing Issues with Opioid Addiction

How does our brain chemistry affect addiction? How has artificial intelligence changed medicine? Anesthesiologist Dr. Richard Hurley discusses opioid addiction from a medical perspective with host Dr. Robert J. Marks. Then, an anonymous guest details their own experience with opioids. Finally, Dr. Hurley discusses how computer algorithms have both improved and stifled the proper practice of medicine. Additional Resources

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Programming code script abstract screen of software developer.

Computers Are Not Persons Because Computing Is Not Thinking

Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks discusses the issues with human dignity advocate Wesley J. Smith

Recently, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed human dignity advocate Wesley J. Smith on the seeming science fiction question of “Can a computer be a person?” (November 10, 2022, podcast 212): https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/Mind-Matters-212-Robert-Marks.mp3 Here are a couple of highlights: About Alexa: Wesley J. Smith: I was going to ask you about Alexa because she may come on in behind me. Of course, she’s not a she. That’s just a female-sounding voice. But I can ask, we’ll call her A, so she doesn’t come on, what time it is and she’ll tell me immediately. I can tell her to play certain music and she’ll play it immediately. How does that operate? I mean, she’s not… That program is not intelligent, Read More ›

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A salesperson working in an office on a virtual call

Can a Computer Be a Person?

Are we on the verge of the era of machines? Is AI destined to supplant most human endeavors and activities? Can a computer be deemed a person? And if so, should that computer be granted rights as part of the moral community? Will we ever attain immortality by uploading our minds into computers as transhumanists predict? And what the heck Read More ›

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Teal Paint Swirl

An Excerpt from Chapter Two of Non-Computable You

What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will by Mind Matters podcast host Robert J. Marks is now available in audiobook form. Listen now to an excerpt from the second chapter as read by Larry Nobles. Will machines someday replace attorneys, physicians, computer programmers, and world leaders? What about composers, painters, and novelists? Will tomorrow’s supercomputers duplicate and exceed humans? Read More ›

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Parapluie rouge

Get a Sneak Peek of the New Non-Computable You Audiobook

Will machines someday replace attorneys, physicians, computer programmers, and world leaders? What about composers, painters, and novelists? Will tomorrow’s supercomputers duplicate and exceed humans? Are we just wetware, natural computers doomed to obsolescence by tomorrow’s ultra-powerful artificial intelligence? Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will by Mind Matters podcast host Robert J. Marks is now available in Read More ›

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brown and black turtle on body of water

Animal Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence

Did you know that animals have built-in algorithms? Some of these amazing algorithms allow animals to migrate to new places and navigate back to previous locations. Insects also have a wide variety of fascinating social behaviors. Where did they come from? Eric Cassell, author of Animal Algorithms, discusses animal algorithms, artificial intelligence, instincts, and irreducible complexity with Robert J. Marks. Read More ›

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Good and Bad Algorithms in the Practice of Medicine

Computers and artificial intelligence are restricted to being algorithmic. If something is non-algorithmic, it is not computable. Creativity, nuance, and insight are human characteristics that are non-algorithmic. What happens if you remove those human characteristics from the practice of medicine? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Richard Hurley discuss how algorithms can help and harm the practice of medicine. Show Notes Read More ›

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Isolated Low Poly graphic design of . Eagles -3d rendering.

The Astonishing Algorithms That Allow Animals to Navigate & Migrate

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure to perform a specific task. We usually think of algorithms as being performed by computers. Did you know that animals have built-in algorithms of their own? Some of these amazing algorithms allow animals to migrate to new places and navigate back to previous locations. Eric Cassell discusses his new book, Animal Algorithms, with Robert Read More ›

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silhouette of virtual human on abstract technology 3d illustration

George Gilder: An Economic Genius Talks About Gaming AI

George Gilder talks to Robert J. Marks about his book Gaming AI: Why AI Can’t Think but Can Transform Jobs. Show Notes 00:00:45 | Introducing George Gilder 00:03:30 | Is AI a new demotion of the human race? 00:04:59 | The AI movement 00:06:39 | DeepMind and protein folding 00:11:42 | Code-breaking in World War II 00:13:50 | Interpreting between Read More ›

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Terracotta warriors, China

China’s Data Laws Restrict Businesses and Favor the State

The Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law are part of the Chinese government’s plan to steer the private sector toward State goals

In previous articles, I looked at how the Chinese government is reigning in China’s tech sector first of Jack Ma and Ant Group’s initial public offering on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges and then Didi Global, Inc. The Chinese government has since passed two data laws and released an update that clarifies the 2017 Cybersecurity Law. The result is better protections of citizens’ data from being used, exploited, or sold by private companies, and encroaching government presumption of the private sector in which the State has virtually unrestricted access to and jurisdiction over private companies’ data.  Clarification of the 2017 Cybersecurity Law The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) gained oversight powers over other state agencies in 2014 under Xi Jinping. Jane Read More ›

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Cold fresh lemonade with slices of ripe lemons.

Insurance Company Gives Sour AI Promises

Data collection and discriminatory algorithms are turning Lemonade sour

An insurance company with the quirky name Lemonade was founded in 2015 and went public in 2020. In addition to raising hundreds of millions of dollars from eager investors, Lemonade quickly attracted more than a million customers with the premise that artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can estimate risks accurately and that buying insurance and filing claims can be fun: Lemonade is built on a digital substrata — we use bots and machine learning to make insurance instant, seamless, and delightful. Adding to the delight are the friendly names of their bots, like AI Maya, AI Jim, and AI Cooper. The company doesn’t explain how its AI works, but there is this head-scratching boast: A typical homeowners policy form has 20-40 Read More ›

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Restaurant automation service concept. Robot waiter serving a tray with a bottles and wine glass. Two wheels robotic character on yellow wall, gray floor background. copy space

A World Without Work? Don’t Hold Your Breath

Predictions of mass unemployment caused by robots continue to be wildly inaccurate

Will we soon be sitting on couches watching reality TV shows while robots work 24/7 doing all of the work humans used to do? The idea that robots will replace most human labor has been around for almost 100 years and has become more popular with each new advance, from sensors and microprocessors to enterprise software, data analytics, and AI. The latest wave of robot hysteria was tweaked by The Singularity is Near in 2005, emboldened by Race Against the Machine in 2012, and sent over the top by The Second Machine Age and The Rise of Robots in 2016, and A World Without Work in 2020, all best sellers. A World Without Work was shortlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year, in addition Read More ›

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Beginning of the game, Two chess teams in front of different color white and black on the chessboard

AI Flags “Black” and “White” Language of Chess as Racist

New research shows the weakness of depending on AI to accurately flag racist online content

Last summer, artificial intelligence algorithms took down a video on YouTube’s most popular chess channel mid-livestream and flagged it as containing “harmful and dangerous” content. New research into the incident indicates that artificial intelligence algorithms programmed to scan for racist and other hateful speech online may be to blame. On June 27, 2020, the host of the most popular chess chanel on YouTube, Antonio Radić, Croatian chess player, was conducting a livestream with chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Around the one-hour-and-twenty-minute mark of the discussion of chess, the video was cut off and removed from Radić’s channel. When Radić (or anyone else) tried to access the video, they were met with a message from YouTube: “We’ve removed this video because it Read More ›

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backside graduation hats during commencement success graduates of the university, Concept education congratulation. Graduation Ceremony ,Congratulated the graduates in University during commencement.

Will Machine Learning Disrupt Academic Rankings?

A case study in the best computer science and artificial intelligence programs

Note: Our author, Ross Gulik, an educational consultant who closely follows the academic ranking industry, offers us a look at how such rankings are created and how they might be improved. 1 Introduction to AcademicInfluence.com AcademicInfluence.com is a new website that claims to do academic rankings right. Getting academic rankings right has become a pressing concern for higher education. As AcademicInfluence.com correctly observes on its methodology page, schools face enormous pressure to perform well in the big annual rankings. The big academic ranking organizations (such as US News and Times Higher Education) carry enormous weight. If a school slips in these annual rankings, it can affect student enrolments, the bottom line, and the prestige of the institution. This pressure leads Read More ›

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Bottom view close-up of four white surveillance cameras

How Toxic Bias Infiltrates Computer Code

A look at the dark underbelly of modern algorithms

The newly released documentary Coded Bias from Shalini Kantayya takes the viewer on a tour of the way modern algorithms can undermine justice and society and are actively subverting justice at the present moment. Coded Bias highlights many under-discussed issues regarding data and its usage by governments and corporations. While its prescriptions for government usage of data are well considered, the issue of corporate use of data involves many additional issues that the film skirts entirely. As the film points out, we are presented these algorithms as if they were a form of intelligence. But they are actually just math—and this math can be used to, intentionally or unintentionally, encode biases. In fact, as Bradley Center fellows Robert J. Marks Read More ›